Quasi-Static Multifunctional Characterization of 3D-Printed Carbon Fiber Composites for Compressive-Electrical Properties

Multifunctional carbon fiber composites provide promising results such as high strength-to-weight ratio, thermal and electrical conductivity, high-intensity radiated field, etc. for aerospace applications. Tailoring the electrical and structural properties of 3D-printed composites is the critical step for multifunctional performance. This paper presents a novel method for evaluating the effects of the coating material system on the continuous carbon fiber strand on the multifunctional properties of 3D-printed composites and the material’s microstructure. A new method was proposed for the quasi-static characterization of the Compressive-Electrical properties on the additively manufactured continuous carbon fiber solid laminate composites. In this paper, compressive and electrical conductivity tests were simultaneously conducted on the 3D-printed test coupons at ambient temperature. This new method modified the existing method of addressing monofunctional carbon fiber composites by combining the monofunctionality of two or more material systems to achieve the multifunctional performance on the same component, thereby reducing the significant weight. The quasi-static multifunctional properties reported a maximum compressive load of 4370 N, ultimate compressive strength of 136 MPa, and 61.2 G Ohms of electrical resistance. The presented method will significantly reduce weight and potentially replace the bulky electrical wires in spacecraft, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and aircraft.

Experimental Investigation of Additive Manufacturing of Continuous Carbon Fiber Composites with Multifunctional Electro-Tensile Properties

Manufacturing processes for monofunctional and multifunctional materials vary depending on the design optimization. Multifunctional continuous carbon fiber composites provide great potential in achieving coupled structural and electrical properties for their applications in aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, and spacecraft. Proper optimization of tensile and electrical properties offers benefits early in the design and continuous operational safety phases to obtain coupled multifunctional properties. In this paper, fused filament fabrication additive manufacturing (AM) technique was used to fabricate continuous carbon fiber solid laminated composites test coupons. The proposed new method characterizes the electrical conductivity’s coupled effects on the tensile properties, including the failure loads and modes. This paper addresses a novel way of integrating electrical function into the composites that significantly reduce weight, potentially replacing the bulky electrical wires. Tensile and electrical conductivity tests were concurrently conducted on coupons, and the results were plotted and tabulated. The results showed the multifunctional properties of the maximum ultimate tensile strength of 392 MPa with the maximum tensile load of 8907 N, and resistance of 37.5 G·Ω. The average values for ultimate tensile strength and maximum load were 371 MPa and 8459 N, respectively.