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Abstract

Recently, resin transfer molding has become a popular process for fabricating large and complex components. However, the total cycle time for this process is still long. For fabrication of large structure components, it becomes the major issue on how to cut down the cycle time in order to compete with other processes. In this study, we investigate the usage of a preheater to reduce the cure time and achieve a uniform cure phase at the same time. The approach is to heat the resin by a preheater before it is injected into the mold. According to the experimental results, the cure time is reduced about 30% if the resin preheating temperature is close to the fiber preheating temperature. The uniformity of cure phase is also improved because of the uniform thermal history of the cured resin.

Keywords

resin transfer molding cycle time preheater cure time

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References

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The Effect of Preheater on the Resin Transfer Molding

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