Resin infusion in porous preform in the presence of HPM during VARTM: Flow simulation using level set and experimental validation

The present work focuses on the modeling of transient incompressible two phase flow during vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) in the presence of high permeability media (HPM). A novel depth-averaged technique coupled with level set has been introduced to capture the spatio-temporal variation of preform compaction, permeability, transverse seepage flow from the HPM to the porous preform, and the flow fronts - faster in HPM and slower planar flow in the preform. Model prediction of instantaneous change in pressure, thickness elevation, fill time and flow front positions have been validated with experiments for a flat plate with HPM on top of the preform using pressure sensors and two digital cameras. The proposed transient vacuum infusion (VI) model with HPM and experimental observation shows the potential to capture the fluid dynamics of preform saturation during infusion.