SAMPE 2014
Novel nanomaterials for lightning protection
by Tim McDonald
EMA attended SAMPE 2014 in Seattle. There were many great papers presented, and we had great discussions with attendees. In the following section, we describe EMA’s paper presented at the conference.
Advanced Electromagnetic Simulation Techniques for Novel and Modern Materials in Aerospace Composites
In recent years, composite use in air and space craft has expanded dramatically. Composite materials present unique challenge for vehicle survival in lightning and related electromagnetic environments. The current approach is to incorporate expanded metal foils onto the outer layer of vehicles which protrude at the edges to facilitate bonding. These metal foils add significant weight and processing complexity. A number of alternative materials have been proposed to replace metal foils. Further, addition of thermal protection materials or other coatings such as paint can cause metal foil-treated composites to fail in the lightning environment. In order to design lightning hardened vehicles with metal foils or to evaluate materials to replace the foils, advanced simulation technologies are required. This submission describes our measurement and simulation approach that is useful to advance the electromagnetic compatibility of composite materials.
In this paper, we describe an advanced way of analyzing novel nanomaterials for lightning protection using simulation with targeting measurements. This approach has been proven in FAA certification for over 20 years. EMA suggests its use in developing new materials that need to meet EM requirements.
