A PERMEABILITY PREDICTION FOR (UN)SHEARED NON-CRIMP FABRICS

SUMMARY: A permeability prediction model for relaxed and sheared Non-Crimp Fabrics is proposed. The model is based on geometrical features of the fabric. The stitches penetrating the uni-directional plies of the NCF induce distortions of the fibres in the plane of the fabric. These Stitch Yarn induced fibre Distortions (SYD) form flow channels, which determine the permeability of the NCF. The channels are connected to each other in overlap regions, allowing the fluid to flow from one channel to another and finally to impregnate the entire preform. A network of SYD flow channels is created to account for the statistical variations in the dimensions of the SYDs. The system of flow resistances is solved analogously to the solution of the effective resistance of an electrical circuit with parallel and serial resistances. The flow in each of the SYD domains is calculated employing an energy minimisation method. Analysis of different networks, with varying spatial distribution of the dimensions of the flow channels, allows the prediction of the variation in the permeability of an NCF