Abstract
One of the authors has already proposed the method to analyze electric current density of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) laminates using the anisotropic electric potential function. The effectiveness of the method was verified by comparisons with FEM analyses. The method is based on the assumption that CFRP laminates are homogeneous orthotropic materials. Actual CFRP laminates are, however, heterogeneous materials: the actual CFRP has resin rich layers and carbon fiber layers. In the present study, an electric conductance is calculated on the assumption that CFRP laminates are homogeneous by using an electric resistance measured by a four-probe method, and the measured values are used for an electric current analysis. To investigate electric current distribution of CFRP laminates experimentally, a newly designed specimen is proposed. The results of an electric current tell us that the analysis method gives us the accurate result of electric current density of actual CFRP laminates. This shows that the assumption that CFRP laminates are homogeneous orthotropic material in case of electric current analysis was verified experimentally.
