Numerical modeling of suspension impregnation through a fibrous medium: Application to the CRTM process

In this article, a numerical model dedicated to the impregnation modeling of a fibrous medium by a particle-filled resin (suspension) is proposed. It allows to simulate and analyze the mold filling with a particle-filled resin during the Compression Resin Transfer Molding (CRTM) process at a given compression speed and compaction force. As per our knowledge, no such work with this last compression mode has already been reported in the literature. The simulation results of our approach were compared with the analytical as well as experimental results, and found in agreement. With an objective to analyze the effect of the process parameters on the suspension flow, particularly on the final distribution of the particles in the developed composite, a detailed parametric study was done. Finally, a comparison between the injection and compression modes is conducted and discussed. The obtained results demonstrate that the particle volume per mold cavity volume depends on the initial concentration, the distance traveled, and the initial volume fraction of the fiber, while it is independent of parameters values of injection and compression. It was also observed that the imposed pressure injection and the imposed force compression are the most favorable to produce composite parts using CRTM.