Effects of fiber orientation on the electrical conductivity of filled plastic melt

The substitution of conventional materials using technical plastic materials offers a high potential for integration of functions into plastics products. In this context, the light-weight design aspect as well as the simplification of complex production processes can be addressed. As an example, plastics can be modified to transfer an electrical charge by adding conductive particles. The conductivity of these plastic materials depends on the used particle system, processing parameters and part geometry. Today’s simulation programs offer the possibility of forecasting fiber orientation in plastic parts as a result of processing. This work analyses the relation between simulated fiber orientation and conductivity in the plastic part. Therefore test specimen were produced on an injection molding machine with different processing parameters. Simulations were executed and the fiber orientation tensor for different processing parameters was calculated. In comparison between simulated and experimentally effected fiber orientation, the possibility of forecasting the electrical conductivity was analyzed and it could be shown that there is a good correlation.