Lightweight Conductive Repair Patch for Aircraft Lightning Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aerospace vehicles with composite materials face challenges in lightning strike protection due to the lack of conductivity in materials like carbon fiber, leading to potential damage from electrical currents and electromagnetic forces, and existing solutions, such as expanded metal foils, are heavy and difficult to repair effectively.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight, highly-conductive material comprising a nonwoven carbon fiber veil with a nickel metal coating applied through an electroless plating process, forming a conductive network that can be used as a sheet or patch to repair damaged lightning protection systems, providing electrical continuity and shielding from high-intensity radiated fields.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If expanded metal foils are used for lightning strike protection, then conductivity and protection are provided, but weight increases and repair complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining carbon fiber veil with metal coating (aluminum, zinc, or alloy) to create a lightweight conductive material. The carbon fiber provides structural integrity and conductivity, while the metal coating enhances conductivity and provides corrosion resistance, achieving both protection and weight reduction
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the protective material by using electroless plating to deposit metal at controlled thickness (0.5-5 microns) onto carbon fiber veil, creating a material with optimized conductivity and weight characteristics that differ from traditional expanded metal foils
2Reliability
If expanded metal foils are used for lightning strike protection, then conductivity and protection are provided, but repair difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses thin film technology by applying metal coating in the range of 0.5-5 microns onto carbon fiber veil, creating a flexible, thin protective layer that can be easily integrated into composite structures and repaired without the complexity associated with rigid expanded metal foils
Solution Approach 2:
The composite structure of carbon fiber veil with metal coating allows for easier repair compared to expanded metal foils, as the material can be integrated into composite repair processes and provides flexibility in application and removal during repairs
3Reliability
If aluminum wire is interwoven with carbon fiber, then lightning strike protection is provided, but galvanic corrosion risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs sacrificial anode protection by using zinc or zinc-containing alloys as the metal coating, which corrodes preferentially to protect the carbon fiber and aluminum components from galvanic corrosion, effectively sacrificing the coating material to prevent damage to structural components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by combining carbon fiber veil with metal coating (aluminum, zinc, or alloy) to create a lightweight conductive material. The carbon fiber provides structural integrity and conductivity, while the metal coating enhances conductivity and provides corrosion resistance, achieving both protection and weight reduction
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The material effectively provides Zone 1A lightning-strike protection, reduces the weight and complexity of repairs, and minimizes the risk of further damage by forming a low impedance electrical connection between the patch and the existing expanded copper foil, while being resistant to corrosion and galvanic interaction.
Implementation Method 1
a metal coating covering at least a portion of a surface of the plurality of bound fibers of the veil
Data Source
AI summary
A light-weight, highly-conductive material useful for repairing a lightning protection system in an aircraft. The material includes a nonwoven carbon fiber veil and a metal coating covering the veil. The veil includes a plurality of carbon fibers looped randomly throughout the veil and a binder material that binds the plurality of fibers together. The metal coating covers a portion of a surface of the plurality of bound fibers of the veil, and preferably the entire surface of both the plurality of bound fibers and the binder material, forming a highly-conductive network that follows the shape of the plurality of fibers in the veil. The areal weight is in a range from at least 5 grams per square meter (gsm), up to 12 gsm, and the sheet resistance is in a range from at least 0.5 ohms per square (Ω/□), up to 2Ω/□.