Protection of metal mesh from lightning damage to aviation composite materials

Abstract

Carbon / epoxy composites are widely used in aviation due to their high strength, fatigue resistance and corrosion resistance. Aiming at the damage of carbon / epoxy composites during aircraft lightning strikes, a three-dimensional finite element model of carbon / epoxy composite laminates protected by copper mesh and aluminum mesh was established, and the lightning ablative element of composite structure was treated by element deletion method. The lightning protection effect of copper mesh and aluminum mesh was verified under different current peaks and different grid spacing, and the relationship between the weight change of the metal mesh and the lightning protection effect was studied. The test results show that the ablation area and damage depth of the composite laminate with metal mesh protection are significantly reduced. The denser the grid spacing is, the better the lightning protection effect is. The copper mesh composite laminate has better protection effect than the aluminum mesh. With the weight of the metal mesh increases, the degree of lightning damage to the composite laminate decreases.

Keywords

• carbon/epoxy composite
• lightning damage
• laminate
• metal mesh
• copper mesh
• ablation