Abstract
Resin transfer molding is one of the most common fabrication methods for composite materials. It is attractive due to its high volume, high performance, and low cost manufacturing of polymer composites. In this process, a dry preform of reinforcing fibers is placed inside a closed mold; then the resin is injected into the mold cavity. The composite part can be removed from the mold after the resin cures. This paper surveys current issues in the resin transfer molding process and focuses on mold filling and simulation. The Control Volume Finite Element Method is applied to simulate the process. The 2-D and 3-D computational methods are presented. The simulation program was developed with C language by the authors. The 2-D and 3-D models were integrated in the program. In real applications, the 2-D elements and 3-D elements can be applied simultaneously according to the specific requirements. MSC/PATRAN 3 software (MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation) was used to generate the finite element mesh and display the results. Some case studies are conducted to demonstrate the application of the computer simulation to RTM process design.
