Two-phase modeling of thermal frontal polymerization and numerical analysis of fluid-motion effects
(2026) Chemical Engineering Science — Vol. 333, p. 124212 (2026)
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- Abstract
- Thermal frontal polymerization is a process that converts a liquid monomer solution into a solid polymer through the propagation of a reaction front. This process has gained interest as a fast, energy-efficient method for composite manufacturing. However, it is susceptible to thermoconvective and chemical instabilities that can degrade product quality or even extinguish the entire process. Further, most existing models do not account for fluid convection, which can have an impact on the front dynamics. In this paper, we develop a thermo-mechanical two-phase flow model based on a mixture-theoretic formalism, according to which the liquid reactants and solid polymer are treated as two interacting thermodynamic continua. The model provides a flexible framework for describing reactive solid-fluid systems with both homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions, and explicitly accounts for fluid convection, chemical kinetics, and the exchanges of mass, momentum, and energy between the phases. We also present an algorithm for the numerical treatment of the model, along with validation tests and a numerical study of both stable and unstable front cases. According to our findings, fluid motion does not affect substantially the average front speed but has a noticeable impact on the monomer conversion hence the final composition of the product.
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Faragalla, M., & Papalexandris, M. (2026). Two-phase modeling of thermal frontal polymerization and numerical analysis of fluid-motion effects. Chemical Engineering Science, 333, 124212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2026.124212 (Original work published 2026)