Simulation of crystallization kinetics and morphology during nonisothermal crystallization in short fiber reinforced composites

Computer simulation for the nonisothermal crystallization of short fiber reinforced composites is presented. The pixel coloring technique is implemented to the study of crystal morphology evolution as well as the crystallization kinetics. A parametric study is used to explore the influences of thermal conditions and fibers on the crystallization in the reinforced system. We particularly focus on the roles of cooling rate, initial temperature, nucleation density on fibers, fiber content, fiber length, and fiber diameter. The results indicate that cooling rate is a significant factor to the crystallization kinetics as well as the morphology. The initial temperature only affects the crystallization kinetics and has minor impact on the morphology. The additional fibers have a dual effect on the crystallization. They depress the crystallization rate by hindering the spherulitic growth and accelerate the crystallization rate by providing nucleation sites. The constraining effect is mainly dependent on fiber content, whereas the enhancing effect is mainly determined by fiber surface and fiber nucleation density as well as surface nucleation mode. Present results are hoping to give more insight about the crystallization in short fiber reinforced composites and be more helpful to the industrial application. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012