Follow the steps below to perform a structural analysis of an injection molded part.
With Moldflow, perform an analysis to predict fiber orientations for your injection molded part. A Fill + Pack analysis sequence is required for use with Advanced Material Exchange. The Fill + Pack analysis is used to predict the behavior of composite materials.
With injection-molded composites, the fiber orientation distributions show a layered nature, and are affected by the filling speed, the processing conditions, material behavior, and the fiber aspect ratio and concentration. Without proper consideration of the fiber behavior, there is a tendency to overestimate the orientation levels. The use of the Fill + Pack analysis sequence allows for an improved orientation prediction accuracy over a range of materials and fiber contents.
Create a structural model of your part using Abaqus. Set up the analysis, including the mesh, material, boundary conditions, and loads. The part mesh is then imported into Advanced Material Exchange.
Map the fiber orientations from the Moldflow model to the structural model with Advanced Material Exchange. Mapping the fiber orientations to the structural model for the injection-molded part allows you to perform a more accurate structural level finite element analysis. You have the ability to assess the quality of the mapping and determine if more refinement is necessary.
Export the input file and the structural interface file (.sif) to perform your structural analysis. The input file contains the part geometry, mesh, load and boundary conditions, and the fully characterized material model. The structural interface file contains the mapped fiber orientations.
To submit the model for analysis, ensure that the input file and the structural interface file are in the same directory, and submit from the command line in the usual fashion. The input and structural interface files must have the same name. For example, jobname.inp and jobname.sif.