In-situ monitoring of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic manufacturing using electrical resistance during infusion

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) have been widely applied in various fields such as aerospace, vehicles, and civil infrastructure, even though their manufacturing time, labor, and cost are burdensome compared to other materials. However, studies on monitoring systems for composite manufacturing are limited. The spotlight is biased toward CFRP design and functional nanocomposites. Therefore, in this study, an in-situ monitoring system of a CFRP is proposed to investigate the vacuum-assisted resin infusion process in real time using electrical resistance changes. Specifically, two electrode types namely Cu tape and silver paste, were comparatively analyzed under several vacuum bag pressures. Resin impregnation was then investigated on the scale of a carbon fiber single tow and laminae. Impregnated resin increases the thickness of the laminae, thereby increasing the electrical resistance. Moreover, the curing behavior of the resin was correlated with changes in its electrical resistance so that the viscosity and degree of curing of the resin could be identified. The proposed method enables the detection of not only the resin front, but also the degree of curing.