Computational Approach for Optimizing Resin Flow Behavior in Resin Transfer Molding with Variations in Injection Pressure, Fiber Permeability, and Resin Sorption

Resin transfer molding (RTM) is a key process for manufacturing high-performance fiber-reinforced composites, in which resin infiltration dynamics play a critical role in process efficiency and defect minimization. This study presents a numerical and experimental analysis of resin flow in biaxial noncrimp carbon fiber reinforcement using FormuLITE 2500A/2401B epoxy. A model based on Darcy’s law and resin sorption effects was developed to investigate the influence of injection pressure (15–25 kPa), permeability (350 × 10−12 m2 to 0.035 × 10−12 m2), porosity (0.78–0.58), viscosity (0.28–0.48 Pa·s), and injection radius (0.001–0.003 m) on flow-front progression. The results show that a higher injection pressure increased the infiltration depth by 30% at 250 s, while a 100× reduction in permeability reduced infiltration by 75%. The increased viscosity slowed the resin flow by ~18%, and the lower porosity reduced the flow-front progression by 15%. The experimental validation demonstrated a relative error of <5% between the numerical predictions and the measured data. This study provides critical insights into RTM process optimization for uniform fiber impregnation and defect minimization.