Nondestructive evaluation of ±45° flat-braided carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers with carbon nanofibers using HTS-SQUID gradiometer

Abstract

Step-by-step tensile tests were applied to flat-braided carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers with and without added dispersions of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and with and without sample sides cut off to study their mechanical properties and destructive mechanisms by means of in situ observation and stress–strain measurements. An ex situ nondestructive evaluation technique, using a high-temperature superconductor superconducting quantum interference device gradiometer, was also applied to the samples to study their electrical properties; the relationships between the mechanical and electrical properties by visualizing current maps in the samples during ac current injection was also studied. Clear differences were observed in the mechanical and electrical properties and the destructive mechanisms between the samples with and without CNFs and with and without cut off sides. These differences were mainly attributed to the addition of CNFs, which enhanced the mechanical and electrical connections between the carbon fiber bundles.