Experimental electrical characterisation of carbon fibre composites for use in future aircraft applications

Jameel B. Khan, Alexander C. Smith, Paul M. Tuohy, Matthieu Gresil, Constantinos Soutis, Alexis Lambourne

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study presents experimental testing of samples from two uni-directional carbon fibre composite (CFC) manufactured panels to determine the factors that influence the electrical properties of CFCs and to also determine the temperature coefficient of resistance. The CFC panels were manufactured by two different techniques to compare the impact of the manufacturing process on the electrical properties. Various electrical conductivity measurement methods were evaluated to determine the most consistent and accurate technique. The influence of sample geometry on the measured electrical conductivity was also investigated. Thermal imaging was used to image resistive losses and illustrate the current paths through the fibres within the CFC test samples. Finally, the effects of increasing temperature on the CFC samples are presented, illustrating that CFCs have a negative temperature coefficient.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1131-1138
Number of pages8
JournalIET Science, Measurement & Technology
Volume13
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Externally publishedYes

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