Summary
Carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) has both high strength and light weight, and has been recently applied to wind turbine blades and aircraft bodies as a material with quasi-isotropic strength by stacking layers with different fiber directions, with the aim of reducing fuel consumption as well as CO2 emissions. When a wind turbine blade or aircraft using CFRP is struck by lightning, the lightning current distribution near the surface of the CFRP parts becomes more complex compared to a metal case, especially due to its anisotropy in electrical conductivity, and there is a possibility that a high electric field will be generated locally. In addition, due to the nonlinear and anisotropic thermal conduction of energy generated by the large current, the resultant temperature distribution may cause damage to the equipment.
Read more Read lessIn this study, first, preliminary experiments were conducted by applying lightning impulse currents to a CFRP panel, and detailed numerical simulations, which incorporated the anisotropic characteristics of the material, were followed. Based on FDTD (finite-difference time-domain method) analysis using triangular prism cells, electromagnetic field phenomena were understood in detail, and thermal analysis was performed accordingly.
These clarified electrical and thermal phenomena and showed the possibility of risk depending on the conditions. These results directly contribute to the lightning resistance evaluation and design of CFRP wind power blades and aircraft, and can also be used as a reference for the application of composite materials such as CFRP, which are becoming increasingly important in recent years due to high strength, lightweighting, and eco-economy.
Additional informations
| Publication type | Session Materials |
|---|---|
| Reference | D1_11001_2026 |
| Publication year | |
| Publisher | CIGRE |
| Country | Japan |
| Study committees | |
| File size | 2 MB |
| Price for non member | 30 € |
| Price for member | 30 € |
Authors
BABA Yoshihiro - Doshisha University Japan; HASHINO Naoki - Doshisha University Japan; KITAGAWA Tomoki - Doshisha University Japan; TSUBATA Hiroyuki - Keio University Japan; OKABE Shigemitsu - The University of Tokyo Japan
Keywords
Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP), Multilayer CFRP Panel, Wind Turbine Blades, Aircraft, Lightning, FDTD method, Triangular Prism Cells, Heat Transfer Equation
