Prediction of the electrical resistance of multilayer carbon fiber composites

Abstract

The issues of calculation of electrical phenomena in multilayer carbon fiber composite materials are considered. The method for assessing the reliability of composite material models for modeling electrical phenomena in composite structures is proposed. The method is based on the comparison of the calculated and experimental values of the electrical resistance of material specimens with certain lay-up sequences of the layers. Experimental determination of the electrical resistance of specimens of single-layer and multilayer composites based on two types of carbon fiber reinforcing materials is carried out. The calculation of resistance of the composites on the basis of these materials using the homogeneous model, as well as the layered model of composite material implemented by the finite element method was carried out. The initial data for modeling in the form of the coefficients of the electrical conductivity of the layers were obtained from the experimental results. The comparison of the calculation results using the homogeneous and layered models with the experimental results was carried out. On the basis of the obtained numerical results, as well as distribution analysis of electric potential in the models of the specimens, the application areas of the models were evaluated. According to the results of the analysis, the homogeneous model gives acceptable results with an accuracy of 12 % for materials that have an alternation of layers with different reinforcement angles. For the material where the layers with one reinforcement angle form clusters, the homogeneous model gave an error exceeding 50 %. In all cases considered, the layered model of the material provides high accuracy of modeling with an error less than 10 %. Based on the analysis, practical recommendations are given for modeling electrical phenomena in composite structures.