Electromechanical Assessment and Induced Temperature Measurement of Carbon Fiber Tows under Tensile Condition

The paper presents an investigation and analysis of the electromechanical and thermal characteristics of the carbon fiber alone as single tow and embedded in host materials such as polymer e.g., acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) using 3D printing. While carbon fibers can partially reinforce the structure, they can act as sensors to monitor the structural health of the host material. The piezo-resistive behavior was examined without any pretreatment of the carbon fiber under tensile test in both cases. Special focus on the filaments clamping types and their effects was observed. An auxetic behavior was exhibited; otherwise, the free part shows elastic and yielding ranges with break point at high resistance. An induced temperature of the carbon fiber was measured during the tensile test to show low variation. The carbon fiber can provide strength contribution to the host material depending on the percentage of filling the material in 3D printing. The relative variation of the electrical resistance increases by 400% while embedded in the host material, but decreases as the tows filament density increases from 1 to 12 K.