Pultrusion is a continuous process for manufacturing composite materials. The quality of a pultruded composite depends on various process control parameters and variables. One variable of particular interest is the fluid resin pressure rise in the tapered inlet region of the die. The pressure rise in the die inlet can have a significant impact on the quality of a pultruded product. An appreciable pressure rise can suppress void formation and enhance fiber "wet out." Darcy's law for flow in a porous media is used to model the fiber/resin system fo the pultrusion process. In this study, a model based on the finite volume method is developed to predict the pressure and velocity fields as a function of various process control parameters. These important process control parameters include pull speed, fiber volume fraction, resin viscosity, preform plate size, and the radius of curvature of the die inlet contour. These results can establish a foundation by which process control parameters are selected to obtain an appreciable pressure rise which will enhance the quality of the pultruded composite mateiral. The results also are applicable to die design.
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