Gaspar-Cunha, A.; Covas, J.A.; Sikora, J. Optimization of Polymer Processing: A Review (Part II-Molding Technologies). Materials2022, 15, 1138.
Gaspar-Cunha, A.; Covas, J.A.; Sikora, J. Optimization of Polymer Processing: A Review (Part II-Molding Technologies). Materials 2022, 15, 1138.
Gaspar-Cunha, A.; Covas, J.A.; Sikora, J. Optimization of Polymer Processing: A Review (Part II-Molding Technologies). Materials2022, 15, 1138.
Gaspar-Cunha, A.; Covas, J.A.; Sikora, J. Optimization of Polymer Processing: A Review (Part II-Molding Technologies). Materials 2022, 15, 1138.
Abstract
The application of optimization techniques to improve the performance of polymer processing technologies is of great practical consequence, since it may result in significant savings of materials and energy resources, assist recycling schemes and generate products with better properties. The present review aims at identifying and discussing the most important characteristics of polymer processing optimization problems in terms of the nature of the objective function, optimization algorithm, and process modelling approach that is used to evaluate the solutions and the parameters to optimize. Taking into account the research efforts developed so far, it is shown that several optimization methodologies can be applied to polymer processing with good results, without demanding important computational requirements. Also, within the field of artificial intelligence, several approaches can be reach significant success. The first part of this review demonstrated the advantages of the optimization approach in polymer processing, discussed some concepts on multi-objective optimization and reported the application of optimization methodologies in single and twin screw extruders, extrusion dies and calibrators. This second part focus on injection molding, blow molding and thermoforming technologies.
Chemistry and Materials Science, Polymers and Plastics
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
