Simulation of heat transfer during rotational molding

Abstract In rotational molding, polymer powders are subjected to heating, melting, cooling, and subsequent solidification in biaxially rotating molds. Heat transfer phenomena during rotational molding are significantly affected by the presence of endothermic and exothermic transitions. In this paper instead of using the traditional moving interface method, a new approach is presented which is applicable to semicrystalline materials like linear low‐density polyethylene. Melting is described by a statistical model and crystallization by a kinetic model. The model parameters are determined from differential scanning calorimetry measurements. The one‐dimensional unsteady heat conduction equation is solved by a finite difference method. The numerical predictions are in good agreement with experimental data. The overall heat transfer model can be used for process optimization purposes. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 22: 271–279, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/adv.10055