The Moldflow injection molding simulation of polymers can provide information on the thermo-mechanical properties and residual stresses of a part resulting from the manufacturing process. This information is written to interface files for subsequent finite element stress analysis.
All mechanical properties (including the effects of oriented fibers, if present) are calculated by Moldflow and written to the interface files as orthotropic constants at points through the thickness of the part. Models that contain oriented fibers are referred to as "filled"; models without oriented fibers are referred to as "unfilled."
The temperature of the model at the end of the analysis is taken to be uniform at the ambient temperature specified in the Moldflow analysis. Residual stresses due to cooling are also included, if requested.
For detailed information on obtaining a solution with Moldflow and preparing the interface files, please refer to the relevant Moldflow documentation.
Note: The Abaqus finite element mesh generated by the Abaqus Interface for Moldflow has the same topology as the Moldflow mesh except for an option to convert 4-node linear tetrahedra to 10-node quadratic tetrahedra for three-dimensional solid models. Therefore, when you create the mesh for the original Moldflow analysis, you should design a topology that is appropriate for both the mold-filling simulation in Moldflow and the structural analysis in Abaqus.