FACTORS CONTROLLING SURFACE FINISH IN RESIN TRANSFER MOLDING

An investigation was conducted into the effects of various factors on the degree of surface finish in Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) products using Statistical Experimental Design (SED) techniques. SED was used t o determine the importance of various factors and their interactions i n influencing certain aspects of surface finish such as gloss and roug hness. It was shown that filler content, molding pressure, and type of dispersing additive for a given fiber volume fraction play a key role in determining the degree of surface finish. A program called Gridsea rch was used to provide a means of statistically correlating the optim um response Values such as gloss, roughness, and Mold Fill Time (MFT) to operating conditions and materials' parameters. Composite samples p roduced using this information had their roughness and MFT Values vary by 30 percent from the optimum response values.