Effect of permeability characterization at different boundary and flow conditions on vacuum infusion process modeling

Permeability characterization of a fabric preform is a key factor that affects the accuracy of process modeling of vacuum infusion. There are various flow types and boundary conditions (such as one-dimensional or radial flow under constant injection pressure or constant injection flow rate during unsaturated or saturated flow regimes) used in permeability measurement experiments in the literature. This study investigates the effect of using different flow and injection boundary conditions in permeability characterization on the results of coupled one-dimensional mold-filling and compaction model. The results of the model are compared with vacuum infusion mold-filling experiments. It is shown that using the permeability measured at constant injection pressure and unsaturated flow results in the closest fill time compared to the experiments for all three types of fabrics investigated in this study.