A Study on Influence of Inlet Pressure and Fiber Architecture on the Quality of Sample Made From VARTM

Abstract

In recent years, research is underway worldwide by scientists to successfully replace
the majority of structural components that are denser, high weight and are costly with fiber
reinforced polymer (FRP) composites materials that are lightweight and low cost without
sacrificing strength requirements in various applications. Among the available composite
fabrications techniques, Resin infusion process is a competent and most effective technique
which has been successfully used by the industries for production of complex FRP composite
components and structures with intricate geometric details. However in any fabrication process,
understanding the effect of critical process parameters is highly important to ensure high quality
of final composite materials with superior mechanical properties. Therefore, the present study is
focused on studying the effect of critical process parameters such as fiber architectures, number
of layers and inlet vacuum in the mould on the quality and mechanical properties of the eglass/
polyester composite laminates fabricated by means of resin infusion technique. Three
different fiber architectures: (i) Chop strand (ii) Woven mat and (ii) unidirectional mat are
selected. Moreover, three different fiber reinforcements layers (as 4 layers, 5 layers and 6 layers)
with varied vacuum pressures: (i) 200 mm of Hg, (ii) 300 mm of Hg, and (iii) 400 mm of Hg are
selected in the present study for preparation of samples. The results indicated a considerable
effect of inlet pressure and the fiber architecture on the materials performance.