Numerical model of fiber wetting with finite resin volume

Abstract

The partial wetting of cylindrical surfaces is encountered in many industrial applications such as composites manufacturing, MEMS, hair care products, and textile engineering. Understanding the impact of key parameters such as resin and fiber surface interaction properties and the geometric arrangement of the fibers on wetting would lead to tailoring a desired interface between the resin and the fiber surface. A three-dimensional model of resin wetting a single fiber is presented. This model is then extended to study a finite volume of resin wetting fibers in square and triangular packing arrangements. The impact of changing wetting properties and fiber volume fraction is examined for each packing arrangement.