Numerical Analysis of the Influence of Empty Channels Design on Performance of Resin Flow in a Porous Plate

Applied Sciences

GlauciléiaM. C. Magalhães¹  LiércioA. Isoldi¹  JefersonA. Souza¹  ElizaldoD. dos Santos¹  Rafaelde L. Lemos²  Cristiano Fragassa³  SandroC. Amico⁴  LuizA. O. Rocha⁵ 

[1] Graduate Program of Computational Modeling, Federal University of Rio Grande, Italia Avenue, km 8, Rio Grande 96201-900, Brazil;Graduate Program of Ocean Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande, Avenue, km 8, Rio Grande 96201-900, Brazil, Italia;Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research on Advanced Applications in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Technology, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy;Materials Engineering Graduate Program, University of Rio Grande do Sul, Bento Gonçalves Av., 9500, Porto Alegre 91501-970, Brazil;Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program, University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos, São Leopoldo 93022-750, Brazil;

关键词: constructal design;    resin flow;    porous media;    numerical simulation;    filling time;   

DOI  :  10.3390/app10114054

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

This numerical study aims to investigate the influence of I and T-shaped empty channels’ geometry on the filling time of resin in a rectangular porous enclosed mold, mimicking the main operating principle of a liquid resin infusion (LRI) process. Geometrical optimization was conducted with the constructal design (CD) and exhaustive search (ES) methods. The problem was subjected to two constraints (areas of porous mold and empty channels). In addition, the I and T-shaped channels were subjected to one and three degrees of freedom (DOF), respectively. Conservation equations of mass and momentum for modeling of resin/air mixture flow were numerically solved with the finite volume method (FVM). Interaction between the phases was considered with the volume of fluid method (VOF), and the effect of porous medium resistance in the resin flow was calculated with Darcy’s law. For the studied conditions, the best T-shaped configuration resulted in a filling time nearly three times lower than that for optimal I-shaped geometry, showing that the complexity of the channels benefited the performance. Moreover, the best T-shaped configurations were achieved for long single and bifurcated branches, except for configurations with skinny channels, which saw the generation of permanent voids.

【 授权许可】

Unknown