Manufacturing of fiber reinforced polymer by using VARTM process: A review

The selection of manufacturing process plays a vital role in complex and large composite parts. VARTM process is one of the open mould composite manufacturing process which is highly used for manufacturing large composite parts. It is operated at atmospheric pressure and room temperature therefore, it is easy to control. In this process, the part thickness variation, compaction pressure and volume fraction are the process parameter. In this paper, the review of VARTM process has been carried out including its advantages and disadvantages. The step-wise experimental process has been described in detail. The relationship of process parameters have been described in details with equation. This review covered behavior of process parameters under dry and wet loading, point and line source of resin infusion, w/HPM and w/o HPM, variation of compaction pressure, adding the number of layers. The simulation approached for resin flow and pressure variation in composite component have been analyzed. The pressure distribution and resin flow have been validated with simulation approach. The dimension accuracy of VARTM process has been compared with other composite manufacturing processes. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Materials, Processing & Characterization.

Automated summary

The VARTM process is an open mould composite manufacturing process that is easy to control and involves parameters such as thickness variation, compaction pressure, and volume fraction. This review discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the VARTM process, detailing the experimental procedures, relationships between process parameters, and simulation methods. A comparison of dimensional accuracy with other composite manufacturing processes is also provided.