Modeling and Experimental Validation of the VARTM Process for Thin-Walled Preforms

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Composite Manufacturing
• Computational Mechanics

Background:

• Vacuum-assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) is a widely used composite manufacturing process.
• Accurate simulation of VARTM is crucial for process optimization and defect reduction.
• Existing models often face challenges with computational efficiency for large-scale structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an advanced shell model for VARTM simulations.
• To enhance computational efficiency for simulating large-scale, thin-walled composite structures.
• To provide insights for simulation-based optimization of the VARTM process.

Main Methods:

• A novel shell model is developed by simplifying the 3D resin flow and preform deformation problem to a 2D problem.
• The model incorporates assumptions of neglected through-thickness flow and restricted normal preform deformation.
• The model's accuracy and efficiency are validated against experimental VARTM processes.

Main Results:

• The simplified 2D shell model achieves high computational efficiency compared to 3D models.
• The model demonstrates excellent agreement with experimental results for the VARTM process.
• The simulation accurately captures nonlinear and coupled resin flow and preform deformation.

Conclusions:

• The advanced shell model offers a computationally efficient and accurate method for VARTM simulations.
• The model is suitable for analyzing large-scale, thin-walled composite structures.
• This approach facilitates simulation-based optimization of VARTM process parameters, such as gate/vent placement and deformation reduction.