Numerical modelling of compression cure high-filled polimer material

The article presents phenomenological constitutive relations for modeling the compression curing of a highly filled polymer medium, obtained in the framework of the mechanics of an almost incompressible viscoelastic solid using the modified Herrmann variational principle. The relations are based on the representation of the medium as a composition of a fluid and solidified material, taking into account the history of continuous nucleation and deformation of a new phase in the temperature range of phase transformations.
During the manufacturing process, different mechanisms lead to process-induced deformations and stresses. These mechanisms depend on thermal expansion, shrinkage, nonlinear viscoelastic properties of the material, and variation in local temperatures. In critical cases, these residual stresses can lead to initial degradation and up to failure of the material. A stable numerical algorithm for the problem’s solution has been developed on the base of finite element method. Numerical investigation of the stress and deformation in system during the polymerization process has been carried out. The evolution of curing stresses in a singular zone of domain has been investigated.