Co-Injection Resin Transfer Molding for Optimization of Integral Armor

摘要

To address the cost and performance barriers which hinder the introduction of composite materials for combat ground vehicle applications, Co-Injection Resin Transfer Molding (CIRTM) and Diffusion Enhanced Adhesion (DEA) have been recently invented and developed at the Army Research Laboratory and the University of Delaware. When applied in tandem, these two composite processing technologies enable the manufacture of lightweight composite/ceramic integral armor offering significant cost-reduction and performance enhancement over existing defense industry practices. CIRTM was invented and developed for single-step manufacturing of integral armor by enabling simultaneous injection of multiple resins into multi-layer preform. This paper introduces the CIRTM process and describes in detail the DEA approach for separation of the layers. A guide to materials selection is presented, practical examples of the process are discussed, and mechanical performance data is reviewed.