Modeling of lightning attachment to aircraft and a novel methodology to quantify strike rate

include bibliographic reference and index

PhD: 2023; Electrical engineering

Air transport plays a vital role in global economic growth and long-distance commutation. The aviation industry is found to double its fleet size every fifteen years. According to Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), 45 million aircraft took off worldwide in 2019, which translates to 1.5 lakh per day. Similar numbers are reported for other years under normal circumstances. Therefore, aviation appears to be an indispensable part of modern human civilization. Lightning is known to be one of the serious environmental threats to aircraft. Past incidents show that lightning strikes can lead to structural damage, operational interruption, and loss of lives. Field data suggest that, on average, an aircraft can get struck by lightning once or twice a year. Further, according to NOAA, The lightning strikes typically cost approximately two billion dollars to airline operators annually. Therefore, lightning protective measures are considered a crucial aspect of aircraft design. Design of suitable lightning protective measures involves Zoning of aircraft’s outer surface. Aircraft Zoning intends to differentiate lightning attachment points, channel slipping regions, and regions that carry just the stroke current.