Deviation from Darcy's Law During the Post-filling Stage of Resin Infusion

Abstract

To allow for a better control of the quality of parts produced through the resin infusion process, it is necessary to understand the phenomenon happening during the post-filling stage of the process. This paper investigates the causes of the residual pressure gradient that can be observed at the end of the post-filling stage of the resin infusion and RTMLight processes. A modified formulation of Darcy’s law is presented along with experimental evidence in an attempt to verify and quantify the existence of a threshold pressure gradient in the case of flow through porous media.