Three-dimensional numerical simulation for resin transfer molding of automotive wheel

Resin transfer molding (RTM) is a manufacturing process that uses liquid resin to saturate a fiber preform placed in a closed mold cavity. For robust fabrication of the composite, fiber preform needs to be completely impregnated with polymer resin during mold filling. Hence, the understanding of resin flow and void formation in RTM is very important to design the mold and processing conditions for successful production of composite parts. In this study, three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation was carried out to investigate the resin flow behavior in a complicated mold. An automotive wheel rim was designed and fabricated using carbon fiber preform and epoxy resin. Case studies were performed to minimize the void formation during processing.