Does fountain flow influence molecular orientation in injection moulded parts?

Simulations of the isothermal and non-isothermal filling of a rectangular cavity were carried out for polystyrene using a Giesekus viscoelastic constitutive equation, whereby in the non-isothermal case the thermal resistance at the mould wall was modelled with different heat transfer coefficients to investigate the effect of the thermal resistance on the development of the molecular orientation. Results for stress development along the flow front and the cold wall were compared showing that the principal stress differences in the middle of the flow front are lower than those at the mould wall. In case of the non-isothermal filling, the latter one will increase further while the melt is gradually cooling down, which is especially true if the thermal resistance at the mould wall has been properly considered. Consequently, the high molecular orientation at the wall seems to be rather a result of the non-isothermal shear flow than of the extension at the advancing front as usually assumed.