A Study of Electrical Conductivity Improvement of CFRP by Nano-particles Coated Carbon Fibers for Lightning Strike Protection

초록

The improvement of electrical conductivity of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) has been studied by indium-tin oxide (ITO) nano-particle coating on carbon fibers for the purpose of aircraft lightning strike protection. The electrical resistance was measured by a contact resistance meter which utilized the principles of the AC 4-terminal method, and then the measured value was converted to electrical conductivity. The results showed the electrical conductivity of 40% nano-ITO coated samples surpassed that of B-787 samples, which currently employs an aluminum wire mesh embedded in outer layer of CFRP fuselage skin. The effect of nano-particles existed between fibers and matrix was evaluated by tensile test to check if there is any adverse effect. The electromagnetic compatibility was also tested experimentally. The damage areas of the 40% nano-ITO coated samples by a simulated lightning strike with 40kA impulse current appeared comparable to that of B-787 samples when it was evaluated by ultrasonic C-scan images.