Numerical simulation of thermoplastic wheat starch injection molding process

A numerical study is carried out on the thermoplastic wheat starch injectio n molding process. The simulation is performed using currently available mo lding software to determine optimal molding parameters. The molding of a st andardized sample for tensile test is considered. It is shown that the conv entional continuum mechanics equations can be used for modeling the injecti on molding of thermoplastic starch. These equations are solved using the fi nite element method. Comparisons with some experimental results are present ed, indicating good agreement. Data on the processing of thermoplastic star ch and several other basic aspects are also provided.