A numerical integrated flow-stress processing model for plain weave textile composites

TL;DR

This paper introduces a numerical model to simulate resin flow and deformation in textile composites during manufacturing.

Contribution

A novel integrated flow-stress model combining resin infusion and curing effects in textile composites is proposed.

Findings

Each fiber layer is modeled as orthotropic porous material with resin flow simulated via the volume of fluid method.

Residual stresses are predicted using a multi-physics model incorporating thermal strains and chemical shrinkage.

The model's accuracy is validated by comparing predicted spring-in angles with experimental results.

Abstract

This work proposes a numerical integrated flow-stress processing model in order to simulate the flow front of the resin and manufacturing-induced deformation during the fabrication cycle. In the flow model, each layer of the dry fiber fabric is modeled as an orthotropic porous material. The resin flow behavior is predicted using the volume of fluid method, incorporating the temperature- and cure-dependent viscosity of the resin. After the infusion model, the resin filling factor and the degree of cure are transferred to a multi-physics curing model to predict the residual stress. In this model, each lamina is modeled as a homogeneous orthotropic material with mechanical properties calculated from the in-situ resin modulus and the elastic modulus of the fiber based on the micromechanics. The composite properties, along with the thermal strains and chemical shrinkage, are incorporated into an orthotropic constitutive law to predict the residual stress. The accuracy of the proposed model is validated through comparison between the spring-in angle predicted by the numerical model and the experimental results.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-21928-0.

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