Development of a scalable and efficient lightning strike protection system for composite aircraft

保护飞机免受雷击造成的损坏是一项重大挑战。复合材料飞机需要集成额外的保护系统，以将雷击造成的损害降至最低。必须尽量减少这些保护系统的额外重量，以减少主要由复合材料制成的飞机的重量和燃料消耗。目前的解决方案涉及由嵌入树脂的铜网组成的表层，增加了重量，容易腐蚀，并增加了飞机维修的复杂性。该项目将与贝尔德事隆加拿大公司合作，研究两种根据市场需求量身定做的轻便、可扩展的雷击防护系统，更具体地说是针对贝尔德事隆加拿大公司目前正在开发的垂直起飞空中出租车的管道风扇。在该项目期间，将重点放在解决方案在其最终应用方面的可扩展性。尽管世界各地都在开发其他实验室规模的解决方案，但该项目的独特之处在于它的目标是生产大型测试板和演示组件，以及调查涂饰层对保护系统有效性的影响。该项目的主要成果将是(1)可扩展的雷击防护系统和(2)研究涂层对雷击防护系统性能的影响。该项目将根据加拿大航空航天工业的需要，在多学科环境和新兴专业领域培训具有可转让技能的高素质人才(HQP)(2名PDF和2名硕士学生)。该项目的下一步将是加拿大贝尔德事隆公司将这些结果应用于他们垂直起飞飞行器的管道风扇设计中。

Protecting aircraft against lightning strike induced damage is a major challenge. Composite aircraft require the integration of additional protection systems to minimize damage caused by lightning strikes. The additional weight of these protection systems must be minimized in order to reduce the weight and fuel consumption of aircraft mostly made of composite materials. The current solution, involving a surface layer composed of a copper mesh embedded in a resin, adds weight, is prone to corrosion and adds complexity to the repairs performed on the aircraft. In collaboration with Bell Textron Canada, this project will investigate two lightweight and scalable lightning strike protection systems tailored to the needs of the market, more specifically for the ducted fan of the vertical take-off air taxis that Bell Textron Canada is currently developing. During this project, a strong emphasis will be put on the scalability of the solutions in the context of its final application. Although other laboratory scale solutions are being developed worldwide, this project differentiates itself through its aims of producing large test panels and demonstrator assemblies, as well as investigating the effect of finishing layers on the effectiveness of the protection system. The main outcomes of this project will be (1) a scalable lightning strike protection system and (2) an investigation of the effect of finishing layers on the performance of lightning strike protection systems. This project will train highly qualified personnel (HQP) with transferable skills (2 PDF and 2 Masters students) in a multidisciplinary environment and in emerging specialized areas corresponding to the needs of the Canadian aerospace industry. The next step of this project will be for Bell Textron Canada to apply these results to their ducted fan design for their vertical take-off vehicle.