Rheological characterization and macroscopic modeling and simulation of the molding process of a PA6 Glass Mat Thermoplastic (GMT)

This study targets the characterization and modeling of GMT press molding. The targeted material is TEPEX® flowcore, a long glass fiber mat reinforced polyamide (PA6/GF) manufactured by Lanxess. Press molding of flowcore comprises the sequential stages of material forming and material flow, including challenges like local wrinkling and incomplete mold filling, respectively. Therefore, a sequential modeling approach using a Lagrangian and an Eulerian discretization is pursued. Rheological characterization using rheometer setups and in-mold viscosity measurements reveals a significant anisotropy of viscosity resulting from the predominantly in-plane fiber alignment. Anisotropy of viscosity is successfully modeled and parameterized, enabling a unified material modeling for material forming and material flow. Good predictions are observed for both wrinkling and flow. In summary, molding simulation results reveal that the isotropic modeling of viscosity is sufficient for flow simulation, whereas considering the anisotropic viscosity is essential for the accurate prediction of material forming.