Forming characteristics during the high-pressure resin transfer molding process for CFRP

Abstract

The high-pressure resin transfer molding (HP-RTM) process has potential applicability to the mass production of lightweight vehicles made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic in the automotive industry. In recent years, the development of robust equipment, new processes, and fast cure matrix systems have significantly reduced the cycle time to less than 5 min. In this study, the cavity pressure of the HP-RTM process was monitored to analyze the molding characteristics. The mold was equipped with two cavity pressure sensors and three temperature sensors. The cavity pressure characteristics during the HP-RTM injection, pressurization, and curing processes were studied. Selected process parameters such as the mold cap size, maximum pressing force, and injection volume were analyzed. The results demonstrated correlations between the selected process parameters and final forming characteristics.

Keywords:

• carbon fiber-reinforced composite material
• high-pressure resin transfer molding
• process condition monitoring
• cavity pressure sensor
• temperature sensor

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Technological Innovation R&D Program (S2423840) funded by the Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA, Korea). [S2423840];