Vacuum Infusion of a 24 meter racer
Maxi Jena - Infusion strategy for the hull

The hull is produced in a female mould. The lay-out of the runner system - optimised with RTM-Worx - is pretty straightforward. In the center, a thick tube ('the aorta') supplies the resin to the branches (spirals). Five feeding points were used (click the image for an animation).

RTM-Worx simulation - click for animation

The length of the spirals and distance in between was optimised with the aid of RTM-Worx to obtain (1) a short injection time, (2) insensitivity to reinforcement and resin properties and (3) an well shaped front. In particular, the length of the spirals was tuned to make sure that the resin would reach the vacuum line along the edge everywhere at the same time to avoid waste of resin and partial loss of vacuum.

Infusion of the hull

The series of photographs below shows preparation of the carbon reinforcement, application of peel ply, flow net and runner system and the actual infusion. Use the controls below the image to navigate through the photographs.

When all the carbon had been impregnated, the resin supply was closed and we put vacuum on the inlet ports; this helps to reach a high fiber/volume fraction because most of the excess resin is near the inlet ports (less vacuum due to flowing resin).