Abstract
Resin transfer molding has been widely used in manufacture of aircraft and automotive parts. The most important reason is that it can make light, high- strength products. However, due to this process is inside the mold and complex fiber mats, it is very difficult to predict resin flow behavior. The traditional simulation tools use 2.5D model to analyze the filling behavior, which assumes the thickness direction of the flow has little effect on the results. These tools cannot be used in model complex geometry and complex mat layers. This paper presents a novel and integrated method to predict the resin transfer molding process. We establish a three-dimensional numerical simulation tool and experimental visualization system for observations the resin flow in the mold. We can observe the filling behavior of the resin transfer molding process through the simulation tool and the visualization system. By measuring the permeability of fiber mat as the input parameter for simulation, the study utilizes MoldexSD to analyze the resin filling behavior when there are clearances between the mold and fiber mats. It would cause the resin flow faster near the boundary region than central region of the mold. The simulation result is consistent with the result of experimental visualization. The comparison of slicing the melt front location shows that it is very important to consider effect in thickness direction when analyzing the complex geometry. It is expected that this paper could clarify relevant issues in prediction of resin transfer molding with multilayer fiber mat structure and induce more considerations for modeling the process.