Lightning Discharging Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites
Problem statement
In this project, the main aim is to design, build, and test lightning-discharging fiber-reinforced composites that have a combination of woven conductive and non-conductive fibers reinforced in a polymer. This is to make the structures more damage tolerant when hit by a lightning strike when structures like aircraft and wind turbine blades are in-service. We will use weaving to fabricate the woven hybrid fabrics for reinforcing the polymer. The design parameters will involve the ratios of conductive versus non-conductive fiber materials, woven pattern, and the number and location of layers of the hybrid fabric in the composite for optimizing the mechanical and lightning discharge capability. These novel composites will be compared against the properties of those with conductive mesh placed between layers of existing homogeneous layers. The project will primarily focus on measuring the structural damage due to an arc impact (the strength is much lower than a flash of real lightning) to compare the different composite designs.
Team members
Vincent Scheerer – leader
Madison Owens – communicator
Camila de Leon – accountant
Emilio Cumbajin – admin
Client
Pavana Prabhakar
Civil and Environmental Engineering