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Flow enhancement in liquid composite molding processes by online microwave resin preheating
Author(s) -
Rubino Felice,
Esperto Vitantonio,
Tucci Fausto,
Carlone Pierpaolo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.25477
Subject(s) - materials science , transfer molding , mold , composite material , pultrusion , composite number , molding (decorative) , aerospace , microwave , automotive industry , computer science , telecommunications , political science , law , engineering , aerospace engineering
Liquid composite molding techniques are increasingly applied for the manufacturing of fiber‐reinforced plastic components for civil, aerospace, and automotive applications. Being the preform impregnation a key step during the process, resin viscosity should meet the precise requirements. Opportune resin preheating increases its fluency, thus enhancing the impregnation and saturation flow through the fabric and reducing the mold filling time. This paper explores the application of microwave technology for resin preheating. The integration of an online microwave preheating system within a demonstrative resin infusion facility is described and the effects of preheating on the infusion time are discussed. Parallel‐plate dielectric sensors were embedded into the mold to track the unheated and preheated resin flow through the fiber preform. The obtained results highlighted the effectiveness of online microwave heating to reduce the time required for the impregnation of the dry fiber reinforcement.