Manufacturing Modeling of Three-Dimensional Resin Injection Pultrusion Process Control Parameters for Polyester/Glass Rovings Composites

Pultrusion, sometimes referred to as continuous resin transfer molding process, is a continuous, cost-effective method for manufacturing composite materials with constant cross sections (such as rod stock, beams, channels, and tubing). The objective of this study is to improve the fiber reinforcement wetout and thus the quality of the pultruded part in the injection pultrusion process. The complete wetout of the dry reinforcement by the liquid resin depends on various design and process parameters. The process parameters modeled in this study are fiber pull speed, fiber volume fraction, and viscosity of the resin. In the present work, a three-dimensional finite volume technique is employed to simulate the liquid resin flow through the fiber reinforcement in the injection pultrusion process. The numerical model simulates the flow of polyester resin through the glass rovings and predicts the impact of the process parameters on wetout, resin pressure field, and resin velocity field. The location of the liquid resin flow front has been predicted for an injection slot as well as for five discrete injection ports.