Subventions et des contributions :

Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier (2017-2018 à 2018-2019).

Advancements in light emitting diode (LED) technology have created new opportunities for automotive manufacturers to use LEDsx000D
in vehicle head and tail lights. Thicker plastic lenses and complex profiles are required to optimize the optical characteristics ofx000D
LED lights. Plastic thickness is a concern for mass production because of the increased amount of heat that must be removedx000D
from the molten plastic before it leaves the mold. The cooling time for a plastic part that is 4-6 times thicker than normal can be upx000D
to 10 times longer than the traditional thinner part. The increased costs inherent with longer cycles currently make thick wallx000D
injection molded parts cost prohibitive for mass production.x000D
Cycle times can be reduced by optimizing the cooling passages within the molds. The current practice is to drill a network ofx000D
interconnected straight cooling lines that do not conform to the complex surface profiles of todays automotive styles. Thisx000D
prevents implementation of a conformal cooling strategy that consistently positions cooling lines along the complex profiles of thex000D
mold to optimize the heat transfer.x000D
The research will initially investigate the heat transfer and fluid flow in straight and conformal cooling inserts throughx000D
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Heat Transfer simulations and analysis. Simulations will then be used to optimize thex000D
design of cooling passages to extract maximum heat from the surrounding material. Finally, multiphysics models will be developedx000D
to more accurately predict the thermal characteristics of the complete injection molding system.