Sheet molding compound characterization using spiral flow |
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| Authors: | Michael Rabinovich Kate L Olsavsky Burr Leach Mauricio Cabrera‐Ríos José M Castro |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Industrial, Welding and Systems Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210;2. Ashland Specialty Chemical Company, Dublin, Ohio 43017;3. Graduate Program in Systems Engineering, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, 66450 Nuevo León, México |
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| Abstract: | Sheet molding compound (SMC) is a fiber‐reinforced polymeric composite. It is often used in automotive, marine, and industrial applications over other materials because of its high strength to density ratio, resistance to corrosion, and low cost. There is a demand in the SMC industry to be able to characterize SMC processability. This is particularly true for heavy truck body panels, one of the fastest growing applications of SMC. Because of their large size and high strength requirement, the molding forces have a major influence in the molding cycle. Also because of the long flow paths involved, the ability of the paste to carry glass needs to be properly characterized when developing new SMC materials. In this article, we demonstrate the benefits of using spiral flow as a processability tester. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008 |
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| Keywords: | modeling composites SMC spiral flow processability |
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