Shanghai Jiaotong Daxue xuebao (Sep 2023)

Arc Attachment Characteristics of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Materials

  • XIE Minqi, XIAO Cien, BIAN Jiapeng, LIU Yakun, FAN Yin, CHEN Xiuhua, LIU Libo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.16183/j.cnki.jsjtu.2022.146
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 57, no. 9
pp. 1214 – 1220

Abstract

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As a promising structural material, carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) has been gradually applied on aircrafts. The lightning arc adhesion characteristics of CFRTP, however, are still unclear. Therefore, the arc adhesion characteristics of CFRTP were studied by simulating the lightning test method. Based on the finite element method, the effect of CFRTP on spatial electric field was analyzed and compared with that of metal materials. It is found that for the structure containing both CFRTP and metal materials, CFRTP is possible to be attached by the lightning discharging channel, but the probability is lower than that of the metal material by 22.5%. In the process of lightning arc adhesion, single upward leader and multiple upward leaders appear on the surface of CFRTP, resulting in the corresponding single or multiple arc attachment points. Simultaneous adhesion of lightning arc on both CFRTP and metal material also occurs. The spatial electric distribution obtained by simulation is consistent with the experimental results. This paper can provide the basis for the lightning characteristics and damage response of CFRTP.

Keywords