Spatial distribution of the electrical conductivity in highly filled polymers: Experiment, modeling, and application to bipolar plates.

A large variety of composites for electrical applications are developed worldwide on a daily basis. Most of these materials are made from carbonaceous fillers dispersed in polymers. The optimization of the formulations is complex and depends on parameters that are difficult to identify ab initio. The results might also be very sensitive to the processing conditions. There is therefore a need for a fast and accurate method to measure the electrical properties of samples with unfamiliar geometric features and without altering their shape. A four point probes method is incremented that fulfills all the above mentioned requirements. An analytical model is proposed that extends Uhlirs theory and permits to quickly determine the resistivity distribution. Experimental and theoretical approaches were performed to validate the method. An example is proposed with the measurement of samples initially designed for fuel cell-bipolar plates-application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]