Experimental Study of the Microvoids formation and Transport in the Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding Process

In RTM process, the content of microvoids can be critical due to the fact that the presence of microvoids degrades mechanical properties on the fabricated composite parts. The present paper proposes an experimental method of observation in void formation and transport. VARTM processes are performed under observation with a digital video camera and then the microvoid formation in the flow front and transport are videotaped and observed both in channels and tows. The obtained data are used in the mathematical model in order to determine the model constants. Experimental results and expected results from the mathematical model show a good agreement with each other.