Composites Part A 121 (2019) 353–364

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Composites Part A
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compositesa

Effect of external pressure and resin flushing on reduction of process- T

induced voids and enhancement of laminate quality in heated-VARTM
M. Akif Yalcinkayaa,b, E. Murat Sozerb, M. Cengiz Altana,
⁎

a
University of Oklahoma, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, 865 Asp Ave., Norman, OK 73019, USA
b
Koç University, Mechanical Engineering Department, Rumelifeneri Yolu, Sariyer, 34450 Istanbul, Turkey

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Applying external pressure on the vacuum bag in heated-Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (heated-
Liquid composite molding VARTM) is a new approach for manufacturing high quality composite laminates with minimal voids. The present
Microstructural analysis study focuses on the effects of external pressure and resin flushing on the microstructural features of the la-
Defects minates, including spatial variation and size distribution of the voids as well as the compaction of fiber tows. The
Mechanical properties
microstructural analysis performed on glass/epoxy composites reveal that external pressure reduces void content
and average void size, and leads to more uniform spatial distribution of voids. Significant increase in fiber
volume fraction from ∼50% up to ∼62% and a low void content of less than 1% are achieved by applying
modest gauge pressure levels up to 138 kPa on laminates with various thicknesses. The increase in fiber volume
fraction coupled with low void content improves the flexural properties as much as 20%, while the short-beam
shear strength of the laminates remains unchanged due to low void content in all laminates.

1. Introduction pressurization on the quality and microstructural features of the lami-

Vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is widely used for
manufacturing of large and complex shaped composite structures such
as boat hulls, wind turbine blades, and various aerospace parts at a low
cost. However, the quality and mechanical performance of the fabri-
cated laminates are limited due to spatial variation of properties, pro-
cess-induced voids and lower fiber volume fraction compared to high-
pressure, closed mold processes, such as resin transfer molding (RTM).
There has been considerable research on improving the quality of
VARTM-fabricated laminates by (i) controlling the process parameters
to minimize the aforementioned drawbacks [1–5] or (ii) developing
process variants of the conventional VARTM [6–9]. Recently, Yalcin-
kaya et al. [9] demonstrated that applying relatively low levels of air
pressure on the laminates in heated-VARTM can significantly improve
the overall laminate quality. As illustrated in Fig. 1, applying external
pressure, Pext, increases the compaction of the preform and helps fur-
ther removal of excess resin. Moreover, compaction of the fibers and
removal of the excess resin are enhanced by the reduced resin viscosity
in the case of heated-VARTM. To further improve the part quality, resin
flushing may be applied to mobilize and remove process-induced voids
after the mold is filled [4,9]. Thus, high fiber volume fraction, low void
content, and enhanced mechanical properties are achieved. However,
the effects of post-filling actions such as resin flushing and external
nate have not yet been understood. Hence, investigating the uncoupled
as well as the synergistic effects of external pressure and resin flushing
on (i) the morphology and spatial distribution of voids, and (ii) im-
proving the laminate properties and quality is particularly important.
One of the major drawbacks of VARTM is the spatial variations in
laminate properties due to variations in thickness and fiber volume
fraction. These variations are often due to spatially non-uniform resin
pressure which leads to different compaction levels along the preform
during filling [10–13]. A uniform compaction pressure along the pre-
form resulting in a uniform thickness can be achieved if appropriate
post filling actions such as resin bleeding are performed [14–18].
However, reaching a uniform compaction pressure along the preform
may take up to an order of magnitude longer than the mold filling time
[14,15], during which premature gelation may occur before the
thickness gradient is eliminated. Aside from post filling actions, various
methods have been studied to minimize the thickness gradient in la-
minates by controlling the resin pressure [2,19] or placing a stiff caul
plate on top of the preform [7]. In addition to thickness variation, due
to limited compaction pressure on the preform, laminates manufactured
with conventional VARTM typically have 40–50% fiber volume fraction
[20] which may not be suitable for applications where high mechanical
performance is required. In order to increase the fiber volume fraction
and also reduce the void content, various approaches for compressing

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: altan@ou.edu (M.C. Altan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2019.03.040
Received 11 December 2018; Received in revised form 10 March 2019; Accepted 25 March 2019
Available online 30 March 2019
1359-835X/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M.A. Yalcinkaya, et al.
Fig. 1. Pressurized VARTM experimental set-up. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this
article.)
the lay-up have been proposed. These compaction methods include
using an inflatable bladder [21,22], permanent magnets [23–27], or
pressurized air [9,28,29].
High void content in the fabricated laminates can cause significant
reduction in the mechanical properties and also accelerate the en-
vironmental aging by enhancing the moisture absorption [30,31]. In
liquid composite molding processes, voids are formed due to three
major phenomena: (i) bubbles already present in the resin resulting
from insufficient or no degassing before the infusion [32,33], (ii) vo-
latile release during curing reaction [34], and (iii) dual-scale flow
through porous fabric preform [35–37]. As widely discussed in various
studies, voids due to dual-scale flow can be formed in the tows (i.e.,
intra-tow voids) when resin flow in between the tows is faster than the
flow inside the tows. On the other hand, larger voids can be formed in
between the tows (i.e., inter-tow voids) when resin flow inside the tows
is faster than the flow in between the tows due to capillary effects
[35–37]. A few studies focused on adjusting the flow rate by controlling
the inlet pressure and reported that the impregnation velocity sig-
nificantly affects the final void content of the laminates [38–40]. In
addition, process parameters such as vacuum pressure and mold tem-
perature, resin bleeding, and placing a resistance to flow at the exit
have been reported to significantly affect the void content [1,3].
However, in common applications of VARTM, formation of voids are
usually inevitable and therefore, mobilization and removal of voids are
required to achieve laminates with low void content [41–43]. Various
studies have previously shown that voids may be mobilized towards the
exit of the mold and could be removed by various approaches such as
vibrating the mold [44] or continuing resin flow after complete mold
filling (a.k.a. resin flushing) [4,9].
Another drawback of VARTM is that the low-viscosity resin systems
suitable for infusion at room temperature have often lower mechanical
properties and service temperatures compared to the resin systems
processed at higher temperatures [45]. Hence, the performance of most
VARTM-manufactured parts is lower than that of autoclave molding or
RTM. Even though the higher performance resins are not commonly
used in VARTM process due to their high viscosity, heated-VARTM
could be a convenient method to reduce their viscosity and enable
vacuum infusion, which would significantly improve the mechanical
performance of composite laminates [46,47]. It has also been reported
that low void content can be achieved by heated-VARTM [45,48],
making this process a viable choice for high performance applications.
Regarding the aforementioned advantages of heating, this study utilizes
heated-VARTM to enable infusion of a high-viscosity resin suitable for
high performance applications. As an added benefit, reducing the
viscosity of the resin will allow quick removal of excess resin when
external pressure is applied on the lay-up. This enhancement over the
conventional VARTM can be achieved at modest pressure levels below
138 kPa and, thus, may be utilized for small to medium parts with
354
Composites Part A 121 (2019) 353–364
relative ease and low-cost tooling.
Hence, in this study, the following critical aspects of applying ex-
ternal pressure in heated-VARTM are addressed:
• What are the discernable effects of external pressurization, either
alone or when coupled with resin flushing, on the geometry, size,
and spatial distribution of voids throughout the laminate?
• What is the effect of pressure magnitude on the improvement of
flexural properties, fiber volume fraction, and average void content?
• Are the fiber tows deformed due to pressurization, changing the
laminate microstructure?
• Does the effect of pressure diminish with increased laminate thick-
ness? Does the interlaminar shear strength improve due to decreased
interlayer spacing under external pressure?
2. Experimental work
2.1. Materials used
An 8-harness satin woven E-glass (Fibreglast) with an areal density
of 295 g/m2 was used as the fabric. The bulk fiber density, ρfiber was
measured as 2.599 ± 0.012 g/cm3 with a gas pycnometer (AccuPyc II
1340). EPON 862/Curing Agent W epoxy resin system was used as the
matrix material. The hardener and resin were mixed at 26.4:100
(hardener:resin) weight ratio for 15 min at 250 rpm prior to infusion.
The mixture was degassed for 2 h to remove the air bubbles introduced
during mixing to prevent excessive voids in the final part. Density of the
cured resin was measured as 1.195 g/cm3 by following ASTM D 792.
2.2. Manufacturing of laminates
Manufacturing of laminates involved two main stages: (1) mold
filling and (2) post-filling. During mold filling, liquid resin was infused
to impregnate the dry preform, which was placed on a heated alu-
minum mold at 121 °C (see Fig. 1). After the preform was completely
wetted, various combinations of resin flushing (F) and external pres-
surization (P) were performed as post-filling actions.
In order to investigate the individual and coupled effects of resin
flushing and external pressurization on laminate properties and void
morphology, 6-ply laminates were manufactured by applying four dif-
ferent combinations of resin flushing and external pressurization at the
post-filling stage. Table 1 describes what these combinations are and
how they are implemented during the manufacturing of laminates in
detail. Flushing time and external pressure level, Pext, were selected as
30 min and 138 kPa (i.e., 20 psi), respectively. In all cases with external
pressure, pressurization started 5 min after the mold was filled and
continued until the part was completely cured. It was observed that
applying external pressure during flushing not only resulted in a low
M.A. Yalcinkaya, et al. Composites Part A 121 (2019) 353–364

Table 1
Fabrication scenarios (i.e., cases) to investigate the effect of applying various combinations of flushing and external pressure (i.e., 138 kPa gauge pressure) during the
post-filling stage. F: flushed, NF: non-flushed, P: externally pressurized, and NP: non-pressurized.
Case Post-filling actions

Inlet port after complete mold filling External pressure

NF + NP Closed immediately (i.e., no flushing) Not applied

F + NP Closed after continuing resin flow for 30 min (i.e., 30 min flushing) Not applied
NF + P Closed immediately (i.e., no flushing) Applied 5 min after complete mold filling until the part is cured
F+P Closed after continuing resin flow for 30 min (i.e., 30 min flushing) Applied 5 min after complete mold filling during flushing until the part is cured

void content, but also significantly reduced the resin consumption after
mold filling significantly by up to ∼85% compared to non-pressurized
fabrication.
Furthermore, 12- and 18-ply laminates were manufactured by
combining resin flushing and pressurization (F + P) as outlined in
Table 1. External pressure levels of Pext = 0, 34.5, 69, and 138 kPa (all
gauge pressure) were used to investigate the effect of external pressure
on the quality of thicker laminates. It should be noted that, when ex-
ternal pressure was applied during resin flushing, excess resin was re-
moved through both inlet and exit gates.
For each combination of (i) resin flushing and external pressuriza-
tion, and (ii) number of plies and external pressure level, two
152 mm × 203 mm (6 in × 8 in) laminates were manufactured. All la-
minates were cured for 4 h at 121 °C after the impregnation of the
preform. The exit gate was kept at ∼100 kPa of gauge vacuum pressure
(i.e., ∼0 kPa absolute pressure) until the end of curing.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Coupled effect of flushing and external pressure on laminate properties
The preliminary results in our previous study showed that the resin
flushing was essential for mobilization and removal of process-induced
voids [9]. However, the coupled effect of flushing and external pressure
on laminate properties, including void size, geometry, and their spatial
variations were not investigated. Therefore, a detailed analysis is per-
formed to identify the effect of applying various combinations of resin
flushing and external pressure (see Table 1) on the following properties
of 6-ply laminates: (i) planar distribution of voids; (ii) areal number
density, size, and aspect ratio of voids obtained from through-the-
thickness cross-sections; (ii) average laminate thickness and fiber vo-
lume fraction; and (iii) flexural strength and stiffness.
3.1.1. Planar distribution of voids
In a number of studies, spatial distribution of voids was investigated
by analyzing a set of samples that were often taken along the laminate
(i.e., the flow direction, x-axis) under microscope [1,3,49,50] or using
the resin burn-off method [1]. Even though these approaches have been
commonly used in the literature, they usually require extensive analysis
of high number of samples to acquire accurate information on spatial
distribution of voids. In fact, most of these studies focus only on
through-the-thickness cross sections of the laminate, and do not in-
vestigate the planar variations of the void content throughout the la-
minate (on x-y plane). In this study, a new approach is introduced to
quickly capture the planar distribution of voids throughout the entire
laminate surface by scanning the laminates using a high-resolution
flatbed scanner (Microtek ScanMaker 5900). For this purpose, 6-ply
laminates were fabricated to achieve semi-transparency through-the-
thickness, which provided a clear contrast between defect-free regions
and voids. It is important to mention that as the laminate thickness is
increased (e.g. 12- and 18-ply), the transparency critically decreased
and thus, the similar void analysis could not be performed.
The four types of 6-ply laminates described in Table 1 were scanned
(see Fig. 2) at a high-resolution of 2400 dpi (corresponding to a pixel
size of ∼11 µm × 11 µm. The scans were analyzed by using the image
processing software, ImageJ. The gray-scale value of each pixel was
measured and plotted to identify the planar distribution of voids, and
also to illustrate the formation of highly nonuniform, localized void
aggregates of various sizes as shown in Fig. 2. As the void occurrence
increased through the thickness, the transparency of the laminates at a

(a) NF + NP (b) F + NP
Exit side
Inlet side

(c) NF + P (d) F + P

x No-void
d More voids through the thickness
M

Fig. 2. Effect of flushing and external pressure on spatial distribution of voids. On the left side: scans of the laminates, on the right side: color maps of void
distribution. (a) Non-flushed and non-pressurized case (NF + NP), (b) Flushed and non-pressurized case (F + NP), (c) Non-flushed and pressurized case (NF + P),
and (d) Flushed and pressurized case (F + P). The color-maps illustrate the gray-values of pixels with voids and indicate how densely voids were localized through
the thickness. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

355
M.A. Yalcinkaya, et al.
1 resin bleeding. Nevertheless, even without flushing, external pressure
NF + NP
NF + P
0.8
F+P
Void occurrence
0.6
0.4
0.2
0 intake which not only caused resin waste but also significantly de-
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
Position along the laminate, x/L
Fig. 3. Effect of various combinations of flushing and external pressure on
distribution of voids along the x-axis (i.e., mold filling direction) of laminates.
Void occurence indicates the ratio of number of pixels with voids to total
number of pixels across the width (i.e., y-axis) of laminates. Dashed lines il-
lustrate the void occurrence averaged over the laminate length. (For inter-
pretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to
the web version of this article.)
particular location changed which resulted in pixels with lighter color
(i.e., higher gray-scale value) as seen in the scans in Fig. 2(a), (c), and
(d). On the other hand, the regions with no-voids had lower transpar-
ency (i.e., the darker regions in scans) and thus, the corresponding
pixels had lower gray-scale values. The color-maps in Fig. 2 illustrate
the regions with no-voids with white color, whereas the color ap-
proaches to red as the voids get denser through the thickness. No voids
were identified by the scan of F + NP laminate as shown in Fig. 2(b),
which confirms the favorable effect of resin flushing.
In order to quantify the spatial distribution of voids along the la-
minates, the processed images in Fig. 2 were binarized, which resulted
in rows and columns of pixels with values of 0 or 1 (i.e., regions with
no-voids or voids, respectively). The pixel values were then averaged
across the width of laminates (i.e., y-axis) to calculate the void occur-
rence at a particular distance from the inlet. The void occurrence cor-
responds to the ratio of the number of pixels with voids to the total
number of pixels across the width of laminates (e.g. void occurrence is
zero at a particular x location if all pixels along y-direction are void-
free, and it is equal to one if they all have voids in them). It should be
pointed out that the void occurrence analysis was performed to char-
acterize the spatial distribution of voids throughout the laminate, and
the actual void volume fraction of laminates was not quantified with
this method.
Fig. 3 demonstrates the void occurrence along the fill direction (i.e.,
x-axis) in laminates fabricated by applying various combinations of
flushing and external pressure. The red line in Fig. 3 shows that in
NF + NP laminates (see Fig. 2(a)), voids were mostly concentrated
around both the inlet and the exit sides (i.e., x/L < 0.2 and x/
L > 0.6). The high void occurrence (up to ∼0.7 in Fig. 3) at the inlet
side was possibly due to the high resin velocity at or near x/L = 0.
Some of these voids were mobilized towards the exit with the advan-
cing flow-front during filling and also by the resin flow after the inlet
was closed (i.e., resin bleeding), which might have caused an increase
in the void occurrence towards the exit. However, these mobilized voids
could not be removed due to the limited amount of resin flow during
resin bleeding since the inlet was closed. It should be noted that the
voids became visible during resin bleeding which indicated that the
reduction in resin pressure due to resin bleeding led to void formation
and growth [51]. Therefore, voids should be mobilized and removed
with the resin outflow before resin pressure critically decreases during
Composites Part A 121 (2019) 353–364
yielded a considerable decrease in the void occurrence (see black line in
Fig. 3) due to the removal of excess resin that contain mobile voids. It
should be emphasized that when resin flushing was not used, the ap-
plication of external pressure not only decreased the average void oc-
currence from 0.41 to 0.32, but also led to a more uniform void dis-
tribution along the laminates (compare black and red lines in Fig. 3).
Despite this significant improvement, removal of voids was limited and
a significantly low void occurrence could not be achieved by only ex-
ternal pressurization (NF + P). On the other hand, utilizing the resin
flushing in the absence of external pressure (F + NP) led to no visible
voids and the lowest void occurrence of zero (see Fig. 2(b)). However,
long flushing with no external pressure in F + NP yielded excess resin
1 creased fiber volume fraction in the fabricated laminates.
The best case was obtained by the combination of resin flushing and
external pressurization (F + P) where the average void occurrence was
decreased to a very low value of 0.02 as Fig. 3 shows. F + P was ex-
pected to yield high fiber volume fraction due to external pressure and
low void content as a result of resin flushing. The void occurrence of
0.02 corresponds to a very small amount of voids which started to
appear during resin bleeding under external pressure. This was mainly
due to the growth of immobile microvoids that were entrapped in be-
tween the highly compacted fiber tows as a result of reduction in hy-
drostatic resin pressure. These immobile voids could not have been
removed with the flushed resin which was significantly reduced in size
due to lower permeability of the preform when external pressure was
applied. After flushing was complete and excess resin was continued to
be bled out of the exit, these immobile voids grew due to reduction of
resin pressure. Eventually, the high external pressure only compressed
the fabric plies and did not increase the resin pressure. Hence, the void
size could not be further reduced. Despite this minor increase in voids
in F + P compared to F + NP, the F + P laminate will likely to yield the
best mechanical properties among the combinations of F and P due to
significantly increased fiber volume fraction and very low void content.
However, the void content and morphology in fabricated laminates and
their mechanical properties should be investigated in detail to obtain a
comprehensive understanding of effect of flushing and pressurization
on the overall quality of the composites.
3.1.2. Void morphology: size, areal number density, and aspect ratio
The effect of applying various combinations of flushing and external
pressure on void morphology was also investigated by performing de-
tailed microscopy examination on the through-the-thickness cross-sec-
tions of the laminates. A 152 mm (6 in) long sample along the filling
direction (i.e., x-direction) was taken from each laminate. Every single
void identifiable at 50-500X magnification on the entire through-the-
thickness cross-section of these samples was captured with a MEIJI light
microscope and (i) its equivalent diameter, Deq (i.e., the diameter of the
circle with the same area of the void) and (ii) aspect ratio (i.e., the ratio
of major to minor axes of a fitted ellipse on the void circumference)
were calculated using ImageJ software. It should be noted that no voids
in the fiber tows (i.e., intra-tow voids) were seen among the examined
laminates.
The results given in Table 2 show that the areal number density of
voids (i.e., number of voids per unit area of samples) was significantly
reduced by resin flushing. Comparison of the areal number density of
voids in NF + NP and F + NP laminates (i.e., 2.69 and 0 voids/mm2,
respectively) reveals that voids were removed with the resin outflow
during flushing. It should be noted that the areal number density of
voids in F + NP was calculated as zero due to no voids being observed
in the examined cross-sections of the F + NP laminates even at the
highest magnification of 500X. The advantage of flushing can also be
seen in the presence of external pressure when NF + P and F + P la-
minates are compared. In F + P case, 80% reduction in areal number
density of voids was achieved compared to NF + P case.
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M.A. Yalcinkaya, et al. Composites Part A 121 (2019) 353–364

Table 2
Effect of applying various combinations of flushing and external pressurization on the laminate properties. F: flushed, NF: non-flushed, P: externally pressurized, and
NP: non-pressurized.
Case Average thickness, h Fiber volume Void content, Vv Areal number Equivalent void Void aspect ratio Flexural Flexural stiffness,
[mm] fraction, Vf [%] [%] density, [voids/ diameter, Deq [μm] strength, σ E [GPa]
mm2] [MPa]

NF + NP 1.246 ± 0.005 57 ± 0.2 2.4 ± 0.5 2.69 169 ± 8 4.97 ± 0.22 629 ± 26 26.4 ± 0.4
F + NP 1.401 ± 0.003 50 ± 0.2 0.35 ± 0.0 – – – 650 ± 6 24.3 ± 0.3
NF + P 1.106 ± 0.004 60 ± 0.2 1.4 ± 0.2 2.11 108 ± 7 5.23 ± 0.33 730 ± 12 30.6 ± 0.6
F+P 1.137 ± 0.003 62 ± 0.2 0.86 ± 0.2 0.42 110 ± 15 3.93 ± 0.43 736 ± 27 29.1 ± 0.6

50 60
a NF+NP NF+P F+P 55
b NF+NP NF+P F+P
45
50
40
45
35
40
Frequency [%]

Frequency [%]
30 35

25 30

20 25

20
15
15
10
10
5 5

0 0
0-50 50-100 100-150 150-200 200-250 250-300 300-350 >350 <2
0-2 2-4 4-6 6-8 8-10 10-12 12-14 >14
Equivalent diameter, Deq [μm] Aspect ratio
Fig. 4. Distribution of (a) void size and (b) aspect ratio when various combinations of flushing and external pressure were applied.

In addition, Table 2 shows that the external pressure led to a sig-
nificant decrease in average void size (i.e., Deq) from 169 μm for
NF + NP to 108 μm for NF + P laminates. It is also observed that ex-
ternal pressure not only reduced the size but also the areal number
density of voids, which was 22% lower in NF + P than NF + NP. As a
result, a significant reduction in void content by applying external
pressure was achieved. Hence, notable improvement of the laminate
quality is expected when both resin flushing and external pressure are
applied, since laminates with fewer voids and higher fiber content have
better mechanical performance.
The frequency distributions of size and aspect ratio of voids are
depicted in Fig. 4(a) and (b), respectively to give a more detailed
analysis on the effect of external pressure on void morphology. Fig. 4(a)
clearly demonstrates that when external pressure was applied (i.e.,
NF + P and F + P cases), frequency of large voids decreased sig-
nificantly and almost 45% of the voids had an equivalent diameter of
50–100 μm. On the other hand, the void size distribution in NF + NP
case showed that very large voids with more than 350 μm equivalent
diameter could be present in the part, which could create weak spots
and micro-cracks, leading to premature delamination and significant
decrease in the mechanical properties. In addition, resin flushing re-
sulted in removal of voids larger than 300 μm and with aspect ratio
higher than 8 whereas, voids with large dimensions and very high as-
pect ratio were entrapped in non-flushed laminates (i.e., NF + NP and
NF + P cases). Hence, notable improvement of flexural properties in
F + P case compared to NF + NP and NF + P cases was expected. The
statistical distribution of void size and aspect ratio as given in Fig. 4
could be useful when investigating the effect of voids on the mechanical
properties of composites particularly by using micromechanical models
[52]. In various studies [52–54], the effect of void geometry was ac-
counted for in micromechanical models and void morphology was
shown to have a detrimental effect on the elastic moduli of composites.
The effect of voids on mechanical properties can vary for different types
of fabrics and impregnation schemes. For example, if a distribution
medium is used over much of the laminate surface to speed up the
impregnation, the formation and morphology of voids can be sig-
nificantly affected.
3.1.3. Average thickness, fiber volume fraction, void content, and flexural
properties of the laminates
Thickness of the laminates was measured at a grid of 35 equally
spaced locations using a micrometer. Fiber volume fraction, Vf and void
content, Vv of laminates were determined by conducting resin burn-off
method according to ASTM D 3171 on 3 samples from each laminate
(i.e., 6 samples for each fabrication scenario) with planar dimensions of
13 mm × 51 mm (0.5 in × 2 in). In addition, flexural testing of 16
samples for each case was performed at a span to thickness ratio of 24
by following ASTM D 790. The results are tabulated in Table 2 with a
95% confidence interval to characterize the variation in the experi-
mental data.
As shown in Table 2, resin flushing caused a significant increase in
laminate thickness in non-pressurized cases (i.e., NF + NP and F + NP),
which decreased the fiber volume fraction due to additional resin in-
take. However, higher flexural strength was achieved in F + NP case
due to the decrease in void content from 2.4 to 0.35% with resin
flushing. The higher variation of flexural strength of ± 26 MPa for
NF + NP laminates compared to ± 6 MPa for the F + NP laminates
could be correlated to the higher variation in void occurrence (i.e.,
higher spatial variation in void content) shown in Fig. 3. On the other
hand, external pressurization resulted in substantial decrease in average
thickness of laminates, which significantly increased fiber volume
fraction, Vf, up to 62% and thus, improved flexural strength, σ, and
modulus, E, up to 736 MPa and 30.6 GPa, respectively, compared to
Vf = 57%, σ = 629 MPa, and E = 26.4 GPa in NF + NP case. Although,

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M.A. Yalcinkaya, et al. Composites Part A 121 (2019) 353–364

4.5 64
a 6 plies b
4.0 62
12 plies

Fiber volume fraction, Vf [%]

18 plies 60
3.5
Thickness, h [mm]

58
3.0
56
2.5
54
2.0
52 6 plies
1.5 12 plies
50
18 plies
1.0 48
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
External pressure, Pext [kPa] External pressure, Pext [kPa]
0.24
c 6 plies
0.23 12 plies
Thickness per ply, h/N [mm]

18 plies
0.22

0.21

0.20

0.19

0.18
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
External pressure, Pext [kPa]
Fig. 5. Effect of external pressure on (a) thickness and (b) fiber volume fraction, and (c) per-ply thickness of 6-, 12-, and 18-ply laminates.

NF + P and F + P cases resulted in similar average flexural properties, 12-, and 18-ply laminates at a certain Pext was similar, indicating that
the decrease in void content due to flushing improved the flexural the removal of excess resin and reduction of laminate thickness were
strength slightly from 730 to 736 MPa. These outcomes emphasized the effectively performed even at increased laminate thicknesses (i.e.,
importance of applying resin flushing and external pressure together higher number of plies). Additionally, the similar per-ply thicknesses
(i.e., F + P case) to achieve superior laminate properties with low void indicated that the number of plies would have almost a negligible effect
content below 1% and high fiber volume fraction up to 62%. Moreover, on the consolidation behavior of the laminates. This could be due to the
large and high-aspect ratio voids, which could be detrimental in me- reduced effect of nesting on thickness at increased number of plies as
chanical properties of composite laminates, were significantly reduced reported in the previous studies [55,56].
in the F + P case. Therefore, all subsequent 6-, 12- and 18-ply laminates Fig. 5(b) shows the effect of different pressure levels on fiber volume
used in this study were manufactured by combining the resin flushing fraction, Vf, for 6-, 12-, and 18-ply laminates. It is seen that Vf of 6-, 12-
and external pressurization (i.e., F + P case). and 18-ply laminates at Pext = 0 kPa was increased from approximately
50 to more than 61% at Pext = 138 kPa. As expected, the significant
3.2. Effect of laminate thickness on the consolidation, fiber volume fraction, increase in Vf occurred due to the removal of excess resin and further
and void content compaction of the impregnated preform under increased compaction
pressure, Pc (i.e., Pc = (Patm − Pvent) + Pext ≈ 238 kPa), which was not
The consolidation of laminates made of 6, 12 and 18 plies was in- possible at the highest available compaction pressure (i.e.,
vestigated by analyzing the average laminate thickness, fiber volume Pc = (Patm − Pvent) ≈ 100 kPa) in conventional VARTM, when vent
fraction, and per-ply thickness as shown in Fig. 5. It should be noted pressure, Pvent is around absolute vacuum and Patm ≈ 100 kPa. More-
that the error bars showing the 95% confidence intervals are barely over, a similar improvement in fiber volume fraction is expected to be
noticeable in Fig. 5(a–c) due to almost uniform thickness distribution. achieved by applying external pressure at lower process temperatures
Fig. 5 shows that at Pext = 138 kPa, a significant thickness decrease [28].
of 19 and 17% in 12- and 18-ply laminates was achieved, respectively. Fig. 6 shows the void content, Vv, measured from 6 samples for 6-,
For 6-ply laminates, this was reported as 19% decrease in our previous 12- and 18-ply laminates. Compared to the non-flushed cases, 30-min
study [9]. Moreover, Fig. 5(c) shows that the per-ply thickness values flushing applied in all cases shown in Fig. 6 seems to help reduce the
(i.e., average laminate thickness divided by the number of plies) of 6-, overall void volume fraction for all laminates, regardless of the

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1.2
3.3. Microstructural analysis of 6-, 12-, and 18-ply laminates
6 plies 12 plies 18 plies
1 To better ascertain the effect of external pressure on the micro-
structural features of the laminates, a detailed microscopy analysis that
includes the characterization of tow deformation was carried out. The
Void content, Vv [%]

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0 seen in Fig. 7(d). This implied that while voids were mobilized and
0 (i.e., VARTM) 34.5 69
External pressure, Pext [kPa]
Fig. 6. Comparison of the void content of 6-, 12-, and 18-ply laminates man-
ufactured under various external pressure levels. Resin flushing was applied for
30 min in all cases.
laminate thickness. The minor increase in Vv in all 6-, 12-, and 18-ply
laminates with the increase in the level of external pressure could be
caused by the entrapment of mobilized voids in between the compacted
fabric layers during pressurization. However, it is clearly seen that the
average Vv of all laminates was below 1% at all Pext levels. Therefore,
the possible negative effect of slight increase in void content on me-
chanical properties was expected to be minor or unnoticeable. More-
over, the substantial increase in fiber volume fraction due to the applied
pressure would have a more dominant effect on the mechanical prop-
erties and fully compensate the detrimental effects of the slightly in-
creased void content.
qualitative observations from the microscopy images coupled with
quantitative analysis of void size and shape distributions as well as tow
deformation could reveal unique microstructural features, which might
be observed only in the pressurized VARTM processes.
Fig. 7(a–c) reveal that voids were seldom seen and most of the
sample cross-sections were void free, especially at lower pressure levels,
which agreed well with the void occurrence analysis and resin burn-off
tests. However, some voids were occasionally seen at the inter-tow
regions of laminates fabricated at high levels of external pressure as
138 removed with the flushed resin, some voids were restrained in between
the compressed fiber tows. Fig. 8(a) and (b) shows close-up micro-
graphs that elaborate these observations by showing the clear contrast
between the voids observed in a non-pressurized and pressurized
(Pext = 69 kPa) 18-ply laminate, respectively. Fig. 8(a) depicts the only
void along the whole 152 mm microscopy sample of a non-pressurized
laminate and indicates that the large inter-tow regions enhanced the
mobility of voids. Additionally, due to lower compaction pressure, a
low void aspect ratio is observed in Fig. 8(a). On the other hand, the
void in Fig. 8(b) was compressed and elongated due to reduced inter-
tow gap especially at Pext = 138 kPa.
Other interesting observations regarding the void shape and loca-
tion through the thickness of laminates include voids with tortuous
morphology and intra-tow voids seen in warp tows. Fig. 9(a) depicts
that larger voids were broken up into smaller ones at high external
pressure, resulting in clusters of more tortuous voids, mostly extending
along a horizontal plane. In addition, an extensive inspection of nu-
merous micrographs revealed that at certain locations, minor intra-tow

Fig. 7. Micrographs from 12-ply laminates: (a) a void free section from a non-pressurized and (b) a pressurized (Pext = 138 kPa) laminate. (c) A perfectly wetted void-
free tow, and (d) a region with localized, inter-layer void clusters (Pext = 138 kPa).

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M.A. Yalcinkaya, et al. Composites Part A 121 (2019) 353–364

inter-tow voids into warp tows as a consequence of the compaction of

Fig. 8. Micrographs of voids with various morphology: (a) a slightly com-
pressed void in an 18-ply non-pressurized laminate (Pext = 0 kPa), and (b) a
highly compressed void between tows in an 18-ply pressurized laminate
(Pext = 69 kPa).
voids were formed. Fig. 9(b) shows an example of these intra-tow voids
which were only observed in regions where inter-tow voids were den-
sely seen. Therefore, it could be speculated that the intra-tow voids
were not formed during impregnation but due to the migration of large
fiber bed under the external pressure. It should also be emphasized that
the intra-tow voids were only seen in warp tows rather than weft tows
which possibly occurred due to higher permeability of warp tows along
the flow direction [57].
Fig. 10(a) and (b) demonstrates the frequency distribution of size
and aspect ratio of all voids captured in laminates manufactured at
Pext = 138 kPa, respectively. Fig. 10(a) shows that the majority of the
voids had an equivalent void diameter, Deq smaller than 100 µm in all
6-, 12-, and 18-ply laminates. The average equivalent void diameter,
Deq, was calculated as 110, 66, and 80 µm in 6-, 12-, and 18-ply lami-
nates, respectively. The 12-ply laminates had the smallest average Deq
and highest frequency of voids with Deq < 50 µm because of (i) the
large voids being broken in smaller, tortuous voids as illustrated in
Fig. 9(a), and (ii) the migration of inter-tow voids to intra-tow regions
yielding voids with Deq < 10 µm as shown in Fig. 9(b). Additionally,
the average aspect ratio of voids in 6-, 12-, and 18-ply laminates was
measured as 3.9, 4.3, and 3.7, respectively, which illustrated that voids
were mostly compressed and elongated due to external pressure rather
than being circular (i.e., aspect ratio ≈ 1). Fig. 10(b) shows that ap-
proximately 60% of the voids had an aspect ratio lower than 4. On the
other hand, a low percentage of high-aspect-ratio-voids (i.e., aspect
ratio higher than 10) were seen in 12- and 18-ply laminates. Further-
more, the satin weave structure could contribute to high variation in
void size and aspect ratio due to its non-uniform inter-tow regions
where voids could be trapped.

a Voids with tortuous shapes b

Warp tow

Weft tow
Resin

Intra-tow voids

Fig. 9. Micrographs demonstrating (a) several tortuous voids in a 12-ply pressurized laminate (Pext = 138 kPa) and (b) intra-tow voids in warp tows due to branching
of inter-tow voids at high external pressure.

60 60
a b
6 plies 12 plies 18 plies 6 plies 12 plies 18 plies
50 50

40 40
Frequency [%]

Frequency [%]

30 30

20 20

10 10

0 0
0-50 50-100 100-150 150-200 200-250 250-300 300-350 >350 <2
0-2 2-4 4-6 6-8 8-10 10-12 12-14 >14
Equivalent diameter, Deq [μm] Aspect ratio
Fig. 10. Microscopy analysis of captured voids in laminates manufactured under Pext = 138 kPa: (a) equivalent diameter and (b) aspect ratio of the voids.

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M.A. Yalcinkaya, et al. Composites Part A 121 (2019) 353–364

On the other hand, compaction of fiber tows in pressurized VARTM was

not readily recognized from the images and has not been characterized
in the literature. Hence, in this study, to identify how individual fiber
tows were affected under external pressure, micrographs of approxi-
mately 120 weft tows were analyzed for each pressure level by selecting
the periphery of a tow and fitting an ellipse as illustrated in Fig. 11.
Fig. 12 depicts the average tow height and cross-sectional area for
6-, 12-, and 18-ply laminates manufactured under various external
pressure levels. The minor axis of the fitted ellipse (see Fig. 11) corre-
Fig. 11. Analysis of tow geometry using image processing tool. (For inter- sponds to the height of the tow, htow, which decreased with increasing
pretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to Pext in all laminates as shown in Fig. 12. Compared to non-pressurized
the web version of this article.) laminates, the average htow decreased by 9.2, 10.5, and 7.1% in 6-, 12-
and 18-ply laminates manufactured under 138 kPa of external pressure,
respectively. The considerable reduction in tow height (∼10 µm at
In addition to the void morphology, compaction of tows and pos-
Pext = 138 kPa) emphasizes that not only the nesting of fabric layers but
sible changes in tow geometry was analyzed to fully understand the
also the consolidation of individual fiber tows significantly contributed
compaction behavior of laminates. Regardless of the void content, the
to the decrease in per ply thickness (∼44 µm) when external pressure
thickness reduction due to external pressure led to the following
was applied. In addition, the large variations of htow in Fig. 12 indicates
changes in two major microstructural features: (i) nesting of fabric plies
the presence of spatial variations of the tow microstructure which
and (ii) compaction of individual tows. The former was clearly noticed
highlights the inherent nonuniformity of the fiber preforms. However,
by comparing Fig. 7(a) and (b). It was observed that the resin rich inter-
as Fig. 12 illustrates, applying external pressure remarkably reduced
tow regions in non-pressurized laminates (see Fig. 7(a)) were narrowed
the innate variation in tow height, which improved the uniformity of
in externally pressurized laminates (see Fig. 7(b)), which apparently led
the microstructural features of laminates. Moreover, the width (i.e., the
to an overall thickness reduction and increase in fiber volume fraction.
major axis of fitted ellipse) and cross-sectional area of tows were

130 1.05 130 1.05 130 1.05

a 6-ply b 12-ply c 18-ply

Normalized cross-sectional tow area

Normalized cross-sectional tow area
Normalized cross-sectional tow area

120 120 120

0.95 0.95 0.95

110 110 110

Tow height, htow [μm]

Tow height, htow [μm]

Tow height, htow [μm]

0.85 0.85 0.85
100 100 100

90 90 90
0.75 0.75 0.75

80 80 80

0.65 0.65 0.65

70 70 70

60 0.55 60 0.55 60 0.55

0 0 0
34.5 69 138 34.5 69 138 34.5 69 138
(i.e., VARTM) (i.e., VARTM) (i.e., VARTM)
External pressure, Pext [kPa] External pressure, Pext [kPa] External pressure, Pext [kPa]

Fig. 12. Change in tow height and cross-sectional area with external pressure in (a) 6-, (b) 12- and (c) 18-ply laminates. Tow cross-sectional area was normalized by
the average tow area of VARTM laminates and illustrated with the black squares (values appear on the right vertical axis).

1.20 1.25
a 6 plies 12 plies 18 plies b 6 plies 12 plies 18 plies
1.20
1.15
Normalized flexural strength

Normalized flexural stiffness

1.15
1.10

1.10
1.05
1.05

1.00
1.00

0.95
0.95

0.90 0.90
0 (i.e., VARTM) 34.5 69 138 0 (i.e., VARTM) 34.5 69 138
External pressure, Pext [kPa] External pressure, Pext [kPa]
Fig. 13. Effect of external pressure on the normalized (a) flexural strength and (b) flexural stiffness of 6-, 12-, and 18-ply laminates.

361
M.A. Yalcinkaya, et al.
65
a b
Short beam shear strength [MPa]
60
55
50
45
40
0 (i.e., VARTM) 34.5 69
External pressure, Pext [kPa]
Fig. 14. Short-beam shear strength of (a) 12- and (b) 18-ply laminates manufactured by applying various levels of external pressure.
analyzed and it was observed that external pressure did not have an
influence on the width of tows, but significantly decreased the area of
tows (shown with black squares in Fig. 12), which was due to the re-
duction in tow height. The reduction in tow area implied that the in-
crease in Vf was not only due to removal of excess resin in the inter-tow
regions and nesting of fabric layers, but also due to the decrease in
intra-tow space in between individual fibers.
3.4. Flexural and interlaminar properties of 6-, 12-, and 18-ply laminates
The effect of external pressure on flexural properties of laminates is
demonstrated in Fig. 13, which clearly depicts that, even at a low ex-
ternal pressure level of 34.5 kPa, flexural strength and stiffness im-
proved significantly in all laminates. The results are presented as nor-
malized flexural strength and stiffness with respect to the laminates
fabricated by conventional VARTM without external pressure. The in-
crease in flexural strength at Pext = 138 kPa was ∼13, ∼7, and ∼11%
in 6-, 12- and 18-ply laminates, respectively. The average flexural
strength at Pext = 0, 34.5, 69, and 138 kPa were (i) 650, 695, 709, and
736 MPa for 6-ply; (ii) 606, 632, 639, and 648 MPa for 12-ply; and (iii)
594, 640, 607, and 658 MPa for 18-ply laminates. Although, flexural
strength increased with external pressure in all laminates, the level of
increase was slightly different in 6-, 12-, and 18-ply laminates, possibly
due to the inherent variations in laminate fabrication, and presence of
voids with various morphologies affecting the flexural strength. Despite
the small effects of voids expected at low void content [30,58], the void
morphology might be an important factor affecting the mechanical
properties [59,60]. The relatively modest improvement in strength for
12- and 18-ply laminates could be correlated to the presence of higher
aspect ratio voids and formation of localized void clusters which could
contribute to the initiation and progression of micro-cracks [59,61]. On
the other hand, Fig. 13(b) shows that the increase in flexural stiffness
(i.e., from 24 GPa to above 28 GPa, representing more than 15% in-
crease) was more consistent and followed an expected trend in all 6-,
12-, and 18-ply laminates and further confirms the minor effect of voids
on the flexural stiffness [62].
To further investigate whether the small amount of voids formed at
higher external pressures affected the laminate quality, short-beam
shear strength (SBS) of fabricated laminates were determined. SBS is
sensitive to void content and can significantly deteriorate if the void
content is above a critical level [63,64]. The SBS of the 6-ply laminates
could not be tested, since the thickness of the specimens did not satisfy
the requirements of the short-beam testing standard (ASTM D 2344).
Composites Part A 121 (2019) 353–364
65
Short beam shear strength [MPa]
60
55
50
45
40
138 0 (i.e., VARTM) 34.5 69 138
External pressure, P ext [kPa]
Hence, only 12- and 18-ply laminates were tested to investigate the
effect of slight increase in void content on SBS. Six samples from each
laminate were tested at a span to thickness ratio of 4:1. Fig. 14 shows
that SBS of laminates was affected neither by the increase in fiber vo-
lume fraction nor by the decrease in void content. These results were in
good agreement with Ref. [65] that showed, for Vf from 40 to 60%, SBS
was not influenced by the Vf, since the shear fracture occurred in the
matrix. Furthermore, previous studies [63,64] demonstrated that void
content below the critical value of ∼1% did not significantly affect the
shear strength, whereas the shear strength decreased exponentially at
high void content. Therefore, it could be concluded that similar SBS
could be achieved at various laminate thicknesses and external pressure
levels due to low void content.
4. Conclusion
The effect of applying external pressure on the lay-up in heated-
VARTM was investigated to enhance mechanical properties and overall
quality of the composite laminates of various thicknesses. This was
demonstrated by: (i) identifying the individual as well as synergistic
effects of external pressure and resin flushing, and (ii) analyzing the
changes in laminate thickness, microstructural features, and flexural
and interlaminar properties of 6-, 12-, and 18-ply, satin-weave glass/
epoxy laminates.
It was shown that external pressurization alone decreased the
average void content from 2.4 to 1.4% when resin flushing was not
applied. Coupling external pressure and resin flushing further reduced
the void content to 0.86% and yielded a more uniform spatial dis-
tribution of voids, while achieving high fiber content of approximately
62% due to higher degree of compaction with external pressure.
Applying external pressure was shown to reduce the void size while
resin flushing helped removal of high-aspect-ratio voids in pressurized
laminates. In addition, both flexural strength and stiffness of laminates
manufactured by applying flushing and external pressure together were
substantially improved. Therefore, applying resin flushing and external
pressurization together would be most effective for improving laminate
quality.
The analysis of the 6-, 12-, and 18-ply laminates clearly showed that
the similar levels of thickness reduction and fiber volume fraction in-
crease could be achieved by the pressurization regardless of the lami-
nate thickness. The further analysis of the laminate compaction re-
vealed that the thickness reduction was not only governed by the
nesting of fabric layers, but also by the consolidation of individual fiber
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M.A. Yalcinkaya, et al.
tows by more than 10%. Even though external pressure caused a very
slight increase in void content due to entrapment of voids in between
nested layers, void content below 1% was achieved for all laminates
when external pressure was applied with resin flushing. Moreover,
flexural properties were improved by approximately 10–20% for most
laminates, while the short-beam strength was not significantly affected.
These results indicate that externally pressurized heated-VARTM
could readily enable manufacturing of composite parts with high-
quality (i.e., high fiber volume fraction and low void content) at rela-
tively low costs compared to RTM and autoclave molding since double-
sided molds and autoclaves are not used. However, as the planar part
dimensions increase, applying external pressure could be challenging
due to higher clamping forces required to keep the pressure chamber in
place. Therefore, pressurized heated-VARTM could be more suitable for
small to medium scale composite parts.
Acknowledgement
This research was partially funded by TUBITAK (The Scientific and
Technological Research Council of Turkey) 2214-A scholarship granted
to M. Akif Yalcinkaya during his research studies at the University of
Oklahoma.
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