Compression Responses of Preform in Vacuum Infusion Process

The final thickness of a product after the vacuum infusion process （VIP）, which is equal to the fiber volume fraction, depends in part on the compression responses of the preform because one of the mold faces is flexible in VIE This study aims at investigating the compression responses of different fabrics under dry or wet conditions. The main factors affecting the compression response under investigation include, the vacuum pressure, the loading and unloading repeatability on the preform, the layup design, the kinds of fabrics, and the resin viscosity. Besides, the effects of some internal factors such as nesting and elastic recovery of fibers, lubrication of resin, friction between fibers, and so on, are also studied. In the end, this article expatiates the meaning of the matching requirements of the permeability of the preform and that of the distribution medium.

Mold Filling Analysis in Vacuum Infusion Molding Process Based on a High-Permeable Medium

The objective of this paper is to understand the flow mechanism through visualization experiments and discuss theinfluence of process parameters on mold filling process. A 2D leakage flow model is developed to simulate the moldingprocess, and the simulation results show good agreement with experiments.

Vacuum Infusion Molding Process Part 1:VIMP Based on a High-Permeable Medium

The visualization experiments were carried out to investigate the permeability of the high permeable medium (HPM) and the roles of the peel ply and the HPM in the mold filling.The influence of process parameters on mold filling is discussed.Furthermore,the whole vacuum infusion molding process (VIMP) procedure is introduced in detail taking the manufacture of a model boat for example.

Vacuum Infusion Molding Process (Part 2 VIMP Based on Grooves)

The optimal parameters for flow grooves and supply grooves were determined by a series of experiments,and the influences of various molding conditions on the mold filling process were analyzed.Furthermore,the whole VIMP procedure based on grooves was introduced in detail taking the manufacture of a sandwich panel as an example.

Formulating Novel Halogen-Free Synergistic Flame Retardant Epoxy Resins for Vacuum Assisted Resin Infusion Composites

The most common process to manufacture advanced composites is the costly autoclave.One of the out-of-autoclave alternatives is the low-cost vacuum assisted resin infusion(VARI)which produces quality parts with less pollution.Epoxy resin is a widely used composite matrix resin,but its high flammability limits its use as interior composite parts for vehicles.The usual flame retardant for epoxy involves halogen,which is effective but has high smoke toxicity.As a result,halogen-free flame retardant epoxy resin systems become dominant.In this paper,phosphorus flame retardant was combined with benzoxazine(BOZ)to produce synergistic effect and achieve satisfactory flame retardance,as well as mechanical improvement for the epoxy resin.Differential scanning calorimetry(DSC),dynamic mechanical analysis(DMA),thermal gravitational analysis(TGA),the cone calorimeter(CC),and limiting oxygen index(LOI)were used to characterize the resins.The results showed significant improvement on the flame retardance of the synergistically modified resins.Specifically,the carbon residue increased by 113.6%,and the char thickness increased by 6 to 7 times,compared to those of the flammable benchmark resin.The LOI reached 33 and passed the UL94 V-0 vertical burn rating.The modified resins also exhibited adequate stability and viscosity suitable for VARI processes.

Rheological Behaviors and Processing Windows of Low Viscosity Epoxy Resin for VIMP

The chemorheological behaviors of a low viscosity epoxy resin system （Huntsman 1564/3486） for vacuum infusion moulding process （VIMP） were studied with viscosity experiments.The dual-Arrhenius rheological model and the engineering viscosity model were established and compared with the experimental data.The result showed that the viscosity in the earlier stage calculated by dual-Arrhenius model were smaller than the experimental data,while the data calculated by the engineering model were larger.Combining the two models together can predict the rheological behaviors of the resin system in a more credible manner.The processing windows of the resin system for VIMP were determined based on the two models.The optimum processing temperature is 30-45 ℃.

Flexural Properties of Grooved Perforation Sandwich Composites

Selecting H-60 PVC foam, four-axis E-glass non-woven fabric and vinyl resin, a type of innovative reinforced sandwich composite as grooved perforation sandwich （GPS） were fabricated by VIMP. The interfacial structure between the face and core of the sandwich is innovative because of the acuminate grooves in both sides of foam core and the holes perforated along core’s height. The fabrication results show that VIMP is a high-speed and cost-effective manufacturing method. The mechanical properties of the reinforced foam core were tested. The typical flexural failure modes of sandwich specimens were observed. The flexural stiffness and ultimate bearing capacity of sandwich were studied by ordinary sandwich beam theory and finite element method.

Investigation of carbon fiber composite stiffened skin with vacuum assisted resin infusion/prepreg co-curing process

Co-cured vacuum assisted resin infusion process(co-VARI process),which combined vacuum assisted resin infusion(VARI)with prepreg vacuum bag only process(VBO),was adopted to fabricate T-shaped stiffened skin with non-crimp fabric(NCF)stiffener and prepreg skin.During compaction stage of co-VARI process,prepreg resin impregnated fiber fabric under elevated temperature and vacuum pressure.This phenomenon was characterized by fluorescent micrographs with different holding temperature and time.Its influences on processing quality and mechanical performance for co-VARI stiffened skin with different filler materials at triangular region were further analyzed by optical micrographs and pull-off test,respectively.The results show that increasing holding temperature and prolonging holding time can promote prepreg resin impregnation in fiber fabric.Moderate prepreg resin impregnation is favorable to reduce resin rich region and increase fiber volume fraction at prepreg-fabric interface.Moreover,prepreg resin impregnation effect plays significant roles on pull-off performance for co-VARI stiffened skin with fabric filler but has negligible influences on specimens with prepreg filler.In addition,compared with stiffened skin with fabric filler,superior processing quality and pull-off performances are achieved for co-VARI stiffened skin with prepreg core filler.These results are helpful to optimize processing procedures and fabricate composite structure by coVARI process.

Investigations on damage resistance of carbon fiber composite panels toughened using veils

This research focused on how to improve damage resistance of carbon fiber laminates. It was carried out at Cranfield University Composites Centre, Milton Keynes, UK as an MSc by research thesis project. A series of low-cost composite laminates, with or without novel veils provided by Tenax, was manufactured using current aircraft carbon fiber preforms via vacuum infusion （VI） molding in this research. All the investigations on damage resistance of these panels were carried out according to the British Standard （BS ISO 18353：2009）. Initial damage was induced using a falling weight apparatus mounting a 16 mm hemispherical tip. C-scan and Micrograph were employed to reveal damage characteristics. Finally, both compression after impact （CAI） and plain compression strength were experimented. The behaviors of these panels, including damage size, damage construction, residual compression strength, and compression strength reduction, were utilized to investigate how and to what extent the veils affected the damage resistance. The results show that using veils is an efficient method of improving the damage resistance of the laminates studied. Maximum 32% increase in residual compression strength is achieved via veils accompanying with 7% increase in cost.