FEM simulation of nonisothermal crystallization, 1 Crystallinity distribution on 2 D space

This work employs the relaxed Stefan model and Nakamura crystallization kinetics to describe the nonisothermal crystallization process of polymeric materials by finite element discretization method (FEM) simulation, giving the evolution of crystallinity distribution on 2 D space. Numerical results show that the final crystallinity and its distribution are mainly dependent on the cooling rate. Crystallinity decreases with increasing cooling rate, but the influence is negligible as long as the cooling rate is below a critical value (ca. 30°C·min–1 for poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)). If the cooling rate is higher than this critical one, crystallinity drops sharply. It is also concluded that the crystallization behavior of polymeric samples in a mild cooling medium is quite different from that in a strong cooling medium. In the first case (for example, in silicon oil), crystallinity of the article is relatively high and its distribution is fairly uniform. During the initial short period, the crystallinity on the surface is higher than that on the inside. Crystallinity increases slowly with time, and finally, the crystallinity of the internal part exceeds the crystallinity on the surface. In the second case (for instance, in water), crystallinity is relatively low, and there is a serious gradient of crystallinity. The crystallinity on the surface reaches a very low equilibrium value in a short time and changes little afterwards. Although the crystallinity of the inside part can be improved by changing the shape of the polymeric article, the crystallinity on the surface essentially remains constant, which leads to a significant gradient. Geometrical shape and dimension of the article are also important to the crystallinity and its distribution, and the ratio of surface area to volume can be used as a rough index to estimate the shape/dimension influence on crystallinity. Except the coefficient of thermal conductivity, physical parameters of the polymeric material and kinetic parameters of crystallization show only weak effects compared to cooling conditions.