Approximate numerical method for prediction of temperature distribution in flow through narrow gaps containing porous media

Abstract

The paper examines an approximate solution to the problem of temperature distribution in the flow through a narrow gap filled with porous medium. This problem is relevant for composite material manufacturing processes, such as the resin transfer molding and its derivatives. In such processes, cold resin is sometimes injected into a closed heated cavity containing a network of stationary fibers. The cavity can be long and wide, but it is usually only a few millimeters thick. The approximate solution is based on an estimated through-the thickness temperature profile that allows one to reduce the complexity from fully three-dimensional to two-dimensional and significantly improve the computational efficiency. The implementation of this solution within an existing simulation code for non-isothermal filling of closed mold is briefly described. Finally, several examples are presented to illustrate the accuracy of the proposed method to predict the midplane temperature of the resin as it impregnates the preform to fill the mold cavity.