Effect of fiber architecture on permeability in liquid composite molding

This study investigates the effect of fiber architecture on the permeability in liquid composite molding. The in-plane permeabilities of several glass fiber mats with different architectures were measured. A conceptual model based on the observed micro-scale flow pattern is proposed to explain the measured permeability results. It is found that the size of the pores outside the fiber tows and how these pores are connected determine the permeability of a fiber reinforcement.