Assessing the Novel Aircraft Lightning Strike Protection Technology Using Technology Impact Forecasting

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites are widely used in aircraft structures due to their excellent mechanical properties, light weight, and corrosion resistance compared to conventional metallic materials. However, the low electrical conductivity in the composite’s thickness direction makes them susceptible to lightning strike damage. An all-polymeric lightning strike protection (LSP) system based on a conductive polymer (polyaniline) adhesive layer has been proposed in recent literature. A preliminary study suggests the polyaniline-based adhesive layer has good electrical conductivity, low density, easy applicability, and corrosion resistance, which make it a strong contender for a next-generation LSP solution. However, being a novel technology with a low technical readiness level, its impact on the aircraft weight, cost, and performance remains unknown. In this work, technology impact forecasting has been deployed for the first time to explore the potential impact of the novel LSP technology in the context of a commercial aircraft system. This work presents a rapid assessment on the feasibility and economic viability of the novel LSP technology, and the results have been compared with the traditional metal mesh and the more widely used expanded metal foil LSP technologies. The results from this study show that, although the parasitic weight of the conductive polymer is lower than that of the metal mesh, the expanded metal foil is still a better option in terms of weight savings. From the economic perspective, the proposed new technology could lead to greater profitability in research, development, testing, and evaluation cost. However, this is compromised by the increased costs in the manufacturing and maintenance of such new material technology.