Effective modeling of multidirectional CFRP panels based on characterizing unidirectional samples for studying the lightning direct effect

The electrical conductivity of a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) panel is highly anisotropic due to its varied fiber orientations. This paper presents an effective modeling method for studying the lightning direct effect on a multidirectional CFRP panel based on an electrical conductivity characterization of unidirectional samples. The characterization using 4-probe method is done with a simple measurement setup. The measured DC conductivity is validated by comparing the sample's behavior in AC regime (lightning spectrum) obtained from measurement and simulation. It is subsequently used in the modeling of a 32-layer multidirectional CFRP panel excited by a lightning current. Simulation results show that the proposed method is able to effectively model multidirectional CFRP panels, which might be useful to studying the current-carrying capacity of CFRP panels under lightning strikes.