Development of Guidelines for the Design of Functionally Integrated Molds for a Novel Vacuum Assisted Resin Infusion Process

In the present study, a newly developed vacuum assisted resin infusion process (FuVak) is described in which the conventional, disposable multilayer vacuum setup is replaced by reusable silicone vacuum hoods with integrated flow channels. In order to ensure high-quality impregnation of the fiberglass textile structure in a short time, while avoiding the use of disposable layers like flow aids, a suitable design of the flow channel geometry and their positioning on the vacuum hood must be determined. To study the effect of the channel cross-section, an experimental setup with varying geometries in laboratory-scale was designed, constructed, and tested. Optical detection of the flow front during the Infusion process and later examining of porosity distribution on the cured part were performed. The relationship between channel cross-section, flow speed and final part quality (porosity distribution) were determined and discussed. Based on this, an industry-scale, 2 m long part with higher complexity was fabricated with the novel process, validating the process ability to control of the flow front and quality of the composite.