Damage mechanisms characterisation of carbon fibre/epoxy composite laminates by both electrical resistance measurements and acoustic emission analysis

Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) offer high specific mechanical properties (performance vs weight ratio). Since carbon fibers are electrical conductors ({rho} = 2.10{sup {minus}5} {Omega}.m), the measurement of the variations of electrical resistance appears to be a valuable technique for damage detection. In the case of CFRP samples, conductivity is not isotropic but depends on the orientation of the carbon fibers. The electrical conduction of (0{degree}) unidirectional (UD) CFRP parallel to the fibers is due to the current flow along the fibers. This can be modeled using the parallel resistance approach. In this present work, the variation of the electrical conductivity can be taken as an indicator of the evolution of various types of damage in classical longitudinal UD but also in ({+-} 45{degree}) CFRP laminates. By comparison with a more classical non-destructive technique such as Acoustic Emission, it has been shown that it is possible that the electrical resistance measurement allows one to monitor in-situ the evolution of various internal damage nucleation and growth in CFRP such as fiber fractures, intraply matrix cracks and interply delaminations.