Unloading during the infusion process: Direct measurement of the dual-scale fibrous microstructure evolution with X-ray computed tomography
Source abstract
Abstract
Abstract Composites manufacturing using the infusion process involves an unloading phenomenon due to the vacuum bag flexibility. Additionally, during impregnation, woven or non-crimp fabrics exhibit a dual-scale flow. Usual modeling of both phenomena assumes that the fibrous preform is a continuous medium with a varying permeability. Nonetheless, the permeability is affected by the meso-pores size and spatial distribution, which depend on the compaction state. This paper proposes an experimental method to quantify the evolution of a given dual-scale fibrous microstructure under several controlled flow-induced compaction states. A downsized setup has been designed to conduct in situ infusion of quasi-unidirectional fabrics inside a X-ray Computed Tomography device. The downsized setup reproduces large scale infusion phenomena. Using image processing tools, it is observed that, while the stack thickness increases between dry and saturated states, tows swell and displace. The impact of this microstructural reorganization on the in-plane permeability is also identified.
Source: openaire · Quality: candidate unverified · Source record ↗
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Epoxy Resin Curing Processes · Composite Material Mechanics · Computer Graphics and Visualization Techniques
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (36)
Show source-provided references
1. A two-phase flow model to simulate mold filling and saturation in resin transfer molding10.1007/s12289-015-1225-z ↗
2. Experimental investigation of intra-tow fluid storage mechanisms in dual-scale fiber reinforcements10.1016/j.compositesa.2017.12.015 ↗
3. A review of non-saturated resin flow in liquid composite moulding processes10.1007/s11242-016-0629-7 ↗
4. The implications of fiber compaction and saturation on fully coupled VARTM simulation10.1016/j.compositesa.2003.02.001 ↗
5. A model for unsaturated flow in woven fiber preforms during mold filling in resin transfer molding10.1177/002199839803201902 ↗
6. Unsaturated flow in compressible fibre preforms10.1016/j.compositesa.2005.01.008 ↗
7. Modeling and simulation of filling in dual-scale fibrous reinforcements: state of the art and new methodology to quantify the sink effect
8. Experimental study of thickness gradient formation in the VARTM process10.1081/AMP-200041896 ↗
9. Variation of part thickness and compaction pressure in vacuum infusion process10.1016/j.compscitech.2008.05.009 ↗
10. Compaction behavior and part thickness variation in vacuum infusion molding process10.1007/s10443-011-9217-8 ↗
11. Unidirectional compression of fibre reinforcements. part 1: A non-linear elastic-plastic behaviour10.1016/j.compscitech.2006.08.017 ↗
12. Consolidation experiments for laminate composites10.1177/002199838702100705 ↗
13. Compaction of textile reinforcements for composites manufacturing. iii: Reorganization of the fiber network10.1002/pc.10334 ↗
14. Analysis of the vacuum infusion moulding process: I. Analytical formulation10.1016/j.compositesa.2005.03.019 ↗
15. Modeling of coupled dual-scale flow-deformation processes in composites manufacturing10.1016/j.compositesa.2012.11.002 ↗
16. Fluid flow through granular beds
17. Permeability of unidirectional reinforcements for RTM10.1177/002199839202600802 ↗
18. An in situ investigation of microscopic infusion and void transport during vacuum-assisted infiltration by means of X-ray computed tomography10.1016/j.compscitech.2015.09.016 ↗
19. Insights from in-situ X-ray computed tomography during axial impregnation of unidirectional fiber beds10.1016/j.compositesa.2017.12.024 ↗
20. Study of saturated and unsaturated permeability in natural fiber fabrics10.1016/j.compositesa.2009.07.012 ↗
21. Permeability of natural fiber reinforcement for liquid composite molding processes10.1007/s10853-014-8374-1 ↗
22. Permeability and capillary effects in a channel-wise non-crimp fabric10.1016/j.compositesa.2018.02.015 ↗
23. Permeability of textile fabrics with spherical inclusions10.1016/j.compositesa.2017.03.031 ↗
24. A numerical approach to design dual-scale porosity composite reinforcements with enhanced permeability10.1016/j.matdes.2017.06.035 ↗
25. Martin B. Experimental investigation of the influence of the design parameters of unidirectional NCF fabrics on their processing and mechanical properties. Ph.D. thesis, Centre de mise en forme des matériaux (CEMEF); 2015.
26. Solution to filling time prediction issues for constant pressure driven injection in rtm10.1016/j.compositesa.2004.07.001 ↗
27. In situ experiments with x ray tomography: An attractive tool for experimental mechanics10.1007/s11340-010-9333-7 ↗
28. Meijering E. FeatureJ: an ImageJ plugin suite for image feature extraction, https://imagescience.org/meijering/software/featurej/; 1996–2017.
29. Image matching as a diffusion process: an analogy with maxwell’s demons10.1016/S1361-8415(98)80022-4 ↗
30. A review on image segmentation techniques10.1016/0031-3203(93)90135-J ↗
31. Evolution of single carbon and glass fibrous tow cross-sections in dry and lubricated states during compaction perpendicular to the fibers10.1016/j.compositesb.2018.05.001 ↗
32. Mécanique expérimentale des fluides, T.II: Dynamique des fluides réels et turbomachines, Masson; 1994.
33. Influence of fabrics’ design parameters on the morphology and 3D permeability tensor of quasi-unidirectional non-crimp fabrics10.1016/j.compositesa.2016.08.013 ↗
34. Permeability network model for non-crimp fabrics10.1016/j.compositesa.2005.02.009 ↗
35. Effect of yarn cross-sectional shape on resin flow through inter-yarn gaps in textile reinforcements10.1016/j.compositesa.2017.10.020 ↗
36. Efficient dual-scale flow and thermo-chemo-rheological coupling simulation during on-line mixing resin transfer molding process10.1177/0021998317706536 ↗