Simulation of resin-impregnation, heat-transfer and cure in a resin-injection pultrusion process

Abstract Resin Injection Pultrusion (RIP) is a new composite manufacturing process, which combines the advantages of the conventional pultrusion process and the Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) process. It is sometimes referred to the Continuous Resin Transfer Molding (C-RTM) process. The RIP process differs from the conventional pultrusion process in that the resin is injected into an injection-die (instead of being placed in an open bath) in order to eliminate the emission of volatile organic compounds (styrene) (VOC) during processing. Based on the modeling and simulation of resin/fiber “pultrudability”, resin flow, and heat transfer and curing, a computer aided engineering tool has been developed for the purpose of process design. In this study, the fiber stack permeability and compressibility are measured and modeled, and the resin impregnation pattern and pressure distribution inside the fiber stack are obtained using numerical simulation. Conversion profiles in die heating section of the pultrusion die can also be obtained using the simulation tool. The correlation between the degree-of-cure profiles and the occurrence of blisters in the pultruded composite parts is discussed. Pulling force modeling and analysis are carried out to identify the effect on composite quality due to interface friction between the die surface and the moving resin/fiber mixture. Experimental data are used to verify the modeling and simulation results.

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Effect of Resin Viscosity in Fiber Reinforcement Compaction in Resin Injection Pultrusion Process

Applied Composite Materials ◽

10.1007/s10443-013-9320-0 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 20 (6) ◽

pp. 1173-1193 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

N. Shakya ◽

J. A. Roux ◽

A. L. Jeswani

Keyword(s):

Fiber Reinforcement ◽

Pultrusion Process ◽

Resin Injection ◽

Resin Injection Pultrusion

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Pull Speed Influence on Fiber Compaction and Wetout in Tapered Resin Injection Pultrusion Manufacturing

Polymers and Polymer Composites ◽

10.1177/096739111702500601 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 25 (6) ◽

pp. 419-434 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

N.B. Masuram ◽

J.A. Roux ◽

A.L. Jeswani

Keyword(s):

Fiber Reinforcement ◽

Injection Pressure ◽

Taper Angle ◽

Liquid Resin ◽

Pultrusion Process ◽

Resin Injection ◽

Fiber Reinforcements ◽

Resin Injection Pultrusion ◽

Resin Penetration ◽

Injection Pressures

In the resin injection pultrusion process (RIP), liquid resin is injected into the tapered injection chamber through the injection slots to completely wetout continuously pulled fibers. As the resin penetrates through the fibers, the resin also pushes the fibers away from the wall towards the centerline, causing compaction of the fiber reinforcements. The fibers are squeezed together due to compaction, making resin penetration more difficult; thus at low resin injection pressures, the resin cannot effectively penetrate through the fibers to achieve complete wetout. However, if the resin injection pressure is too high, the fibers are squeezed together to such an extent that even greater injection pressure is necessary to wetout the compacted fibers. The design of the injection chamber significantly affects the minimum injection pressure required to wetout the fiber reinforcements. A tapered injection chamber is considered such that wetout occurs at lower injection pressures due to the taper angle of the injection chamber. In this study, the effect of fiber pull speed on the fiber reinforcement compaction and complete fiber wetout for a tapered injection chamber is investigated.

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