Induction Heating of Carbon-Fiber Composites: Experimental Verification of Models

This is a ARMY RESEARCH LAB ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND MD report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A127973. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: Heating of continuous carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP's) by the application of an alternating magnetic field has been shown to be due to dielectric losses in the polymer. Models that predict thermal generation in these composites are input to a finite element heat-transfer analysis, providing the predicted transient thermal profile in the plane of the laminate. The validity of the global thermal generation model is established through an experimental test matrix in which various specimen configurations are evaluated and compared with theoretical predictions of transient surface temperatures.