Numerical Simulation of PU Foaming Flow in a Refrigerator Cabinet

Abstract

We have developed a numerical method for unsteady three-dimensional (3D) simulation of rigid polyurethane (PU) foaming flow in a refrigerator cabinet in this study. The governing equation for the compressible foaming flow is approximated with the Navier-Stokes equation, which means the foaming flow is assumed to be Newtonian. Numerical methods of simulation for unsteady compressible PU foaming flow with a free surface have been designed using a finite volume method (FVM) and the semi-implicit method for pressure-linked equations (SIMPLE) scheme as a pressure correction method. The formulation of numerical methods is developed on the basis of hexahedral meshes. Air in a refrigerator cabinet is neglected in the numerical method, and the free surface is traced with the volume of fluid (VOF) method. Viscosity and density of foam are assumed to be uniform in space and time-dependent, which are obtained with experimental methods. Results of numerical simulation for filling pattern and a finally filled position have been compared with the experimental results in a plate mold and a simple refrigerator cabinet. Simulation results of foaming fronts and finally filled position show good agreement with the experimental results. Numerical simulation of PU foaming flow is a useful tool to design a new refrigerator model and predict foam quality related to distance of foaming flow, air trapping, and location of finally filled position.

Parameter Identification by Inverse Analysis Coupled with a Finite Pointset Method for Polyurethane Foam Expansion

“…4(c-d) show the front positions of the foam after t=18 s of foaming and at the end of expansion t=200 s. The models' parameters used for this simulation are obtained by using the identification procedure defined in the precedent section and are summarized in Table 1. These parameters are relevant in comparison with the results obtained by different authors [1][2][3][4][8][9]. Fig.…”

“…Seo et al [2] have studied the reaction injection moulding of polyurethane foam by using a finite volume formulation. Geier et al [3] and Kim et al [4] have used the volume-of-fluid method (VOF) in finite volume formulation. In this paper, we have considered the thermomechanical couplings by using the finite point method (FPM) introduced by Oñate et al [5][6].…”

Prediction of acoustic foam properties by numerical simulation of polyurethane foaming process

“…Describing polyurethane (PU) foams as a pseudohomogeneous fluid with continuously changing material properties is a common approach when modelling the mould filling processes [1][2][3][4].…”

“…Thus, the numerical simulation of the foaming process is important for the overall design process to define suitable injection points and air vents to avoid these defects. Different authors [1][2][3][4][5] addressed these issues.…”

Coupled Macro and Micro-Scale Modeling of Polyurethane Foaming Processes

“…For validation purposes, they study foam flow in simple rectangular cavities and simplified refrigerator geometries. Kim et al [2] introduced a very similar model. In contrast to [1], they use a less complex approach to model foam properties.…”