Analysis of electric current density in carbon fiber reinforced plastic laminated plates with angled plies

It is important to know the electric current distribution in a laminated carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) plates for safety analysis of lightning strikes and for damage monitoring of plates based on changes in electrical resistance. An orthotropic electric potential function has been previously proposed, which was effective for modeling of a CFRP cross-ply laminate used in beam structures. However, that method is limited to cross-ply laminates that contain no angle plies, while CFRP plate structures typically feature angle plies. In the present study, a new analysis method is proposed for laminated CFRP plates that contain angled plies. In the new method, two or three angle plies are coupled and assumed to have orthotropic conductivity of double or triple thickness. A new method to calculate the equivalent conductivity is also proposed. The new method is applied to two types of laminates containing angle ply structures. The results obtained are compared with those from a finite difference method and from experimental measurements. The new method is shown to be effective for analysis of the electric current of laminates that contain angled plies.