Prediction of the Morphology of semi-crystalline
thermoplastics
W. Michaeli and S. Hoffmann*
Institut
für Kunststoffverarbeitung (IKV), Ponststraße 49,
D-52062
Aachen, Germany
Abstract
Alongside the
pure filling simulation, the prediction of internal properties for plastics
parts is becoming increasingly important. Results achieved at the macroscopic
level (e.g. the filling pattern) are not sufficient for a full description of
the internal properties of a plastic part, which means that it is necessary to
describe the detailed processes in the polymer as it is solidifying. Apart from
describing the microstructure of a polymer through the degree of
crystallisation, it is increasingly important to take the morphology into
account. The IKV has thus developed a software that can be used to predict the
crystal structure and crystal distribution. Initial results reveal a
satisfactory quality but also point to the problems that still remain to be
solved.