A Study on Influence of Inlet Pressure and Fiber Architecture on The Quality of Sample Made From VARTM

L. Ramesh*, A. M. K. Prasad**, G. Chandra Mohan Reddy***, D. V. Ravi Shankar****, M. A. Mateen*****
*Research Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering at Osmania University, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
** Retired Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
*** Principal and Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
**** Professor and Principal, TKR College of Engineering & Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
*****Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nizam Institute of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
Periodicity:May - July'2018
DOI : https://doi.org/10.26634/jme.8.3.14182

Abstract

Fiber reinforced polymers are used extensively in various engineering applications due to their advantages such as producing any component with any form and shape. Resin infusion process is the most effective technique being employed in processing of components with intricate geometric details. However, the mechanical behavior is affected by various parameters in such production process. The present study aims at understanding the effect of parameters such as fiber architectures, number of layers, and inlet vacuum in the mould on the mechanical properties of the e-glass/polyester composites. Two different fiber architectures (i) chopped strand and (ii) Unidirectional (UD) mat are selected where the number of layers are varied as 4 layers, 5 layers, and 6 layers. Three different vacuum pressures (i) 200 mm of Hg, (ii) 300 mm of Hg, and (iii) 400 mm of Hg are selected in the present study for preparation of samples. The results indicate that there is a considerable effect of the above said parameters on the mechanical behavior of the material.

Keywords

Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRP), VARTM), Resin Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM), Flow, Permeability.

How to Cite this Article?

Ramesh, L., Prasad, A. M. K., Reddy, G. C. M., Shankar, D. V. R., and Mateen, M. A. (2018). A Study on Influence of Inlet Pressure and Fiber Architecture on the Quality of Sample Made From VARTM. i-manager’s Journal on Mechanical Engineering, 8(3), 46-52. https://doi.org/10.26634/jme.8.3.14182

References

[1]. Acheson, J. A., Simacek, P., & Advani, S. G. (2004). The implications of fiber compaction and saturation on fully coupled VARTM simulation. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 35(2), 159-169.
[2]. Ambrosi, D., & Preziosi, L. (2000). Modeling injection molding processes with deformable porous preforms. SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, 61(1), 22-42.
[3]. American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). (2000a). Tensile properties of plastics (ASTM D638-2000). Annual Book of ASTM Standards. American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia, PA.
[4]. American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). (2000b). Impact resistance of plastics and electrical insulating materials (ASTM D256-2000). Annual Book of ASTM Standards. American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia, PA.
[5]. Baker, M. J. (2011). CFD simulation of flow through packed beds using the finite volume technique (Doctoral Dissertation, University of Exerter).
[6]. Brocks, T., Shiino, M. Y., Cioffi, M. O. H., Voorwald, H. J. C., & Caporalli Filho, A. (2013). Experimental RTM manufacturing analysis of carbon/epoxy composites for aerospace application. Materials Research, 16(5), 1175- 1182.
[7]. Brouwer, W. D., Van Herpt, E. C. F. C., & Labordus, M. (2003). Vacuum injection moulding for large structural applications. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 34(6), 551-558.
[8]. Chen, R., Dong, C., Liang, Z., Zhang, C., & Wang, B. (2004). Flow modeling and simulation for vacuum assisted resin transfer molding process with the equivalent permeability method. Polymer Composites, 25(2), 146- 164.
[9]. Correia, N. C., Robitaille, F., Long, A. C., Rudd, C. D., Simacek, P., & Advani, S. G. (2004). Use of resin transfer molding simulation to predict flow, saturation, and compaction in the VARTM process. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 126(2), 210-215.
[10]. Grujicic, M., Chittajallu, K. M., & Walsh, S. (2005). Nonisothermal preform infiltration during the vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process. Applied Surface Science, 245(1-4), 51-64.
[11]. Hoebergen, A., & Holmberg, J. (2001). Vacuum infusion. In Composites (pp.501-515). Materials Park, OH: ASM International.
[12]. Hsiao, K. T., Gillespie Jr, J. W., Advani, S. G., & Fink, B. K. (2001). Role of vacuum pressure and port locations on flow front control for liquid composite molding process. Polymer Composites, 22(5), 660-667.
[13]. Hsiao, K. T., Mathur, R., Advani, S. G., Gillespie, J. W., & Fink, B. K. (2000). A closed form solution for flow during the vacuum assisted resin transfer molding process. Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 122(3), 463-475.
[14]. Lopatnikov, S., Simacek, P., GillespieJr, J., & Advani, S. G. (2004). A closed form solution to describe infusion of resin under vacuum in deformable fibrous porous media. Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering, 12(3), S191-S204.
[15]. Louis, B. M., Di Fratta, C., Danzi, M., Zogg, M., & Ermanni, P. (2011). Improving time effective and robust techniques for measuring in-plane permeability of fibre preforms for LCM processing. In New Material Characteristics to cover New Applications needs: SEICO n d 11; SAMPE Europe 32 International Technical Conference & Forum; Proceedings 2011 SAMPE Europe International Conference Paris (pp. 204-211). Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering.
[16]. Ni, J., Zhao, Y., James Lee, L., & Nakamura, S. (1997). Analysis of two-regional flow in liquid composite molding. Polymer Composites, 18(2), 254-269.
[17]. Sun, X., Li, S., & Lee, L. J. (1998). Mold filling analysis in vacuum assisted resin transfer molding. Part I: SCRIMP based on a high permeable medium. Polymer Composites, 19(6), 807-817.
If you have access to this article please login to view the article or kindly login to purchase the article

Purchase Instant Access

Single Article

North Americas,UK,
Middle East,Europe
India Rest of world
USD EUR INR USD-ROW
Online 15 15

Options for accessing this content:
  • If you would like institutional access to this content, please recommend the title to your librarian.
    Library Recommendation Form
  • If you already have i-manager's user account: Login above and proceed to purchase the article.
  • New Users: Please register, then proceed to purchase the article.