Abstract
Abstract The accurate characterization of fabrics used in vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is essential in order to model the flow through these porous preforms. A wide range of these fabrics are available for composite manufacturing through VARTM and thus brings about a need to opt a methodology which characterizes the in-plane permeability of these preforms. These permeability values can then be used in simulations that can track the flow front progression and mold filling time. This work identifies the permeability of an E-glass fabric based on Darcy's law. Woven fabric having areal weight of 200 grams per square meter (gsm) is under consideration. The experiments are conducted at constant pressure conditions using 2D Radial flow method. Stereo microscopy of the preform material is done for detailed study of the weaving pattern. It is concluded that plain woven fabric exhibits anisotropic behavior when tested for in-plane permeability. Permeability is found to be higher in a direction which offers more interspacing between adjacent fibers threads causing more resin to flow in this direction.
Highlights
Preform permeability has always been a key issue in infusion processes and in flow modeling
The accurate characterization of fabrics used in vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is essential in order to model the flow through these porous preforms
This paper presents the in-plane permeability of a biaxial woven fabric by extensively utilized 2D radial flow method
Summary
Preform permeability has always been a key issue in infusion processes and in flow modeling. The basic idea was to introduce a series of graphical checks of data i.e. plotting the development of flow front in x and y directions with the aid of high resolution digital pictures captured by a video camera Another important parameter in VARTM processes is the infusion arrangement which has a significant impact especially on mold filling time. The advances in numerical methodology were reported where a FE model was found to be very efficient in modeling the permeability of different fiber volume fractions for various textile architectures in both warp and weft directions Simulations using this model could be done much faster with no computer limitations and in most cases, the results are in good agreement with the experimentally measured permeability values. These plots and the process parameters such as porosity, resin viscosity and the pressure gradient are used to evaluate the final permeability of the preform
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