• Design & Manufacturing
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2019

This paper presents the design strategy for the optimal RTM molds of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) by carbon fiber draping and resin flow simulation. First, the mold shape and molding condition were determined considering the undercut and die face of the product in the draping simulation, which made the preliminary shape of the product by compressing the carbon fiber. After that, the diffusion behavior during the injection of resin in the mold was predicted by the resin flow simulation. Finally, the optimal mold shape was designed by selecting the locations of resin injection port and vent based on total results of simulations. In this paper, the mold of automotive side mirror case was selected as the representative product. Also, the actual mold was manufactured based on the simulation design to confirm the practicality of it. This study is expected to contribute to the industry as a technology to improve the reliability and productivity of CFRP producted by RTM process.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.284-287
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• 2002

During resin transfer molding(RTM) process, in case of thick parts, resin flow and void formation should be modeled three dimensionally even though for parts of small thickness, resin flow and void formation can be modeled two dimensionally. In this study, numerical simulations of three dimensional mold filling and void formation during RTM process.

• 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.

• 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.

• Design & Manufacturing
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.44-49
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• 2022

In this study, the simulation of the resin transfer molding process method using MoldFlow has been investigated. This work explains the thermoset material model, fabric permeability model, the flow model and the cure model. It has been shown that the simulation result can predict filling and cure performances.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06c
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• pp.246-250
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• 2001

In resin transfer molding (RTM), resin is forced to flow through the fiber perform of inhomogeneous permeability. This inhomogeneity is responsible for the mismatch of resin velocity within and between the fiber tows. The capillary pressure of the fiber tows exacerbates the spatial variation of the resin velocity. The resulting microscopic perturbations of resin velocity at the flow front allow numerous air voids to form. In this study, a mathematical model was developed to predict the formation and migration of micro-voids during resin transfer molding. A transport equation was employed to account for the migration of voids between fiber tows. Incorporating the proposed model into a resin flow simulator, the volumetric content of micro-voids in the preform could be obtained during the simulation of resin impregnation.

• 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.

• 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.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.71-79
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• 2009

The incomplete saturation and the void formation during the resin infiltration into fibrous porous media in the resin transfer molding process cause failure in the final product during its service. In order to better understand flow behavior during the filling process, a finite-element scheme for transient flow simulation across the micro-structured fibrous media is developed in the present work. A volume-of- fluid (VOF) method has been incorporated in the Eulerian frame to capture the evolution of flow front and the vertical periodic boundary condition has been combined to avoid unwanted wall effect. In the microscale simulation, we investigated the transient filling process in various fiber structures and discussed the mechanism leading to the flow fingering in the case of random fiber distribution. Effects of the filling pressure, the shear-thinning behavior of fluid and the volume fraction on the flow front have been investigated for both intra-tow and the inter-tow flows in dual-scale fiber tow models.

• 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.