International Journal of Production Research,

Vol. 46, No. 8, 15 April 2008, 2087–2104

Robust design of composites manufacturing processes

with process simulation and optimisation methods

J. LI, C. ZHANG*, R. LIANG and B. WANG

Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Florida Advanced

Centre for Composite Technologies (FACCT), Florida A&M University,
Florida State University College of Engineering, 2525 Pottsdamer Street,
Tallahassee, FL 32310-6046

(Revision received May 2006)

Due to the increasing variations in raw materials and manufacturing processes,

composite manufacturing processes have more part-to-part variations compared
with the metal manufacturing processes. To improve part quality consistency,
tooling design optimisation is an imperative step for addressing the stochastic
behaviour of composite manufacturing processes. This paper presents an
optimisation approach for the typical composite manufacturing technique of
resin transfer moulding (RTM), which minimises the sensitivity of the mould
design to uncertain material properties by choosing appropriate locations of
injection gates and vents. This paper proposes a stochastic simulation based
approach for the RTM processes. Normal distribution and Weibull distribution
were utilised as the statistical models for representing the permeability values for
the main region and race-tracking, respectively. Based on the statistical properties
of the permeability, a graph-based two-phase heuristic (GTPH) was adopted to
minimise the flow dispersion value (a quantitative measure for part quality
consistency) such that the process design is not sensitive to the material and
process parameter variations.

1. Introduction

Composite manufacturing processes, such as resin transfer moulding (RTM), have

more part-to-part variations compared with the metal manufacturing processes. This
is primarily due to the larger variations existing in the raw materials and processing
parameters. Understanding how the stochastic nature of materials and process
parameters affects the final part quality will lead to consistency in part quality.
In RTM processes, the reinforcement is cut, formed to the shape of the part and
placed in a prepared mould cavity where the release agent is applied to allow easy
removal of the final part. After closing the mould, resin is injected through the
porous fibre preform, saturating the reinforcement and expelling the air from of the
mould cavity. The de-moulding process is performed after curing. Figure 1 shows
the schematic of a RTM process. The RTM process has been widely used in
automobile and aerospace industries and its applications are expanding.

*Corresponding author. Email: chzhang@eng.fsu.edu

International Journal of Production Research

ISSN 0020–7543 print/ISSN 1366–588X online ß 2008 Taylor & Francis
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
DOI: 10.1080/00207540600806455
2088 J. Li et al.

Pump Mixer
Injection gate

Vent
Resin Catalyst
Fiber preform

Figure 1. RTM process.

Locations of gates and vents are key to a sound RTM tooling design. Many
deterministic optimisation studies regarding RTM process designs have been
conducted (Mathur et al. 1999, Luo et al. 2001, Jiang et al. 2002). However,
preform permeability, the physical property of the fibrous material described by
Darcy’s law (Scheidegger 1974) and a crucial parameter in flow process simulation
and optimisation, possesses certain statistical properties. This makes the determin-
istic optimisation results unreliable. As statistical modelling of permeability values is
gaining more attention, this paper presents a neighbouring search approach utilising
finite element method (FEM) and statistical method to obtain optimal locations of
injection gates and vents in which case the optimal design is insensitive to the
permeability variation. Furthermore, applications of the statistical properties of
permeability values to the process simulation are presented.

2. Methodology

In the RTM process, the major factors that determine the resin flow process and final
part quality can be grouped into two classes: deterministic factors and stochastic
factors. Deterministic factors, such as injection pressure, flow rate and mould
temperature, can be measured or controlled as desired. The primary sources of
processing uncertainty come from the preform permeability, which is dominated by
the preform microstructure, variations in rheological and kinetic properties of the
resin. These uncertainties occur in different magnitudes. For example, for different
mould sizes, race-tracking permeability occurring at the edges or sharp corners of a
preform can range from two to three, up to over hundreds of times of the main
region permeability. However, the rheological and kinetic characterisation of resin,
i.e. viscosity, does not change as much as race-tracking permeability if filling time is
not excessively long. Therefore, the sources of crucial uncertain input variables are
narrowed. Only the main region permeability and race-tracking were considered as
stochastic factors in this study.
The Taguchi methodology indicates that by conducting planned experiments
under some assumptions that uncontrollable or noise variable can be precisely
controlled, the designer can choose the levels of controllable variables to accomplish
a robust system that is insensitive to inevitable changes of the noise variables
 Robust design of composites manufacturing processes 2089

(Fowlkes et al. 1995, Montgomery 2001, Myers et al. 2002). However, this traditional
robust design approach is not applicable to RTM mould-filling process design, even
though locations and numbers of gates and vents can be considered as controllable
variables, and race-tracking permeability can be considered as a noise variable,
since race-tracking permeability cannot be controlled in the experiments.
The proposed stochastic simulation based approach for statistical characterisa-
tion of composites manufacturing processes scheme is depicted in figure 2.
The following steps are involved:
1. Statistical modelling of fibre preform permeability. Two types of statistical
distributions, normal and Weibull, are used to model the main region
permeability and race-tracking, respectively. Monte Carlo simulation
techniques are used to provide samples for stochastic simulation and tooling
optimisation.
2. RTM processes flow simulation. A major component in the methodology is
the RTMSim, a flow simulation software package developed by the authors.
The RTMSim is a finite element solver for simulating the resin flow inside the
clamped mould. RTMSim visualises the resin advancement progress and
calculates the mould pressure profile and mould-filling time. By providing
the boundary conditions, such as resin viscosity, permeability values, gates
and vents locations, the flow pattern and the pressure distribution can be
obtained. An example is shown in figure 3. The seat is manufactured by the
RTM process, the injection gate is positioned at the top and the resin vent
is located at the bottom. The contour plot shows the predicted resin
advancement process.

Optimal design
RTMSim flow
Process parameters
simulation
• Preform permeability
• Resin viscosity • Flow process
• Injection pressure
• Part quality modeling
Statistical variables Robust process design

Graph-based, two-phase
heuristic algorithm

Figure 2. RTM processes robust design scheme.

Resin injection gate

Resin vent

Figure 3. Part design and flow simulation.

2090 J. Li et al.

3. Robust tooling design. Since some of noise factors are not normal variables,
the traditional robust design methodology is not applicable in this study.
A simulation-based optimisation approach is proposed to achieve the design
goal. As the single flow simulation cannot provide reliable information for
the design engineers, stochastic flow simulation could serve as an alternative.
Based on the permeability analysis, statistical models of permeability values
are proposed. With quantified part quality, the stochastic simulations
are performed extensively with different geometries and permeability
distributions. In this study, design variables are input into the RTMSim
program to calculate the objective function for the robust design model.
Based on the objective values and the FEM meshed geometry, a graph-based,
two-phase heuristic (GTPH) determines the searching direction and generates
new design variables to be used in the next iteration until the maximum
robustness is found. The following sections describe the details of the
proposed approach.

2.1 Statistical modelling of fibre preform permeability

In a previous research study by the authors, statistical models were used to describe
the statistically distributed permeability values. Many factors, such as material
handling, fabric structure variation and working environment, contribute to the
variation of fibre preform permeability values. However, different flow conditions
may lead to different statistical properties for the permeability values. These methods
provided the statistical insight into the RTM processes, which is important for parts
quality prediction and process control. Pan et al. (2000) and Hoes et al. (2002)
conducted experimental investigations and concluded that normal distribution is
suitable for modelling average permeability values. In a recent work by the authors
(Li et al. 2005), the Weibull distribution was utilised for modelling race-tracking, also
known as channel effect, which results from misfit between the fibre preform and the
mould. The resin with faster speed at edges drags the flow in the main region and
speeds the flow advancement. The reason the Weibull distribution outperforms
the normal distribution in terms of describing the race-tracking is that Weibull
distribution has the ability to model the variables with the following properties:
(1) continuous; (2) positive; and (3) asymmetrically distributed. In the for main
region permeability, all factors contribute randomly to the permeability. Normal
distribution is appropriate as confirmed in other research work.
The next logical issue is determining the distribution spreads. Wong et al.
(in press) proposed numerical methods to predict permeability based on the fabric
structure. In their research also investigated statistical variations. The ends of the
vectors representing the crossover of the towpaths were simulated according to a
normal distribution with a mean 3.86
109 m2 and a standard deviation of
0.12
109 m2. Other factors, such as nesting of layers also affect the scatter in
permeability values significantly. The above research work focused on the material
aspect of the permeability distribution. While in actual production, other factors,
such as working conditions, can contribute to the permeability variables that
may lead to inconsistent part quality. The relationship between permeability and
its components is rather complex. Mathematical methods, such as probability
theory, cannot be used to obtain answers for the questions defined, even though the
 Robust design of composites manufacturing processes 2091

analytical solutions were derived. In this work, the objective is to seek the optimal
tooling design that is insensitive to the parameter variations. Thus, the spread of the
process parameter distribution is not a concern.

2.2 Robust design implementation

The concept of simulation before production has been utilised in almost every field
of industry. However, in the realm of RTM processes the process parameter
uncertainty impedes the broader application of simulation to the real production.
Dry spots that form by trapped air bubbles while resin is saturating the preform are
responsible for major defects in the RTM process. Positioning the vent where the
flow ends to entrap the air will ensure consistent part quality. Moreover, tooling
design cannot be changed during the course of manufacturing. In fabricating a batch
of specific parts, the permeability variations and the variations of race-tracking effect
of the fibre preforms make the ending locations of the flow diverse. Due to the
uncertain process parameters, the flow does not end where desired. Therefore,
the strategy of utilising the simulation program should be investigated to resolve
the problems discussed above.
Current mathematical models for quantifying RTMed part quality have been
discussed in a previous work by the authors (Li et al. 2005). The proposed flow
ending location dispersion value method was utilised in this study. Placing the vent at
the location where the flow ends will prevent dry spot formation. Due to the fact that
permeability values possess certain statistical properties, the flow will not end at the
same position from part to part. The locations where the flow ends also possess
certain statistical properties that can be utilised to quantify the part quality.
Therefore, the vents should be placed at locations that minimise the ending location
variations due to uncertainties in process parameters to maintain the consistent part
quality.
A flow ending location dispersion value D is defined to quantify the ending
location variation. As shown in figure 4, the variance of distances between locations
to the centre point of the location set is the value being evaluated.
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Pp
2
j¼1 ðdj  d Þ
D¼ ð1Þ
p1
where D is dispersion value; j is jth location; p is total number of locations; dj is
distance from the jth location to the centre point of location set; d
is average distance
from locations to the centre point of location set.
Using this flow dispersion value, RTM process performance can be quantified.
Generally speaking, the tooling design resulting in a smaller flow dispersion value is
better than that resulting in a larger flow dispersion value. This can be generalised for

Figure 4. Illustration of the flow ending location dispersion value.

2092 J. Li et al.

multi-vent situations: for each vent there is an associated dispersion value.

Regardless of how complex the part is, the ending locations of the flow can be
obtained through flow simulation. Therefore, for multi-vent cases, the ending points
can be grouped into a multi-set of points as desired. Obviously, the vent should be
positioned at the centre of the points set to minimise the flow dispersion value.
In the flow simulation, the finite element method was implemented for solving the
governing equations. Specifically, a control volume/FEM method was utilised because
of the moving boundary conditions. The geometry (domain) was partitioned into
many sub-domains, and the partial differential equations were solved by linear or
nonlinear approximations. Therefore, obtaining the flow dispersion value through
mathematical modelling and calculation is difficult and depends on the permeability
distribution for different regions involving normal and Weibull distributed variables.
However, regardless how complex the profile distribution of permeability values, the
flow dispersion value converges to a certain point based on its definition. Monte Carlo
simulation and the flow simulation were combined to obtain the flow dispersion value.
For a complex part with statistically distributed permeability values as shown in
figures 5 and 6, 20 simulation runs is a safe lower bound to achieve the convergence.

Race-tracking regions
Main region

Figure 5. Car door FEM model.

Figure 6. Convergence plot of dispersion value.

 Robust design of composites manufacturing processes 2093

Each selected injection gate location has a minimised dispersion value. Therefore,
the optimisation problem for robust design is to seek the location or locations of
gates with smallest minimised dispersion values according to the number of gates and
vents. The smaller the dispersion value, the more robust the tooling design.
The robust design problem using optimisation method can be formulated as
follows: Let S ¼ {s1, s2, . . . , sn} be the index set that denotes the mesh node of the
mould FEM geometry, where si, i 2 {1, 2, . . . , n} denotes the ith node in finite element
mesh. This forms the search domain. Let gj 2 S ( j ¼ 1, 2, . . . , ng) be the location of the
gates, where ng is the number of gates. Let vk 2S (k ¼ 1, 2, . . . , nv) be the locations
of vents, where nv is the number of vents.
Let ’ represent the sensitivity of the current system and define as follows:
’ ¼ fðgj ,vk Þ ð2Þ
Furthermore, other constraints exist. The values of filling time and performance
index should be as low as possible to shorten the cycle time and obtain a quality part.
Thus, the optimal tooling design is the one that has short average filling time, low
average performance index and narrow range, as well as variance of performance
indices for 100 simulated filling experiments. To minimise the sensitivity, ’, with
other constrains, the following optimisation expressions were formulated:
min ’ ¼ fðgj ,vk Þ ð3Þ
s.t.
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Pp ffi
2
l¼1 ð k v k  n l k  aveð k v k  n l kÞ Þ
min Dðgj ,vk Þ ¼ min for all k ¼ 1, 2, . . . , nv ð4Þ
p1
gj 2 V, j ¼ 1, 2, . . . , ng ð5Þ
vk 2 V, k ¼ 1, 2, . . . , nv ð6Þ
To test the effectiveness of the above analysis and true characteristics of the
model, a statistical sampling simulation technique was employed (Law and Kelton
1991). The Monte Carlo simulation was used to provide the statistical permeability
inputs. Specifically, Weibull and normal distributions for race-tracking and average
permeability values were used. The permeability varied each time, even though the
production condition was consistent, which made a single simulation result
unreliable. The optimisation problem described above seeks the locations of
injection gates and vents in which case the dispersion value is minimised. Since the
dispersion value is a quantity indicating the sensitiveness of the process to
the parameter variations, the optimal solution is a robust tooling design that fulfils
the design goal.

2.3 Graph-based two-phase heuristic

The model (3)–(6) is a black box optimisation problem because of the FEM
approximation. Thus, an efficient heuristic algorithm to search for satisfactory
solutions is highly desirable. Typically, a ‘Black box’ optimisation problem refers to an
optimisation problem with objective function analytically unknown. Several general
2094 J. Li et al.

techniques are available, including general branch and bound, local search by multi-
starts, pattern search by multi-starts, sequential constructive algorithm, Tabu search,
recursive sampling, simulated annealing, and genetic algorithm (Pardalos and
Resende 2002). The advantage of these techniques is that they are independent of
problem properties. Therefore, for the model (3)–(6), all the above techniques can be
implemented to obtain a satisfactory solution. However, the large number of
simulation runs required in the problem makes implementing impractical. Ye et al.
(2004) developed an effective algorithm, known as graph-based two phases heuristic,
for this type of problem. The algorithm consists of the following steps:
1. Mould geometry simplification. A method of directed weighted graph (DWG)
is used to approximately analyze the mould geometry such that the search
domain is narrowed. The example is illustrated in figures 7 and 8.
2. Optimisation in graph. Once the graph is constructed, the optimisation
problem formulation remains the same but search domain is reduced. Since
the constructed DWG is much simpler than the original finite element mesh of
the mould geometry, the computational cost is dramatically decreased. After
exhaustive enumeration search is finished, the search domain is neighboured
around the optimised vertex. A pattern search algorithm follows. This
method initially finds a search direction along the principle axes of the design
variables, and marches in that direction until no further improvement is
found. If the search does not yield improvement, a smaller search radius is
used. This search is repeated until the convergence criterion is met.

3. Case studies

In this section, different case studies are investigated using the filling process
simulation and numerical optimisation. Each case is studied with a statistically
sampled permeability values.

Figure 7. Mould geometry.

Figure 8. Graph representation.

 Robust design of composites manufacturing processes 2095

3.1 Case study I

For the seat part shown in figure 9, all edges contact the mould cavity. Ten Weibull
distributed independent permeability values were required for modelling the
race-tracking along the edges, while the permeability values for other region
remain normal variables. For each simulation run, required permeability values
are sampled from the distributed variables, ten from Weibull variables and one
from normal variables. The sample populations are shown in figure 10. Weibull
(1.638, 7.6829) and normal (1.655, 0.348) distributed variables were generated based
on previous experimental data (Li et al. 2005). Then the RTMSim was utilised for
cycle time and part quality prediction with the stochastic parameters.
The directed weighted graph approach was applied for mould geometry
simplification according to the permeability distribution. For example, race-tracking

Regions with race-tracking

Main region

Figure 9. Meshed geometry of sample part.

(a) Race-tracking (b) Average permeability

Figure 10. Permeability values generated by the specified distributions.

2096 J. Li et al.

is present along the edges of the mould, which means points on the edge have more
weight than the points at the main regions. In addition, the search domain can be
further reduced due to part symmetry. The optimisation algorithm first evaluates all
the intersection points of the half directed weighted graph. Once an optimum is
found, the pattern search algorithm is utilised to search the neighbouring points
around the optimum from the first phase.
Twenty simulation runs were performed to obtain the point set. By positioning
the vent at the centre of the point set, the optimised dispersion value can be obtained.
Figure 12(a) plots the minimised dispersion values for each DWG intersection points
for the first phase. From the plot, point 2 and point 15, which are located at the
upper and lower corners, have relatively close minimised dispersion values.
Second phase optimisation started with these two points. The fine search
domain was restricted to the triangles formed by points 2 and 15 with their
neighbouring points on the DWG, shown in figure 12(b) by bold lines. The pattern
search algorithm was performed. However, for their neighbouring points on the
FEM model, no improvement was achieved. Therefore, the optimisation
was stopped. The optimised tooling designs for one gate and one vent are shown
in figure 13(a) and (b).

Figure 11. Graph representation.

15
(a) Dispersion values vs. locations of injection gate (b) Optimal solution domain

Figure 12. First phase optimisation.

 Robust design of composites manufacturing processes 2097

To evaluate the optimal tooling design, more simulation runs were performed
with statistically distributed permeability values. Due to the uncertainty of
permeability values, the mould-filling times for resin saturation were not uniform,
which led to difficulty in production scheduling and inconsistency in part quality.
The flow simulation results for the initial mould design and optimal tooling design,
shown in figure 14, revealed that the filling time variation was reduced dramatically
up to 40%, indicating the optimal design is more robust and capable of maintaining
consistent part quality.

3.2 Case study II

A helicopter manifold lid was designed and evaluated for the proposed RTM flow
and Monte Carlo simulation, as shown in figure 15. The race-tracking was present
along the edge of the part and at the locations where the fabric was deformed.
The same materials were used in the simulation study. Therefore, it was assumed that
the average permeability values were statistically distributed as normal random
variables and the race-tracking effects were statistically distributed as Weibull
variables (see figure 10). The part was larger with more complex geometry than that
in the previous section.

(a) (b)
Vent

Injection gate

Injection gate
Vent

Figure 13. Robust tooling designs.

(a) Before optimization (b) After optimization

Figure 14. Robust design evaluation.

2098 J. Li et al.

Race-tracking regions

Main region

Figure 15. Meshed geometry with varying permeability of the lid.

Figure 16. Graph representation.

The directed weighted graph approach was applied. The mould geometry
simplification according to the permeability distribution is shown in figure 16.
Due to part symmetry, placing two injection gates and two vents symmetrically on
the part may be more appropriate, which can also lead to shorter production
times. Therefore, a symmetry constrain applies in the optimisation problem. The
optimisation algorithm first evaluates all the two-point sets on the directed
weighted graph. Once an optimum is found, the pattern search algorithm is utilised
to search the neighbouring candidates around the optimum from the first phase
optimisation.
Twenty simulation runs were performed to obtain the point set. By positioning
the vent at the centre of the point set, the optimised dispersion value can be obtained.
Figure 17(a) plots the minimised dispersion values for 27 two-point sets for the first
phase optimisation. From the plot, regions formed by bold lines are identified as
potential domain for better solutions (see figure 17b).
Second phase optimisation search domains were restricted to the identified
regions, shown in figure 17(b) by bold lines. The pattern search algorithm began to
evaluate the neighbour point on the FEM model and if an improvement was found,
the continuing direction can be determined. For the circle domain, the principal
direction was determined toward the centre of the round portion. The optimal design
was found by placing two injection gates at the centres of the left and right portions
of the part and positioning two vents at the two bottom ends (see figure 18a).
In another sub-domain, when the search began from the bottom, a slight
improvement was observed along the principal direction, which is toward the
centre of the whole part. The final solution was found where two injection gates were
 Robust design of composites manufacturing processes 2099

(a) Dispersion values vs. locations of injection gate (b) Optimal solution domain

Figure 17. First phase optimisation.

(a) (b) Vent

Vent

Gate Gate

Figure 18. Robust tooling designs.

positioned adjacently at the centre of the part and the vents were located at the two
bottom ends (see figure 18b).
In figure 19, simulated mould-filling times for resin saturation with the
distributed process parameter are plotted in histogram. Initially, the filling times
ranged from 410 seconds to 600 seconds. After optimizing with the new of gate and
vent locations, the filling time range narrowed significantly from 450 seconds to 530
seconds. The robust design was successfully achieved.

3.3 Case study III

A more complex part for a boat deck was designed, as shown in figure 20(a). The
race-tracking distribution is shown in figure 20(b), which was along the edge of the
part and sharp corners. The same materials were used in the simulation study.
Therefore, the average permeability values were assumed to be statistically
distributed as normal random variables and the race-tracking effects were
statistically distributed as Weibull variables (see figure 10). The part geometry
2100 J. Li et al.

involving mostly asymmetric features was more complex than that described in the
previous section.
The mould geometry simplification according to the permeability distribution is
shown in figure 21. Due to part asymmetry, optimisation for placing more than one
injection gate will result in extremely long computational time. Therefore, one gate
design was adopted for this optimisation problem.

(a) Before optimization (b) After optimization

Figure 19. Robust design evaluation.

Race-tracking regions

Main region

Figure 20. Meshed geometry with varying permeability of the ship part.

Figure 21. Graph representation.

 Robust design of composites manufacturing processes 2101

Figure 22(a) plots the first phase optimisation result for one vent design. The
dispersion values for the gate locations at two longer ends had smaller values than
those in the interior region. The reduced search domain is shown in figure 22(b) with
bold lines. During the second phase search, the performance was not remarkably
improved and outliers were observed due to large race-tracking effect and complex
geometric features, which indicate a multi-vent design, may be more appropriate.
As shown in figure 23(a), separating the ending points into two sets decreased
the minimised dispersion values dramatically from 2.5 to 0.8 and the potential
optimum search domain moved from the two ends to the centre of the part, as shown
in figure 23(b) with bold lines. During the second phase optimisation, the
marching directions were confined along the DEG boundary in order to reduce

(a) Dispersion values vs. locations of injection gate (b) Optimal solution domain

Figure 22. First phase optimisation.

(a) Dispersion values vs. locations of injection gate (b) Optimal solution domain

Figure 23. First phase optimisation for two-vent scenario.

2102 J. Li et al.

the computation load. The optimal designs are shown in figure 24 with a typical resin
flow process and the presence of flow disturbance.
The tooling evaluation study was performed. Plots in figure 25 simulated
mould-filling times for resin saturation with the distributed process parameter.
From figure 25(a) and (b), it was found that the filling time variation was reduced by
about 40%, which is the same level as in the case studies I and II. The optimisation
approach for robust design shows consistency for various part complexities, which
can be generalised for more applications.

3.4 Discussion
In this study, a heuristic algorithm was used to seek solutions for nonlinear
optimisation problems in the field of composite manufacturing. Since the flow
prediction simulation utilises FEM, an approximation method to actual process,
the heuristic that finds satisfactory solutions with less computational efforts tends to
perform better for this type of ‘black box’ problem. The key point that makes the
graph-based two phases heuristic promising is its uniqueness of mould geometry
simplification, which quickly locates the potential optimal solution domain and

Gate

Vent

Figure 24. Robust tooling design.

(a) Before optimization (b) After optimization

Figure 25. Robust design evaluation.

 Robust design of composites manufacturing processes 2103

significantly shortens the necessary computational time. For a typical optimisation

problem of over 1000 search points, only about 30 to 40 points should be evaluated.

4. Conclusions

The optimal process design and process automation have been the focus of the
current research. However, a key factor in RTM process—preform permeability—is
stochastic in nature, which makes these current methods hard to implement. Taking
into account the statistical properties of permeability, a robust design with an
optimisation method was proposed. The following steps are involved:
. Generate permeability values by the Monte Carlo simulation based on the
fabric structure.
. Quantify part quality by mathematical modelling.
. Conduct the flow simulation with stochastic parameters.
. Optimise the process parameter for a robust design.
Applying the optimisation method for robust design is the key concept of the
work. In this way, the uncertainty of the actual production, such as process
performance, part quality, and the most important parameters regarding process
design, production scheduling and cost estimation, can be analysed more accurately
than the traditional deterministic approach. This will result in properly designed
moulds that maintain consistent part quality and stable production process.
Case studies involving three parts of various complexities were investigated.
The objective was to determine the numbers and locations of the injection gates and
vents, which could lead to a design insensitive to the process uncertainties, such as
race-tracking effects. The graph-based, two-phase heuristic algorithm was found to
obtain satisfactory solutions. The optimal gate/vent configuration achieves the
design goal. Future work will be extended toward developing sensor locations
optimisation, and automatic control methodology for reducing the part quality
variation, such that the global optimal process design solution for RTM processes
can be obtained.

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