An elegant procedure is proposed for obtaining components of the orthotropic or anisotropic in‐plane permeability tensor from experimental data on flow front position and time. A radial flow geometry allows the shape of the advancing flow front to be dictated by the in‐plane permeability of the fabric media. The directional permeabilities in the fabric plane are directly calculated from fluid and fabric properties together with data from the mold filling experiment (resin injection pressure and flow front position with time). The simplicity of the apparatus and proposed analytical procedure permit easy testing and comparison of different types of fibrous media.
Fiber preform permeability has a strong influence on the resin impregna tion behavior during polymer composites fabrication. A straightforward procedure has been developed for determining the general anisotropic in-plane permeability character of fiber preforms from constant flow rate mold filling experiments. The procedure is based on the application of Darcy's law to a two-dimensional in-plane flow situation. From ex perimental data on changes in flow front position and inlet pressure with mold filling time, the components of the in-plane permeability tensor can be calculated directly using param eters obtained from two linear plots. Experimental data for a commercial fabric confirms the applicability of the procedure. The required equipment setup and the analytical proce dure are both uncomplicated in nature. The proposed method provides a simple solution to the measurement of permeability and comparison of different preforms for polymer composites application.
A model has developed for simulating isothermal mold filling during resin transfer molding (RTM) of polymeric composites. The model takes into account the anisotropic nature of the fibrous reinforcement and change in viscosity of the polymer resin as a result of chemical reaction. The flow of impregnating resin through the fibrous network is described in terms of Darcy's law. The differential equations in the model are solved numerically using the finite element technique. The Galerkin finite element method is used for obtaining the pressure distribution. A characteristics based method is used to solve the non-linear hyperbolic mass balance equation. The finite element formulation facilitates computations involving the motion of the polymer resin front characterized by a free surface flow phenomenon.
31, No. 15
A model has been developed for analyzing resin impregnation of fiber tows during resin transfer molding of bi‐directional nonwoven fiber performs. The model is based on the existence of two main regions of resin flow: the macropore space formed among fiber tows and the micropore space formed among individual fiber filaments within a tow. The large difference in permeability between these two regions of flow leads to the potential for void formation during resin transfer molding. The model was formulated for both constant flow rate and constant pressure mold filling. For ambient pressure mold filling, the model predicts a difference in the size of the voids and distribution between axial tows (oriented along the flow direction) and transverse tows (oriented in the transverse direction). When vacuum is imposed on the mold, the model predicts the same resin impregnation behavior for both axial and transverse tows. Furthermore, given sufficient time, voids generated under vacuum mold filling will eventually collapse because of the absence of an opposing internal void pressure. In addition to insights on void formation, the model also provides a basis for the study of the relationship between resin transfer molding parameters and the resin impregnation process.
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