(1) Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc. - Aichi - Japan
We have proposed a numerical method for predicting the distribution of mechanical properties, such as elastic modulus and yield stress, which appear in injection molded parts. In this method, the mechanical properties are directly predicted from the thermal and flow histories of polymer experienced during an injection molding process. Multivariate polynomial equations are derived with a neural network method, as prediction equations. Predicted mechanical properties agree well with measured ones for specimens cut out from several locations in a molded PP-plate.