Modelling transport and deposition of non-spherical micro- and nano-particles in composites manufacturing

In liquid moulding processes, a fabric is impregnated with a fluid that may contain particles aimed at giving the final product additional and possible smart properties. It is therefore interesting to be able to reveal how the distribution and orientation of such particles are affected by the processing condition. During the manufacturing of the fabric, relatively large channels are formed between bundles of fibres where the impregnating fluid may flow. There are also micro-channels within the bundle that are impregnated by the fluid in the larger channels mainly by capillary action. With focus on fibre bundles along the main flow direction, three main stages of the flow are the flow is leading within the bundles, the flow is moving at equal rate within the bundles and between them and the flow is leading in the channels between the bundles. The latter one of these is in focus in this study, and the capillary action from the larger channels to the micro-channels is modelled as a constant radial velocity. Brownian, gravitational and hydrodynamic forces acting on the particles are studied. The introduction of a radial velocity component drastically increases the deposition rate, and it is clear that while particle shape has a great influence on deposition rates in a flow moving strictly in the direction of the channel, when a radial flow component is introduced the differences seem to disappear.