Simulation methodology to couple process and product for short fiber reinforced plastic

Process effects of the injection molding have an high impact on the product performance for short fibers reinforced thermoplastics materials. To predict product performance, a coupling with the process simulation and advanced anisotropic material models is required.
Faurecia has developed a methodology to integrate anisotropic effects of the fiber orientation with LS-DYNA explicit for crash simulations.
A specific anisotropic characterization is performed to fill micro / macro homogenization models and exported to LS-DYNA composite orthotropic elastoviscoplastic properties for different fiber orientation configurations. A specific mapping tool will orient elements and affect corresponding orthotropic material models versus fiber orientation.
Correlations are performed at different levels:
• Coupons
• Reference parts (beams)
• Seat frames
The level of correlation is improved versus isotropic material models with a similar computation time.