Application of shadow moiré in monitoring vacuum assisted resin transfer molding of composites

Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding(VARTM) differs from other composite processing methods in that the impregnation and consolidation of the reinforcement are a part of a single process, rather than separate ones. As a result modeling for impregnation and consolidation are coupled, and for proper validation of the models both processes must be measured concurrently and compared with the model predictions. This paper describes a set of infusion and consolidation experiments, and the shadow moiré system developed to measure the preform consolidation both during and after infusion. This type of experimental measurement is a significant step in improving understanding of the VARTM process, and required the development of specific moiré analysis methods capable of extracting from moiré fringe patterns on irregular surfaces, using both temporal and statistical fringe analysis methods.