Development of a process characterization unit for composites molding

聚合物复合材料的应用在包括运输、航空、航海和体育行业在内的多个市场中不断增长。在过去的20年里，由于“液体复合材料成型”（LCM）的使用，制造成本降低，复合材料在大型部件中的应用有所增加。在LCM制造中，液体反应聚合物树脂通过包含在封闭模具中的碳或玻璃纤维增强物注入。这些高质量和低成本的工艺满足了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，热和流变变化，使LCM非常敏感的工艺参数。选择适当的制造条件（即，温度、压力或树脂配方）是一个通常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.