Abstract:
Predicting reinforcement textile permeability properties through simulation approaches is a repeatable and robust method which can capture complex behaviours during Liquid Composite Moulding processes. This paper compares the predicted permeability values obtained from conducting flow simulations on the same textile models using the FlowTex and Ansys CFX solvers. An automated tool, which has been developed and is presented, has been used for this, performing flow simulations on WiseTex generated meshes using Ansys CFX. This tool converts the voxel files exported from WiseTex into voxel meshes compatible with Ansys, representing the volume of resin within the unit cell. The voxel meshes are automatically cleaned, deleting any floating elements and the boundary regions are defined based on the unit cell size. The permeability comparison results for a range of idealised textile models are presented. Furthermore, the ability of both solvers to capture variations in unit cell geometric parameters is demonstrated. Finally, both solvers were used to predict the permeability values of unit cell models based on the textile used in the second permeability benchmark exercise [1]and these are compared with the experimental permeability values.