Effect of Process Variables on the Quality of Compression Resin Transfer Molding

Abstract

Compression resin transfer molding (CRTM), combining resin transfer molding (RTM) and compression molding, have been developed to fabricate fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) components with large dimensions or high fiber volume content. Although a lot of literature on CRTM is available, relatively little useful technical information is present regarding the proper choice of molding conditions for component optimization. The objective of this research is to investigate the effects of process variables, including injection pressure, mold opening distance, resin temperature, compression pressure, pre-heated mold temperature, and cure temperature, on the quality of CRTM products. The influence of these process variables on the part quality are investigated by applying Taguchi’s method. The ultimate stress measured by tensile test serves as an indicator of the part quality. Experimental result show that the compression pressure and the resin temperature are significant variables for improvements in the mechanical properties of the part, while the effect of pre-heated mold temperature on the mechanical properties appears to be trivial.