A study on the filtration of nano and micro particles in liquid composite molding processes

GASTON FRANCUCCI; EXEQUIEL RODRIGUEZ

Enschede

Conferencia; FPCM-12 - The 12th International Conference on Flow Processes in Composite Materials; 2014

University of Twente

When liquid composite molding (LCM) techniques are employed using a filled resin, particles are transported by the resin and can be captured by the fibrous bed, which acts as a filter. The trapped particles can decrease preform porosity and therefore its permeability, increasing the resistance to flow [1]. Moreover, as the filtration takes place, a gradient in the suspension concentration can be developed along the flow path. This inhomogeneous particle distribution remains in the material microstructure after the resin cures, leading to uneven properties of the finished part [2]. Understanding filtration phenomena during LCM processing of composite materials using particle filled resins is important to manufacture defect free composite parts. In this work, composites were obtained by RTM using two types of fillers: glass micro spheres and nano clays. The filtration of the particles and its effect on processing conditions and composite final microstructure were studied.