Thermal Behaviors of the Resin and Mold in the Process of Resin Transfer Molding

Abstract

The manufacture of polymer composites through the process of the resin transfer molding (RTM) involves the impregnation of the reactive polymer resin into a mold with preplaced fibrous reinforcements. Determination of RTM processing conditions requires the understanding of various parameters, such as material properties, mold geometry, and mold filling conditions. Modeling of the entire RTM process provides a tool for analyzing the relationship of the important parameters. This study developed a nonisothermal simulation model to simulate the thermal behaviors of the resin and mold during the resin transfer molding process based on the control volume finite element method. The model will be able to simulate the thermal and chemical changes of the resin and the thermal variations of the mold during the filling and curing stages. Thermal effect of the epoxy mold was shown to have large influence on the temperature distribution and curing process of the resin. Results of some numerical studies in RTM show the applications of the proposed model.