Composites, Fiberglass & Advanced Materials calculator

Vacuum Leak Risk Calculator

Use this calculator to rank bag leak risk from complex geometry, sealant tape joints, old tools, fittings, bridging, punctures, or poor vacuum integrity.

What this calculator does

  • Estimate vacuum leak risk for bagged composite layups, infusion tools, or cure bags.
  • prioritizing leak checks before infusion or cure
  • The result ranks vacuum leak risk for the selected bagged process.

Formula used

  • Vacuum Leak Risk = vacuum leak severity score × vacuum leak occurrence score × vacuum leak detection difficulty score

Inputs explained

  • vacuum leak severity score: Rate impact on infusion fill, void content, compaction, cure quality, scrap, schedule, or customer acceptance.
  • vacuum leak occurrence score: Rate likelihood from bag complexity, tool history, operator experience, fittings, and recent leak-test data.
  • vacuum leak detection difficulty score: Rate how difficult it is to find leaks before resin injection or cure using gauges, drop tests, ultrasonic leak detectors, or hold tests.

How to use the result

  • Use it to decide where to add leak checks, better bagging consumables, training, or process hold points.
  • Treat the result as a planning estimate until it is checked against the approved laminate schedule, material datasheets, ply books, resin batch records, tool condition, cure logs, inspection results, customer specification, and actual shop observations for the same part family and process.

Common questions

  • What is the vacuum leak risk calculator for? Use this calculator to rank bag leak risk from complex geometry, sealant tape joints, old tools, fittings, bridging, punctures, or poor vacuum integrity.
  • What information should I enter? Enter severity, occurrence, and detection scores using the same FMEA, process risk, or quality escalation scale used by your composites team.
  • What does the result tell me? The result ranks vacuum leak risk for the selected bagged process.
  • When is the result only an estimate? Treat the result as a planning estimate until it is checked against the approved laminate schedule, material datasheets, ply books, resin batch records, tool condition, cure logs, inspection results, customer specification, and actual shop observations for the same part family and process.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.