New method to track resin flow fronts in mold filling simulation of RTM process

A new method to track resin flow fronts, referred to as the topological interpolated method (TIM), which is based on filling states and topological relations of adjacent nodes, was proposed. An experiment on the mould filling process was conducted. The experimental results were compared with exact solutions, and a good agreement was observed. Numerical and experimental comparisons with the conventional contour method were also carried out, and it is showed that TIM could enhance the local accuracy of flow front solutions with respect to the contour method when merging flow fronts and resin approaching the mold wall were involved.