DYNAMICS OF LAYER-BY-LAYER DESTRUCTION OF CARBON PLASTIC BY LIGHTNING CURRENTS: THEORY AND EXPERIMENT

Abstract

On the basis of two models of lightning currents spreading on carbon plastic, the criteria of material destruction are determined. One of the models – the anisotropic conductive medium model from the Laplace equation with specified Neumann boundary conditions – makes it possible to obtain an exact solution in the form of Bessel functions for longitudinal and transverse current densities and to consider the material destruction zones by the radius and the depth. The model adequately describes the experiment with different arrangement of electrodes simulating the passage of lightning currents on constructions made of conductive composite and metal. The second – the model of composite layered structure – is constructed using the diagram of carbon plastic substitution and makes it possible to find the distribution of currents by a numerical method. The results of the calculations for both models are well consistent. The dynamics analysis of carbon plastic destruction revealed the criteria of destruction with parameters of real carbon plastic and experiment data that do not contradict the parameters of carbon plastic destruction obtained in foreign experimental studies. These criteria allow to determine the dependence between the value of the current integral and the number of layers of the composite material. Options with a small number of layers and with a large one when the reach-through breakdown criterion is possible were taken into account. Comparison of calculated and experimental destruction data showed good curve matching. The obtained criteria make it possible to predict the effects of lightning exposure under different material parameters and to take measures to improve the lightning resistance of carbon plastic products at the stage of aircraft design.