INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION

- The reduction of void content is critical for high quality composites
-- Voids reduce the composite mechanical properties and increase design risk
- A model experiment has been developed to explore in-plane void transport
- Goal: To model in-plane void transport during fiber tow infusion

METHODOLOGY

- The model experiment consists of a clear acrylic flow cell
-- Simulated resin (i.e. glycerin) and voids (i.e. air) are injected to study relative void velocity during resin flow and deformation
- A flow visualization setup records resin and void movement

MODELING

BUBBLES IN FLOW CELL

BUBBLES IN FLOW FRONT

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

- A model experiment for in-plane void migration flow in OOA prepreg processing has been demonstrated
- The relative velocity of voids and resin velocity has been quantified via the bubble mobility (

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Research was sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) under Grant Number N00014-09-1-1011 and N00014-10-1-0971. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of ONR.

Reference:

J.J. Gangloff Jr., C. Daniel, S.G. Advani, “Modeling of In-Plane Void Transport during Composites Processing,” ICCM-19 Montreal, QC, CA, July 28-August 2 (2013).