Enhanced Cooling Channel Performance in Injection Molds

发光二极管(LED)技术的进步为汽车制造商创造了新的机会，使其能够在车头和尾灯中使用LED。为了优化LED灯的光学特性，需要更厚的塑料透镜和复杂的轮廓。塑料厚度是大规模生产的一个问题，因为在离开模具之前，必须从熔融的塑料中移除更多的热量。比正常厚度厚4-6倍的塑料零件的冷却时间可能比传统的较薄零件长达10倍。目前，周期较长所固有的成本增加使得厚壁注塑零件的成本难以大规模生产。通过优化模具内的冷却通道可以缩短周期时间。目前的做法是钻出一个相互连接的直线冷却管道网络，这些管道不符合当今汽车样式的复杂表面轮廓。这阻碍了共形冷却策略的实施，该策略一直沿着模具的复杂型面放置冷却线以优化传热。研究首先将通过计算流体动力学(CFD)和传热学模拟和分析来研究直形和保形冷却刀片中的换热和流体流动。然后将使用模拟来优化冷却通道的设计，以最大限度地从周围材料中提取热量。最后，将开发多物理模型来更准确地预测整个注射成型系统的热特性。

Advancements in light emitting diode (LED) technology have created new opportunities for automotive manufacturers to use LEDsin vehicle head and tail lights. Thicker plastic lenses and complex profiles are required to optimize the optical characteristics ofLED lights. Plastic thickness is a concern for mass production because of the increased amount of heat that must be removedfrom the molten plastic before it leaves the mold. The cooling time for a plastic part that is 4-6 times thicker than normal can be upto 10 times longer than the traditional thinner part. The increased costs inherent with longer cycles currently make thick wallinjection molded parts cost prohibitive for mass production.Cycle times can be reduced by optimizing the cooling passages within the molds. The current practice is to drill a network ofinterconnected straight cooling lines that do not conform to the complex surface profiles of todays automotive styles. Thisprevents implementation of a conformal cooling strategy that consistently positions cooling lines along the complex profiles of themold to optimize the heat transfer.The research will initially investigate the heat transfer and fluid flow in straight and conformal cooling inserts throughComputational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Heat Transfer simulations and analysis. Simulations will then be used to optimize thedesign of cooling passages to extract maximum heat from the surrounding material. Finally, multiphysics models will be developedto more accurately predict the thermal characteristics of the complete injection molding system.