Impingement mixing in reaction injection molding

Impingement mixing is the unique feature of the reaction injection molding (RIM) process but mixheads are largely designed by trial and error. To visualize the impingement process we have taken high speed photographs. To characterize mixing quality we have followed adiabatic temperature rise of mixtures, varying Reynolds number, mixhead geometry and the reaction rate. These results are examined in terms of a simplified model which includes both fluid mechanical and polymerization aspects of the problem.