Influence of test fluids on the permeability of epoxy powder bindered non-crimp fabrics

Abstract

Binder applications have found their place in liquid composite molding processes, as they simplify preprocessing steps such as preforming and subsequent handling. Moreover, binders can modify mechanical behavior of finished fiber reinforced plastic parts. Besides the obvious potentials, topics such as the impregnation behavior become more complicated due to binders. The present paper addresses the issue of estimating permeability values of epoxy powder bindered non-crimp fabrics, after considering different test fluids and their behavior under standard laboratory conditions as well as manufacturing-oriented conditions. Test fluid properties, especially surface energy as well as viscosity development with respect to temperature were provided, thereby highlighting a more complete picture of the flow situation during resin transfer molding processes. In contrary to former scientific studies, the influence of test fluids seems to have more influence when investigating Bindered Preforms.

Keywords

• resin transfer molding
• bindered non-crimp fabrics
• permeability characterization
• test fluid properties
• binder dissolubility
• binder wash out