Compressible flows in a thermal pulse heating system for an improvement in thin-wall injection molding of thermoplastics

In this thesis, a method for improving the flow characteristics of thermoplastic materials in thin-walled injection mold cavities was explored. A fluidized bed sand bath was used to heat compressed air blown which was blown onto the surface of an injection mold. Compressible fluid flow calculations were used to design and model the system.The temperature of the mold was measured and it was shown that a thermal pulse heating system may be successfully used to heat a thin-wall injection mold to a sufficiently high temperature to provide an advantage in thin-wall molding. The actual implementation of the thermal impulse heating system will need to be modified slightly in a commercial setting. Options are presented for the method of installing a thermal impulse heating system directly into an injection mold so that an improvement in thin-wall injection molding is achieved.