A full 3D finite element analysis of the powder injection molding filling process including slip phenomena

Abstract

A full 3D finite element analysis system has been developed to simulate a Powder Injection Molding (PIM) filling process for general three-dimensional parts. The most important features of the analysis system developed in this study are i) to incorporate the slip phenomena, the most notable rheological characteristics of PIM feedstock, into the finite element formulation based on a nonlinear penalty-like parameter and ii) to simulate the transient flow during the filling process with a predetermined finite element mesh with the help of a volume fill factor and a melt front smoothing scheme. The treatment of the nonlinear slip boundary condition was successfully validated via a steady state pipe flow. For the purpose of comparisons, not only the numerical simulations but also experimental short-shot experiments were performed with two 3D mold geometries using two typical materials. of slip and no-slip cases. The good agreements between the numerical and experimental results indicate that the melt front tracking scheme successfully simulates the transient filling process.