MODELING OF THE VACUUM INFUSION PROCESSES IN THE MANUFACTURING OF THE LARGE POLYMERIC COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
Abstract
The article presents the technology of computer simulation of the vacuum infusion process
in the production of large-sized polymeric composite structures, which is attracting more and
more attention in the aircraft industry, due to the ease of implementation and the relatively low
cost of production preparation. The difficulty of industrial implementation of the process and ensuring
the required quality is due to its high sensitivity to modes - temperature, vacuum pressure
and the layout of the vacuum ports and resin injection. The purpose of the developed methodology
for computer modeling of the process with the possibility of its subsequent optimization is to exclude
the currently used lengthy and very expensive trial and error method when working out the
technology. The proposed mathematical model of the process linking the equation of the phase
field, which reconstructs the interface between the resin and the void region of the preform, the
Richards equation for the propagating viscous fluid in an unsaturated porous medium, the thermal
kinetics of the resin and thermal conductivity, is implemented in the environment of a finite element
package. Computer implementation of the model provides an accurate reconstruction of the
dynamics of the front of the propagating resin in a porous preform, the possibility of the emergence
and localization of non-impregnated zones of the molded structure, thereby eliminating the
formation of irreparable defects. The results obtained demonstrate the ability of the developed
technique to ensure the stability of the quality of the produced composite structures with increased
requirements for the continuity of its microstructure and its structural strength.
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