An experimental study of the water-assisted injection molding of glass fiber filled poly-butylene-terephthalate (PBT) composites

The purpose of this report was to experimentally study the water-assisted injection molding process of poly-butylene-terephthatate (PBT) composites. Experiments were carried out on an 80-ton injection-molding machine equipped with a lab scale water injection system, which included a water pump, a pressure accumulator, a water injection pin, a water tank equipped with a temperature regulator, and a control circuit. The materials included virgin PBT and a 15% glass fiber filled PBT composite, and a plate cavity with a rib across center was used. Various processing variables were examined in terms of their influence on the length of water penetration in molded parts, and mechanical property tests were performed on these parts. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was also used to identify the material and structural parameters. Finally, a comparison was made between water-assisted and gas-assisted injection molded parts. It was found that the melt fill pressure, melt temperature, and short shot size were the dominant parameters affecting water penetration behavior. Material at the mold-side exhibited a higher degree of crystallinity than that at the water-side. Parts molded by gas also showed a higher degree of crystallinity than those molded by water. Furthermore, the glass fibers near the surface of molded parts were found to be oriented mostly in the flow direction, but oriented substantially more perpendicular to the flow direction with increasing distance from the skin surface. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.