Rapid Numerical Estimation of Pressure Drop in Hot Runner System

Abstract

To determine dimensions in the hot runner systems, given a material, it is necessary to predict the pressure drop according to them. Although modern injection molding simulators are able to evaluate such pressure drops, they are expensive and demanding to be employed as a design utility. This work develops a computer tool that can calculate a pressure drop from the sprue to the gate assuming a steady flow of a generalized Newtonian fluid. For a four drop hot runner system, the accuracy has been verified by comparing the obtained results with those by a commercial simulator. This paper presents how to utilize the proposed method in the hot runner design process.

Keywords

• injection molding
• OpenFOAM
• pressure drop
• cross model
• generalized Newtonian fluid
• hot runner