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Thermomechanical analysis of liquid food packaging material in COMSOL Multiphysics

Carlson, Brendan LU (2025) In TFHF-5000 FHLM01 20242
Solid Mechanics
Department of Construction Sciences
Abstract
This report describes the implementation and evaluation of COMSOL Multiphysics’
ability to simulate the thermomechanical response of a package material. The project
was partitioned into three main parts. First, a quantitative assessment of COMSOL’s
accuracy in modeling the large strain elastoplastic response of paperboard was con-
ducted. Second, an evaluation was performed of COMSOL’s capability to model the
decohesion of paperboard and polymer laminate. Finally, a qualitative study explored
COMSOL’s ability to model physically plausible decohesion and thermal softening of
a packaging material laminate under excessive heating. In the first part, results from
simulations in ABAQUS were used as a benchmark for the COMSOL model’s... (More)
This report describes the implementation and evaluation of COMSOL Multiphysics’
ability to simulate the thermomechanical response of a package material. The project
was partitioned into three main parts. First, a quantitative assessment of COMSOL’s
accuracy in modeling the large strain elastoplastic response of paperboard was con-
ducted. Second, an evaluation was performed of COMSOL’s capability to model the
decohesion of paperboard and polymer laminate. Finally, a qualitative study explored
COMSOL’s ability to model physically plausible decohesion and thermal softening of
a packaging material laminate under excessive heating. In the first part, results from
simulations in ABAQUS were used as a benchmark for the COMSOL model’s perfor-
mance, which after some calibration performed with very high accuracy. This report
documents the mapping between the definitions of physical quantities in ABAQUS
and COMSOL, along with a Matlab script which automatically converts ABAQUS-
specified material data to a Java script which can be implemented as a COMSOL
method.
In modeling displacement-based decohesion between paperboard and a polymer la-
minate, 90° peel tests were conducted in ABAQUS with generic material property
values. These results were then used to calibrate a similar response in COMSOL. No
benchmark data was available in calibrating the thermomechanical response of the
decohesion between board and polymer laminate. Instead, the previously derived mo-
dels were used to study the effects of excessive pressure and heating on the adhesion
between plies in a package material. This report documents the procedure by which
decohesion can be simulated in a way that qualitatively corresponds to experimental
results, and the how it is affected by different material properties and boundary condi-
tions. Different combinations of material property values are presented, with physical
interpretations of their effects on the response of the laminate. (Less)
Popular Abstract (Swedish)
Denna uppsats beskriver simuleringen av ett f¨ orpackningsmaterials mekaniska bete-
ende under olika f¨ oruts¨ attningar. Specifikt har simuleringsmjukvaran COMSOL Mul-
tiphysics anv¨ ants f¨ or att simulera stora deformationer av kartong och temperaturbe-
roende delaminering mellan plastfilm och kartong. Syftet med detta arbete har varit
att unders¨ oka om COMSOL kan ˚aterskapa resultaten fr˚an mekaniska simuleringar i
det etablerade simuleringsverktyget ABAQUS f¨ or att validera dess precision.
COMSOL ¨ ar ett simuleringsverktyg som ¨ ar specialiserat f¨ or multifysik, d¨ ar inverkan
fr˚an bland annat elektriska, mekaniska och kemiska fenomen kan ber¨ aknas i en enad
modell. Om COMSOLs f¨ orm˚aga att simulera termomekaniska... (More)
Denna uppsats beskriver simuleringen av ett f¨ orpackningsmaterials mekaniska bete-
ende under olika f¨ oruts¨ attningar. Specifikt har simuleringsmjukvaran COMSOL Mul-
tiphysics anv¨ ants f¨ or att simulera stora deformationer av kartong och temperaturbe-
roende delaminering mellan plastfilm och kartong. Syftet med detta arbete har varit
att unders¨ oka om COMSOL kan ˚aterskapa resultaten fr˚an mekaniska simuleringar i
det etablerade simuleringsverktyget ABAQUS f¨ or att validera dess precision.
COMSOL ¨ ar ett simuleringsverktyg som ¨ ar specialiserat f¨ or multifysik, d¨ ar inverkan
fr˚an bland annat elektriska, mekaniska och kemiska fenomen kan ber¨ aknas i en enad
modell. Om COMSOLs f¨ orm˚aga att simulera termomekaniska problem kan bekr¨ aftas
kan befintliga COMSOL-modeller f¨ or till exempel fukttransport byggas ut, vilket kan
¨ oka f¨ orst˚aelsen f¨ or beteendet av mer komplexa fenomen i ett f¨ orpackningsmaterial.
De senare delarna av detta arbete unders¨ okt m¨ ojligheten att simulera ett fenomen
kallat blistering, d¨ ar den laminerade plastfilmen p˚a ett f¨ orpackningsmaterial bildar
bl˚asor”vid upphettning.
Resultaten fr˚an detta arbete ¨ ar i stort lovande; De presenterade COMSOL-modellerna
˚aterskapade resultaten fr˚an simuleringarna i ABAQUS med h¨ og precision. Denna rap-
port beskriver ¨ aven hur experimentell data och materialegenskapers definitioner kan
¨
overs
¨ attas fr˚an ABAQUS till COMSOL, med ett Matlab-skript som automerar denna
¨
overs
¨ attning. COMSOL kunde ¨ aven simulera delamineringen mellan plast och kar-
tong p˚a ett fysikaliskt rimligt s¨ att, d¨ ar plastfilmen kunde ses mjukna och lossa fr˚an
kartongen med stigande tryck och temperatur. F¨ or att implementera denna modell p˚a
ett verkligt f¨ orpackningsmaterial hade modellens materialegenskaper beh¨ ovt kalibre-
ras mot resultat fr˚an experimentella m¨ atningar. Om detta visas m¨ ojligt kan modellen
integreras i modeller f¨ or fukttransport i f¨ orpackningsmaterialet f¨ or att ˚aterskapa ¨
annu
mer av materialets beteende. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Carlson, Brendan LU
supervisor
organization
course
FHLM01 20242
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
COMSOL, Finite element analysis, package materials, thermomechanics, orthotropy, Hill, paperboard, blistering
publication/series
TFHF-5000
report number
TFHF-5264
language
English
id
9185227
date added to LUP
2025-02-25 14:29:57
date last changed
2025-06-10 07:59:32
@misc{9185227,
  abstract     = {{This report describes the implementation and evaluation of COMSOL Multiphysics’
ability to simulate the thermomechanical response of a package material. The project
was partitioned into three main parts. First, a quantitative assessment of COMSOL’s
accuracy in modeling the large strain elastoplastic response of paperboard was con-
ducted. Second, an evaluation was performed of COMSOL’s capability to model the
decohesion of paperboard and polymer laminate. Finally, a qualitative study explored
COMSOL’s ability to model physically plausible decohesion and thermal softening of
a packaging material laminate under excessive heating. In the first part, results from
simulations in ABAQUS were used as a benchmark for the COMSOL model’s perfor-
mance, which after some calibration performed with very high accuracy. This report
documents the mapping between the definitions of physical quantities in ABAQUS
and COMSOL, along with a Matlab script which automatically converts ABAQUS-
specified material data to a Java script which can be implemented as a COMSOL
method.
In modeling displacement-based decohesion between paperboard and a polymer la-
minate, 90° peel tests were conducted in ABAQUS with generic material property
values. These results were then used to calibrate a similar response in COMSOL. No
benchmark data was available in calibrating the thermomechanical response of the
decohesion between board and polymer laminate. Instead, the previously derived mo-
dels were used to study the effects of excessive pressure and heating on the adhesion
between plies in a package material. This report documents the procedure by which
decohesion can be simulated in a way that qualitatively corresponds to experimental
results, and the how it is affected by different material properties and boundary condi-
tions. Different combinations of material property values are presented, with physical
interpretations of their effects on the response of the laminate.}},
  author       = {{Carlson, Brendan}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{TFHF-5000}},
  title        = {{Thermomechanical analysis of liquid food packaging material in COMSOL Multiphysics}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}