Concurrent methods for permeability measurement in resin transfer molding

Abstract

Abstract The numerical simulation of the resin transfer molding process (RTM) requires knowledge of the physical properties of the fibrous material. In particular, the resistance to the resin flow is measured by the permeability of the preform in the mathematical model of Darcy's law. A concurrent method for low‐cost permeability estimation is proposed. The method uses a rectangular mold for the numerical determination of the principal permeabilities. The experimental data include a built‐in correlation with Darcy's law and allow an estimation of both experimental and numerical errors. Since the experimental procedure can introduce a significant uncertainty on the estimated permeability, practical considerations are pointed out and some relevant parameters such as the minimum injected length and maximum injection pressure are introduced to increase the reliability of permeability measurements.