A study of blow moulding simulation and structural analysis for PET bottles

Abstract

Simulation of the injection stretch blow moulding (ISBM) process for the PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle manufacturing process is important in improving quality of PET bottles and reducing production time. This paper presents an investigation of finite element simulation of the ISBM process utilising B-SIM simulation software. For a given perform shape, results are obtained on the effect of various process parameters on wall thickness distribution of PET bottles. On completion of the simulation, the simulated bottle file is exported from B-SIM to ANSYS finite element analysis software for structural analysis. Top load analysis and internal pressure analysis are conducted in verifying the mechanical strength of PET bottles. Results indicate that by proper selection of process parameters and by B-SIM simulation, PET bottles of desired strength can be produced by the injection blow moulding process with more uniform thickness distribution.

Keywords:

• B-SIM
• ANSYS
• injection stretch blow moulding (ISBM)
• CAE
• top load analysis
• internal pressure analysis
• pre-form
• PET bottle

Additional information

Notes on contributors

H Haddad

Header Haddad completed his Master of Engineering Honours (Advanced Manufacturing Technology) at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, in 2008. He also holds a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include plastics processing, injection moulding, blow moulding, and CAD/CAM/CAE technology. He is currently a research scholar at Swinburne University of Technology pursuing his PhD degree.

S Masood

Prof Syed Masood is a Research Leader and Program Coordinator in Advanced Manufacturing Technology at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne. He holds a PhD from the University of Queensland, and possesses extensive teaching and research experience in advanced manufacturing technologies. He has carried out several industry-based collaborative research projects under ARC grants, and has published over 220 publications in journals and conferences. His current research interests include rapid tooling, rapid prototyping, polymer processing and intelligent design systems.

D U Erbulut

Dr Deniz Erbulut completed his PhD degree in Engineering at The University of Melbourne. He holds a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Turkey, and also a Masters in Information Technology and Graduate Diploma in Advanced Manufacturing Technology from Swinburne. He is currently working on biomedical engineering analysis, design and manufacturing on an artificial heart project at Koc University, Turkey.