Simulation of Infrared-Welded Short Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastic Parts Based on Mori-Tanaka Homogenization Method

Short fiber-reinforced thermoplastics have complex mechanical behavior due to local variations in the fiber orientation and concentration distribution. In particular, the mechanical properties of infrared-welded components are difficult to predict due to reorientation and accumulation of fibers in the weld line. In this work, a model is developed that is able to consider locally varying fiber orientation and local variation of the fiber concentration to calculate the elastic material properties. The model is applied to infrared-welded components and the results are compared with experimental investigations. Two materials are studied, PA6 GF50 and PPA GF35. The material properties are characterized in order to obtain the necessary information for the simulation. The validation of the model shows a good agreement between the simulation and the experiments.