THE EFFECTS OF FLUID TYPE AND VISCOSITY ON THE STEADY-STATE AND ADVANCING FRONT PERMEABILITY BEHAVIOR OF TEXTILE PREFORMS

The effects of fluid type and viscosity on the permeability of both sa turated and dry preforms were investigated. Fluids used were water, co rn oil, and Epon 815, an epoxy resin. Preforms tested included style 1 67 E-glass, a plain weave E-glass fabric, and IM7/8HS, an eight harnes s satin carbon fabric. Two methods were used to measure the permeabili ty of the textile preforms. The first, known as the steady-state metho d, measures the permeability of a saturated preform under constant flo w rate conditions, The second, denoted the advancing front method, mea sures the permeability of a dry preform to an advancing fluid. Results from the two methods showed that fluid viscosity had no significant i nfluence on the permeabilities of the two fabrics. Steady-state and ad vancing front permeabilities for the warp direction of the two fabrics were similar. In addition, advancing front permeability values were f ound to be similar for different fluids over a wide range of values fo r the capillary number. Contact angle measurements indicated that Epon 815 wets both fibers better than the corn oil. In addition, E-glass h as lower contact angles with both fluids.