Study on the solidification kinetics of high-density polyethylene during thin-walled injection molding process

In this work, the effect of the initial and secondary temperature differences on the solidification behaviors of high-density polyethylene ( HDPE) during the thin-walled injection molding (TWIM) was intensively investigated. Simulated temperature profiles using the enthalpy transformation methodology were compared with an in situ temperature measurement, and reasonable agreement was achieved between calculations and measurements. Two-dimensional wide-angle X-ray diffraction characterization shows that the formation of oriented crystal structures was considerably affected by the thermal gradient within the injection-molded article. The present study can be practically significant to the optimization of the cooling parameters during the TWIM of crystalline polymers as well as to the further study on the relationship among "processing-structure-property" of polymeric materials.