Tutorial

Simulation of the process

of mould filling for an RTM paddle

G. A. Barandun, M. Henne
Rapperswil, 12.04.2010
Rev. 2.0
iwk myRTM Tutorial
RTM-Paddle

Contents
1 Overview ......................................................................................................................... 3
2 Installing and starting up the program ............................................................................. 4
3 Preparing the component geometry ................................................................................ 5
3.1 Importing the geometry ........................................................................................... 5
3.2 Adjusting the mesh layout ....................................................................................... 5
4 Allocating material properties, component dimensions, process parameters and
boundary conditions ....................................................................................................... 8
5 Carrying out and evaluating the simulation and process optimisation.............................12
6 Race tracking .................................................................................................................15
7 Storing images of mould filling .......................................................................................18
8 Further adjustments .......................................................................................................20

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1 Overview
myRTM is a very simple program which is easy to use, and it is applied for designing resin
injection processes (Resin Transfer Moulding, RTM). The software was developed at the
Institute of Materials Technology and Plastics Processing (IWK), and is based on the princi-
ples of cellular automata 1 (CA). John Neumann, Stanislav Ulam and Alan Turing applied the
principle for the first time at Los Alamos in 1940. CAs can be used for spatially bounded dis-
crete time-dependent systems, the state of a given cell at a given point in time being de-
pendent upon its own state in the foregoing time-step as well as those of the neighbouring
cells at that time.
In this tutorial you will learn how to handle the myRTM simulation software. This covers the
process parameters and importing the component data, as well as the development of injec-
tion strategies for this component.
Tips:
User and screen elements are shown in italics.
File names, process phenomena and variable descriptions are shown in quotes

1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_automaton

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2 Installing and starting up the program

Installation is as simple as could be: copy the file myRTM onto your local hard disk, e.g. on
the Desktop. Open the file and double-click on myRTM.exe (Figure 1). Important: Do not
remove any of the existing data in the file.

Figure 1: myRTM folder

myRTM comprises a display field for the simulation (left) and a window with two or three
boxes in which to input various data or alternatively to display certain results (Figure 2). The
Advanced window (right tab) is activated via the menu Settings. The boxes have the follow-
ing functions:
Preprocessing: Inputting the material and process data
Simulation: Carrying out the actual simulation
Advanced: Displaying and adjusting the parameters of the calculation
(See FPCM10_Paper_Cellular_Automates.pdf by Prof. Dr. Markus Henne and Dr.
Gion A. Barandun)

Figure 2: myRTM just after start-up

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3 Preparing the component geometry

3.1 Importing the geometry

Component geometry is introduced either from a CAD system (previously exported as a *.igs
file), or else from a FE program such as Ansys (as a *.db file). myRTM includes an integrated
mesher, (Gmsh 1), which can calculate the mesh layout for simpler geometries (i.e. single-
surface shell shapes). For a more complicated geometry with several surfaces it is recom-
mended to use a separate FE program to do this.
The example considered here
is a white-water paddle. Its
geometry being relatively
complicated (hollow shaft, ta-
pered paddle surfaces), the
mesh layout was calculated in
Ansys.
To import a geometry or a FE
mesh, select Open File in the
menu File. In the dialogue field
that then opens, choose the
paddle geometry paddel_
einfach.db and import it by
clicking on Open.
Tip: Units of metres or
millimetres must be
selected, depending
on the format of the imported file. After Open, you can do this by choosing m or mm
in the box at the top left of the display field.

3.2 Adjusting the mesh layout

After importing the geometry the image of the paddle appears in the main display field (Fig-
ure 3). Cellular automata require as homogeneous a mesh as possible, and for this reason
superfluous cells (corresponding to nodes in the mesh) must be eliminated as necessary. As
can be seen in Figure 3, there is an excessive concentration of nodes where the shaft joins
the blade, and again at the tip of the blade. These are cleaned up by using the Sweep com-
mand in the box of the same name.

1
http://geuz.org/gmsh/

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Figure 3: Paddle geometry after importing

To do this, you must first input Min. Distance. We shall select the value 0.4, as in Figure 4,
which means that any node whose distance from its neighbours is less than 40% of the av-
erage node spacing will be eliminated. When you click on Sweep, all such nodes are high-
lighted in blue.
Tips: The value of 0.4 for the minimum distance is optimal for this particular mesh layout,
but the optimum could perfectly well be otherwise for other layouts. Try different val-
ues in the range 0.2 to 0.5, refreshing the display field by clicking on Sweep after
each change, until you have a layout that seems to make sense.
When you are satisfied, eliminate the superfluous, blue-marked nodes by clicking on Delete
swept. This results in a homogeneous mesh layout that is suitable for the simulation.

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Sweep

Original layout

Layout after
eliminating
unwanted nodes

Figure 4: Sweep-ing out superfluous nodes

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4 Allocating material properties, component dimensions, process parameters

and boundary conditions
After the geometry is ready, all properties that are relevant to the process must be defined.
These are:
Permeability of the fibre material, i.e. of the preform fabric used
Porosity (fraction of empty space in the cavity)
Component thickness (can be defined separately for various zones of the component)
Locations, diameters and applied injection pressures for the various gates
Applied vacuum pressure (usually about 10,000 Pa, 0.1 bar)
Viscosity (flow resistance) of the resin system used

The following values were used for the paddle:

Table 1: Process properties
Description Symbol Value Unit
Permeability K 2E-9 [m2]
Porosity 0.5 [-]
Vacuum pressure pvac 1,000 [Pa]
Viscosity 0.1 [Pa.s]
Injection pressure pinj 500,000 [Pa]
Fibre volume content 50 [%]
Shaft thickness (wall) 1 t1 1.5 [mm]
Blade thickness t2 2.0 [mm]
Gate diameter d 10 [mm]

To begin with, the correct values are used for permeability, thickness and porosity:
Click on the selection symbol in the right border of the display field. Now outline the
space containing the whole paddle geometry by moving the symbol around the display field,
ending your selection with a double-click which will automatically close the chosen path (Fig-
ure 5).

1
The shaft is a hollow structure, thickness means the wall thickness of the tubing

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Selected

Figure 5: Defining the paddle geometry

The values for the permeability, thickness and porosity of the cho-
sen regions are inputted in the Selection box and stored by click-
ing on Save. (Thickness is shown as Cavity Height in the box).
Since the blade thickness is not the same as that of the shaft, it
has to be adjusted. You do this by outlining the blade and intro-
ducing a thickness (Cavity Height) of 2 mm (Figure 6), leaving the
other values unchanged.

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Figure 6: Outlining the blade and introducing a new thickness value

The gate position for the first simulation has not yet been defined. To do this, start by select-
ing the upper end of the shaft, where a gate with 5 bar injection pressure is to be placed. Be
careful here to select all the nodes at the shaft surface, but only the first row of them. The
best way is to move the paddle in the window so that only the shaft end can be seen, in a
plane parallel to the y-axis (Figure 7).
Next input the gate data in the Selection box: Injection Pressure 5 bar (corresponding to
500000 Pa), and Injection Diameter (0.01 m), clicking on Save to store the values.
Tips: The gates are highlighted in colour.
The diameter of a gate node may not exceed the local cell spacing, which is here
about 0.03 m, shown as Median Distance in the Information box. In the present case
parallel injection all around the shaft is assumed. As an alternative, select only one
node, and check the effect on the simulation.

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Select only
one row

Figure 7: Defining the injection point (gate)

With this we have all the data required for the start of the simulation. At this stage it is never
wrong to save your data. myRTM has its own data format for storing geometry and boundary
conditions.
For this, select the command Save To File from the File menu. Give your simulation a suita-
bly fitting name in the File Name field, and check that the file extension is *.rtms in the Save
as Type field (see Figure 8).

Figure 8: Saving your simulation

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5 Carrying out and evaluating the simulation and process optimisation

After all the data are in and adjustments made, click the Simulation tab, making sure that the
entire paddle is visible in the display field. Put in the proper values in the Process Parame-
ters box, in this case 1000 Pa for Vacuum Pressure and 0.1 Pas for Viscosity.

Figure 9: Adjusting viscosity and vacuum pressure

You control the progress of the simulation using the buttons in the Control box. Press Play
to start the simulation. You can halt the simulation without ending it by means of the Pause
button , to make changes e.g. to define more gates and then cause it to continue with
the new parameters by clicking again on Play.
The Control box also shows the elapsed time (Current Time) of simulation and the current
extent of mould filling (Filled Volume Fraction). As with all RTM simulations, this latter should
be treated with care, because very many factors can significantly affect it. The two taken to-
gether give a much better idea of the state of affairs: filled fraction in relation to the time
elapsed relative to the total filling time. Despite this, the absolute filling time is often taken as
the criterion when comparing several simulations, because it enables predictions to be made,
for example of how much faster the mould fills with additional gates.
In your first simulation, let it go right through until the mould is filled completely by pressing
Play and waiting until Filled Volume Fraction reaches 100%. During filling, the part of the
mould filled with resin is shown in red, with the flow-front in a slightly lighter tone (Figure 10).

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Figure 10: Simulation, showing progress of filling

To stop the simulation, click on the Stop button . This brings you back to the start of the
simulation, with the paddle completely green. Restart, and hold at any point you wish by
clicking on Pause . You can see the state of mould filling in the Info box as Filled Volume
Fraction, which together with the elapsed time since the start of injection describes the state
of the process (see Current Time in the Control box). To avoid making mistakes this should
always be considered in relative terms, that is the elapsed time as a fraction of total filling
time compared to the fraction of the mould filled with resin. It is convenient to display the two
parameters in an Excel chart (see Figure 11).
Total fill time 211 s State of mould filling (rel. time)

Fill time s Fill time % Fill grade % 120

0 0.00% 0
10 4.74% 17.8 100
39 18.48% 35
75 35.55% 53 80
133 63.03% 73
Fill grade [%]

187 88.63% 92 60
211 100.00% 100
40

20

0
0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00%
Rel. fill time [%]

Figure 11: Excel chart of the state of mould filling

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Because a highly reactive resin system is used for this component, which cures very rapidly
and hence quickly attains such a high viscosity that injection has to stop, the filling process
has to take place very quickly. One way of doing this is to provide an additional gate that is
active from the start; but this entails the risk of air entrapment and undesirable zones where
the two streams of resin interfere. It is usually preferable to use cascaded injection, in which
successive gates are opened to admit resin to the mould just before the flow-front reaches
them.
Try simulating the process with cascaded injection. Do this as follows:
Start with the same boundary conditions and gate data as above.
Hold the simulation (Pause) at a suitable point.
Define an additional gate immediately before the flow-front.
Continue (Play) the simulation.
Compare the filling times of the original and the newly optimised processes by dis-
playing them on the same Excel chart (Figure 12).
Total fill time 99 s State of moud filling (rel. time); standard and cascade injection compared

Fill time s Fill time % Fill grade % 120

0 0.00% 0
10 4.74% 17.8 100
30 14.22% 32.4
48 22.75% 65.7 80

64 30.33% 79.5
Fill grade [%]

88 41.71% 95.7 60

99 46.92% 100
40

20

0
0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00%
Rel. fill time (with regard to standard injection) [%]

Figure 12: Comparing standard with cascade injection

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6 Race tracking
The term race tracking refers to the phenomenon whereby undesirable zones of very high
permeability so-called runners form, typically at the edge of the fibre-reinforcement as
the preform is inserted, or else during mould closing. Often the fibres do not quite reach the
surface of the mould because of imprecise cutting, inadequate preforming or inaccurate plac-
ing of the preform in the mould; or the preform may be slightly displaced by the action of
closing the die. Race tracking can also occur within the preform itself, for example at T-joints
or sharp radii. Even though such runners are mostly very small they have a considerable
effect on the filling process and can make a component unusable if not taken into account in
the simulation used for designing the process. For this reason it is important to consider at
the design stage where runners may possibly arise and what effect they may have on the
filling process. Since the occurrence of runners is usually fortuitous, because for example the
quality of the preform can vary from one component of a production run to another, some-
times a runner is deliberately included in the simulation in order to observe its effect on filling
and to consider how to counter it.
In the case of our paddle, race tracking occurs at the edges of the blade. Try altering the
permeability in these regions by two orders of magnitude, by selecting both the last two rows
of nodes around the edge of the blade and giving the corresponding cells a permeability of
2e-7 m2 (Figure 13).
Tips: In conventional finite element simulation the permeability is usually increased by one
order of magnitude in the regions corresponding to the actual expected dimensions
of the race tracking region. To do this in our paddle simulation using cellular auto-
mata would demand a finer mesh layout.
The calculation time goes up considerably when race tracking regions are added,
and using a finer mesh would aggravate this. The bigger the differences in perme-
ability from one region to another, the longer is the calculation time. For these rea-
sons it makes better sense when using a coarse mesh to increase the permeability
less extremely over a wider edge region instead of increasing it greatly in the last
row of cells alone.
Now repeat the last simulation and observe the alteration in the extent of mould filling and
filling time (Figure 14). Notice in particular where the resin flows together at the end of filling,
and whether there would be advantage in placing a vent there (Figure 15).
Consider also where other race tracking zones might possibly occur, or whether other vents
might be placed so as to speed up the process.

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Figure 13: Race tracking at blade edges

Simulation without race tracking, 160s Simulation with race tracking, 153s
Figure 14: Influence of race tracking on the progress of mould filling

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End of simulation without race tracking End of simulation with race tracking
Figure 15: Problem of placing vents to deal with race tracking

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7 Storing images of mould filling

Images of mould filling are often used to document the results, stored at definite intervals.
For this purpose it is usually better to use a white background instead of a black one.
Click on the black/white toggle button in the right border of the display field. Input in the
Capture box the time interval at which you wish still shots of the mould filling to be recorded,
and check Take Pictures in the same box (Figure 16). Now start a simulation and when it is
over look in the myRTM directory, where the images are stored in *.png format. The time in
seconds is the first number after Scene_ in the file name (Figure 17).

Figure 16: Data input for exporting images of mould filling

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Figure 17: Exported images from myRTM

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8 Further adjustments
The calculation of the progress of the flow-front is based on an algorithm, which is described
in the publication mentioned in Section 2. Although it is basically not recommended, the user
has the possibility of adjusting the weighting factors used in the algorithm as well as the
number of neighbouring cells taken into account. You do this by selecting the menu Settings
and then the Advanced register as shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18: Further adjustments parameters used in the computational algorithm

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