VARI制备高长径比复合材料的树脂流动研究

对VARI制备高长径比复合材料过程中的树脂流动行为进行模拟与实验研究,利用PAM-RTM软件模拟树脂流动过程,讨论了各工艺参数对树脂流动的影响,并通过实验测试对模拟结果进行了验证与比较。研究表明,纤维增强体孔隙率越大、注射压力越大和树脂粘度越低,树脂的填充速度越快。在模具直径φ4 mm、注射压力0.3 MPa、树脂粘度≤0.9Pa˙s和纤维体积分数≤60%的情况下,可以实现较长试件的快速注射,所需注胶时间最高不超过2 h。     

三维织物厚度方向渗透率研究

复合材料的液体成型特点是树脂需在复杂结构纤维预制体中流经较长的距离,故探讨树脂在纤维织物中的流动行为尤为重要。研究了三维织物厚度、纤维细度以及纤维体积分数对类树脂液体在厚度方向渗透行为的影响,并分析了相关的流动行为规律。研究结果表明:当织物厚度较小时,树脂的渗透率随织物厚度增加而迅速下降;当织物厚度达到阈值时,渗透率因织物中孔隙减少而趋于定值。当织物的纱线细度降低时,纤维束间孔隙增大,使纤维束形状和结构发生改变,故渗透率增大;当织物厚度方向的压缩量增加时,纤维束间孔隙减少,孔隙形状趋于扁平,流动通道减少,故渗透率降低。     

除湿时间对聚氨酯复合材料垂直纤维方向拉伸性能及断面形貌影响

采用不同的除湿时间制备聚氨酯复合材料,研究除湿时间对聚氨酯灌注工艺以及单向织物垂直纤维方向拉伸性能和断面形貌的影响。结果表明:随着除湿时间的延长,灌注时间逐渐缩短,除湿3 h以上发泡现象消失;随着除湿时间的延长,复合材料的性能明显提高,孔隙率明显下降。断面形貌结果表明:未除湿得到的复合材料纤维间存在较多的孔隙,树脂基体呈颗粒状填充,断口出现树脂基体脱落现象;随着除湿时间的延长,复合材料树脂基体填充严实,树脂与纤维的结合明显改善,断口出现纤维界面的脱离。     

纤维膜萃取分离器内两相流动、传质特性的研究——进料顺序的影响

纤维膜萃取分离器是一种新型高效传质设备。今以苯甲酸水溶液-煤油为传质体系,在一套70mm×2630mm的有机玻璃纤维液膜萃取分离器冷态实验装置上,在纤维丝填充密度1.89%～5.08%、水-油或油-水体积流量比分别为3～6的操作区间内,考察了不同油、水进料顺序对纤维膜分离器内两相流动、传质性能的影响。结果表明,若水先引入,油后引入,体积传质系数随水-油体积流量比W/O的增大而减小;而在先油后水的情况下,体积传质系数随水-油体积流量比W/O的增大呈先增大后减小的趋势,并在水-油流量比W/O为5附近取得最大值;在两种进料方式下,体积传质系数均随纤维丝填充密度的递增而先增后减,并在填充密度为3.0%～3.5%之间取得最大值。根据实验数据,分别给出了对应两种进料顺序的传质系数计算关联式,计算值与实验值吻合较好。     

导流介质对VARTM复合材料纤维分布及空隙率的影响

研究了导流介质尺寸对真空辅助树脂传递模塑(VARTM)工艺中树脂流动行为的影响,以及对复合材料制品中纤维分布和空隙率的影响。结果表明,随着导流介质尺寸的增加,树脂在增强体中的流动速度加快,并呈现指数加速趋势;制品中纤维体积含量呈现先减少后增大的趋势,并且以导流介质边界为纤维体积含量高低的分界线;复合材料制品的空隙率范围在3.86%~19.92%,空隙率呈现先增大后减小再加速增大的趋势。     

真空灌注成型工艺导流网和夹层结构沟槽设计的模拟研究

本文通过计算机模拟研究了真空灌注成型(VARTM)工艺中导流网宽度变化和夹层结构沟槽设计对充模过程的影响,模拟结果表明:树脂充填时间随着导流网宽度减少而增加;导流网宽度设置为600mm并采用增加脱模布在模具上的宽度的方式增加平面树脂流动时间从而使厚度方向上的树脂渗透更加充分;夹层结构中沟槽的设计有效提高了充模效率;随着沟槽的增加,夹层材料表层纤维面板充填时间先减少后增加,而底层纤维面板充填时间明显减少;上下表面均有沟槽的模型底层不同区域树脂填充时间差异很小,可以有效减少缺陷的产生。     

玻璃纤维毡增强聚丙烯在压缩模塑流动过程中的纤维分布

通过测定玻璃纤维毡增强聚丙烯经挤压流动后不同区域的纤维含量,研究了基体树脂,增强材料的结构与性质,坯料设计,模具温度及坯料的预热温度等对玻璃纤维毡增强聚丙烯在压缩模塑流动过程中纤维发布的影响。结果表明,适当提高基体的粘度及采用多层坯料叠层的坯料设计方法,有利于制品内纤维的均匀分布;针刺密度适当的连续针刺毡及由短切纤维组成的复合针刺毡与聚丙烯形成的复合材料（GMT0,在压缩模塑的流动过程中纤维分布的均匀性较好,随着针刺密度的增加,纤维分布的均匀性下降;用粘结剂粘结而成的连续原丝毡与聚丙烯复合得到的GMT材料,纤维分布的均匀性较差,经适当针刺以后,纤维分布的均匀性得到一定程度的改善,过低的模具温度及坯料预热温度,会引起材料充模流动能力下降,但模具温度及坯料预热温度过高时,流动前沿区域的树脂富集现象将加剧。     

玻璃钢游艇VARI工艺参数优化研究

以某玻璃钢游艇为对象,建立艇体三维实体模型和有限元模型,采用Darcy定律模拟树脂在多孔介质中的流动前沿。以缩短充模时间和降低生产成本为目标,优化得到最佳流道布置方案和注脂口间距,并通过填充试验验证了仿真结果的准确性,对玻璃钢游艇的实际生产具有指导意义。     

单胞法预测玻璃纤维平纹织物的渗透率

运用树脂在纤维束内和纤维束间的耦合流动模型,结合Darcy定律,建立平纹织物的单胞模型,模拟预测单胞Z方向的渗透率,并通过改变单胞厚度尺寸参数研究纤维体积分数与渗透率的关系。结果表明:单胞的渗透率随着纤维体积分数的增加而减小,模拟结果与Kozeny-Carman方程对比,二者偏差很小,且在纤维体积分数52.5%处重合,表明该计算方案是合理的。     

陶瓷纤维增强氧化硅气凝胶隔热复合材料的力学性能

将陶瓷纤维与氧化硅溶胶复合经超临界干燥得到陶瓷纤维增强氧化硅气凝胶隔热复合材料.研究了陶瓷纤维体积分数以及气凝胶密度对材料力学性能的影响,分析了纤维对气凝胶隔热复合材料的增强机制.结果表明:纤维与气凝胶复合后,气凝胶充分填充纤维之间的空隙,复合材料力学性能得到显著改善.气凝胶隔热复合材料的力学性能随纤维体积分数的增大先增后减,随气凝胶密度的增大则逐渐增大.当纤维体积分数为7.6%,气凝胶密度为0.202g/cm3时,材料抗拉强度、抗弯强度分别为1.44,1.31 MPa,抗压强度可达0.59MPa(10%形变)、1.28MPa(25%变).     

Physical and numerical modeling of mold filling in resin transfer molding

Finite element modeling and experimental investigation of mold filling in resin transfer molding (RTM) have been performed. Flow experiments in the molds were performed to investigate resin flow behavior into molds of rectangular and irregular shapes. Silicone fluids with viscosity of 50 and 100 centistoke as well as EPON 826 epoxy resin were used in the mold filling experiments. The reinforcements consisted of several layers of woven fiberglass and carbon fiber mats. The effects of injection pressure, fluid viscosity, type of reinforcement, and mold geometry on mold filling times were investigated. Fiber mat permeability was determined experimentally for the five-harness and eight-harness woven mats. Resin flow through fiber mats was modeled as flow through porous media. Pressure distributions inside both types of molds were also determined numerically. In the case of resin flow into rectangular molds, numerical results agreed well with experimental measurements. Comparison between the experimental and numerical results of the resin front position indicated the importance of edge effects in resin flow behavior in small cavities with larger boundary areas. Reducing the resistance to resin flow at the edge region in the numerical model allowed for good agreement between the numerical simulation and the physical observations of the resin front position and mold filling time.     

Reactive mold filling in resin transfer molding processes with edge effects

Reactive mold filling is one of the important stages in resin transfer molding processes, in which resin curing and edge effects are important characteristics. On the basis of previous work, volume‐averaging momentum equations involving viscous and inertia terms were adopted to describe the resin flow in fiber preform, and modified governing equations derived from the Navier–Stokes equations are introduced to describe the resin flow in the edge channel. A dual‐Arrhenius viscosity model is newly introduced to describe the chemorheological behavior of a modified bismaleimide resin. The influence of the curing reaction and processing parameters on the resin flow patterns was investigated. The results indicate that, under constant‐flow velocity conditions, the curing reaction caused an obvious increase in the injection pressure and its influencing degree was greater with increasing resin temperature or preform permeability. Both a small change in the resin viscosity and the alteration of the injection flow velocity hardly affected the resin flow front. However, the variation of the preform permeability caused an obvious shape change in the resin flow front. The simulated results were in agreement with the experimental results. This study was helpful for optimizing the reactive mold‐filling conditions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Measurement of effective permeability of reinforcement mats using sensitivity analysis

A methodology using sensitivity analysis is proposed to measure the effective permeability which includes the interaction of the resin and the reinforcement. Initially, mold‐filling experiments were performed at isothermal conditions on the test specimen and the positions of the flow front were tracked with time using a flow visualization method. Following this, mold‐filling experiments were simulated using a commercial software to obtain the positions of the flow front with time at the process conditions used for experiments. Several iterations were performed using different trial values of the permeability until the experimentally tracked and simulated positions of the flow front with time were matched. Finally, the value of the permeability thus obtained was validated by comparing the positions obtained by performing the experiments at different process conditions with the positions obtained by simulating the experiments. In this study, woven roving and chopped strand mats of E‐class glass fiber and unsaturated polyester resin were used for the experiments. From the results, it was found that the measured permeabilities were consistent with varying process conditions. POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Sensitivity analysis on resin transfer molding processes with edge effect and curing reaction characteristics

The mold filling time and resin flow front shape are of fundamental importance during resin transfer molding (RTM) processes, because the former influences productivity and the latter affects composites quality. In this article, considering both edge effect and curing reaction characteristics of the resin flow process, the sensitivity analysis method is introduced to investigate the sensitive degree of mold filling time and resin flow front shape to the key material and processing parameters. The function employed to describe the resin flow front shape is defined, and the mathematical relationships of the key physical parameters, such as fluid pressure sensitivity, flow velocity sensitivity, mold filling time sensitivity, and resin flow front shape sensitivity, are established simultaneously. In addition, then the resin infiltration process is simulated by means of a semi‐implicit iterative calculation method and the finite volume method. The simulated results are in agreement with the analytical ones. The results show that under constant injection velocity conditions, both the change in the resin temperature and the alteration of the inlet velocity hardly affect the resin flow front shape, whereas the influence of edge permeability on the resin flow front shape is the greatest. This study is helpful for designing and optimizing RTM processes. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:2008–2016, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineer     

Random discontinuous carbon fiber preforms: Experimental permeability characterization and local modeling

Injection experiments indicate that for random discontinuous carbon fiber preforms, increasingly uneven flow fronts develop with increasing fiber bundle length and filament count. While at high propensity for fiber bundle splitting, the preform permeability increases continuously with increasing fiber length, no trend can be identified at low propensity. No clear influence of the virgin bundle filament count on the preform permeability was observed. Types of sizing used on the fibers and bundle cross‐sectional shapes may vary and affect the intrinsic filamentization behavior, thus dominating the preform permeability. In a model for local preform permeability, interbundle voids, distributed randomly across the preform thickness, are approximated via a regular void structure. Simulated filling patterns are qualitatively similar to those observed experimentally, showing more pronounced features than those derived from a model based on local through‐thickness homogenization of the filament distribution. A model based on an alternating arrangement of fiber bundles and voids allows prediction of global preform permeability values from series of injection simulations, showing quantitatively better agreement with corresponding experimental results than the homogenization model. For global permeability, agreement between simulated and experimental mean values improves with increasing fiber volume fraction, whereas calculated coefficients of variation show no strong dependence on the fiber volume fraction. POLYM. COMPOS., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

In‐plane anisotropic permeability characterization of deformed woven fabrics by unidirectional injection. Part I: Experimental results

Because of the increasing use of polymer composites in a wide variety of industrial applications, the manufacturing of complex composite parts has become an important research topic. When a part is manufactured by liquid composite molding (LCM), the reinforcement undergoes a certain amount of deformation after closure and sealing of the mold. In the case of bidirectional woven fabrics, this deformation may significantly affect the resin flow and mold filling because of changes in the values of permeability. Among other considerations that govern the accuracy of numerical simulations of mold filling, it is important to predict the changes of permeability as a function of the local shearing angle of the preform. The resin flow through a fibrous reinforcement is governed by Darcy's law, which states that the fluid flow rate is proportional to the pressure gradient. The shape of the flow front in a point‐wise injection through an anisotropic preform is an ellipse. Part I of this article describes a new methodology based on the ellipse equation to derive the in‐plane permeability tensor from unidirectional injection experiments in deformed woven fabrics. Part II presents a mathematical model that predicts the principal permeabilities and their orientation for sheared fabrics from the permeability characterization of unsheared fabrics. Unidirectional flow experiments were conducted for a nonstitched, balanced, woven fabric for different shearing angles and fiber volume fractions. This article presents experimental results for deformed and undeformed fabrics obtained by unidirectional flow measurements. A comparison of the proposed characterization methodology with radial flow experiments is also included. POLYM. COMPOS. 28:797–811, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Analysis of resin transfer/compression molding process

Resin transfer/compression molding (RT/CM) is a two-step process in which resin injection is followed by mold closing. This process can enhance the resin flow speed and the fiber volume fraction, as well as reducing the mold filling time. In this study, a simulation program for the mold filling process during RT/CM was developed using the modified control volume finite element method (CVFEM) along with the fixed grid method. The developed numerical code can predict the resin flow, temperature, pressure, and degree of cure distribution during RT/CM. The compression force required for squeezing the impregnated preform can also be calculated. Experiments were performed for a complicated three-dimensional shell to verify the feasibility of the RT/CM process and the numerical scheme. The compression force and the compression speed were measured. A close agreement was found between the experimental data and the numerical results. The resin front location obtained from a short shot experiment was compared with the numerical prediction. Again, a close agreement was observed. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the numerical code, simulations were performed for more complicated process conditions with anisotropic permeability of the preform at higher fiber volume fractions.     

Edge effect in RTM processes under constant pressure injection conditions

In resin transfer molding processes, the edge effect caused by the nonuniformity of permeability between fiber preform and edge channel may disrupt resin flow patterns and often results in the incomplete wetting of fiber preform, the formation of dry spots, and other defects in final composite materials. So a numerical simulation algorithm is developed to analyze the complex mold‐filling process with edge effect. The newly modified governing equations involving the effect of mold cavity thickness on flow patterns and the volume‐averaging momentum equations containing viscous and inertia terms are adopted to describe the fluid flow in the edge area and in the fiber preform, respectively. The volume of fluid (VOF) method is applied to tracking the free interface between the two types of fluids, namely the resin and the air. Under constant pressure injection conditions, the effects of transverse permeability, edge channel width, and mold cavity thickness on flow patterns are analyzed. The results demonstrate that the transverse flow is not only affected by the transverse permeability and the edge channel width but also by the mold cavity thickness. The simulated results are in agreement with the experimental results. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Online estimation and monitoring of local permeability in resin transfer molding

Resin transfer molding (RTM) is a popular manufacturing method of composite materials, which have been widely used in many areas including aeronautic, automotive industries, etc. In RTM, permeability of fiber reinforcement varies with its geometric formation and affects the property of resin flow, which influences the final product quality. Therefore, effective estimation of permeability is crucial to achieving good process control and satisfactory quality product. In this article, a method of online estimating and monitoring local permeability is proposed. It can deal with variation in local permeability within preform caused by irregular arrangement of fibers among different regions. This study is divided into three stages. In the first stage, flow visualization was realized and all hardware was integrated to acquire real‐time information in resin filling period. In the second stage, local pressure and flow front location were substituted into the Darcy's law, thus making online calculation of local permeability feasible. Then, in the third stage, the statistical process control charting technique was adopted to identify the changes in permeability. The proposed methods were used in trial RTM tests to compare their results to those from the reference method and to confirm their effectiveness. POLYM. COMPOS. 37:1249–1258, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Model resin permeation of fiber reinforcements after shear deformation

In liquid composite molding processes such as resin transfer molding and structural reaction injection molding, fiber reinforcements are formed with automated processes to conform to the complex shape of the mold cavity. Deformation of the fiber reinforcement during the forming operation can be characterized by factors such as the local surface curvature of the mold and the type of reinforcement. For bidirectional fiber fabrics, simple shear is the major deformation mode in the forming process. Deformation of the fiber reinforcement after being formed to the mold cavity shape results in variations of local fiber content. In addition, the network structure of the fiber reinforcement is also rearranged. This may cause some significant effects on the fiber permeability and result in a mold filling pattern quite different from that expected. Therefore, a good understanding and measurement of the permeabilities for the deformed fiber reinforcements is of great importance. In the flow simulation of the filling process, the success of the prediction depends greatly on the correct values of in-plane permeabilities. A change of the in-plane permeability of the fabric after shear deformation must be well understood before an accurate flow simulation can be obtained. This article investigates the permeability of fiber reinforcements in relation to different shear angles. Several flow experiments were conducted on bidirectional woven roving fabrics at different shear angles. Two relevant factors—the ratio of principal permeabilities and the direction of principal axes with respect to the orientation of the fabric—are studied to investigate their variations with respect to shear deformation of the fiber reinforcements. It is found that the angle shift of the principal axes increases with the shear angle. At the same time, the in-plane permeability ration may decrease with the shear angle.