The role of drapability of fiber preforms in resin transfer molding
- Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States)
Application of woven fiber mats in fabricating preforms for resin transfer molding (RTM) is a highly viable means of manufacturing affordable composites. Such light weight composites, having good mechanical properties, are being used in primary airframe structures in the aerospace industry. The success of RTM molded parts is largely determined by the filling process. Preform permeability plays an important role in the y physics of mold filling process. In general, the preform permeability is a function of the fiber tow and mat construction. Drape, in this paper, refers to the act of bringing a flat work piece into contact with an arbitrary tool surface. As a result, the draping of the woven mats tends to cause the mat to deform to the tool geometry. This effect has received little attention in the literature. This paper takes into account the role of durability of fiber mats in the manufacturing process. It has been shown that drape of mats causes the fiber orientation to change and the fiber volume fraction to be inhomogeneous. Results demonstrate the use of a geometry-based computation scheme in predicting the fiber volume fraction as well as the deformation. Permeability of the draped preform can be estimated through previously developed models and the influence on the flow of resin and processing parameters is also shown through a case study. It is found that the prediction of pressure inside the mold is no longer intuitive when the influence of draping is not negligible.
- OSTI ID:
- 89908
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9409291-; ISBN 1-56676-220-0; TRN: IM9536%%338
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 9. technical conference of the American Society for Composites, Newark, DE (United States), 20-22 Sep 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the American Society for Composites: Ninth technical conference; PB: 1319 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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