Towards a more predictive simulation model

Our team of developers specialized in plastics engineering has made several improvements for modeling the behavior of polyurethane foams in our simulation software REM3D®.

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REM3D® software, which simulates pouring & chemical foaming of PU foam, has shifted from a conventional "closed cell" approach to a reality-like "open cell" model (PROM: Pressure Relaxation for Opened-cells Modeling).

  • In the classical model, used in previous versions of REM3D®, the cells remain closed and the gas remains entrapped in the cells. Therefore this encapsulated gas maintain high internal stresses that influence the final foam flow.
  • In the PROM model, used in the REM3D® new version, the escape of the air through the open cell skeleton is taken into account. This has an influence on the pressure inside the foam, and consequently on the final expansion and density.

In the video below, simulations were performed with the two different models:

Subtitles in English are available, activate them directly on the video

Depending on the configurations, the results between the two models may be significantly different for similar process parameters. With the "open cell" model, the filling rate is likely to be lower than with the closed model, the density is greater and the heterogeneity of density is higher.

 

What are the benefits of this new model?

In general, the model is closer to reality and will therefore allow:

  • more predictive filling and density results
  • more reliable optimization of the minimum injected mass to fill a cavity
  • better control over the density heterogeneity of foams