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HyperWorks Empowers Global Appliance Manufacturer to Utilize New Material for Enhanced, Cost-Effective Product
Technology Category
- Sensors - Environmental Sensors
- Sensors - Temperature Sensors
Applicable Industries
- Electronics
- Life Sciences
Applicable Functions
- Product Research & Development
Use Cases
- Virtual Prototyping & Product Testing
- Virtual Reality
The Challenge
Suzhou Samsung Electronics Co., a Korean-Chinese joint venture that develops and produces major home appliances, was facing a challenge with its refrigerator door covers. The company was considering changing the composition of its refrigerator door covers for certain models to reduce costs. Traditionally, ABS engineering plastic was used to create the upper and lower door covers. However, for cost control, the company sought to use high-impact polystyrene, or HIPS, instead of ABS for the injection-molded covers. Unfortunately, during physical reliability testing, the HIPS covers cracked during the temperature cycling process. The cracking was observed in the middle of the door cover’s top surface, beginning at the front edge of the door cover. The engineers at Suzhou Samsung performed an analysis of the material, structure, and injection-molding process to identify the cause of the cracking. They found that the change in material was one factor contributing to the cracking issue.
About The Customer
The customer in this case study is Suzhou Samsung Electronics Co., a Korean-Chinese joint venture that develops and produces major home appliances, including refrigerators and washing machines. The company is constantly seeking ways to lead the competition by reducing the volume of material in its products without sacrificing top-rate performance. For cost control, the company was considering changing the composition of its refrigerator door covers for certain models from ABS engineering plastic to high-impact polystyrene, or HIPS. However, during physical reliability testing, the HIPS covers exhibited cracking, leading the company to seek a solution to this issue.
The Solution
To analyze the stress on the door cover during thermal expansion and contraction, the engineers used HyperMesh and RADIOSS, both part of Altair’s HyperWorks suite of computer-aided engineering tools. These tools allowed the engineers to create a computerized simulation of the refrigerator door cover temperature field. The simulation was separated into two conditions: a drop from room temperature to low temperature and an increase from room temperature to high temperature. The simulation analysis showed that the fracture stemmed from contraction during the low-temperature cycle. After changing the material from ABS to HIPS, the safety coefficient declined and the maximum deformation increased. The engineers then evaluated ways to prevent the cracking, beginning with increasing the thickness of the door cover’s top surface and adding stiffeners in the form of vertical and horizontal ribs. The second proposal, which extended the rib length and height, proved to increase the door cover safety coefficient to 2.0, which was equal to that of ABS material.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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