Mechanical properties and melting conditions of beeswax for comb foundation forming

Abstract

The melting conditions and the mechanical properties of beeswax after melting process were investigated in this
study. The study variables of melting process were hot water temperature, propeller speed and time. The empirical model of
beeswax melting efficiency was then established. The melting conditions were optimized based on the melting efficiency
and color of beeswax and were found at the hot water temperature in range of 98°C -100°C, propeller speed in range of 40-90
r/min and time in range of 12-15 min. The beeswax was solidified at the different cooling rates. The compression tests
were performed at condition of 60% strain to characterize the mechanical behavior of beeswax. The constitutive equation
for hyperelastic material was employed for beeswax. The two forms of the constitutive equation showed a better fit to the
experimental data and the optimized material parameters were obtained. The rolling beeswax sheets were simulated under
the different conditions of pressure angle, velocity and friction coefficient in order to determine the effect of the variables on
the mechanical properties of beeswax sheet. The stress and deformation distributions across the beeswax sheet including the
forces acting on the contact interfaces were examined. The pressure angle was found to be the most effective variable on the
stress distribution. The maximum pressure angle of 11° was found to provide the non-defect beeswax sheet. This present
model for beeswax sheet rolling provides the understanding of the stress and deformation distributions and has been utilized
to design the rolling for comb foundation forming.