Permeability Characterization of a Composite Reinforced Material with Fiberglass and Cabuya by VARTM Process. Case Hybrid Material

Abstract

In this study, the influence of the use of synthetic and natural fiber in the characterization of permeability in composite materials was analyzed. The Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Process (VARTM) was applied to glass fiber samples Chopped Strand Mat and Fourcroia mercadilla, known as “cabuya”, to observe the advance of the epoxy resin flow front IN2. Additionally, a sandwich-type hybrid reinforcement with the aforementioned fibers was used and its incidence on the permeability of the compound was measured. The cabuya fiber achieves a reduction of 4. 38% at infusion time compared to fiberglass. In addition, the use of cabuya natural fiber within the compound decreases the infusion time in 7.40% with respect to the 12.14% presented by fiberglass. To determine the permeability of the different fibers, the experimental procedure was used through Darcy’s Law. The calculated permeability was; 7.3628 × 10−11 m2, 8.5765 × 10−11 m2, 1.0065 × 10−10 m2 for fiberglass, woven cabuya and hybrid material respectively.