COMPOSITE STRUCTURE LIGHTNING PROTECTION

摘要

Arrangements for preventing electrical energy from lightning strikes against aircraft dissipating via aircraft fasteners (10) in an aircraft structure of composite materials in which a fastener (10) is covered with a layer of an insulating material (30) and a layer of a conductive material (32) is arranged to cover the insulating material (30) and extend over and beyond the lateral edges of the fastener (10), and preferential dielectric breakdown paths are provided at the edges of the conductive layer (32) distant from the fastener (10) so that in the event of a lightning strike electrical energy is not dissipated via the fastener (10), risking arcing and sparking, but instead from the edges of the conducting layer (32) to the underlying aircraft skin (12).