Simulation method for filling stage in liquid composite molding based on a two-phase flow volume of fluid model

Abstract

Liquid composite molding (LCM) is a process for manufacturing fiber-reinforced resin matrix composites. The chemical rheological properties of resin in the filling stage of LCM will produce a non-isothermal flow process that includes multi-field coupling of thermal field, flow field, and chemical field. During the filling stage, the resin is injected into a closed mold pre-laid with a fiber at a certain temperature and pressure to flow continuously and undergo a curing chemical reaction. The viscosity of resin changes constantly under the influence of temperature and the curing reaction, which affects the flow of resin. The simulation of this multi-field coupling filling stage in LCM can provide an effective reference for the design of process parameters. The simulation method of the filling stage in LCM is studied in this paper. The mathematical model of the filling stage is derived based on the air–resin two-phase flow volume of the fluid model. Based on the secondary development of the ANSYS FLUENT software, the mathematical model is solved to realize the simulation. The parameters of an alkali-free glass fiber plain weave fabric are measured and the calculation model of thermosetting resin viscosity is established by designed experiments, which are applied in simulation. The filling stage experiment of LCM is designed to verify the accuracy of simulation results. Meanwhile, by comparing with the traditional simulation method, it is found that the data error obtained by the simulation method in this paper is significantly reduced.