注射条件对LCM工艺非饱和流动特性影响

双尺度多孔纤维预制体填充过程中延迟浸润的非饱和流动现象,对基于树脂流过区域为完全饱和区域的充模理论及模拟方法提出了挑战。通过控制体/有限单元（CV/FE）法结合沉浸函数实现了液体模塑成型工艺（LCM）中非饱和填充浸润的数值模拟,并对比了恒压下的实验结果,验证了其可靠性。分析讨论了注射口压力、流量和液体黏度对双尺度多孔纤维织物非饱和填充浸润特性的影响。结果表明:在允许误差内,该数值模拟结果可靠,可用于分析讨论各因素对双尺度多孔织物非饱和流动特性的影响;填充浸润过程中,纤维织物内部非饱和区域长度并非保持不变,而是随着填充浸润的进行经历了4个变化过程;不同注射条件下,压力、流量及黏度对非饱和流动特性影响不同。研究结果对合理控制注射条件及流体特性实现双尺度多孔纤维预制件的完全浸润具有指导意义。      

液体模塑成型工艺二维径向非饱和流动数值模拟

通过引入沉浸函数建立了双尺度多孔介质非饱和流动模型,并采用有限元/控制体积法实现了恒压及恒流注射条件下液体模塑成型（LCM）工艺二维径向非饱和流动的数值模拟,得到了不同注射条件下纤维织物内的压力场分布及半饱和区域长度随时间的变化规律,并将双尺度非饱和理论结果与单尺度饱和理论结果进行对比。结果表明：非饱和流动过程中,半饱和区域内的压力和压力梯度明显下降;半饱和区域长度随时间逐渐增加随后保持稳定,当流动前沿到达出口后半饱和区域长度开始逐渐减小;当两个主方向渗透率不同时,沿主方向半饱和区域长度也不同,渗透率越大该方向的半饱和区域长度也越大,纤维织物完全浸润时间取决于较小的渗透率。研究结果对合理预测树脂填充过程中压力分布及纤维预制件的浸润具有指导意义。     

基于“离位”增韧技术Z向注射RTM成型的浸润研究

针对"离位"增韧技术和Z-RTM成型技术,引入饱和度参数修正Darcy定律,建立描述树脂在纤维预制件中非稳态流动的偏微分方程,研究恒流注射过程中体积流量、树脂黏度和纤维预制件渗透率等工艺参数对非稳态浸润过程注入压力的影响,模拟树脂在层间未增韧和增韧纤维预制件束内和束间的流动。结果表明:数值模拟结果具有可靠性;随着注射时间的增加,纤维预制件内部各点的压力增加;随着体积流量、树脂黏度的增加,注入压力线性增加,而随着纤维渗透率的增加,注入压力减少,符合Darcy定律;实现了树脂在纤维预制件细微观层次浸润的可视化,这种可视化结果为预测树脂在预制件中的宏观流动提供了重要补充,并为实际工艺提供了一定指导作用。     

恒压下树脂在双尺度多孔介质中的流动特性

基于复合材料液态模塑(LCM)工艺过程中存在半饱和区域的实验现象以及对预制体双尺度效应的逐步认识, 一些学者提出用沉浸模型来研究双尺度多孔介质的不饱和流动。通过体积均匀化方法描述了双尺度多孔介质复合材料液态模塑工艺模型的特征, 得到含有沉浸项的双尺度多孔介质的质量守恒方程, 并采用有限元法对方程进行数值求解, 通过具体算例计算了考虑双尺度效应时恒压树脂注射下不同时段的压力分布状态, 得到树脂在填充过程中流动前沿半饱和区域从出现到消失的过程, 采用不同注射压力进行模拟并比较。结果表明, 与单尺度多孔介质模型不同, 双尺度多孔介质模型更能反映实际树脂填充过程中出现的半饱和区域现象。     

层间纳米纤维膜对玻纤预制体渗流特性的影响

为了研究层间纳米纤维膜对玻纤织物渗流特性的影响,使用超景深三维显微镜表征了纳米纤维含量对玻纤织物微观结构的影响,采用径向法测量了纳米纤维膜夹层玻纤织物预制体的渗透率,重点分析了纳米纤维含量对玻纤织物预制体渗流模式的影响。结果表明:玻璃纤维束间的毫米尺度区域被纳米纤维膜填充而离散成微米尺度区域;预制体孔隙率及渗透率值均随着纳米纤维含量的增加而减小;随着纳米纤维含量的增加,复合预制体表现出的各向异性程度逐渐减小;树脂宏观流动前沿内部分饱和区域面积比例随纳米纤维含量的增加而增大;相同纳米纤维含量预制体的部分饱和区域面积比例随注入时间的增加呈先增大后减小趋势。     

树脂传递模塑工艺中的非饱和流动过程模拟与实验研究

针对编织类纤维增强体的纤维束之间与纤维束内孔隙的双尺度特点,建立了平纹织物的细观结构模型,并推导了汇函数的数学表达式。建立了局部细观流动特征的非饱和流动控制方程,利用有限元/控制体积方法求解,得到了局部饱和度分布。与实验进行比较,吻合较好。      

风力发电机叶片用玻璃纤维织物的渗透率

通过改变纤维层数来改变纤维织物的孔隙率,采用一维饱和流动方法测量了风力发电叶片用玻璃纤维织物(WindstrandTM)三个方向(x、y和z)的饱和渗透率大小.考察了孔隙率、模具尺寸以及纤维方向(平行于和垂直于2％的纤维束两个方向)对其饱和渗透率的影响.结果表明:渗透率随孔隙率的降低而迅速降低；当孔隙率为34.6％～54.7％时,模具尺寸对y向饱和渗透率影响不大；改变2％的纤维束方向(由平行到垂直),当孔隙率为34.6％～54.7％时,对饱和渗透率有一定影响.当孔隙率为45％～55％时,玻璃纤维织物x和y方向的饱和渗透率约为z方向饱和渗透率的3～7倍.     

风力发电机叶片用玻璃纤维织物的渗透率

通过改变纤维层数来改变纤维织物的孔隙率, 采用一维饱和流动方法测量了风力发电叶片用玻璃纤维织物(Windstrand^TM)三个方向(x、y和z)的饱和渗透率大小。考察了孔隙率、模具尺寸以及纤维方向(平行于和垂直于2%的纤维束两个方向)对其饱和渗透率的影响。结果表明: 渗透率随孔隙率的降低而迅速降低; 当孔隙率为34.6%~54.7%时, 模具尺寸对y向饱和渗透率影响不大; 改变2%的纤维束方向(由平行到垂直), 当孔隙率为34.6%~54.7%时, 对饱和渗透率有一定影响。当孔隙率为45%~55%时, 玻璃纤维织物x和y方向的饱和渗透率约为z方向饱和渗透率的3~7倍。     

浸渍过程中树脂流体在纤维集合体内的流动行为

建立了浸渍过程中树脂基体在纤维集合体内流动的统计力学模型。将树脂流体的流动过程视为纤维/树脂系统降低能量达到平衡的过程,从微观角度研究树脂流体在纤维集合体内的流动行为。在建模中,不仅考虑了代表系统内能的Hamilton函数和界面张力及驱动流体的压力对系统所作的功,还考虑了流动过程中纤维集合体对流体的摩擦阻力所作的功,完整地反映了在流体的流动过程中系统能量的变化。模拟了水在聚酯纤维非织造织物内及不饱和聚酯树脂在玻纤机织布内的平面径向流动,并设计了相应的实验,以检验模型对不同流动性能流体和不同结构纤维集合体的适应情况。实验与模拟结果良好的一致性表明,所建立的模拟能正确地反映流体在纤维集合体内的流动特征。     

微管道中Cu-水纳米流体的流动特性(英文)

采用数值模拟和实验相结合的方法,对压力驱动下质量分数为1%的Cu-水纳米流体在直径分别为25μm和50μm且长度不同的微管道中的流动特性进行研究.实验过程中采用两步法制得稳定的纳米流体.研究结果表明,纳米流体的流量-压力特性基本呈线性关系,且流量随驱动压力的增大而增大,其流动特性符合单相流体的假设.但模拟结果与实验结果之间存在一定的差异,主要是由于基液中颗粒的团聚结构、纳米流体黏度的变化、尺度效应和边界滑移等因素造成的.     

Variations in unsaturated flow with flow direction in resin transfer molding: An experimental investigation

The dual-scale nature of fiber preforms due to the presence of large continuous gaps between fiber tows gives rise to the unsaturated flow in resin transfer molding (RTM) process which is characterized by a droop in the injection pressure history due to the delayed absorption of fiber tows (the ‘sink’ effect). In this study, we experimentally investigate the effect of change in flow direction on the unsaturated flow in three anisotropic dual-scale fiber mats. A series of 1-D mold-filling experiments involving a constant flow rate were conducted for a unidirectional woven fiber-mat, a biaxial stitched mat, and a triaxial stitched fiber-mat along with a reference single-scale random mat. In the case of the unidirectional mats, the droop in the inlet-pressure history, signifying the strength of the sink effect, is found to be strongest for flow along the micro-channels aligned with fiber tows. The droop, and hence the sink effect, is observed to weaken progressively for flow-directions at 45° and 90° to this principal direction. In the case of the biaxial and triaxial mats, the situation is more complex due to the multi-layer construction of such mats: maximum droop is found when mats are oriented at a 45° angle with respect to the fiber-mat coordinate, and it weakens in the 0° and 90° directions. The unsaturated flow effect is also quantified by measuring percentage deviation in the area under the experimental curve from that of the predicted curve. A clear correlation between the droop (through the percentage deviation) and the permeability along a flow direction in the unidirectional mats is observable, though such a relationship eludes the triaxial mat. The effect of unsaturated flow on liquid-front progress during the 1-D experiment was also studied. In contrast to the reference single-scale random mat where the observed front progress closely follow the prediction based on the single-scale physics, a small difference was observed between the observed and predicted front progress for the three dual-scale mats considered. However the difference was too small to yield any significant correlation with the flow direction.     

The Sink Term to Different Kinds of Fibrous Mat During the Unsaturated Filling Process

The fibrous pre-form of resin transfer molding is a dual-scale porous medium with two distinct scales of pores, i.e., pores in intra- and inter-tow, which produce an unsaturated infiltration phenomenon during filling. A sink term representing the delayed flow rate from the inter-tow gap into the intra-tow one is introduced to establish governing equations. This study mainly analyzes the sink term by tow saturation during the microscopic flow. First, fiber-tow permeability is calculated by FLOTRAN of ANSYS, Second, periodic unit cells are built according to different structures, and the concrete expression of the sink term is indirectly obtained through the numerical simulation and date fitting of tow saturation under different pressure and viscosity conditions. Results indicate that: the FLOTRAN module can be used to calculate the permeability of fiber tow in two directions; Moreover, the filling time and infiltration process for diverse unit cells with the same volume fraction are different; under the same injection condition, different unit cells have different parameters for the sink term.     

Modeling of heat transfer and unsaturated flow in woven fiber reinforcements during direct injection-pultrusion process of thermoplastic composites

This paper provides a methodology for the modeling of heat transfer and polymer flow during direct thermoplastic injection pultrusion process. Pultrusion was initially developed with thermosets which have low viscosity. But the impregnation becomes a critical point with thermoplastics which exhibit higher viscosity. There are very few reported works on direct thermoplastic impregnation with injection within the die. In addition, the rare studies have not adequately addressed the issue of unsaturated flow in woven fiber reinforcements. The solution proposed here, models the polymer flow through dual-scale porous media. A heat transfer model is coupled to a flow model enriched with a sink term. Specific changes of variables are made so as to model the steady state solution of unsaturation along a continuous process. The sink term, added to the continuity equation, represents the absorption rate of polymer by the bundles. Data were measured on a pultrusion line and micrographs confirmed the modeling strategy with an unsaturated flow approach. The flow modeling coupled to heat transfer of the thermoplastic pultrusion process aims at determining the saturation evolution through the die so as to manufacture pultruded profiles with the lowest residual porosity.     

Multiscale modeling of unsaturated flow in dual-scale fiber preforms of liquid composite molding I: Isothermal flows

Mold-filling simulation of unsaturated flows in LCM is important for optimizing mold design quickly and cost-effectively in the virtual space. For the first time, a true multiscale approach is developed for simulating the unsaturated flow under isothermal conditions in the dual-scale fiber-mats of RTM. To solve the coupled macro-micro equation-set, a coarse global mesh is used to solve the global flow equations over the entire domain while fine local meshes in form of the periodic unit-cells of fabrics are employed to solve the local tow-impregnation process. A multiscale algorithm based on hierarchical computational grids has been proposed to simulate the unsaturated flow in the dual-scale fiber mats under isothermal conditions. The predictions are compared with measurements for a 1-D flow experiment which indicates that the proposed approach can be used to simulate the unsaturated flow accurately through dual-scale fiber mats in LCM without the use of any fitting parameters.     

Multiscale modeling of unsaturated flow of dual-scale fiber preform in liquid composite molding II: Non-isothermal flows

A novel multiscale approach is developed for modeling non-isothermal flows under unsaturated conditions in the dual-scale fabrics of liquid composite molding (LCM). The flow and temperature governing equations at the global or gap or inter-tow (∼m) level and the local or intra-tow (∼mm) levels are based on a previous dual-scale volume averaging method. To solve the coupled equations at two length-scales, a coarse global mesh is used to solve the global flow over the entire domain, and a fine local mesh in form of the unit-cell of periodic fabrics is employed to solve the local tow-impregnation process. (The latter is used to compute sink terms required for solving the former.) A multiscale algorithm based on the hierarchical computational grids is then proposed to solve the dual-scale flow under non-isothermal (but non-reactive) conditions. To test the proposed multiscale model, we first carry out a validation study in which the temperature histories predicted by the multiscale method are compared with experimental data available in a publication for a simple 1-D flow. Despite the lack of information about various model parameters, a reasonably good comparison with the experimental results is achieved. Then, the non-isothermal flow through a simple 1-D flow domain is carried out and the predictions of the multiscale simulation are compared with those of a previously published two-layer model. The multiscale predictions are found to be very similar to the two-layer predictions. A significant difference between the gap and tow temperatures is observed. The ratio of pore volumes in the tow and gap regions, thermal conductivity of the tows, and fiber types are identified as the important parameters for temperature distributions in the gap and tow regions. A further comparison with the single-scale flow simulation highlights significant differences between the conventional single-scale and the proposed dual-scale modeling approaches.     

Modelling microscopic flow in woven fabric reinforcements and its application in dual-scale resin infusion modelling

A physical unit cell impregnation model is proposed for the micro-scale flow in plain woven reinforcements. The modelling results show a characteristic relationship between tow impregnation speed, the surrounding local macro-scale resin pressure and the tow saturation within the unit cell. This relationship has been formulated into a mathematical algorithm which can be directly incorporated into a continuum dual-scale model to predict the ‘sink’ term. The results using the dual-scale model show a sharp resin front in inter-tow-pore spaces and a partially saturated front region in intra-tow-pore spaces. This demonstrates that the impregnation of fibre tows lags behind the resin front in the macro pore spaces. The modelling results are in agreement with two reported experimental observations. It has been shown that the unsaturated region at the flow front could increase or have a fixed length under different circumstances. These differences are due to the variation in tow impregnation speed (or the time required for the tow to become fully impregnated), the weave architecture and the nesting and packing of plies. The modelling results have also demonstrated the drooping of the inlet pressure when flow is carried out under constant injection rates. The implementation of the algorithm into a dual-scale model shows coherence with a single-scale unsaturated model, but demonstrates an advantage in flexibility, precision and convenience in application.     

GM T 熔融浸渍中熔体在玻纤毡中的流动

通过改装毛细管流变仪建立了专门的实验装置, 研究高温高压下熔体在纤维床层中的流动行为。采用一维恒压流动实验分别测量了不饱和及饱和流动状况下玻纤毡厚度方向聚丙烯熔体的渗透率, 考察了玻纤毡空隙率、单丝直径、针刺等几何结构对渗透率的影响。根据实验结果进一步讨论了GM T 片材熔融浸渍过程中的气泡形成以及浸渍工艺参数的选择。