Measuring the impregnation of an out-of-autoclave prepreg by micro-CT

Resin flow into dry reinforcement regions is the main microstructural change during the processing of out-of-autoclave prepregs and influences air evacuation and void suppression. Such impregnation flow was investigated experimentally during the processing of a second-generation out-of-autoclave prepreg. First, laminates were partially processed to different stages of a simple cure cycle. Then, samples from each laminate were scanned using X-ray microtomography (micro-CT) to obtain 3D microstructural data. This data was used to investigate the initial microstructure of the material and measure the extent of impregnation at each processing stage, the rate of impregnation, and the evolution of macro-porosity within the material.