Fabrication and Testing of Electrically Conductive Layerwise-Hybrid CFRP for Lightning Strike Application

Abstract

Multi-functional composites have gained interest among researchers in these recent years, especially in aeronautic application where the materials are required to be light weight and display high specific strengths. This study aims to propose the method of fabricating hybrid laminates of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) with two systems of resins: carbon fiber reinforced with polyaniline-base resin (CF/PANI) and carbon fiber with epoxy resin (CF/epoxy). Each system of laminates was fabricated layerwise using hand lay-up method. The CF/PANI and CF/Epoxy laminates were fused with adhesive film. The coupon specimens were characterized for their bending properties, interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) and electrical conductivity. Simulated lightning strike tests were also conducted to investigate the damage behavior.