Simulation of lightning strike damage in carbon nanotube doped CFRP composites

This study focuses on understanding the damage behavior caused by the lightning strike of carbon nanotube (CNT) doped carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites. Quasi isotropic CFRP laminated composite plates used in aerospace structures are modeled to investigate behavior of lightning strike damage. Abaqus finite element program is used in the analysis to study the effect of different waveforms and peak currents. First coupled electrical and thermal analysis is carried out using multi-physics, the results of which are verified with the experimental data obtained in open literature. In the next step, it is assumed that CNTs in different weight percentage are added to resin and the electrical properties of the CFRP plate are updated to run coupled thermal electrical analysis. The results show that the damage area in each ply and the depth of the damage are not linear under the effect of either different waveforms or maximum strike currents. When the weight percentage of CNT doped into the resin increases, the damage region substantially decreases because the electrical conductivity through the thickness of the plate plays significant role for the lightning strike damage.

[1]  Kwon,et al.  Unusually high thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes , 2000, Physical review letters.

[2]  S. Mall,et al.  Compression Strength Degradation of Nanocomposites after Lightning Strike , 2009 .

[3]  Hui-Ming Cheng,et al.  Mechanical and electrical properties of a MWNT/epoxy composite , 2002 .

[4]  Mark A. Miller,et al.  Damage resistance and tolerance of carbon/epoxy composite coupons subjected to simulated lightning strike , 2009 .

[5]  Dong Qian,et al.  Mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes: theoretical predictions and experimental measurements , 2003 .

[6]  Alan H. Windle,et al.  Thermal and electrical conductivity of single- and multi-walled carbon nanotube-epoxy composites , 2006 .

[7]  K. Wolter,et al.  Investigations of carbon nanotubes epoxy composites for electronics packaging , 2008, 2008 58th Electronic Components and Technology Conference.

[8]  J. Gayoso,et al.  Improvement of the Electrical Isotropy of Composite Structures—Overview , 2016 .

[9]  Akira Todoroki,et al.  Artificial lightning testing on graphite/epoxy composite laminate , 2010 .

[10]  Paolo Feraboli,et al.  Damage of Carbon/Epoxy Composite Plates Subjected to Mechanical Impact and Simulated Lightning , 2010 .

[11]  Yoshiyasu Hirano,et al.  Coupled thermal–electrical analysis for carbon fiber/epoxy composites exposed to simulated lightning current , 2010 .

[12]  Bodo Fiedler,et al.  Evaluation and identification of electrical and thermal conduction mechanisms in carbon nanotube/epoxy composites , 2006 .

[13]  Milo S. P. Shaffer,et al.  Development of a dispersion process for carbon nanotubes in an epoxy matrix and the resulting electrical properties , 1999 .

[14]  N. Hu,et al.  PREDICTION OF ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF PPLYMER FILLED BY CARBON NANOTUBES , 2022 .