Geometry modeling and permeability prediction for textile preforms with nesting in laminates

In the multilayer textile preform which is usually used in the resin transfer molding (RTM) process, the penetration phenomenon existing between two neighboring layers is referred to as nesting, which has important influence on the permeability of the preforms. Predicting the permeability of the textile preforms with nesting accurately is the foundation of mold‐filling simulation and process optimization for RTM. In this article, based on the analyses of the penetration and local deformation behaviors between two neighboring layers, an assumption on constant area of yarn cross‐section is established, and a long axis compensation method is proposed to build the geometry model of the multilayer textile preform with nesting in laminates. The governing equations of the resin flow in textile preform are built, and a high resolution total variation diminishing difference scheme is constructed based on Adams–Bashforth scheme and Chorin projection method to numerically solve the above equations and predict the permeability of the preform. According to the comparison between simulation predictions and experimental measurements, the validities of the above geometry modeling method and permeability prediction algorithm are proved. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:4408–4415, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers