Abstract
The main aim of this work was the investigation of the possibility of replacing the heavy metallic meshes applied onto the composite structure in airplanes for lightning strike protection with a thin film of Tuball single-wall carbon nanotubes in the form of ultra-light, conductive paper. The Tuball paper studied contained 75 wt.% or 90 wt.% of carbon nanotubes and was applied on the top of carbon fibre reinforced polymer before fabrication of flat panels. First, the electrical conductivity, impact resistance and thermo-mechanical properties of modified laminates were measured and compared with the reference values. Then, flat panels with selected Tuball paper, expanded copper foil and reference panels were fabricated for lightning strike tests. The effectiveness of lightning strike protection was evaluated by using the ultrasonic phased-array technique. It was found that the introduction of Tuball paper on the laminates surface improved both the surface and the volume electrical conductivity by 8800% and 300%, respectively. The impact resistance was tested in two directions, perpendicular and parallel to the carbon fibres, and the values increased by 9.8% and 44%, respectively. The dynamic thermo-mechanical analysis showed higher stiffness and a slight increase in glass transition temperature of the modified laminates. Ultrasonic investigation after lightning strike tests showed that the effectiveness of Tuball paper is comparable to expanded copper foil.
Highlights
Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) are currently widely used as structural materials in many industries such as aerospace, automotive, marine, civil engineering, or sporting goods [1]
The present work investigated the effect of Tuball papers of different single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) content, thickness and areal weight on the electrical and mechanical properties of CFRPs
The studies aimed to select the best material for lightning strike protection of aircraft structures as a potential replacement of the commonly used but heavy copper mesh
Summary
Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) are currently widely used as structural materials in many industries such as aerospace, automotive, marine, civil engineering, or sporting goods [1]. This is due to their very high strength and stiffness in relation to mass, which makes them extremely competitive with their metal counterparts [2]. CFRPs have one main disadvantage, i.e., low electrical conductivity, too low for e.g., lightning strike protection (LSP) of airplanes or wind turbines [3,4]. A lightning strike can locally heat the typical commercial airplane structure to a temperature of 25,000 ◦ C and generate extreme surge currents [6]. It is estimated that an aircraft can be struck by a lightning every
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