Integrated Lightning Strike Cathode for Aircraft Composite Battery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern aircraft skins require additional layers for lightning strike protection and battery functionality, leading to increased weight, material usage, and manufacturing costs due to separate composite battery and lightning strike protection layers.
Innovation Solution
Integrating a lightning strike protection layer with the cathode layer of a composite battery, where the separation layer provides acoustic damping, fire barrier, or impact resistance, eliminating the need for a conventional cathode layer and reducing material and weight by stacking the anode, separation, and lightning strike protection layers to form a composite battery with enhanced functionalities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate composite battery and lightning strike protection layers are used, then battery functionality and lightning protection are achieved, but weight and material usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the lightning strike protection layer and the cathode layer into a single integrated layer, eliminating the need for separate battery and protection layers. This merging reduces weight and material usage while maintaining both battery functionality and lightning protection capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated layer serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both the cathode for energy storage and the lightning strike protection layer for electrical protection. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by achieving both protective and energy storage functions without adding extra weight.
2Reliability
If separate composite battery and lightning strike protection layers are used, then battery functionality and lightning protection are achieved, but manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the cathode layer and lightning strike protection layer into one integrated structure, the patent reduces the number of manufacturing steps, materials required, and assembly operations, thereby lowering manufacturing costs while maintaining both functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-functional integrated layer reduces manufacturing complexity by eliminating the need to produce and assemble separate components, directly reducing manufacturing costs while ensuring both battery and protection functions are achieved.
3Adaptability or versatility
If additional layers are added for protection and battery functionality, then functionality is enhanced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functional layers into a single integrated layer, reducing structural complexity from multiple separate components to one unified structure that performs both battery and protection functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated layer provides multiple functions (energy storage and lightning protection) within a single structural element, enhancing versatility while minimizing structural complexity by eliminating the need for additional separate layers.
Data Source
AI summary
A structural composite component, in particular for an aircraft or spacecraft, includes: a lightning strike protection layer; and a composite battery including a cathode layer and a separation layer, wherein the lightning strike protection layer is formed integrated with the cathode layer, and wherein the separation layer is configured for providing acoustic damping, and/or fire barrier, and/or impact resistance to the structural composite component. A method for configuring such a structural composite component; and an aircraft or spacecraft including such a structural composite component are also described.