Original Article

Journal of Reinforced Plastics

and Composites

An experimental and analytical study 2017, Vol. 36(4) 294–304

! The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/0731684416683452
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Gong-Dong Wang1,2, Qiang Chong1, Li Zhou1 and Nan Li1

Abstract
Prediction of relative permeability is important to avoid dry spots or micro voids in the liquid composite molding
process. Most of previous studies focused on plain and twill, but few are about stain and none of them provide explicit
equation to calculate accurate values of unsaturated permeability. The main purpose of this work is to first propose a
new model which is proposed mainly based on fractal theory and has no empirical constant in the expression, to
calculate the permeability of satin fabric. And then we employ a new experimental method to calculate the unsaturated
permeability. Finally, a contrast experiment of 5-harness fabric and 8-harness fabric is designed at different injection
pressures, and the accurate values of permeability are obtained. The results show that unsaturated and saturated
permeabilities are in the same order of magnitude; furthermore, unsaturated permeability is 77% of saturated perme-
ability in 5-harness fabric and 73% in 8-harness fabric.

Keywords
Fractal Theory, minimum potential energy method, unsaturated permeability, explicit equation

to do some research on the saturated permeability of

Introduction
The term liquid composite molding (LCM) encom-
passes a growing list of composite manufacturing pro-
cesses, including resin transfer molding (RTM),
compression RTM (CRTM), RTM light and resin infu-
sion (i.e. vacuum-assisted RTM).1 In an LCM process,
dry fabric reinforcement is impregnated with liquid
resin in a molding apparatus. However, inherent pro-
cess variability can change the resin flow patterns
during mold filling, which in turn may result in the
formation of voids, including large dry spots or micro
voids.2 In an LCM process, resin impregnation is highly
dependent on the permeability of fibrous reinforce-
ment. As an important material parameter, permeabil-
ity represents the degree of difficulty for a fluid to
penetrate a porous medium.3 Plain weave, twill
weave, and satin weave are three basic woven struc-
tures.4,5 When the raw material, linear density, and pro-
cess conditions are the same, satin fabrics possess
relatively better mechanical properties,6 such as greater
density, lower fiber waviness, better toughness, higher
bending strength, and drapability. So, it is meaningful
satin fabrics.
Recent studies proposed optimization of resin injec-
tion gates and vents based on resin flow simulation7–10
to address quality issues in LCM. Stochastic simulation
of resin flow11 has also been used to improve optimiza-
tion of the processing conditions. However, it is almost
impossible to control and forecast the permeability of
fibrous reinforcement. O’Donnell et al.12 developed
composites panels of soy oil-based resin and different
natural fibers (flax, hemp and cellulose mats and
recycled paper). They determined the permeability of
the reinforcements and, except for the case of the
recycled paper, the obtained values were high enough
1
Liaoning General Aviation Academy, Shenyang, China
2
School of Aerospace Engineering, Shenyang Aerospace University,
Shenyang, China
Corresponding author:
Qiang Chong, Shenyang Aerospace University, Shenyang 110136, China.
Email: 18040258877@163.com
Wang et al.
for infusing by vacuum-assisted RTM (VARTM). Liu
and Dai13 studied the impregnation of a jute fiber mat
by a thermoplastic resin. They found that natural fab-
rics’ permeability is an order of magnitude higher than
the obtained for glass fiber mat. Due to the high vis-
cosity melt used in their work, they did not observe
impregnation inside the fiber bundles. Rodriguez
et al.,14 Cosa,15 and Henderson et al.16 improved the
Kozeny–Carman equation from different points of
view. Chen and Ye17 raised the square and hexagonal
arrangement permeability model on the basis theory of
approximation lubrication. However, the model is
restricted to those two kinds of arrangements and
only appropriate for porous media of a certain range
of porosity. Amico and Lekakou,18 Dukkipati and
Dukkipati,19 Golestanian20 and Feser et al.21 separately
used the unidirectional flow method under constant
pressure, the unidirectional flow method under con-
stant flow rate, the radial flow method under constant
pressure and the radial flow method under constant
flow rate to test the permeability of fabrics. Tan and
Li22 have presented a fractal model for the permeability
of fractured reservoirs; however, the relation between
the transport exponent and fractal dimension in the
proposed permeability model is unknown and needs
to be determined by other methods. Simacek et al.23
and Merotte et al.24 have studied the permeability
through constructing constitutive equations of fiber
reinforcements. Homogenization theory was employed
by Song and Youn25 and Fuhong et al.26 to calculate
the permeability of two-dimensional woven fabrics.
Xiao et al.27 numerically simulated the transport pro-
cess in a fractal object by applying a percolation model
and concluded that the permeability in real porous
media relates to porosity and fractal dimension.
Nevertheless, no quantitative expression for the perme-
ability was given in his work. Yu and Li28 proposed an
analytical expression for the relative permeability of
unsaturated bi-dispersed porous media based on fractal
capillary bundle model, where each capillary tube was
assumed to be partially filled with the wetting and no
wetting phase fluids.
While large number of researches have been reported
for natural reinforcements, a detailed insight on the
analytical expression and unsaturated permeability is
still required. Therefore, it is very important is to iden-
tify the main mechanisms presented in natural fibers
infiltration. One key aspect that has been studied by
several authors in glass fibers is the difference between
saturated and unsaturated permeability. Pillai and
Advani29 studied in detail the unsaturated flow in
woven fibers preforms, taking into account the delayed
impregnation of fiber tows through the use of a sink
function in the equation of continuity for the macro
flow. Micro flow can also occur through the micro
295
pores generated during the stacking and compression
of the layers of reinforcement. Kim et al.30 and Diallo
et al.31 found that the saturated permeability was
always lower than the unsaturated permeability, while
other authors obtained opposite results.32–34 These dis-
crepancies are usually attributed to experimental issues
that could modify the saturated and unsaturated per-
meability ratio, such as mold deflection, capillary effect,
microscopic flow, fiber channeling, and air bubbles.35
However, most studies depend on plain twill, few on
satin weave, and at the same time, many experiments
employ the method of recording the position of the flow
front rather than the pressure of the flow front.
In the present work, a new permeability model is put
forward based on textiles, fractal theory, principle of
minimum potential energy and penetration theory, to
calculate the permeability of satin fabrics. Traditional
permeability models have been based on empirical for-
mula and large amounts of experimental data. However,
the structural parameters are rarely applied in empirical
formulas, which make the models hard to reflect the
physical relationship and the seepage phenomenon.
Because of the employment of fractal theory, permeabil-
ity can be expressed as an organic combination of the
structural parameters of porous structure, making each
parameter to have a clear meaning. No doubt these are
the biggest advantages and the most attractive places of
fractal theory. In this study, we will use the new perme-
ability model to calculate both saturated and unsatur-
ated permeability. Unsaturated permeability will be the
focus of this study. In addition, permeability test results
obtained under the injection pressure of 0.1 MPa and
0.2 MPa, respectively, are compared in order to study
the pressure effect on the permeability values. Finally,
we briefly analyzed the main factors affecting the per-
meability values, and proposed that in natural
fibers, unsaturated permeability is affected by fluid
absorption and saturated permeability is affected by
the swelled fiber.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: The
modeling process and the design of all parameters in
the new fractal permeability model are presented in the
Modeling process section. The experimental procedure
is shown in the Experimental section. The results and
discussions can be found in the Results and discussion
section. Finally, the conclusions are given in the
Conclusion section.
Modeling process
Basic structures of satin fabrics
In order to ensure the rationality of the new model, it is
necessary to know more about the weaving structure of
satin fabrics. As shown in Figures 1(a) and 2(a), a
296 Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 36(4)

Straight channel: Lt (λ)=L0, DT=1 λλ ´´

λλ Tortuous channel: Lt(λ)>L0, DT>1

Figure 3. Sketch of channels.

Figure 1. Weaving structure of a 5-harness satin fabric. (a) the fractal theory is appropriate for this kind of porous
Photography of a 5-harness satin fabric. (b) Unit cell of a 5 medium.
harness satin fabric.
 Df
min
ffi0 ð1Þ
max

where min and max are the minimum and maximum

equivalent diameter of channels in the porous media,
respectively, and Df represents the structure fractal
dimension of the porous media.

Figure 2. Weaving structure of an 8-harness satin fabric. (a)
Photography of an 8-harness satin fabric. (b) Unit cell of an 8
harness satin fabric.
Modeling assumptions
Suppose in-plane shear deformation will not happen,
then temperature and humidity have no influence on
fiber structures, satin fabrics will not wrinkle and
crimp, there is no energy exchange between fibers and
resin, pore channels are parallel to fibers, and yarn
spaces are determined by the weaving machine only.

fabric is composed of warp and weft yarns through

The new fractal model
reciprocally interlacing and each yarn consists of hun- Studies show that fiber preform is a fractal.37–39 Thus,
dreds of thousands of filaments. The points where warp based on fractal theory, fiber preform satisfies the fol-
tows interweaves with weft tows or weft tows inter- lowing equations28
weaves with warp tows are called interlacing points. If
Z max  Df
the warp tows are above, then the interweaving points max
are warp interlacing points, and vice versa. The alter- NðÞ¼ pðÞd ¼ ð2Þ
 
nation of warp and weft interlacing points are of regu-
lation which is addressed as repetitive unit or unit cell  DT
Lt ðÞ L0
(see Figures 1 (b) and 2(b)). In a unit cell, there is only ¼ ð3Þ
 
one weft (warp) interlacing point in each weft (warp)
tow, and the rest are warp (weft) interlacing points. In  2Df
textile composites, a unit cell is the epitome of the min
¼ ð4Þ
whole fabric. Therefore, we just need to choose a unit max
cell for analysis for each kind of fabric in the following.
Usually, the equivalent diameter of pore channels where pðÞ is a density function of the equivalent diam-
among the fiber tows is at millimeter level, whereas eter and L represents the characteristic quantity that is
pore channels among the filaments is at micrometer used to describe a fractal medium. L0 is the represen-
level,36 and hence the fiber reinforcement approxi- tative length of a channel, Lt() is the physical length of
mately meets the new criterion deciding whether a the channel of which equivalent diameter equals  (see
structure is a fractal or not (see equation (1)), proposed Figure 3), ’ is the porosity of the porous medium,  is
by Yu and Li.28 In other words, a fabric is a fractal and the equivalent diameter of a tortuous channel, and N
Wang et al. 297

() the number of channels whose diameters are greater Based on equation (3), the physical length of the
than . Df and DT have donated the structure fractal channel Lt can be expressed as
dimension of a fractal medium and the tortuosity frac-
tal dimension of a tortuous channel, respectively Lt ¼ Lt ðÞ ¼ LD T 1DT
0  ð7Þ
(1 < Df < 2 and 1 < DT < 2 in the two-dimensional
space). As a fractal medium, the quantity of flow (q) meets
Equation (2) implies that all the channels will be the Hagon–Poiseulle equation40
taken into account when  is equal to min. Figure 4
illustrates that the minimum channel exists among three 4
P
mutually contacting filaments, and therefore min can qðÞ ¼ ð8Þ
128 Lt
be figured out according to equation (5).
where  represents the fluid viscosity, and
P is the
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
pffiffiffi differential pressure.
min ¼ 2r 3=  0:5 ð5Þ
Therefore, the total quantity of flow in the cross sec-
tion A is expressed as formula (9)
Z max
In this study, a 5-harness satin fabric and an 8-har-
Q¼ qðÞdNðÞ ð9Þ
ness satin fabric are taken as examples to illustrate how min
to calculate the permeability of satin fabrics using the
new model. The difference between warp yarns and Substituting equations (6) to (8) into equation (9),
weft yarns is their permeability. When solving the per- the formula can be further simplified as follow
meability in this paper, generally considered as weft
Z max
permeability, a weft cross section is ought to be used  4
P Df
for analysis (see Figures 5 and 6), and vice versa. Q¼ Df max ð1þDf Þ d
min 128  Lt ðÞ
According to equation (2), we can get the derivation 1D  

P L0 T Df Df 3þD D 3þD D
of ‘‘’’ ¼ max max T f  min T f
128  L0 3 þ DT  Df
"   #
min 3þDT Df
1D
f
dNðÞ ¼ Df max
D
ðDf þ1Þ d ð6Þ 
P L0 T Df DT
¼  1
128  L0 3 þ DT  Df max max
1D

P L0 T Df
¼ DT
128  L0 3 þ DT  Df max
"     #
min Df min 3þDT 2Df
 1 ð10Þ
max max

Since 1<DT <2 and 1<Df <2, we can conclude that

3 þ DT  2Df > 0 and max min
 102 . In summary,
min 3þDT 2Df 2
0  ðmax Þ  10 , and the formula can be even-
tually simplified as equation (11).
Z max 1D

P L0 T Df
Q¼ qðÞdNðÞ ¼ 3þDT
Figure 4. Ideal minimum pore. min 128  L0 3 þ DT  Df max
ð11Þ

Figure 5. Cross section of 5-harness satin fabric. Figure 6. Cross section of 8-harness satin fabric.
298 Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 36(4)

Besides, based on Darcy’s law41 Table 1. Corresponding average values.

5-Harness 8-Harness
K
Q¼ rP  A ð12Þ composite composite

Average of the maximum 114.6 98.5
where K (m2) is the hydraulic conductivity,  represents equivalent diameter
the viscosity of the liquid and rP is the total pressure of weft pores wmax
difference in the cross section A. Substituting equation
(11) into equation (12), the saturated permeability of
the fiber performance can be expressed as equation
(13) and unsaturated permeability can be derived as Table 2. The calculated values of all the parameters.
equation (14).
L0 (mm) A (mm2) max (mm) Df DT

Df ðmax ÞDT þ3 5-Harness fabric 2.78 0.7854 0.1146 1.7264 1.012
Kst ¼   8-Harness fabric 3.568 0.8556 0.0985 1.6139 1.013
128AL0DT 1 DT  Df þ 3
0 !DT Df þ3 1

 @1  min A
ðmax ÞDT þ3
ln 
DT þ3
Df ¼ 2  ð17Þ
Df ðmax Þ ln ðmin =max Þ
 ð13Þ
128AL0DT 1 ðDT  Df þ 3Þ
where Lt() means the actual length and L0 means the
DT þ3 representative length. In a unit cell, Lt () equals to
Df ðmax Þ
Kunst ¼ Kst  DT 1
ð14Þ Lw.42
128AL0 ðDT  Df þ 3Þ
P The representative length and the cross-sectional
area are easy to calculate (L0 ¼ ndj, A ¼ ndwh); however,
There is no empirical constant in the expression, so the maximum equivalent diameter of capillaries is dif-
the warp permeability can be easily figured out only if ficult to compute. In the previous work, that problem
the porosity structure fractal dimension Df, the tortu- was easily addressed by help of using microscopic meas-
osity fractal dimension DT, the representative length of urement technique (as shown in Table 1). Now, Table 2
channels L0, the cross section area A, and the maximum shows the calculated values of all parameters in the
equivalent diameter of pore channels max are known. formula except for the pressure. As long as we get the
pressure of each test-point, the unsaturated permeabil-
ity of the fabric can be figured out by equation (14).
Parameters design Substituting the known parameters into equation (13),
Based on the literature mentioned before, we use the the saturated permeability of different glass fiber fabric
bending potential energy and the principle of fractal to can be shown in Table 6.
calculate the tortuosity fractal dimension DT, and along
with equation (4), the structure fractal dimension Df
can be figured out as equation (17). Experimental
According to equation (3), Lt ðÞ can be derived as Raw materials
equation (15).
Two kinds of glass fiber fabrics are used in this study,
Lt ðÞ ¼ LD T 1DT namely SW220-90a and EC9. In addition, the epoxy
0  ð15Þ
resin was used for injection, and the viscosity of the
Therefore, the tortuosity fractal dimension DT can epoxy resin is 0.08 Pa.s at room temperature. Table 3
be figured out as equation (16). shows the main structural parameter of the two kinds
of fabric.
ln Lt ðÞ  ln  ln Lj  ln 
DT ¼ ¼
ln L0  ln  lnðndw Þ  ln  Experimental mold
   qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
12h2 pffiffiffi
ln ndw þ dw c  ln 2r 3=  0:5 As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the injection mold con-
¼  qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð16Þ sists of a lower mold, a middle mold, an upper mold
pffiffiffi
lnðndw Þ  ln 2r 3=  0:5 and a binder plate. The middle plate and the lower plate
are steel mold, while the upper plate is a
Wang et al. 299

Table 3. The structural parameter of the two kinds of fabric.

Name SW220-90 a EC9

Number of harnesses 5 8
Thickness (mm) 0.22 0.23
Filament diameter (mm) 8 9
Warp density (yarns/cm) 18 22.4
Weft density (yarns/cm) 14 21.5
Linear density of the warp yarns (Tex) 72 66
Linear density of the weft yarns (Tex) 72 66
Filaments per warp yarn 500 400
Filaments per weft yarn 500 400
Areal weight (g/m2) 236 271
Width of fabric (mm) 100 100

Figure 8. The injection mold used in the experiments.

Figure 7. The assembly of the lower mold and the middle

mold.

480 mm  480 mm  12 mm tempered glass plate, which
has one injection gate, two spare injection gates and
four vents. The dimension of the cavity is 400 mm 
400 mm  3 mm. With the help of the transparent
upper plate, it is convenient for us to observe the flow
and record data, and the binder plate is used to ensure
the stiffness of the mold.
Permeability experiments
On account that the unidirectional flow is easily influ-
enced by edge effect, radial flow was adopted in the
experiments. An RTM injection machine (as shown in
Figure 9), a pressure tank, a resin tank, and a recycling
Figure 9. RTM injection machine.
tank are still needed. In addition, 12 G-shaped clamps
were used to keep the mold closed. The resin flows into
the mold from the center gate and then permeates all
around with the flow front be circular or elliptical shape
as illustrated in Figures 10 and 11. And at the same
time, the sensor in the back of the mold (Figure 12)
records the pressure of flow front.
Results and discussion
The article studied the permeability of the two experi-
mental materials under different injection pressures and
300
Figure 10. The flow front at 10 s in the 5-harness satin fabric
experiment.
Figure 11. The flow front at 10 s in the 8-harness satin fabric
experiment.
different fiber numbers of glass fiber cloth, respectively.
The pressure of each test point in the process of mold
filling changes as shown in Figures 13 and 14. At that
moment, the injection pressure is 0.1 MPa and 0.2 MPa
separately in this experiment.
From the pressure distribution shown in Figures 13
and 14, we found that the pressure is almost a linear
distribution, especially in 8-harness satin glass fiber
fabric. This indicates that the unsaturated permeability
of 8-harness fiber fabric is lower than that of 5-harness
Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 36(4)
Figure 12. The sensor in the back of mold.
Figure 13. Pressure distribution of 8-harness satin glass fiber
fabric.
fiber fabric. The low unsaturated permeability makes
the epoxy resin flow more smoothly. Furthermore,
there is difference in pressure in the process of injection.
As the liquid is flowing, the differential pressure
appears to be on the rise. In the early stages of injec-
tion, the differential pressure is low (e.g. the first two
experimental data in each curve); however, along with
the time, it is gradually broadened.
According to the pressure distribution as shown in
Tables 4 and 5, especially the pressure values at 60 s and
90 s, substituting them into equation (7), the unsatur-
ated permeability of the fabrics can be figured out.
Wang et al. 301

1. As illustrated in Table 6, the saturated permeability
of 5-harness fabric and that of 8-harness fabric is
different. The densities of 5-harness fabric and
8-harness fabric are different (as shown in Table 3).
2. From Tables 6, Table 7 and Figure 15, values of
On the basis of comparison, it rises to the inequality
in the representative length L0, the area of cross sec-
tion A, the structure fractal dimension Df, the tortu-
osity fractal dimension DT, and the maximum
equivalent diameter of pores max. This is why the
permeability of 5-harness and 8-harness are different.
unsaturated permeability are in the same order of
magnitude with saturated permeability. Further, no
matter the injection pressure is 0.1 MPa or 0.2 MPa,
unsaturated permeability is almost 77% of saturated
permeability in 5-harness fabric and 73% in 8-har-
ness fabric. Considering the unsaturated permeabil-
ity is complex to calculate than saturated

Table 6. Values of saturated permeability and unsaturated

permeability.

Values of Values of
Values of unsaturated unsaturated
saturated permeability permeability
permeability (106 mm2) (106 mm2)
(106 mm2) at 0.1 MPa at 0.2 MPa

5-Harness fabric 3.91642 3.04226 3.04235

Figure 14. Pressure distribution of 5-harness satin glass fiber 8-Harness fabric 1.73282 1.26731 1.26742
fabric.

Table 4. Measured values of the 8-harness satin glass fiber fabric.

0.2 MPa 0.1 MPa

Time (s) Test point1 (MPa) Test point2 (MPa) Test point3 (MPa) Test point1 (MPa) Test point2 (MPa) Test point3 (MPa)

10 0.0015 0 0 0.0011 0 0
30 0.0024 0 0 0.0017 0 0
60 0.0057 0 0 0.0035 0 0
90 0.0101 0.003 0.0002 0.0053 0.001 0
120 0.0206 0.009 0.0046 0.0095 0.003 0.0002
150 0.0307 0.018 0.0092 0.0166 0.009 0.0040

Table 5. Measured values of the 5-harness satin glass fiber fabric.

0.2 MPa 0.1 MPa

Time (s) Test point1 (MPa) Test point2 (MPa) Test point3 (MPa) Test point1 (MPa) Test point2 (MPa) Test point3 (MPa)

10 0.0033 0 0 0.0028 0 0
30 0.0057 0 0 0.0044 0 0
60 0.0098 0.001 0 0.0076 0.0007 0
90 0.0178 0.007 0.0003 0.0093 0.003 0.0001
120 0.0295 0.013 0.005 0.0143 0.008 0.0003
150 0.0411 0.025 0.0143 0.0178 0.011 0.006
302
Table 7. Unsaturated permeability account for saturated
permeability.
Unsaturated Unsaturated
permeability account permeability account
for saturated for saturated
permeability permeability
at 0.1 MPa at 0.2 MPa
5-Harness fabric 77.6796% 77.6819%
8-Harness fabric 73.1356% 73.1420%
Figure 15. Unsaturated permeability account for saturated
permeability.
permeability, we can distinctly estimate it by using
this conclusion in the future work.
3. When the mold is completely filled, and the
reinforcement is fully impregnated and saturated
with fluid (no more micro pores impregnation or
fluid absorption take place), and its sink nature
vanishes, and flow rate increases (for a given-per-
form length), this means saturated permeability is
higher than unsaturated permeability.
4. From the whole experimental process, we can end
up with a conclusion for fibers, that unsaturated
permeability is affected by fluid absorption and
saturated permeability is affected by the swelled
fiber (a consequence of fluid absorption). Both
effects are leading to a decrease in the value of
the permeability. It can also be concluded
from another aspect that saturated permeability
results are higher than those of unsaturated
permeability.
5. As illustrated in Table 6, values of unsaturated per-
meability at 0.1 MPa and 0.2 MPa are almost equal.
This conforms to the theory of Darcy’s Law, which
describes that the seepage flow velocity is propor-
tional to the liquid pressure. At the same time, it
also shows the permeability coefficient depends
Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 36(4)
only on the properties of the seepage material and
fluid characteristics.
6. In the theory, the pressure gradient is supposed to be
the same with the increasing values of flow fronts,
and moreover upward tendency and downward ten-
dency are also observed in Figures 13 and 14, This is
because fiber agglomeration and fiber dispersion
may take place in some region of the actual fabrics.
Conclusion
We have proposed a new permeability model based on
the fractal theory and percolation theory to predict the
saturated and unsaturated permeability of satin fabrics
primarily. Like the other fractal models, there are no
empirical constants in the model. Furthermore, the
principle of minimum potential energy was used to cal-
culate the actual length of a tortuous channel Lt (),
and the fractal dimensions are expressed as the function
of yarn spaces but not the warp and weft density or
shrinkage any more, which makes our model differ
from the previous fractal permeability models dis-
tinctly. The saturated and unsaturated permeabilities
of a 5-harness and an 8-harness glass fiber fabrics
were measured in this study. From some aspects, we
can conclude that values of unsaturated permeability
are in the same order of magnitude with saturated per-
meability, and values of unsaturated permeability at
different injection pressures are almost equal. The
results show that unsaturated permeability is 77% of
saturated permeability in 5-harness fabric and 73% in
8-harness fabric. Besides, the permeability coefficient
only depends on the properties of the seepage material
and fluid characteristics. In this study, we roughly ana-
lyzed the influence factors of saturated and unsaturated
permeabilities: unsaturated permeability is affected by
fluid absorption and saturated permeability is affected
by the swelled fiber (a consequence of fluid absorption).
As a future work, this question will be studied deeply
with other resin formulations.
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our special gratitude and thanks to
all the respective personnels of the key technology research of
composite material aircraft manufacturing process lab. We
are also grateful to the teacher for giving us attention and
time during our experiment and who has also offered us
experimental devices.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
Wang et al.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup-
port for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article: This work was supported by the National Defense
Advance Project (The key technology research of composite
material aircraft manufacturing process) during the 12th five-
year plan under grant no. MJ-F-2012-05.
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