FEM analysis of the temperature distribution of CFRTP pipe mold with direct resistance heating

摘要

In the automobile industry, from the point of preventing global warming, the mass reduction of automotive bodies has become more important than ever. Especially automotive weight lightening by using Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics (CFRTP), which has advantage of high-specific strength and high-specific modulus, has received much attention. A lot of pipe-shaped materials are used for a car. For CFRTP pipe molding, a low-cost and high-speed molding method is required. Using high-frequency electric resistance heating allows heating the mold surface rapidly. Rapid heating of the mold can reduce production cycle time. The electrical energy of this heating method is less than that of traditional heating methods, and therefore the reduction in production cost is expected. In molding of CFRTP, uniformity of temperature distribution is one of the important issues to be solved. In this study, temperature distribution of CFRTP pipe molding by direct resistance heating was evaluated by FEM analysis. In direct resistance heating, the temperature distribution of the mold depends on the shape of electrodes and electric frequency. Influence of the shape of electrodes and electric frequency on the temperature distribution of the mold is revealed by using FEM analysis.