Process-induced damage evolution and management in resin transfer molding of composite panels

Woven fiber composites made by resin transfer molding process are currently used as the primary and secondary load bearing structures in automotive and aircraft industries. A variety of defects could be evolved during the injection stage and the curing stage of the process. Improper injection conditions or unsound tool design would result in process induced damage in the form of dry spots, incomplete filling, or displacement of the fiber. In the curing stage, the process parameters of heating and cooling rates, and the temperature level at each element of the curing cycle have direct effects on the development of internal residual stresses, and shape distortion due to warpage. The work in this dissertation aims at developing numerical models to predict, characterize, and minimize process-induced damage during both the injection stage and curing stage in RTM process for woven-fiber composites.; A control volume technique based on the finite difference method is used to characterize the flow behavior in resin transfer molding (RTM) of composite structures. Resin flow through fiber mats is modeled as a two-phase flow through porous media. Experimental results on flow behavior of EPON 826 epoxy resin into irregular mold cavity with fiberglass mats agree well with the present numerical simulation. Parametric analysis of several case studies using developed model illustrates the effectiveness of the flow model in investigating the flow pattern, mold filling time, dry spots formulation, and pressure distribution inside the mold.; A numerical model describing the evolution of process-induced damage during curing in molded composite panels was developed. The effects of thermo-mechanical and thermo-chemical responses of the material on the evolution of damage during resin transfer molding of the panels are quantified. The developed numerical model in conjunction with an optimization module based on Simulated Annealing (SA) scheme form a useful tool for conducting a parametric design analysis for characterization and management of process-induced damage in composite panels.; Experimental investigation of resin transfer molding of composite panels made of epoxy resin (EPON 826) and eight-harness graphite fiber mats, indicates that low cure temperature, moderate heating rate and high rate of cooling after cure would minimize damage during curing. Furthermore the experimental measurements are in agreement with the degree of damage predicted by the numerical models and hence verifying the effectiveness of these models.; The models and methods developed in the present work are of broader applicability to process design and optimization of resin transfer molding of composite structures.