Modeling and Simulation
Virtual discovery that speeds time to market
Bring better-designed, better-performing products to market faster with NOVA Chemicals modeling and simulation tools. Our proprietary BONFIRE® Film Development Platform and our closures simulation capabilities and advanced material models help narrow the material and design options for a new application before ever running physical trials.
BONFIRE® Film Development Platform
A proprietary suite of tools for designing and improving complex multilayer films
Today’s flexible packaging must meet a variety of demanding performance, sustainability, aesthetic and cost requirements. Designing multilayer films that meet these specifications can be a challenge, often requiring an extensive amount of line time for trials. The BONFIRE film development platform, a robust set of online tools, helps designers find the most promising resins and structures to meet specific requirements, reducing the number of physical trials needed.
The BONFIRE platform includes a range of modules:
Multilayer Property Predictor (MPP)
Coex Structure Builder
Create, save, and compare predicted properties of coextruded multilayer structures.
Laminations Builder NEW
Obtain predicted properties for a primary and secondary web lamination using common stock films or your own saved structures.
Heat Transfer
Learn how heating and cooling times can affect sealing and other converting processes.
Permeability
Predict oxygen and moisture barrier performance based on relative humidity effects.
Profitability
Estimate achievable profit for a film based on component and manufacturing costs and selling price.
Coex Layer Rheology
Predict how the resins in your structure will flow in a multilayer film die under specific conditions.
Calculators
Blends
Predict the properties of a multicomponent layer of a structure.
Blown Film Process
Calculate and compare different blown film processing parameters.
Resin Information
Resin Comparison Guide
Explore resin and film properties to help you choose the right resins for your application.
Sealant Dashboard NEW
Compare standard seal and hot tack properties across resins and structures.
Molecular Architecture Dashboard NEW
Compare resins using characterization data.
Academy
Learn at Your Own Pace
Develop expertise in polyethylene and multilayer film topics including materials, processes, tests and more.
SEE IT IN ACTION
The BONFIRE® Platform At Work
Stand-up pouches (SUPs) continue to be a fast-growing segment of the packaging market. When we identified an opportunity to create a recyclable alternative to mixed-material SUPs, the BONFIRE platform helped to quickly move the idea from concept to testing.
In the past, all-polyethylene SUPs faced challenges protecting products like wine and cheeses from oxygen. With the help of the BONFIRE platform, we studied how to design a recyclable, polyethylene-based structure to keep the oxygen barrier intact for high-moisture foods to extend their shelf life in a recyclable film structure. BONFIRE helped us to understand and calculate the effects of moisture that may have been overlooked in physical testing. As a result, our customers can create thinner, recyclable SUPs that keep foods fresher longer and maintain all of the desired benefits of the SUP format.
Want to learn more about how BONFIRE can help you with packaging challenges?
Closure Modeling and Simulation
Accelerating customer success through simulation of closure production and end-use performance
The caps & closures industry continues to demand further lightweighting, faster production rates, recyclability and enhanced cap performance – but developing a new closure is a complex and time consuming process. Mitigate the inherent risks before steel is ever cut by exploring the influence of resin parameters and process conditions on part performance and real world failure modes. Our simulation capabilities and advanced material models help save our customers time and money by significantly streamlining the qualification process for new closures or resins.
For example, our capabilities can help customers evaluate resin options for a compression molded part versus an injection molded part for the same application. This comparison allows customers to determine the best resin for each production platform and optimize the processing conditions for each to obtain the best closure dimensional and physical performance. These criteria are key to preventing line shutdowns and post-processing issues in fast capping lines, as well as maximizing cap performance in service.
