Development of a process characterization unit for composites molding

聚合物复合材料在交通、航空、航海、体育等行业的应用持续增长。在过去的20年里，由于“液体复合材料模塑”(LCM)的使用，随着制造成本的降低，复合材料在大型零件上的应用越来越多。在LCM制造中，液体反应性聚合物树脂通过包含在封闭模具中的碳纤维或玻璃纤维增强体注射。这些高质量和低成本的工艺符合无排放有害溶剂的环境要求。这些过程涉及几个复杂的现象，如树脂流动、纤维浸渍、树脂固化、热变化和流变性，使LCM对工艺参数非常敏感。选择合适的制造条件(即温度、压力或树脂配方)通常是一个基于用户知识的微妙决定。

The application of polymer composite materials is continuously growing in several markets including transportation, aeronautical, nautical and sport industries. The application of composite materials for large parts has increased the last 20 years as manufacturing costs decrease thanks to the usage of "Liquid Composite Molding" (LCM). In LCM manufacturing, a liquid reacting polymer resin is injected through a carbon or glass fibrous reinforcement contained in a closed mold. These high quality and low cost processes meet the environmental requirements of emission free harmful solvents. These processes involve several complex phenomena such as resin flow, fiber impregnation, resin cure, thermal and rheological variations that make LCM very sensitive to processing parameters. Selecting proper manufacturing conditions (i.e., temperature, pressure or resin formulation) is a delicate decision often based on user's knowledge.