Simulation of Lightning Indirect Effects on a Helicopter

The lightning stroke to a helicopter induces currents and voltages in the onboard cables, which may cause damage to critical electronic equipment, thus compromising the flight safety. In this paper, the distribution of electromagnetic field and surface current are simulated when the helicopter is struck by lightning. Four different kinds of entry-exit configurations are set. The simulation results show that the intensity of electric field in the small radius of curvature is obviously stronger than that in other parts of the fuselage. Moreover, the surface current and the intensity of magnetic field are dominated by the path where the lightning current flowing through.