An experimental study on partial discharge characteristics in laminated CFRP plate

CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic) is functional material that is begin to be widely used in commercial aircraft, vehicle and etc. Investigation regarding the mechanical strength of CFRP is widely investigated. However, the electrical characteristics of this type of material are still not well known. Understanding the dielectric characteristics of CFRP is expected to lead to void detection technology of this material. In this work, the partial discharge (PD) characteristics of CFRP are experimentally investigated. In the experiment, two electrodes with 25 mm diameter were used as the discharge electrodes, and connected to a 50 Hz AC voltage source to generate PD inside the CFRP. Both of electrodes were insulated with thick glass epoxy frame to prevent surface discharge on CFRP sample. The sample was a CFRP sheet of 3K 2PLY form and glass epoxy with an artificial hole of diameter = 2 mm, each sample to which it was stuck between two glass epoxy sheets was used for the comparison. From the result, electrical characteristics different to glass epoxy were observed. This paper shows the influence of hole on the PD characteristics in laminated CFRP plate.