Simulation research on the return conductor configuration for lightning indirect effect test of metal cylinder

In this paper, a method for constructing the experimental device for lightning indirect effect of the metal cylinder flying object is studied, and a cage-like frame similar to coaxial line is designed as the coupling device. Through the electromagnetic simulation software CST, the influence of the different load impedance and the different return conductor structures on the simulation results is obtained. The current resonance of system is analyzed by observing the current waveform of load which has different values. By calculating the surface current of metal cylinder, the impact of return conductor arrangement on the metal cylinder surface current distribution uniformity is analyzed. Finally, it is concluded that the system does not produce resonance in the case of different load impedances. When the system length is small, the size of the load impedance can be selected flexibly according to the actual experiment needs. The larger the number of return conductors and the smaller the distance between the conductor and the metal cylinder are, the more uniform the current distribution is. The simulation results provide foundation for the actual experiment.