Environmental conditions like icing, sand, rain and thunder have a major impact on the life cycle and safety of the aircraft. Among them, lightning strike brings high level of current and voltage into the aircraft in very short time, generating high t...
Environmental conditions like icing, sand, rain and thunder have a major impact on the life cycle and safety of the aircraft. Among them, lightning strike brings high level of current and voltage into the aircraft in very short time, generating high temperature and magnetic field. The high temperature can cause physical damage to the aircraft structure while the strong magnetic field can lead to the failure of electronic equipments. Thus lightning becomes a big threat to the safety of the aircraft.
In this study, the principle of lightning strikes in the atmosphere, the mechanism of aircraft lightning strike, and the direct and indirect effects by lightning strike were investigated. Further, aircraft accidents, the condition imposed by certification authority, and the test standard provided by Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) were examined. On the basis of the ARP, computer simulation similar to the actual lightning strike event was also performed. Through electro-thermal analysis using ABAQUS code, direct lightning effects on lightning protection systems in aircraft fuel tanks and radomes were analyzed. In addition, using EMA3D code based on the Maxwell equation, current distribution and effectiveness of the lightning protection system were investigated