Autodesk Moldflow Insight 2012

AMI Resin Transfer Molding

Revision 1, 22 March 2012.
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Contents

Chapter 1 Resin Transfer Molding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 2 RTM/SRIM analysis types and analysis technologies. . . . . . . 2

RTM/SRIM analysis types and analysis technologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Setting up a Resin Transfer Molding analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
RTM/SRIM analysis types and analysis technologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Process Settings Wizard dialogRTM/SRIM Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Chapter 3 Preparing the model for Reactive Molding analysis. . . . . . . . 5

Chapter 4 Preform surface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Preform surfacePorosity and permeability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Preform surfaceOrientation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Preform surface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Preform Surface (Dual Domain) dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Preform Surface (Midplane) dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

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 Resin Transfer Molding
1
Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) is a liquid composite molding process.
Unlike materials used in RIM or SRIM processes, where the chemical reaction is activated
by mixing the reactants, the chemical reaction for resins used in RTM are thermally
activated by heat from the mold wall and fiber mat (preform). The reaction rate in RTM
processes is typically much slower than that in SRIM, allowing a longer fill time at lower
injection pressure.

The RTM process

RTM is a process for the manufacture of fiber-reinforced composites. The resulting
light-weight, high strength parts are attractive for many applications. Examples are chairs,
automobile parts and aircraft components. RTM is of interest to the aerospace industry
because it promises cost savings and performance improvements over traditional methods.
In the RTM process, dry fiber reinforcement, or fiber preform, is packed into a mold cavity
which has the shape of the desired part. The mold is then closed and resin is injected
under pressure into the mold where it impregnates the preform. After the fill cycle, the
cure cycle begins, during which the mold is heated and resin polymerizes to become rigid
plastic.

Benefits of RTM
The greatest benefit of RTM relative to other polymer composite manufacturing techniques
is the separation of the injection and cure stages from the fiber preform stage. Liquid
molding also enables high levels of microstructural control and part complexity compared
with processes like injection molding and compression molding.
Other benefits afforded by RTM include:
Low capital investment.
Good surface quality.
Tooling flexibility.
Large, complex shapes.
Ribs, cores and inserts.
Range of reinforcements.

1
 RTM/SRIM analysis types and
analysis technologies 2
The following table shows the available analysis technologies for an RTM/SRIM analysis type.

Table 1: RTM/SRIM process and analysis types

Analysis Type Analysis Technology

Fill+Pack

Runner Balance

RTM/SRIM analysis types and analysis technologies

There are steps that are required to set up a Resin Transfer Molding analysis.

Setting up a Resin Transfer Molding analysis

For an RTM or SRIM analysis, resin is forced to flow through a cavity in
which reinforcing preform (also called fiber mat) is present.
The fiber-mat, or preform reinforcement is positioned in the mold, and the
mold is closed and heated under pressure. The mold is then opened and
the part is removed. In order to run an RTM or SRIM analysis, you must
specify a preform surface on the entire part.

1 In the Layers pane, deselect all layers except the layer containing the
cavity elements.
2 Click Geometry tab > Selection panel > Select All to select the entire
model.
3 Click Geometry tab > Properties panel > Assign.
The Assign Property dialog appears.
4 Click New > Preform surface to assign the Preform surface property to
all model elements.
In the Preform Surface dialog, you can use the selected preform, edit
the properties of the selected preform, or select a new preform.
5 Select the required preform for the analysis.
If you click Select, you can search the supplied database for an
appropriate preform to use.

2 | RTM/SRIM analysis types and analysis technologies

 6 Specify the required preform thickness option.
7 Specify the required preform orientation.
8 Click OK twice.

RTM/SRIM analysis types and analysis technologies

Use this dialog to specify settings for a Resin Transfer Molding analysis.

Process Settings Wizard dialogRTM/SRIM Settings

This page of the Process Settings Wizard, which can be accessed by clicking

(Home tab > Molding Process Setup panel > Process Settings), is used
to specify the Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) and Structural Reaction
Injection Molding (SRIM) related process settings for the selected analysis
sequence.

NOTE: The RTM analysis will be used if you are analyzing a fiber-reinforced
plastic.

NOTE: Some of the items listed below may not be available on the current
dialog. This is dependent on the mesh type, molding process and analysis
sequence selected.

Mold surface temperature The temperature of the mold at the

Melt temperature
Nominal injection time
Melt initial conversion
Curing time
Machine pressure limit
Intensification ratio
plastic-metal interface, where the plastic
touches the mold.
The temperature of the molten plastic,
or melt, as it starts to flow into the
cavity.
Enter the injection time that you would
use with the injection unit for the
process.
Enter a value between -1 and 1 to specify
the initial conversion (curing) level at
the injection location.
The time taken for a thermoset material
to become sufficiently cross-linked from
heating to form a solid and freeze.
The maximum allowable hydraulic
pressure that can be used on the
injection molding machine.
The ratio of the material pressure in
front of the screw, compared to the oil
pressure in the piston of the injection
molding machine.

RTM/SRIM analysis types and analysis technologies | 3

 Preconditioning analysis Specifies whether a preconditioning
analysis should be performed.

4 | RTM/SRIM analysis types and analysis technologies

 Preparing the model for
Reactive Molding analysis 3
There are modeling tasks required for a Microchip Encapsulation molding analysis, Reactive
Molding analysis, and Underfill Encapsulation molding analysis.

Compulsory modeling tasks

In order to run a thermoset analysis, the following must be specified for your model:
A meshed part model
Injection location(s).

Analysis setup options

The following can be specified for your model:
Porosity and permeability for a surface/element (for RTM/SRIM analyses).
Runner dimension constraints (for a Runner Balance analysis).

5
 Preform surface
4
Surface characturistics that impact on the analysis can be simulated.

Preform surfacePorosity and permeability

In the RTM (Resin Transfer Molding) and SRIM (Structural Reaction Injection
Molding) analyses, resin is forced to flow through a cavity in which
reinforcing preform (also called fiber mat) is present.
The flow type, characterized by the preform properties, may be isotropic
or anisotropic depending on the preform structure. The resistance of a resin
to flowing through the preform also depends on the resin properties and
flow rate.
When preparing an RTM or SRIM analysis, the preform data includes:
Porosity and permeability.
Orientation, if the preform is anisotropic.

Preform porosity
Porosity represents the packing density of the preform in the cavity. Porosity
is defined as the ratio of the void volume to the cavity volume, before the
cavity is filled with resin. The void volume is equal to the cavity volume
minus the volume occupied by the fiber reinforcement.

Preform permeability
Permeability is the ability of a fluid to flow through a porous medium. The
greater the permeability, the more easily the fluid flows through the
medium. For RTM and SRIM processes, permeability depends on the network
structure of the fiber mat.
The in-plane and the transverse-to-flow structures of the fiber mat can be
different, and can create different resistance to the flow.
Transverse permeability is used to characterize the flow of autoclave
composite processing. In-plane permeability is used to determine the flow
resistance in RTM or SRIM, since these processes are often modeled with a
two-dimensional flow due to the small ratio of the gap thickness to the
plane dimension in many applications.
Transverse permeability:

6 | Preform surface
 In-plane permeability:

Using preform in a cavity with varying thickness

Sometimes a preform is placed on areas with different thicknesses. A cavity
with varying thickness, but reinforced with the same preform, can result
in different porosity, and, therefore, permeability. To deal with this
situation, specify the Reference thickness on which the preform properties
were based. In the Properties tab of the Preform dialog, thickness is the
reference thickness.
If the cavity thickness at molding is different from the specified reference
thickness, the Reactive Molding analysis automatically modifies the porosity
and permeability.

Preform surfaceOrientation
In the RTM (Resin Transfer Molding) and SRIM (Structural Reaction Injection
Molding) analyses, resin is forced to flow through a cavity in which
reinforcing preform (also called fiber mat) is present.
The flow type, characterized by the preform properties, may be isotropic
or anisotropic depending on the preform structure. The resistance of a resin

Preform surface | 7
 to flowing through the preform also depends on the resin properties and
flow rate.
When preparing an RTM or SRIM analysis, the preform data includes:
Porosity and permeability.
Orientation, if the preform is anisotropic.

Isotropic preform
Resin flowing through a preform with random structure produces a circular
melt front. This flow pattern is known as isotropic flow. This kind of
preform normally is made from randomly chopped fiber strands; it is known
as an isotropic preform. Since the resin flow pattern does not depend on
the direction of flow, there is no need to specify the preform orientation.
For an isotropic fiber mat, the preform permeability in principal direction
1 is equal to the preform permeability in principal direction 2, and the
preform cross permeability is zero. Therefore, in Autodesk Moldflow Insight,
you do not need to specify the orientation of an isotropic preform.

Anisotropic preform
If the structure of a directionally stitched or woven preform is not uniform,
it is known as an anisotropic preform. In terms of the pore-area distribution,
the preform shows a maximum in one direction and a minimum in the
direction at right angles to the first direction. When resin flows through
such a preform, the flow in the direction of maximum pore area advances
more quickly, because it encounters less flow resistance. If the pore-area
distribution is smooth, the melt front is elliptical.
The shape of the ellipse depends on the maximum and the minimum pore
areas, which can be characterized by the permeability of the principal
directions. The direction with the largest pore area, and thus the greatest
permeability, is defined as Principal direction 1. Principal direction 1
corresponds to the major axis of the ellipse. The minor axis of the ellipse
corresponds to principal direction 2, which is at right angles to principal
direction 1 and has the smallest pore area and, thus, the smallest
permeability.
Schematic planar view of cavity, showing elliptic melt-front
pattern for resin flowing through anisotropic preform:

8 | Preform surface
 Where:
a is the resin inlet (gate)
b is the minor axis
c is the elliptic melt front
d is the major axis
e is the anisotropic fiber mat

NOTE: For an anisotropic fiber mat, the preform permeability in principal

direction 1 is different from the preform permeability in principal direction
2, and the preform cross permeability may or may not be zero. Therefore,
in Autodesk Moldflow Insight, you need to specify the orientation (principal
direction 1, the major axis) of an anisotropic preform.

Preform surface
Use this dialog to specify the properties of selected elements or regions of
type in an RTM (Resin Transfer Molding) and SRIM (Structural Reaction
Injection Molding) analysis.

Preform Surface (Dual Domain) dialog

The Preform Surface (Dual Domain) dialog is used to specify the properties
of the selected Dual Domain elements or regions of type Preform surface
(Dual Domain).
The set of property values defined by the dialog are saved to a property set
with the description shown in the Name box. In addition, you may be
given the option to also apply the property values to related entities in the
model.

NOTE: Do not assume that there is only one orientation direction for the
entire part. Areas such as vertical ribs may require you to specify a different
fiber-mat preform orientation to the rest of the part.

Preform surface | 9
 Preform Surface (Midplane) dialog
The Preform Surface (Midplane)dialog is used to specify the properties of
the selected Midplane elements or regions of type Preform surface
(Midplane).
The set of property values defined by the dialog are saved to a property set
with the description shown in the Name box. In addition, you may be
given the option to also apply the property values to related entities in the
model.

NOTE: Do not assume that there is only one orientation direction for the
entire part. Areas such as vertical ribs may require you to specify a different
fiber-mat preform orientation to the rest of the part.

10 | Preform surface