Numerical simulation on resin flow of laminated composites in hot pressing process

Resin flow is the major mechanism affecting the fiber content, void content and laminate dimension during the hot pressing process. Based on the effective stress principle and Darcy's law, a mathematic model and the corresponding finite element model were developed to simulate the resin flow and fiber compaction process. With the numerical simulation system, the fiber distribution can be predicted in the laminate. The effects of the temperature boundary and lay-up type of the fiber bed on the resin flow process were studied. It was found that the temperature boundary has a large influence on the numerical results while the lay-up type largely affects the laminate thickness and fiber distribution. At the same time, it was validated that the accuracy of the boundary condition and material parameters impacts the reliability of the simulated results. For the T700S/epoxy 5228 unidirectional laminates, there was a good agreement between the numerical and experimental data.