SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1974
STP35497S

Lightning Protection for Composites

Source

The increasing use of composites for primary structural applications in advanced aircraft has necessitated the development of environmental protective systems. Since lightning strikes to boron/epoxy structural systems can cause catastrophic damage, the Air Force Materials Laboratory initiated a program [1]2 to evaluate and optimize a low-weight lightning protection system to protect boron/epoxy composite, full-depth honeycomb structure for advanced fighter aircraft. This paper summarizes the studies and major achievements of this program and includes results of the weight optimization studies and demonstration tests on large subcomponent beams (simulating advanced fighter empennage structure) and a flight-worthy composite component.

Author Information

Clark, HT
McDonnell Aircraft Company, St. Louis, Mo.
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Details
Developed by Committee: D30
Pages: 324–342
DOI: 10.1520/STP35497S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-4639-6
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0308-5