FDTD computation of lightning currents in a multilayer CFRP panel with a conductivity matrix approach

The transient distribution of lightning current, which flows in a multilayer carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) material of aircraft, has been studied using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Each layer of the multilayer CFRP panel has a fiber direction of 45°, 90°, -45° or 0°, and, therefore, has an anisotropic conductivity. It is quite difficult to represent such an anisotropic layered panel using the FDTD method with common rectangular prism or cubic cells. In this paper, the distribution of lightning currents on a 3-mm-thick multilayer CFRP panel, composed of 16 layers, is computed using the FDTD method with a conductivity matrix approach.