Pierre-Jacques Liotier

Characterisation of woven flax fibres reinforcements: Effect of the shear on the in-plane permeability

This paper describes a method to characterise the influence of in-plane shear on the permeability of fibrous preforms used in liquid composite moulding processes. An optical method for measuring the local shear variation of the woven textile is presented and used in conjunction with an in-plane permeability measurement system. Two flax fibre fabrics were tested and compared with a woven glass fibre fabric of similar architecture. The system presented here can be used either as a validation tool for permeability prediction models or to compile semi-empirical permeability models for the use in liquid composite moulding process simulation tools.

Numerical approach for modelling across scales infusion-based processing of aircraft primary structures

This study aims to establish a numerical strategy allowing to take into account the capillary and wetting issues, considered on the macroscopic scale as a discontinuity of pressure at the fluid-gas interface, and surface tension force balance at the local scale. This modelling is based on the Brinkman/Darcy and Stokes equations solved by a finite element stabilized method. Specific numerical methods are implemented to deal with the discontinuity of pressure field across the flow front. One of the challenges lies in modelling across scales capillary force effects in infusion-based processes to scale-up rules for flows at the process scale, because the computation cost of numerical simulations at local scales is too not tractable industrially.

Wicking Tests for Unidirectional Fabrics: Measurements of Capillary Parameters to Evaluate Capillary Pressure in Liquid Composite Molding Processes

During impregnation of a fibrous reinforcement in liquid composite molding (LCM) processes, capillary effects have to be understood in order to identify their influence on void formation in composite parts. Wicking in a fibrous medium described by the Washburn equation was considered equivalent to a flow under the effect of capillary pressure according to the Darcy law. Experimental tests for the characterization of wicking were conducted with both carbon and flax fiber reinforcement. Quasi-unidirectional fabrics were then tested by means of a tensiometer to determine the morphological and wetting parameters along the fiber direction. The procedure was shown to be promising when the morphology of the fabric is unchanged during capillary wicking. In the case of carbon fabrics, the capillary pressure can be calculated. Flax fibers are sensitive to moisture sorption and swell in water. This phenomenon has to be taken into account to assess the wetting parameters. In order to make fibers less sensitive to water sorption, a thermal treatment was carried out on flax reinforcements. This treatment enhances fiber morphological stability and prevents swelling in water. It was shown that treated fabrics have a linear wicking trend similar to those found in carbon fabrics, allowing for the determination of capillary pressure.