Modelling and simulation of the heated tool butt welding process using CFD (computational fluid dynamics) software

摘要

In 2009, the German Plastics Centre (SKZ) and Nogrid GmbH firstly began to develop computer-assisted simulation and modelling methods for plastics joining processes. In this respect, the main aim of the project was to elaborate fundamentals for an all-embracing simulation of the heated tool butt welding process for plastics in order to predict weld qualities and thus component properties. Process-specific and polymer-specific properties were included for this purpose. With this proj-ect, not only Nogrid GmbH but also the Joining of Plastics Division at SKZ have entered new territory. However, the results available in the meantime are giving cause for confidence: In two-year investigations, it has already been possible to find very good correlations between the modelling and the real welding process. Building upon these, objectives were defined for the subsequent projects in order to optimise the current calculation algorithms and models even further and to be able to improve the meaningfulness of the modelling even further.