PREDICTING WARPAGE OF INJECTION-MOLDED FIBER-REINFORCED PLASTICS

This paper describes a computational model for the warpage analysis of injection molded short-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics. In the analys is, the molded part's warpage is predicted from the calculated fiber o rientation, the volumetric shrinkage, and the thermo-mechanical proper ties of the fiber and the polymer. Results for a real injection molded part are presented to demonstrate the application of the method. Pred icted warpage results are in good agreement with experimental observat ions. The analysis allows isolation of the cause of warpage, and the f iber orientation effect was found to be dominant.