Test Report: Direct and Indirect Lightning Effects on Composite Materials

NASA/CR-4783, Evans*, R.W., Test Report: Direct and Indirect Lightning Effects on Composite Materials, Prepared for Systems Analysis and Integration Laboratory, Science and Engineering Division NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812, Contract NAS8-39983, by *Tec-Masters, Inc., 1500 Perimeter Parkway, Huntsville, AL 35806, July, 1997, pp. 86, Format(s): PDF 7741k

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Lightning tests were performed on composite materials as a part of an investigation of electromagnetic effects on the materials. Samples were subjected to direct and remote simulated lightning strikes. Samples included various thicknesses of graphite filament reinforced plastic (GFRP), material enhanced by expanded aluminum foil layers, and material with an aluminum honeycomb core. Shielding properties of the material and damage to the sample surfaces and joints were investigated. Adding expanded aluminum foil layers and increasing the thickness of GFRP improves the shielding effectiveness against lightning induced fields and the ability to withstand lightning strikes. A report describing the lightning strike tests performed by the U.S. Army Redstone Technical Test Center, Redstone Arsenal, AL, STERT-TE-E-EM, is included as an appendix

Keywords:	lightning, composite materials
Subjects:	Astronautics: Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance
ID Code:	379
Deposited On:	03 July 2002