Process analysis of compression resin transfer molding

Compression resin transfer molding process (CRTM) combines features of compression molding with traditional Resin Transfer Molding (RTM). The CRTM process is described in three stages, with resin being injected into the gap in Stage I, closing of the gap in Stage II and actual compression of preform and re-distribution of the resin in Stage III. To fabricate a void free part, one has to understand the resin flow during these stages. Governing equations for each stage are formulated, relevant non-dimensional parameters are derived and brief description of the numerical model is presented. Assembling the process parameters into non-dimensional groups significantly reduces the number of variables to be explored in the process. The paper analyzes the impact of the dimensional less parameters on impregnation time with the numerical process model. The results show that the impact of many parameters on process speeds is negligible, identifying two non-dimensional parameters that influence the resin injection. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.