Abstract
Thin walled food packaging is commonly manufactured using the plug assisted thermoforming process. In this paper the development of finite element models of the process is described. Work has concentrated on understanding the effects of material properties and contact conditions on the output from these simulations. The results have shown that a viscoelastic model must be used to simulate the deformation behaviour of the plastics. Contact conditions must also be accounted for in the models by including the effects of friction and heat transfer between the sheet and tool surfaces. For improved model accuracy, it is recommended that further experimental work should be carried out to enhance the viscoelastic material models and to provide better understanding of actual contact conditions.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 349-359 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Plastics, Rubber and Composites Processing and Applications |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 1 Dec 2000 |