Damage assessment of carbon-epoxy composites with and without resin flow channels

Thick-section composites (TSC) are extensively demanded in many fields, such as aerospace, wind energy, and oil and gas industries. However, the manufacturing process of thick-section thermoset composites (TSSC) encounters significant complexities, such as variations of nonuniform resin flow, exothermal reaction and curing, and dimensional stability through the thickness direction. These process-related nonuniformities are expected to result in through-thickness gradients of mechanical properties and curing-induced deformations, leading to undesirable residual stresses and damage. This chapter introduces the application of TSC and issues related to its manufacturing processes. Methods of TSC are examined and analyzed. Fundamental characteristics of curing kinetics, thermal transfer, and residual stress in TSC will be explained. Research of detailed experiments will be referred for readers for further studies.

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The driven flow vacuum infusion process: An overview and analytical design

Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites ◽

10.1177/07316844211017649 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 073168442110176

Author(s):

Juan Ignacio Morán ◽

Leandro Nicolás Ludueña ◽

Ariel Leonardo Stocchi ◽

Alejandro Daniel Basso ◽

Gaston Francucci

Keyword(s):

Smooth Surface ◽

Resin Flow ◽

Resin Infusion ◽

Analytical Design ◽

Vacuum Infusion ◽

Flow Channels ◽

Novel Variant ◽

Elastomeric Membrane ◽

Flow Medium ◽

Vacuum Infusion Process

This article describes a novel variant of the vacuum infusion process based on a multifunctional elastomeric reusable vacuum bag. The main innovation of this process is an elastomeric membrane having resin flow channels that can be controlled during the infusion process: they can be activated for the impregnation stage to enhance resin flow and removed during the curing stage to provide a smooth surface finish to the part. In addition, the size of the resin flow channels can be modified during the infusion providing control on the impregnation rate. This article describes the driven flow vacuum infusion (DFVI) process and presents analytical calculations regarding the effect of the geometrical design of the membrane and the processing variables on the porosity, permeability, and volume of resin transported by the flow medium. Preliminary results of unidirectional resin infusion tests comparing the DFVI process to traditional vacuum infusion and SCRIMP are also presented.

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Quasi-static behaviour and damage assessment of flax/epoxy composites

Materials & Design (1980-2015) ◽

10.1016/j.matdes.2014.11.048 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 67 ◽

pp. 344-353 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Shaoxiong Liang ◽

Papa-Birame Gning ◽

Laurent Guillaumat

Keyword(s):

Damage Assessment ◽

Epoxy Composites ◽

Static Behaviour

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The Transverse Permeability’s Simulation of Fiber Tow by FLOTRAN

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.1004-1005.1336 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1004-1005 ◽

pp. 1336-1339

Author(s):

Shi Lin Yan ◽

Yong Jing Lee ◽

De Quan Lee ◽

Fei Yan ◽

Jun Xia Wang

Keyword(s):

Fluid Flow ◽

Random Process ◽

Fiber Bundles ◽

Resin Flow ◽

Flow Channels ◽

Transverse Permeability

This paper uses FLOTRAN to estimate the resin flow permeability of fiber tow in RTM. Nine models of different fractions varies from 0.4~0.75 have been built, and the random process of the fiber’s distribution is realized by APDL code. The results show that the dispersion of fiber determines the fluid flow channels, which effect the pressure and velocity’s distribution; the FLOTRAN can be used to estimate the transverse permeability of the fiber bundles.

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