Cellular automata simulation of resin flow through a fiber reinforcement.

摘要

This research investigated the modeling of resin flow through a porous fiber reinforcement (i.e., liquid composite mold flow) through use of lattice gas techniques. The lattice gas technique is a discrete multicellular model utilizing simple conservation-based kinetics to simulate fluid flow and other natural phenomena. Large scale lattice gas simulation of resin flow through a fabric layup was conducted as a first step to develop alternative methods to calculate the overall saturated permeability tensor of engineering materials used in liquid composite molding, as well as define fluid flow characteristics of the flow front progressing through the reinforcement. Test data for permeability and flow front data were developed to support analytical comparisons. In the process, current techniques were extended to facilitate flow front testing and develop characteristic flow data.