Abstract
We present simulations of the filling phase of injection molding of micro-featured components. This is a pressure-driven flow of a highly viscous, shear-thinning fluid (polymer melt) into a cavity with outer dimensions on the order of centimeters, but with micro-features (topography) on the order of micrometers on one cavity surface. The shear-thinning behavior of the polymer is modeled using the Cross-WLF model, and the flow front is tracked using a Volume of Fluid (VOF) method, solved using the CICSAM scheme. The simulations are preliminary investigations of the filling of a diffractive optical element, aiming at predicting the degree of replication of surface features (a grating) with a height around 1 μm.