ABSTRACT
The determination of reinforcement permeability is crucial for the rational design of liquid molding processes. Many permeability measurements have been conducted on a variety of fabrics but such measurements are difficult and time consuming. Optical coherence tomography (OCT), a new nondestructive imaging technique, provides the real fabric architecture for permeability prediction. Critical to the engineering success of this work is the rapidity and cost of the technique. Our early work demonstrates that images can be obtained rapidly, the images can be processed automatically to provide the 3-D fabric structure, and the fabric permeability can be computed with reasonable accuracy. The work will also explore the optical constraints of the current OCT technology and discuss ongoing research for further increasing the usefulness of OCT for permeability prediction, damage initiation, and other structure-property determinations.
