This research work is part of the collaborative project COMPTINN (Innovative composite materials for intermediate temperature applications). This project aims at enabling the manufacturing of competitive structural composites able to bear up continuous thermal exposure, such as in aircraft parts located close to engines. A new class of glass-ceramic matrices for structural composites was developed to reach this goal. These new matrices come from an inorganic thermosetting polymer derived from a geopolymeric system. Prepreg process is currently used to manufacture composites but these composites would be more competitive if they are produced by an easy and cost effective process technology. Liquid molding (LRI or RTM) seems to be a convenient solution. Two kinds of reinforcements were considered: a layup of several two-dimensional woven fabric plies and a three-dimensional preform.The rheological behaviour of the considered inorganic polymer was firstly investigated. The best conditions were identified to obtain the lowest viscosity of the resin in order to help the production of structural composite parts by liquid molding.Then, the research work investigates how changes in the manufacturing process impact the mechanical properties of the composites. A microstructural characterization helps to link the mechanical behavior to the processing route. The effects of varying several processing parameters have been studied such as the dilution rate of the resin, the impregnation direction or the pressure differential.
