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A combination of factors, including the ability to tailor fabric architectures, has led to the recent resurgence of interest in glass fiber reinforced resin transfer molded composites for use in energy absorbing, impact resistant structures. In this paper we report the results of an investigation aimed at understanding the effects of fabric architecture on impact resistance with the end goal of designing suitable architectures. The damage process is described through the application of a series of instructive plots called elastic energy curves, which present significant insight into materials behavior. It is shown that the results can be used in optimizing energy absorptivity through the use of appropriately designed architectures and hybrid systems.

Although the RTM process is being widely used, there is a critical lack of understanding related to microstructure-proeess-property interactions. Due to this, futf advantage is not being taken of the opportunities offered by RTM, including local tailoring of reinforcement, parts integration, fabrication with tight tolerances, and designing materials for damage containment. The choice of fabric architecture and fiber volume fraction, for example, have a significant effect on the design of the tool with regard to the location and design of both the gating and venting arrangements, among other factors. Preforms have to be designed simultaneously from both the structural and resin infusion aspects. In this paper, we investigate the effect of preform architecture on flow in resin transfer molding. Previous investigations aimed at permeability determination (Adams et al., 1986) have focused on only one type of fabric architecture and used ideal fluids.