Simulating lightning effects on carbon fiber composite shielded with carbon nanotube sheets using numerical methods.

The demand for lightweight aircraft structures has shifted from traditional metals like aluminum to composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) to achieve weight reduction. However, this transition has led to decreased lightning strike protection efficiency due to the dielectric nature of CFRP. To address this problem, two CFRP samples-one unprotected and the other shielded with carbon nanotube (CNT) sheets-were subjected to artificial lightning strike testing.