Mechanical properties of the cured laminates on the hot-press tackified preforms in vacuum assisted resin transfer molding

A hot-press tackified preform was used to improve the uniformity of the laminates thickness and the mechanical properties of the obtained laminates were studied using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM). Two modified preforms were prepared under 0.1 and 0.6 MPa in an autoclave and then were used to fabricate the laminates via VARTM. Permeability and thickness distribution of the laminates were obtained by using a special device. Moreover, the tensile and compressive strengths of the obtained laminates were studied and compared with the unmodified ones. Results show that the tackified laminates present a maximum and minimum thickness under 0.1 and 0.6 MPa, respectively. The thicknesses and in-plane permeability of the tackified laminates, with better thickness uniformity, are significantly decreased compared with that of the unmodified cases, while the tensile and compressive strengths of the tackified laminates are improved obviously. Results show that the mechanical property of the tackified laminates prepared by hotpressing at 0.1 MPa is better than that processed at 0.6 MPa.