The resin temperature distributions in a heated mould during the impregnation stage of resin transfer moulding have been investigated in this work. Effects such as the fibre content, the filling time and the mould and preform temperatures have been evaluated. It was shown that the fibre content and the filling time effects on the resin temperature distributions are less significant than the mould and preform temperatures. It was also shown that approximately 70% of the resin temperature increase is obtained within a flow path length of 12.5 cm. These trends led to the development of an empirical relation used to evaluate the influence on fill times of non-isothermal effects during filling.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
1. Rudd, C. D. 1989. "Preform Processing for High Volume Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM)," Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nottingham, U.K.
2.
2. Kendall, K. N. 1991. "Mould Design for High Volume Resin Transfer Moulding;" Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nottingham, U.K.
3.
3. Kendall, K. N. 1992. "Real Time Process Monitoring and Control in Liquid Composite Moulding,"8th Annual ASM/ESD Advanced Composite Conference, Chicago, IL, USA.
4.
4. Perry, M. J., J. Xu, Y. Ma and L. J. Lee. 1992. "Analysis of Thermal Characteristics of Alternative Mold Materials for Resin Transfer Molding,"SAMPE Quarterly, 20.
5.
5. Gao, D. M., F. Trochu and R. Gauvin. 1993. "Heat Transfer Simulation of Resin Transfer Molding by the Finite Element Method,"9th International Conference on Composite Materials, Madrid, July 12-16, 521-521.
6.
6. Lin, R., L. J. Lee and M. Liou. 1991. "Non-Isothermal Mold Filling and Curing Simulation in Thin Cavities with Preplaced Fiber Mats,"Intern. Polymer Processing, 6(4):356-356.
7.
7. Rudd, C. D., M. J. Owen and V. Middleton. 1990. "Effects of Process Variables on Cycle Time During Resin Transfer Moulding for High Volume Manufacture,"Materials Science and Technology, 6:656-656.
8.
8. Tucker, C. L. and R. B. Dessenberger. 1994. "Governing Equations for Flow and Heat Transfer in Stationary Fiber Beds," To appear in Flow and Rheology in Polymer Composites Manufacturing, Suresh G. Advani Ed., Elsevier Science Publishers.
9.
9. Trochu, F. and R. Gauvin. 1992. "Limitations of a Boundary-Fitted Finite Difference Method for the Simulation of the Resin Transfer Molding Process,"J. of Reinf Plast. and Compos., 11:772-772.
10.
10. Wymer, S. A. and R. S. Engel. 1993. "A Nonisothermal Flow Model for Resin Transfer Molding,"9th International Conference on Composite Materials, Madrid, July 12-16, 537-537.
11.
11. Kendall, K. N., C. D. Rudd, M. J. Owen and V. Middleton. 1992. "Characterization of the Resin Transfer Moulding Process,"Composites Manufacturing, (4):235-235.
12.
12. Rudd, C. D. and K. N. Kendall. 1992. "Towards a Manufacturing Technology for High-Volume Production of Composite Components,"Proc Instn Mech Engrs, 206:77-77.
