JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #89 - May 2014 - 50

infusion
Tab.3: Filling time and resin quantities for the simulations performed

Configuration

Filling
time [s]

Total infused
resin [m3]

Total lost
resin [m3]

Total resin in
Average fibre content Average thickness
component [m3] (after infusion) [%] (after infusion) [mm]

Simple
configuration

14226

3.4E-01

6.8E-02

2.7E-01

50.9

3.60

12 runners

10714

3.6E-01

1.0E-01

2.6E-01

51.5

3.45

12 runners +
2 supply lines +
3 sensors

7278

3.2E-01

5.9E-02

2.6E-01

51.5

3.48

the blue and yellow lines are the infusion lines, the green
one is the vacuum line. As shown in Figure 5, the average
fibre content was about 51.5%, while thickness was more
uniform, at about 3.48 mm everywhere.
Table 3 summarizes the results of this process design procedure. The amount of resin in the component is the same for
all the infusion configurations, with a maximum difference
of 10 litres due to a different final resin content in the
laminate. A bigger difference, of about 40 litres, can be seen
for the loss of resin. With sequential infusion, the filling
time was optimized, with a fibre content of about 51.5%
and a uniform thickness of about 3.48 mm throughout the
component.

ponents and its potential advantages in terms of execution
times, final product quality (reduced weight and greater
fibre volume percentage) and thickness uniformity. n
More information:
sorrentino@unicas.it
Acknowledgements
This work was carried out with the funding of the Italian Ministry of Instruction, University and Technological
Research (M.I.U.R.). The authors wish to thank CREA Srl
and ESI Group, in the person of Mr V. Galli, for their support
to this work and their availability. Special thanks to Martina
and Lorenzo S.

Conclusions
A simulation software program is an essential tool for
designing large structural composite components. Accurate predictions for resin-rich areas, air bubble formation,
the presence of "dry spots", high-porosity areas, mechanical properties of the component, input and output gate
positions, fibre orientation, filling times, amount of infused
resin, etc. are useful information to better design the infusion network and successfully manufacture a high-performance component.
The aim of this work was to study the RIFT process applied
to a 60-foot hull, in order to optimize filling time, thickness
uniformity and fibre content uniformity using a multi-step
methodology. The process was optimized in several steps
using PAM-RTM, until a network of channels resulting in
reduced filling times and uniform thickness was reached.
The optimum infusion network was constituted by two
supply lines and 12 equally-spaced runners arranged on
the bottom, the side and the stern. Thanks to a sequential
infusion process, opportunely regulated by three sensors,
filling time was halved compared to the initial situation and
a good thickness and fibre content uniformity was reached.
This work traces a guideline to design and optimize the
infusion process, highlighting the problems and methodology of the infusion process. Furthermore, it demonstrates
the applicability of RIFT for the production of large com-

50 jec composites magazine / No89 May 2014

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JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #89 - May 2014

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