Prediction of the In-Plane Electrical Conductivity of a Misoriented Short Fiber Composite: Fiber Percolation Model Versus Effective Medium Theory

The in-plane electrical conductivity of a misoriented short fiber composite was studied both by fiber percolation model (FPM) and effective medium theory (EMT). A misoriented short fiber composite consists of insulating matrix and conductive short fibers, thus it exhibits a threshold behavior in the conductivity at a certain volume fraction of fibers. A comparison between FPM and EMT indicates that FPM can predict the threshold behavior well, while EPT fails, but it becomes valid at high volume fraction of fibers.