Study of the Compaction Behavior of Natural Fiber Reinforcements in Liquid Composite Molding Processes

GASTON FRANCUCCI; EXEQUIEL RODRIGUEZ; ANALÍA VAZQUEZ

Ascona

Conferencia; FPCM-10 - The 10th International Conference on Flow Processes in Composite Materials; 2010

The study of the compaction response of the reinforcements used in LCM processes is of major importance, because it affects the processing variables such as clamping forces and fabric permeability, the part quality and thickness, fiber volume content, and composite final mechanical properties. In this work, the compaction behavior of natural fiber reinforcements is analyzed. It was found that natural fibers structure affected the compaction response of the preform by increasing the permanent deformation. The effect of fluid absorption on the compaction behavior of jute woven fabrics and sisal fiber mats was analyzed by changing the immersion time of the fabrics in the test fluid. It was found that fluid absorption reduced the compaction pressure in natural fiber performs due to fiber softening. This phenomenon was not observed in glass fiber mats.