Analysis of resin injection molding in molds with preplaced fiber mats. I: Permeability and compressibility measurements

Abstract This work presents the characterization of fibrous reinforcement mats in resin injection molding. The fiber mat characterization involved determining the mat permeability and compressibility. Mold filling experiments were conducted using two or more different fiber types in the mat stack, which created transverse porosity, permeability, and compressibility variations. The effect of these variations was studied by taking flow pressure measurements and observing the progress of the flow front of a non‐reactive fluid filling a clear acrylic mold that contained the reinforcement mat stack.