Abstract
This paper considers a new approach to the modeling of the vacuum infusion process at the manufacturing of three-dimensional composite parts of complex shape. The developed approach and numerical methods focus on reliable prediction with needed accuracy and elimination of the unrecoverable defect of composite structure such as the dry spots. The paper presents some experimental results, which demonstrate two cases of dry spot formation in large aircraft composite panels, and analyzes the reasons for these defects arising. Our numerical technique is based on the vacuum infusion of the liquid resin into porous preform as the two-phase flow, which is described by the phase field equation coupled with the Richards equation describing the fluid motion in unsaturated soils with spatially varied pressure dependent porosity and saturation. This problem statement allowed correctly reconstructing the resin front motion and formation of inner and outer dry spots depending on its movement. For the rapid detection of preform zones that are suspicious for defect formation, two indicators calculated during process simulation are proposed and tested at the numerical experiments. The auxiliary program tool has been developed in the MATLAB environment to correctly detect the times of formation, localization and dimensions of the arising dry spots by using the results of the finite element model simulation.
Highlights
Vacuum-assisted composite fabrication processes are widely used for producing large components with good quality, and widely applied in many industries due to being low cost, time-consuming, simplicity of the required equipment and better ecology conditions at the manufacturing
The system modeling was implemented in Comsol Multiphysics environment, where the phase field in Equations (6) and (7), which are built-in simulation modes, were accepted as a ruling equation coupled with the modified Richards equation (Equation (14)), which was built in the coefficient form partial differential equations (PDE) mode
The main purpose of the developed andtechnological numerical methods presented in this article conditions, and for a detailed analysis ofapproach the optimized solution that can be obtained are intended to model and followed optimization the infusion vacuumprocess infusion process quality, especially using the above discussed
Summary
Vacuum-assisted composite fabrication processes are widely used for producing large components with good quality, and widely applied in many industries due to being low cost, time-consuming, simplicity of the required equipment and better ecology conditions at the manufacturing. Despite the extremely great attention of specialists and scientists, which was manifested in the large number of patents and publications issued, in the development of its various kinds [6], the wide industrial use of the process is constrained by its lack of reliability in terms of quality assurance and the absence of irreparable defects, especially in the manufacture of the critical load-carrying composite structures
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
