A Numerical Study of Nonisothermal Resin Flow in RTM with Heated Uniaxial Fibers

A numerical model is developed to study the flow of a thermoset resin parallel to a unidirectional, heated fiber array, where the resin viscosity varies with temperature. Steady, incompressible flow is assumed when solving the momentum equation for the velocity parallel to the fiber tow. Resin temperatures are determined by applying a finite differencing scheme to the convective energy equation. An iterative approach is used to update the velocity, temperature, and viscosity in the flow direction. The resulting nonisothermal flow profiles are “plug-like” with significant increases in the velocities near the fibers. Comparisons of average total flow times for isothermal and nonisothermal flows indicate that, for an epoxy resin at an initial 25°C and the fibers heated to 100°C. the fill time is equivalent to the isothermal case with the resin held at a constant 50°C.