• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.69-76
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• 2019

In this study, resin flow analysis of resin transfer moulding (RTM) method was performed for mould design of composite structure. The target composite structure was a tank used for fluid storage. Natural c fiber composite was adopted for composite structural design of the fluid storage tank. RTM was adopted for manufacturing of the tank using natural fiber composites. Resin flow analysis was performed to find the proper RTM conditions of the tank. The resin flow analysis was performed using the commercial FEM flow simulation software. After repeated analysis while changing the location of resin inlet and outlet, the proper resin filling time and pattern were found.

• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.135-152
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• 2009

Liquid molding processes, such as resin transfer molding, involve resin flow through a porous medium inside a mold cavity. Numerical analysis of resin flow and mold filling is a very useful means for optimization of the manufacturing process. However, the numerical analysis is quite time consuming and requires a great deal of effort, since a separate numerical calculation is needed for every set of material properties, part size and injection conditions. The efforts can be appreciably reduced if similarity solutions are used instead of repeated numerical calculations. In this study, the similarity relations for pressure, resin velocity and flow front propagation are proposed to correlate another desired case from the already obtained numerical result. In other words, the model gives a correlation of flow induced variables between two different cases. The model was verified by comparing results obtained by the similarity relation and by independent numerical simulation.

• International Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.9-12
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• 2017

In this study, an investigation on mechanical properties of flax natural fiber composite is performed as a precedent study on the design of eco-friendly structure using flax natural fiber composite. The Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding-Light (VARTML) manufacturing method is adopted for manufacturing the flax fiber composite panel. The VARTML is a manufacturing process that the resin is injected into the dry layered-up fibers enclosed by a rigid mold tool under vacuum. In this work, the resin flow analysis of VARTM manufacturing method is performed. A series of flax composite panels are manufactured, and several kinds of specimens cut out from the panels are tested to obtain mechanical performance data. Based on this, structural design of chemical storage tank for agricultural vehicle was performed using flax/vinyl ester. After structural design and analysis, the resin flow analysis of VARTM manufacturing method was performed.

• International Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2014

In this study, an investigation on mechanical properties of flax natural fiber composite is performed as a precedent study on the design of eco-friendly structure using flax natural fiber composite. The Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding-Light (VARTML) manufacturing method is adopted for manufacturing the flax fiber composite panel. The VARTML is a manufacturing process that the resin is injected into the dry layered -up fibers enclosed by a rigid mold tool under vacuum. In this work, the resin flow analysis of VARTM manufacturing method is performed. A series of flax composite panels are manufactured, and several kinds of specimens cut out from the panels are tested to obtain mechanical performance data. Based on this, structural design of chemical storage tank for agricultural vehicle was performed using flax/vinyl ester. After structural design and analysis, the resin flow analysis of VARTM manufacturing method was performed.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.233-240
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• 2021

VaRI(Vacuum assisted Resin Infusion) process, which is cost effective and suitable for manufacturing large-sized composites, is an OoA(Out-of Autoclave) process. For rapid resin infusion in the VaRI process, a DM(distribution media) is placed on top of the fabric. The resin is rapidly supplied in plane direction of the fiber along the DM, and then the supplied resin is impregnated in the out-of-plane direction of fiber. It is difficult to predict the flow of resin because the flow of in-plane direction and the out-of-plane direction occur together, and a 3D numerical analysis program is used to simulate the resin infusion process. However, in order to analyze in 3D, many elements are required in the out-of-plane direction of fabric. And the product size is larger, the longer the analysis time needs. Therefore, in this study, a method was suggested to reduce the time required for flow analysis by simplifying the 3D flow analysis to 2D flow analysis. The usefulness was verified by comparing the 3D flow analysis with the simplified 2D flow analysis at the same conditions. The filling time error was about 7% and the reduction of flow analysis time was about 95%. In addition, by utilizing the constant difference in the flow front between the top, middle, and bottom of the fabric of the 3D analysis, the flow front of the top, middle, and bottom of the fabric can be also predicted in the 2D flow analysis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.878-881
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• 2005

A Stereolithography technology is based on stacking of sliced layer from STL file that is converted from 3-dimensional CAD data. A microstereolithography technology is evolved from conventional stereolithography to fabricate microstructures. In this technology, we have to consider influence of resin flow to make refresh surface. To generate new resin surface, stage has to be moved downward deeply and upward to desired position. At this time, resin flow affects to refresh surface of resin. And resin viscosity is the key factor in simulation of resin flow. By setting optimal refresh time for resin surface, total fabrication time is reduced and there is no damage to fabricated layers. In this research, we simulate resin flow using CFD software and derive optimal stage moving time and dwelling time.

• Composites Research
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1-7
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• 2002

In VARTM process where a sacrificial medium is used to facilitate the resin flow, the velocity of resin varies drastically between the sacrificial medium and the fiber preform. Although the thickness-to-length ratio of a VARTM product is usually small, a 3-D analysis is prerequisite to analyze the lead-lag flow in the two different media. The problem associated with the full 3-D analysis is the CPU time. A full 3-D numerical mesh comprising large number of nodes requires an impractical CPU time on average computer platforms. In this study, a dual-scale analysis technique was developed. The flow analysis for the entire calculation domain was conducted in 2.5-D, and the 3-D analysis was performed for a small area of special concern. In some numerical examples, the local 3-D analysis could discover an eccentric flow pattern as well as the lead-lag flow that will inevitably be neglected in 2.5-D simulations. The global-local analysis technique practiced in this study can be used to analyze the intricate flow of resin through non-uniform media in affordable CPU times.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Machine Tool Engineers Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.22-27
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• 2002

The existing compressor steel seal used in automotive air-conditioner has the problem of oil leakage and the deterioration in shielding performance, due to the abrasion and the corrosion of the material. A new type of polymer resin seal is studied in the research. The polymer resin seal has the characteristics of high anti-abrasiveness and anti-corrosiveness, which can overcome the deflects of the steel seal. In addition, the seal needs lower manufacturing cost and is appropriate to mass production, because it is made by the injection molding method requiring no mechanical processing. The profile generation program for seal mold has been developed using the gradient method, and the molding characteristics of the seal have analyzed through the flow analysis and the warpage analysis. The program has been verified by comparing the analysis results with the measured data of the test product. The research might be said to provide the basic method to produce the polymer resin seals with various types and dimensions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.176-179
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• 2001

When the preform is composed of more than two layers with different in-plane permeability in resin transfer molding, effective average permeability should be determined for the flow analysis in the mold. The most frequently used averaging scheme is the weighted average scheme, but it does not account for the transverse flow between adjacent layers. A new averaging scheme is proposed predicting the effective permeability of the multi-layered preform, which accounts for the transverse flow effect. The new scheme is verified by measuring the effective permeability of the multi-layered preforms and the difference in each flow front position.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.137-140
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• 2005

Resin transfer molding (RTM) is one of the most popular processes for producing fiber reinforced polymer composites. In the manufacture of complex thick composite structures, analysis on flow front advancement on the resin impregnating the multi-layered fiber preform is helpful for the optimization of the process. In this study, three-dimensional mold filling simulation of RTM is carried out by using CVFEM (Control Volume Finite Element Method). On the assumption of isothermal flow of Newtonian fluid, Darcy’s law and continuity equation are used as governing equations. Different permeability tensors employed in each layer are obtained by experiments. Numerically predicted flow front is compared with experimental one in order to validate the numerical results. Flow simulations are conducted in the two mold geometries, rectangular plate and hollow cylinder. Permeability tensor of each layer preform in Cartesian coordinate system is transformed to cylinder coordinates system so that the flow within the multi-layered preforms of the hollow cylinder can be calculated exactly. Our emphasis is on the three dimensional flow analysis for circular three-dimensional braided preform, which shows outstanding mechanical properties such as high impact strength and toughness compared with other conventional two-dimensional laminar-structured preforms.