MANUFACTURING STUDY OF STRUCTURALLY EMBEDDED HIGH VOLTAGE CONDUCTORS IN PRIMARY LOAD CARRYING COMPOSITE LAMINATES

摘要

“Smart” Structures and Structural “Health Monitoring” technologies are rapidly evolving to support ever-increasing aerospace weight, performance and supportability needs. Maturation of durable, high strength, conductor power and signal lines and interconnects capable of being embedded directly into composite parts to support sensors, actuators, and associated electronics is necessary to field next generation systems. Of specific interest in this paper is the embedding of conductors designed to carry high voltage (1,000-2,000 V) signals from a power source to structurally integrated Active piezo-Fiber Composite (AFC) actuators for rotor blade active twist and vibration suppression applications. In multifunctional weight critical structures, not only must the laminates carry load and electronic components, they must also provide electrical insulator and/or conductor functionality. Of concern in high voltage applications is the potential for voltage break down and subsequent shorting through the surrounding materials. If the feed lines or composite laminate are damaged (fracture, burn through, etc.), fatigue can cause microcrack propagation, shortened component life and catastrophic failure. This study addresses advanced hybrid composite laminate structural arrangement solutions. That is, strategically placed combinations of high strength, durable materials (i.e. carbon and glass fiber epoxy prepregs) to meet load carrying, insulating, conducting and shielding requirements. Processes used in the fabrication of active rotor blades, such as, conductive epoxy interconnects, co-curing and co-bonding are also evaluated by structural and electrical performance testing.