Effects of carbon nanotube buckypaper layers on the electrical and impact response of IM7/977-3 composite laminates

In the present work electrical and impact properties of IM7/977-3 carbon fiber reinforced polymer matrix composite laminates with carbon nanotube (CNT) buckypaper layers are investigated. The main goal is to examine the effects of addition of various number of CNT buckypaper layers on the electrical resistance and impact performance of IM7/977-3 composites. The work is motivated by studies of Telitchev et al. [1, 2] and Sierakowski et al. [3], who investigated the impact response of electrified carbon fiber polymer matrix composites and showed that impact resistance of composites can be improved by subjecting them to a DC electric current at the moment of impact. It was also noticed that Joule heating was one of the limitations of the DC current applications that can be eliminated by applying pulsed electric current of high magnitude and short duration. Furthermore, addition of CNT buckypapers to conventional carbon fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites was expected to increase the overall conductivity of such composites, and thus, responsiveness of the composites to the application of the electromagnetic fields. Specific research objectives addressed in this work include: (i) characterization of the directional electrical properties of carbon fiber polymer matrix composites with CNT buckypapers using four probe and two probe electrical resistance measurements; (ii) study of the response of these composites to the application of an electric current pulse of high magnitude and duration; (iii) study of the effects of addition of buckypapers on the impact performance of carbon fiber polymer matrix composites; (iv) study of the impact response of the electrified composites with buckypaper layers when an electric current pulse is applied simultaneously with impact load.