Numerical assessment of capillary pressure by flow simulation in a fibrous medium

摘要: The aim of the present work, which lies at the heart of the Hexcel-Mines Saint-Etienne Industrial Chair [1, 2, 3], is to set up numerical modeling tools applicable from the component scale (local or microscopic scale) to the process scale (macroscopic scale), based on fluid-solid coupling methods undergoing finite strains within a high performing computing framework. At the local scale, the aim is to model flows in the fibrous network of preforms where wettability and capillary effects are assumed to play a key role [4]. First, at the fibre scale, the resin flow in impervious fibre systems will be characterized and modeled. Then, flows inside and around fibre tows, will be studied relying on some specific stabilized [5] and enriched [6] numerical methods able to deal with coupled Stokes-Darcy flows in low permeability orthotropic media.Capillary and viscous dominated flows competing at the local scale will be used to provide, at the meso/macroscopic scale, equivalent capillary pressures representing these local phenomena. Capillary effects will be included in numerical simulations of local flows in industrial parts with complex geometries. The ultimate goal of this approach is to yield a robust numerical modeling of infusion processes at the scale of industrial parts in order to understand and hence control both filling and postfilling stages for industrial applications.