Lightning Strike Protection: Current Challenges and Future Possibilities

Abstract

An airplane is statistically struck by lightning every year. The need for lightweight aircraft to reduce the production of carbon dioxide has significantly reduced the presence of metals in favour of composites, resulting in lower lightning strike protection efficiency. In this perspective, we critically review the state of technologies in lightning strike protection solutions based on carbon materials, graphene, and MXenes. Furthermore, we comment on possible future research directions in the field.

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

“…In particular, the impact with the structure may lead to fusion of the metallic coating. To reduce the weight, there has been increasing interest in the literature regarding the use of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites (CFRC) for structural aircraft components, including the fuselage [5]. However, for the improvement of its electrical performance, the incorporation of conductive nanofiller inside the impregnating matrix have been proposed [6], [7].…”