Dynamic pressure control in VARTM: Rapid fabrication of laminates with high fiber volume fraction and improved dimensional uniformity

The compaction pressure on the fibrous preform is one of the most critical parameters in vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM), which significantly affects the preform permeability, mold filling time, and final thickness of the fabricated composite. In this study, the compaction pressure on the vacuum bag was controlled during and after the mold filling to achieve rapid impregnation and improve the fiber volume fraction of the laminate. It was shown that the dynamic pressure control (1) enabled the manipulation of the fabric permeability and faster distribution of the resin to decrease the mold filling time, (2) improved the dimensional uniformity of the laminate by reducing the thickness variation, and (3) increased the fiber volume fraction by further consolidating the preform and removing the excess resin. One of the most essential and prominent features of the process was shown to be the resin removal from the inlet by applying external pressure, which reduced the thickness variation in laminates from 15 to 1%. The mold filling time was reduced by 48% compared with conventional VARTM, while achieving a high fiber volume fraction up to 64% and a low void content of below 1%. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:2482–2494, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers