Analysis of Laminate Thickness Influence on Compressibility Behavior in a Rift Process

RIFT (Resin Infusion under Flexible Tool) process modelling requires accurate material data like resin viscosity, reinforcement compressibility and reinforcement permeability. During the mould closing, the compression phase and the resin flow are important stages that strongly influence the quality of the obtained parts. In RIFT process the upper mould is a formable vacuum bag: its flexibility makes the pressure field change the local compaction state of the reinforcement and so it alters the permeability. Preform compaction depends on its compressibility, that is influenced by laminate thickness: the aim of this work is to analyse the relation between them. Moreover, this analysis is carried out observing preform deformation during process condition, in fact compression is applied by vacuum bag instead of compression testing machine. [email protected] Keyword-Liquid Resin Infusion, RIFT, compressibility behaviour, fabric compaction