Paper number 865

ANALYSIS OF THE COMPACTION CYCLE IN THE VACUUM INFUSION MOLDING PROCESS

A. Hammami¹, B.R.Gebart² and P. Nilsson³

1Department of Mechanical Engineering, United Arab Emirates University
P.O.Box 17555, Al Ain, U.A.E
2Division of Fluid Mechanics, Lulea University of Technology
SE-971 87, Sweden
3Swedish Institute of Composites, P.O.Box 271, SE-941 26 Sweden

Summary

The compaction behavior of dry reinforcements has been the subject of much previous research work. However the research was mainly carried out for the Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) process where the compaction pressure goes up to 1 MPa, and higher compaction rates are involved. In the vacuum infusion molding process, the available compaction pressure never exceeds 1 bar. Accordingly, the analytical compaction models derived for the resin transfer molding process will not reflect the actual behavior of the material. It is known that the process is cost effective for the production of large structures. Normally for these structures, the infusion time is relatively long, which may affect the compressive response of the reinforcement. In their quest for reducing the infusion time, manufacturers have developed high permeable layers, which also affect the compressive response of the whole stack.

Keywords

wet / dry compaction, reinforcement relaxation, high permeable layer, vacuum infusion molding process, resin transfer molding process.