FDTD Simulation of Lightning Current in a Multilayer CFRP Panel With Triangular Prism Cells

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 with triangular prism cells. The use of triangular prism cells allows us to represent a multilayer CFRP panel, each layer of which has a fiber direction of 45, 90, 45 or 0 and, therefore, has an anisotropic conductivity. An experiment for evaluating the transient distribution of magnetic field over the surface of a multilayer CFRP panel has also been carried out. The FDTD-computed distribution of magnetic field agrees reasonably well with the corresponding measured one. This shows that the present FDTD simulation with triangular prism cells is valid and effective in analyzing lighting current in a CFRP aircraft.