Lightning strike surfacing material

Abstract

The multi-layered material comprises a lightning strike protection (LSP) layer 13 adjacent to and extending beyond a fibrous support layer 3. Preferably the LSP 13 is an electrically conductive metal mesh and the support 3 comprises non-woven glass, carbon, polyamide and / or aramid fibres and preferably reinforcement fibers impregnated with thermosetting polyester, polyurethane, phenol-formaldehyde, urea-formaldehyde, vinyl ester, cyanate ester, polyimide or especially epoxy resin. The preferred material includes ultraviolet (UV) resistant polymer film, especially thermoplastic polycaprolactone based aliphatic polyurethane film 31, 33 with specific abrasion resistance and thickness, which contacts a tool or mould prior to crosslinking. The material is used for aeroplane fuselages or wind turbines.

Images