Lightning Damage Testing of Aircraft Composite-Reinforced Panels and Its Metal Protection Structures

Applied Sciences

Yao Zhang¹  Senqing Jia¹  Xiangteng Ma¹  Fusheng Wang¹ 

[1] School of Mechanics, Civil Engineering and Architecture, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710129, China;

关键词: lightning strikes;    composite panel;    metal protection;    delamination damage;    ultrasonic C-scanning;   

DOI  :  10.3390/app8101791

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

In order to investigate the lightning damage behavior of an aircraft carbon fiber/epoxy composite-reinforced panel and its protection structures, four types of panels were selected to carry out a lightning experiment. Panels were without protection, with a full-sprayed aluminum coating, a local-sprayed aluminum coating, and a full-embedded copper mesh filling, respectively. Their surface and internal damage was detected via ultrasonic C-scanning. Results showed delamination damage for the protected and unprotected specimens due to substantial lightning Joule heat, thermal shock, and internal explosion. The aluminum coatings and the copper mesh had good shielding performance against anti-lightning strike damage. The protection method with a full-sprayed aluminum coating is more effective compared with the other two methods. This study is valuable to investigate the protection effectiveness of metal covers when aircraft composite structures are struck by lightning.

【 授权许可】

Unknown