Investigation of Resin Flow Behavior in Resin Transfer Molding of Composites with Fiber Mats

摘要

A control volume technique based on the finite difference method is used to model the flow behavior in resin transfer molding (RTM) of composite structures. The transient time terms are considered, and the concept of the fraction volume of fluid (VOF) is applied in order to accurately describe the behavior of the free boundary at the interface between the two fluids involved in the process, the resin and the air. Resin flow through fiber mats was modeled as a two-phase flow through porous media. Flow experiments in the molds were performed to investigate resin flow behavior. EPON 826 epoxy resin was used in the mold filling experiments. The reinforcements consisted of several layers of woven fiberglass mats. The effects of injection pressure, and mold geometry on mold filling times and pressure distributions inside the mold were investigated. The numerical results agreed well with the experimental observations.