Study on Permeability of 2.5D Woven Reinforcement Materials with Fractal Theory

Permeability is one of the key issues in the design of molds and in the molding process for composite manufacture. As a disordered fibrous assembly, 2.5- dimension （2.5 D） woven reinforcement materials have complex structure. It poses a challenge to the study of pore structure and the establishment of the theoretical permeability model. Toward addressing this problem, a powerful tool called fractal theory emerged. According to the analysis of 2.5 D woven reinforcement material stmcture using fractal theory, it is found that the structure has an obvious fractal character. Therefore, a permeability fractal model of 2.5D woven reinforcement material was established by cormbining the Hagen-Poiseulle equation with Darcy law according to the capillary vessel fractal model in this paper. The permeability was expressed as a function of the fractal dimension and microstructure parameter of the porous media in this model. The theoretical model is verified by experimental tests and the measurement data are in good agreement with the results obtained from the fractal medel .