Fluid Mechanics and Flight Mechanics

Numerical simulation methods for aircraft exposed to lightning strikes

  • Yicheng QIU ,
  • Chaokai YUAN ,
  • Guilai HAN
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  • 1.State Key Laboratory of High Temperature Gas Dynamics,Institute of Mechanics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100190,China
    2.School of Engineering Science,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China
E-mail: yuanck@imech.ac.cn

Received date: 2025-02-26

  Revised date: 2025-04-18

  Accepted date: 2025-05-08

  Online published: 2025-05-19

Supported by

National Natural Science Foundation of China(12272385)

Abstract

To meet the design requirements for lightning protection coatings on hypersonic vehicles, a numerical simulation method for lightning strike processes was developed. Under local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions, the thermodynamic and transport properties of air were calculated using the free energy minimization method. The effects of Joule heating, viscous radiation, short-wavelength thermal radiation, and the Lorentz force on the magnetic confinement of the lightning channel were considered. The development of the lightning channel, variations in the thermodynamic parameters of the channel, and the shock wave development process were investigated. The results show that the shock wave development process obtained from the numerical method aligns with experimental measurements. The shock wave velocity decay rate and overpressure decay rate match the theoretical predictions, with clear distinctions in shock wave attenuation characteristics before and after the transition point between strong and weak shocks. Additionally, this method is used to analyze the effects of thermal radiation, magnetic confinement, lightning discharge power, and discharge time on the lightning strike process.

Cite this article

Yicheng QIU , Chaokai YUAN , Guilai HAN . Numerical simulation methods for aircraft exposed to lightning strikes[J]. ACTA AERONAUTICAET ASTRONAUTICA SINICA, 2025 , 46(18) : 131899 -131899 . DOI: 10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.31899

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