Stratified materials for aircraft structure: thermal effect of lightning impact by numerical simulations

Abstract This paper studies the effect of lightning impact on aircraft fuselage made of innovative Carbon Fibers Reinforced Composites (CFRC) panels, as an alternative to traditional metal structures. Metal layers are able to dissipate the current generated by lightning impacting the structure, whereas the multilayer CFRC panels are less conductive and therefore have limited capacity for current dissipation. This study presents a time-varying thermal simulation coupled with an electromagnetic simulation, considering different lightning currents that represent both short strokes (i.e., impulses), and long strokes (i.e., square pulses). In order to compare different stoke shapes, the temperature increment resulting from the lightning impact will be assessed through Finite Element Analysis. This approach allows for an assessment of the impact of different strokes on CFRC panels. The model serves as a starting point for future analyses aimed at comparing different technological solutions, beginning with experimental laboratory tests.