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Evaluation method for lightning damage of carbon fiber reinforced polymers

subjected to multiple lightning strikes with different combinations of current
components

Article in Journal of Composite Materials · June 2019

DOI: 10.1177/0021998319860562

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 JOURNAL OF
COMPOSITE
Article M AT E R I A L S
Journal of Composite Materials
2020, Vol. 54(1) 111–125
! The Author(s) 2019
Evaluation method for lightning damage Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
of carbon fiber reinforced polymers DOI: 10.1177/0021998319860562
journals.sagepub.com/home/jcm
subjected to multiple lightning strikes
with different combinations of current
components

Jinru Sun, Xueling Yao , Wenjun Xu, Jingliang Chen and Yi Wu

Abstract
The aircraft lightning environment consists of four lightning current components with different parameters, which are
known as lightning components A, B, C and D. The lightning damage of aeronautic carbon fiber reinforced polymer
laminates subjected to multiple continuous sequential lightning current components with different timing combinations
was experimentally evaluated. The experimental results indicated that the carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates
suffered serious lightning damage, including carbon fiber fracture, resin pyrolysis and delamination. Through an analysis of
the lightning damage properties of carbon fiber reinforced polymers, the influential factors and evaluation methods of the
lightning damage in carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates were studied. Because the lightning damage evaluation
method under a single lightning impulse was found to be inapplicable for the multiple continuous lightning strikes, a multi-
factor evaluation method was proposed. In the multiple continuous lightning strike test, the damage depth was found to
be closely related to lightning components A, B and D and could be estimated based on the amplitudes and rise rates of
the applied lightning components. Increases in the damaged area after a lightning strike were driven by lightning com-
ponent C due to its substantial thermal effects. The damaged area was evaluated on the basis of the parameters of the
electrical action integral and the transfer charge. The research on the evaluation methods for carbon fiber reinforced
polymer laminate lightning damage presented herein may provide experimental support and a theoretical basis for
studying the lightning effect mechanism and optimizing material formulations, manufacturing processes and structural
designs to achieve performance improvements for carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates in the future.

Keywords
Carbon fiber reinforced polymer, multiple continuous lightning strikes, lightning damage properties, multifactor evalu-
ation method

Introduction aircraft, military aircraft and commercial aircraft,

Lightning strikes are a serious threat to the safe oper-
ation of aircrafts. An aircraft can suffer from burning,
melting, structural distortion and explosions due to
acoustic shocks, electromagnetic forces and thermal
effects from the attachment and injection of lightning
current.1,2 The likelihood of an aircraft being struck by
lightning is related to the weather conditions, aircraft
type and flight altitude. The average lightning incidence
rate for commercial aircraft is approximately two
strikes per year per aircraft.3,4
The proportional use of carbon fiber reinforced
polymers (CFRPs) in unmanned aircraft, stealth
including the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350XWA,
continues to increase due to the mechanical advantages
of CFRPs, which include low density, great static
strength, high durability and excellent workability.5–7
However, the anisotropic electrical conductivity
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi’an
Jiaotong University, PR China
Corresponding author:
Xueling Yao, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University,
Xianning West Road, Xi’an 710049, PR China.
Email: xlyao@xjtu.edu.cn
112
(from 104 to 104 S/m) and the thermal conductivity
(101 to 100 Wm1 C1) of CFRP laminates are poor
compared to those of metals, such as aluminum and
titanium alloys (106 to 108 S/m and 102 Wm1 C1).8–10
Thus, the large amount of charge and heat associated
with a lightning strike cannot be effectively transferred
and dissipated, causing a sharp local temperature
increase and serious damage, such as fiber sublimation,
resin pyrolysis and deep delamination, in CFRP lamin-
ates. Therefore, the properties and evaluation methods
of lightning damage in CFRPs have important scientific
and practical value.
A lightning strike is a complex physical process invol-
ving the formation of a lightning leader, the attachment
of a lightning arc, an electrical breakdown effect, the
conduction of lightning currents within materials, and
thermoelectric ablation. Since there are usually several
continuous charge centers in the thundercloud, a light-
ning discharge process always contains multiple light-
ning current components with different parameters,
which form an impulse sequence. Therefore, in the
standards recommended by the Society of Automotive
Engineers (SAE) and European Organization for Civil
Aviation Equipment, the lightning test on the CFRPs
used in aircraft should be conducted with multiple con-
tinuous sequential lightning waveforms consisting of
four components: the initial strike (lightning component
A), intermediate current (lightning component B), con-
tinuing current (lightning component C) and restrike
(lightning component D)11–13 (Figure 1). To simulate
lightning damage conditions in CFRP laminates, the
lightning current components should be applied in com-
bination within a single test shot, rather than as distinct
individual shots.12,13
However, the existing lightning testing technologies
and damage evaluation methods lag far behind the
development of CFRP materials; these technological
Figure 1. Lightning current waveforms in the lightning direct effect test.11–13
Journal of Composite Materials 54(1)
limitations have become the bottlenecks restricting
the application of advanced CFRP composites in the
aeronautic field. Previous studies focused mainly on
the lightning damage effect of CFRPs subjected to a
single lightning current impulse,14–17 such as 4/20 ls,
10/350 ls, lighting component A or D, etc. Hirano
et al.14 studied the lightning damage of CFRP lamin-
ates using impulse currents of 2.6/10.5 ls, 4/20 ls and
7/150 ls and found that the lightning damage in the
CFRPs consisted of fiber damage, resin deterioration
and internal delamination. Additionally, they proposed
that the damage depth in CFRP laminates can be eval-
uated by the amplitude of the lightning current and
that the delamination area can be determined by the
electrical charge and the electrical action integral of
the waveform. Feraboli and Miller15 investigated the
damage response of CFRPs containing fasteners to
lightning current component D. The unnotched resi-
dual strength under both tension and compression
were found to decrease in a relatively linear fashion
with the current intensity. By the experimental investi-
gation of the damage characteristics of two sequentially
stacked carbon woven fabric/epoxy laminates subjected
to a simulated lightning strike, Li et al.16 found a linear
relationship between the charge transfer and the resin
damage area, and the delamination area also linearly
increases with the action integral.
From the aspect of numerical simulation,18–23
researchers speculated that lightning damage is related
mainly to the generation and conduction of Joule heat-
ing, meaning that the distributions of the resin deteri-
oration, fiber fracture and delamination depend on the
lightning energy and the anisotropy of the CFRP
laminates. Ogasawara et al.18 established a coupled
thermal–electrical finite element analysis model based
on ABAQUS to explore the influence of the electrical
parameters of the CFRP, especially the conductivities,
Sun et al.
on the lightning damage area and depth. Abdelal and
Murphy19 presented a temperature-dependent material
modeling procedure, and Dong et al.20 introduce a
numerical calculation method for the resin pyrolysis
degree to simulate the lightning thermal damage of
composite laminates based on a tightly coupled elec-
trical–thermal analysis. Naghipour et al.21 placed inter-
facial cohesive elements between the plies of the CFRP
laminate model to capture the delamination behavior.
Guo et al.22 used both a temperature-dependent model
and a pyrolysis-dependent model to evaluate the
in-plane and in-depth lightning damage in CFRP
laminates.
With the development and extensive application of
CFRP composites in the aeronautic field, the require-
ments for both the testing technologies for the direct
effect of lightning and the evaluation methods for light-
ning damage have become much stricter. The lightning
damage caused by the lightning components in a mul-
tiple continuous impulse sequence differs greatly from
the damage effect of a single lightning component.
However, studies using a test method involving mul-
tiple continuous sequential lightning components are
rare because of the limitations of the lightning direct
effect test technology and the associated equipment.
The lack of research on multiple continuous lightning
damage makes it hard to evaluate CFRP damages
under a real lightning strike environment, which will
restrict the application of CFRP materials in aeronautic
manufacturing.
In this paper, lightning damage in CFRP laminates
subjected to multiple continuous sequential lightning
current components was experimentally investigated.
The contributions of the lightning components to the
lightning damage depth and area in CFRP laminates
were determined. The relationships and factors influen-
cing the lightning damage properties and the parameters
of the applied lightning current components, including
the amplitude, the rise rate, the transfer charge and the
Figure 2. Test jig used to fix the CFRP laminates.
113
electrical action integral, were determined. This research
improves our understanding of the electrical processes
and the mechanisms of lightning strikes, and it provides
experimental support and a theoretical basis for the
future development of material formulations, manufac-
turing processes, structural designs and performance
improvements for CFRPs.
Experimental method
Specimens
Epoxy resin 3021 was supplied by Shanghai Duodi
Polymer Material Co., Ltd. TORAY T300 carbon
fabric from Guangzhou Kaben Composite Materials
Co., Ltd was used as the reinforcement material to pro-
duce the CFRP laminate specimens. The properties of
the fibers can be referred from Toray.24 The volume
fraction of carbon fibers is approximately 60%. Dry
carbon fabrics are placed layer by layer on a mold
with a stacking sequence of [45/45/0/902/45/0/45/0/
90/45/45]S. The specimen dimensions are 300 mm 
45 mm  3.6 mm with a 24-ply quasi-isotropic layup.
The thickness of each layer is approximately 0.15 mm.
Experimental setup
The test jig. The test jig used to fix the CFRP laminates
is shown in Figure 2.
The positive electrode is a conical-head electrode
(120  ) made of a copper lead screw with a diameter
of 10 mm. The negative electrodes are located on the
left and right sides of the jig and are connected to the
earth ground through copper strips. The discharge gap
between the electrode and the CFRP surface was
adjusted to 2 mm, which is the same as the setting in
the literature.14,15,25,26 The CFRP laminate was tightly
embedded between the grooved copper bars. To simu-
late the spread of the lightning current inside the CFRP
114
Figure 3. The lightning direct effect test system.
laminates, the lightning injection point is positioned in
the center of the test laminate, and the lightning current
is gathered at the symmetrical copper bars.
Lightning direct effect test system. A multiple continu-
ous sequential lightning direct effect test system
(Figure 3) developed by the High-voltage and High-
current Measurement Technology and Equipment
Engineering Laboratory (Xi’an Jiaotong University)
was used in this study.
The test system can generate multiple continuous
sequential lightning current components, including
lightning components A, B, C and D, as stipulated in
the SAE Aerospace Recommended Practice 5412.11
Lightning current components A and D, with max-
imum current amplitudes of 200 kA and 100 kA,
respectively, are unipolar current impulses generated
by a crowbar circuit. The lumped parameter chain con-
sisting of capacitors and inductors is used to generate
lightning current component B. Lightning component
B has a square waveform, and its maximum amplitude
can reach 4 kA. Lightning component C is the continu-
ing current generated by a three-phase controllable rec-
tifier circuit. The duration and amplitude of lightning
component C can be adjusted from 0.25 s to 1 s and
from 200 A to 800 A.
Test method
Considering the size of the test specimens, the magni-
tudes of the lightning components A, B, C and D that
were used in this paper are reduced to 40 kA, 400 A,
160 A and 40 kA, respectively. Specifically, the experi-
mental lightning waveforms differ from the standar-
dized lightning waveforms only in intensity, and they
meet the requirements of the standard in terms of other
parameters, including the rise time and duration, as
shown in Figure 4.
The CFRP specimen is placed in the center of the
lightning test system, as shown in Figure 3. The output
terminals of the lightning current generators are
Journal of Composite Materials 54(1)
connected to the input electrode of the specimen
holder by a set of copper plates. The current flowing
through the sample was measured by a homemade
Rogowski coil and an oscilloscope with four channels.
To study the lightning damage evaluation method of
CFRPs subjected to multiple continuous lightning cur-
rent strikes with different combinations of components
and timing sequences, we conducted the experiment in
five different test modes, as shown in Table 1.
The lightning components contained in each test
mode should be applied continuously in one shot,
rather than as distinct individual test shots. For example,
in test mode ‘‘ABCD’’, after the generation of lightning
component A, lightning component B should be applied
within 500 ls. Lightning component C is injected into
the CFRP samples within 5–10 ms after lightning com-
ponent B. Lightning component D is applied before the
end of lightning component C, as shown in Figure 5.
Therefore, when the subsequent lightning current is
applied, the damage effect of the presequence impulse
is still continuing, which means that the specimen is in
a thermally damaged state, leading to different damage
effects and mechanisms for multiple lightning strikes
compared with a single lightning strike.
Three identical specimens were selected for every test
mode, and after the lightning strike test, the damage
depths of all 15 samples were measured.
Lightning damage results
Visual inspection of lightning damage
During the lightning strike, a dazzling white light was
emitted by the arc, a red flame was generated from the
burning laminate and burst fibers were observed on the
CFRP specimen. Black smoke and a pungent smell
were generated from the degraded resin after the light-
ning strike. The parameters of the applied lightning
components and images of CFRP specimens after a
lightning strike are shown in Table 2 and Figure 6,
respectively.
Sun et al. 115

Figure 4. Waveforms and parameters of the lightning current components: (a) lightning component A, (b) lightning component B, (c)
lightning component C and (d) lightning component D. Ip: amplitude; Iave: average current; Td: duration; W: electrical action integration
and Q: transfer charge.

Table 1. Applied lightning components in different test modes and the corresponding
specimens.

Specimens S1 S2 S3 S4 S5

Test modes ‘‘A’’ ‘‘AB’’ ‘‘DBC’’ ‘‘ABC’’ ‘‘ABCD’’

The damage results are summarized as follows:
1. Under the effect of lightning component A (peak
current Ip & 40 kA and transfer charge Q & 3 C),
test specimen S1 suffered an obvious bulge and
carbon fiber breakage along the surface fiber direc-
tion (45  direction), especially at the lightning
attachment point. Moreover, bundles of carbon
fibers swelled in the 45  and 45  directions (the
ply directions for the first and second layers).
The symmetrical delamination area expanded out-
ward along the axis of the fiber fracture. Some
local damage points caused by fiber fracture and
resin pyrolysis were scattered on the surface of the
CFRP laminates (Figure 6(a)). The damage in spe-
cimen S2 was similar to that in S1 but more extensive
(Figure 6(b)).
2. For specimens S3, S4 and S5, the injection of
lightning component C led to an obvious near-
circular erosion pit at the lightning attachment
point. A large area of resin pyrolysis, fiber breakage
and delamination of several layers was observed near
the lightning attachment point. The damage area
extended to the edge of the specimen laminates.
Several piles of flaky black carbon powder and
residual melted material were deposited on the
116 Journal of Composite Materials 54(1)

Figure 5. Continuous test waveform for the ‘‘ABCD’’ test mode.

Table 2. Parameters of the lightning component waveforms in the different test modes.

Component A Component B Component C Component D

Specimen Ip (kA) W (A2s) Iave (A) Q (C) Iave (A) Q (C) Ip (kA) W (A2s)

S1 41.67 79,225 – – – – – –
S2 41.28 81,659 374.0 1.883 – – – –
S3 – – 362.9 1.840 163.0 30.61 35.21 47,968
S4 41.11 78,359 364.3 1.843 158.4 30.00 – –
S5 40.81 76,353 375.4 1.897 170.3 32.57 19.89 18,804

Figure 6. Images of the CFRP laminates after a lightning strike test: (a) S1, (b) S2, (c) S3, (d) S4 and (e) S5.

specimen surface. These material piles resulted
from the sublimation of carbon fibers and pyrolytic
carbonation due to the high temperature of the light-
ning arc.
Images of the damage via ultrasonic C-scans
An ultrasound microscope (a Sonoscan D9500 and the
IUCS-II Scanner made by the Aviation Industry
Aircraft Strength Research Institute) was used to
detect both in-plane and in-depth lightning damages
in the CFRP laminates. C-scan images of the damage
are shown in Figures 7 and 8.
After the lightning strike, the smaller the thickness
of the damage area, the greater the damage depth. The
C-scan results presented in Figures 7 and 8 show that
the lightning damage areas developed mainly in the
45  and 45  directions. In particular, the lightning
damage induced by the continuous application of the
‘‘ABCD’’ lightning test mode (specimen S5) extended
to the edge of the laminate.
Sun et al. 117

Figure 7. C-scan images of the lightning damage areas in the CFRP specimens: (a) S1, (b) S2, (c) S3, (d) S4 and (e) S5.

Figure 8. C-scan images of the lightning damage depth in the CFRP specimens: (a) S1, (b) S2, (c) S3, (d) S4 and (e) S5 (the colors
represent the thickness of the test CFRP laminate).

Lightning damage areas and depths in the CFRP
laminates
The main lightning damage types in the CFRP laminates
include fiber breakage, delamination, resin pyrolysis and
ablation, but the corresponding damage degrees are dif-
ficult to define. Therefore, to quantitatively discuss the
damage degree of the test CFRP laminate, both the
damage areas and depths were calculated as a function
of different test modes using the pixel statistics method
from the C-scan images, as shown in Table 3.
The lightning components contained in the test
modes were applied sequentially. Therefore, the
increases in the damage area and damage depth can
be attributed to the newly added lightning components.
The contributions of the individual lightning compo-
nents to the damage depth and area in the ‘‘ABCD’’
test mode are shown in Figure 9.
118 Journal of Composite Materials 54(1)

The test results shown in Figure 9 can be summar- 3. Lightning component C, which has a large transfer
ized as follows: charge and a long duration, seems to have a greater
influence on the damage area than the other light-
1. Both the damage area and damage depth in the ning components. The damage area in specimen S2
CFRP specimens increased as the number of applied (test mode ‘‘AB’’) was 219 mm2 greater than that in
lightning current components increased. The specimen S1 (‘‘A’’ test mode) due to the effect of
damage area was as large as 2790 mm2, and more lightning current B (transfer charge of 1.88 C).
than eight fiber layers (1.28 mm) were destroyed Similarly, the damage area in specimen S5 (test
when lightning components A, B, C and D were mode ‘‘ABCD’’) was 390 mm2 greater than that in
applied continuously in a single shot. specimen S4 (‘‘ABC’’ test mode) due to the effect of
2. The damage depth in the CFRPs was significantly lightning component D (transfer charge of 2.07 C).
affected by lightning current components A, B and In comparison, when lightning component C (trans-
D, especially components A and D, rather than the fer charge of 30 C) was applied immediately after
low-amplitude component C. When component A lightning component B, the damage area of S4 sig-
was applied alone, the damage depth was 0.5 mm nificantly increased by 1077 mm2.
(S1). The damage depth increased by 0.3 mm when
lightning component B was applied immediately fol-
lowing lightning component A. However, when Discussion
lightning component C was applied after component Evaluation method for lightning damage of a single
B, the damage depth increased by only 0.12 mm
lightning strike
(S4). The final strike of lightning component D
(Ip ¼ 20 kA) caused the damage depth to continu- The damage area and depth of CFRPs subjected to a
ously increase by 0.35 mm (S5). single lightning strike can be evaluated by the wave-
form parameters of the lightning current impulse,
such as the peak value, electrical action integral and
Table 3. Lightning damage areas (Sd) and damage depths (Dd) of transfer charge. According to our previous experimen-
the CFRP specimens in different test modes. tal and calculation results, the lightning damage area
and depth were found to increase in a relatively non-
Test Damage Damage linear power function fashion with the action integral
Specimen mode depth (mm) area (mm2)
of lightning component A when it was applied alone, as
S1 A 0.513 1104 shown in Figure 10.
S2 AB 0.810 1323 As for the lightning damage evaluation of CFRPs
S3 DBC 0.900 1453 under multiple continuous lightning strikes, the same
S4 ABC 0.930 2400 method as for the damage evaluation of a single light-
ning strike was first adopted. A numerical fitting ana-
S5 ABCD 1.280 2790
lysis was performed on the relationship between the

Figure 9. Contributions of the individual lightning current components to the (a) damage depth (Dd) and (b) damage area (Sd).
Sun et al.
Figure 10. Relationship between (a) damage areas (Sd) and (b) damage depths (Dd) of CFRP laminates and action integrals of single
lightning component A.
Figure 11. Relationship between (a) damage areas (Sd) and (b) damage depths (Dd) of CFRP laminates and total action integrals of
multiple lightning components.
lightning damage and the total action integral of
the applied lightning components in different test
modes with different lightning component combin-
ations. Figure 11 shows that the relationship between
the CFRP damage and the total action integrals of the
applied lightning components does not satisfy a power
function.
In addition, the relationship between the lightning
damage and the other waveform parameters also does
not satisfy a linear function, exponential function, etc.,
which means that the lightning damage evaluation
methods of a single lightning strike are not suitable
for multiple continuous lightning strikes. The main
reason is that under the effect of multiple uninterrupted
lightning strikes, the damage effect of each subsequent
lightning current component is overlaid on the damage
of the lightning components applied in the previous
119
strikes. Therefore, the damage effect of each lightning
current component is not only related to its own
waveform parameters but also closely related to the
combination and arrangement of the multiple lightning
sequences. On the other hand, the characteristic param-
eters of each lightning current component contained in
the multiple continuous lightning combinations are
very different. For example, there is a difference of
two orders of magnitude in the current amplitudes
between lightning current C and lightning current A,
and the difference in the current rise rate is close to four
orders of magnitude. Nevertheless, the transfer charge
of lightning component C is approximately 20 times
that of lightning components A and D. It is thus diffi-
cult to evaluate and predict the lightning damage to
CFRPs by selecting a single parameter among the light-
ning waveform parameters, which may weaken the
120 Journal of Composite Materials 54(1)

damage effect of some lightning components and Table 4. Current amplitude Ip and the corresponding damage
reduce the accuracy and reliability of the evaluation. depth Dd.
Therefore, a multifactor evaluation method was pro-
Specimen IpA (kA) IpB (A) IpC (A) IpD (kA) Dd (mm)
posed to evaluate the lightning damage of CFRPs
under multiple continuous lightning strikes. S1 41.67 – – – 0.513
S2 41.28 374.0 – – 0.810
Analysis and evaluation of the lightning S3 – 362.9 163.0 35.21 0.900
damage depth S4 41.11 364.3 158.4 – 0.930
S5 40.81 375.4 170.3 19.89 1.280
The impact effects and dielectric breakdown caused by
the lightning current impulses result in the instantan-
eous rupture and exposure of both carbon fibers and in formula (2)
resin at the lightning attachment point. When lightning
8
components A and D, which both have a high current >
> k1DP ¼ 1:231  102 ðmm  k A1 Þ
rise rate and high amplitude, are applied to the CFRP >
<k
2DP ¼ 0:8070 ðmm  k A1 Þ
laminates, a large amount of energy will be instantan- ð2Þ
>
> k3DP ¼ 0:8204 ðmm  k A1 Þ
eously released through a narrow discharge channel. >
:
This energy release leads to rapid compression and k4DP ¼ 1:345  102 ðmm  k A1 Þ
powerful vibrations in the surrounding air. The air
shock will impose tremendous pressure on the CFRP Thus, the estimated result of the lightning damage
surface, and the intensity will increase for higher- depth in specimen S5 can be obtained from formula (1).
magnitude impulse currents and higher energy release The deviation between the calculated result (1.212 mm)
rates. In addition, the current arc temperature was mea- and the test result (1.28 mm) is approximately 5.27%.
sured to be on the order of 103–104 K via a spectrum
diagnosis method,27,28 so the lightning damage depth Influence of the rise rate on the lightning damage depth. The
increases due to the extremely high temperature of the relationship between the rise rate of the lightning com-
impulse arc. The carbon fibers at the lightning attach- ponents and the damage depth in the CFRP specimens
ment point sublime and break, leading to the exposure can be obtained using a method similar to that
of the inner layers of the CFRP; then, the current flow- described in the previous section
ing through the inner carbon fiber layers further
increases the damage depth. diðAÞ diðBÞ diðCÞ
Dd ¼ k1DR  þ k2DR  þ k3DR 
On the basis of the aforementioned analysis, we dt dt dt
conclude that the lightning damage depth in CFRP diðDÞ
þ k4DR 
laminates may be closely related to the amplitude dt
and rise rate of the lightning impulse current. Hence, ð3Þ
in a multifactor evaluation of lightning damage caused
by multiple lightning strikes, the waveform parameters where the damage depth coefficients affected by the rise
of the amplitude and rise rate should be included. rate are
8
Influence of the amplitude on the lightning damage >
> k1DR ¼ 3:295  1010 ðmm  s  A1 Þ
depth. The amplitudes of the applied lightning compo- >
< k2DR ¼ 1:835  107 ðmm  s  A1 Þ
nents and the corresponding damage depths are shown ð4Þ
>
> k ¼ 4:442  106 ðmm  s  A1 Þ
in Table 4. >
:
3DR

First, we assume that the relationship between the
lightning damage depth in the CFRP specimen and the
current amplitudes is
Dd ¼ k1DP  IpA þ k2DP  IpB þ k3DP
ð1Þ
 IpC þ k4DP  IpD
where k1DP, k2DP, k3DP and k4DP are the damage depth
coefficients affected by the amplitudes of lightning cur-
rent components A, B, C and D, respectively; these
parameters can be obtained from experimental data
for specimens S1, S2, S3 and S4 in Table 4, as shown
k4DR ¼ 1:985  1010 ðmm  s  A1 Þ
On the basis of formulas (3) and (4), the
calculated result for the lightning damage depth in spe-
cimen S5 is 1.197 mm, which deviates 6.48% from the
measured value.
The relative contributions of each lightning compo-
nent to the lightning damage depth, as estimated using
formulas (1) and (3), are shown in Table 5.
The lightning damage depth is affected by lightning
current components A, B and D, which are character-
ized by high amplitude and a high-rise gradient;
Sun et al. 121

Table 5. Relative contributions of the lightning components to Table 6. Current electrical action integral W and the corres-
the lightning damage depth. ponding damage area Sd.

Lightning WA WB WC WD Sd
components A B C D Specimen (A2s) (A2s) (A2s) (A2s) (mm2)

Using formula (1) 41.45% 24.99% 11.52% 22.05% S1 79225 – – – 1104

Using formula (3) 44.05% 25.69% 9.03% 21.23%
however, lightning component C has less influence on
the lightning damage depth. Furthermore, the two sets
of estimated results determined using the different
evaluation parameters are consistent. Therefore, the
lightning damage depth in the CFRP laminates can
be evaluated using both the amplitudes and rise rates
of the applied lightning components.
Analysis and evaluation of the lightning damage area
When a lightning strike is applied to CFRP laminates,
the lightning current will flow along the carbon fibers
inside the CFRP laminates. Joule heating is generated
along the current conduction path, resulting in pyroly-
sis of the resin and erosion or sublimation of the carbon
fibers. The lightning damage expands outward along
the axis of the fiber fracture and leads to a symmetrical
fan-shaped delamination area in CFRP laminates.
Therefore, the lightning damage area of a CFRP lamin-
ate should be closely related to the waveform param-
eters of the electrical action integral and the transfer
charge, which can be used in multifactor evaluation
to determine the thermal effect of the lightning current
components.
Influence of the electrical action integral on the lightning
damage area. Table 6 shows the electrical action integral
experimental data used to evaluate the lightning
damage area in the CFRP specimens.
In this study, we assume that the relationship
between the lightning damage area of the CFRP speci-
men and the electrical action integral of the lightning
current components is
Sd ¼ k1SW  WA þ k2SW  WB þ k3SW
ð5Þ
 WC þ k4SW  WD
The damage area coefficients k1SW, k2SW, k3SW and
k4SW are calculated as
S2 81659 573.9 – – 1323
S3 – 638.7 4989.7 47968 1453
S4 78359 643.7 4757.7 – 2400
S5 76353 683.5 5548.1 18804 2790
WA, WB, WC, WD: electrical action integral of current components A, B,
C and D, respectively.
The deviation between the calculated result
(2604 mm2) and the test result (2790 mm2) is approxi-
mately 6.66%. Notably, the electrical action integral of
lightning component D with an amplitude of 20 kA is
approximately 2  104 A2s, whereas the electrical action
integral of lightning component C with an average
current of 200 A and a duration of 200 ms is only
5  103 A2s. However, the thermal effect, which can
be represented by the resin delamination area of light-
ning component C, is more substantial than that of
lightning component D. According to fitting formula
(5), the contribution of lightning component C to the
damage area of specimen S5 is approximately 49.28%,
whereas the electrical action integral of lightning com-
ponent C only accounts for 5.47% of the total electrical
action integral for the four lightning components.
Although the electrical action integral of lightning com-
ponent D represents 18.55% of the total electrical
action integral, the contribution of lightning current
component D to the damage area is merely 1.40%.
The reason for the inconsistency between the elec-
trical action integral and damage effect of lightning com-
ponents is the nonlinear characteristics in the dynamic
impedance of CFRP laminates.29 When high-amplitude
lightning components A and D are applied to the
CFRPs, the equivalent impedance of the CFRP speci-
men is relatively small, whereas the dynamic impedance
increases in response to the low-amplitude lightning
component C. Therefore, the Joule heating (I2R) induced
by lightning current component C is greater than that
induced by the other lightning components, and the ther-
mal effect of lightning component C is greater, leading to
a substantial increase in the lightning damage area of the
CFRP laminates in specimens S3, S4 and S5.

8 Influence of the transfer charge on the lightning damage

>
> k1SW ¼ 1:3935  102 ðmm2 A2 s1 Þ area. On the basis of the nonlinear dynamic impedance
>
<k
2SW ¼ 3:2248  101 ðmm2 A2 s1 Þ of the CFRP material, the transfer charge of lightning
ð6Þ
>
> k3SW ¼ 2:3131  101 ðmm2 A2 s1 Þ current component C (QC & 30 C), which is far greater
>
:
k4SW ¼ 1:9358  103 ðmm2 A2 s1 Þ than that of lightning current components A
(QA & 3 C), B (QB & 1.8 C) and D (QD & 2 C), should
122
Table 7. Relative contributions of the lightning components to
the lightning damage area.
Lightning
components A B C D
Using formula (5) 40.86% 8.46% 49.28%
Using formula (7) 40.59% 8.91% 47.38%
be considered. The lightning damage area is also
affected by the transfer charge
Sd ¼ k1SQ  QA þ k2SQ  QB þ k3SQ  QC þ k4SQ  QD
ð7Þ
The damage area coefficients k1SW, k2SW, k3SW and
k4SW are calculated as follows
8
>
> k1SQ ¼ 339:9 ðmm2 C1 Þ
>
<k
2SQ ¼ 120:3 ðmm2 C1 Þ
>
> k3SQ ¼ 37:28 ðmm2 C1 Þ
>
: in the first and second layers, and the damage area
k4SQ ¼ 38:69 ðmm2 C1 Þ
On the basis of formulas (7) and (8), the deviation
between the calculated result (2563 mm2) and the test
result (2790 mm2) for the lightning damage area of spe-
cimen S5 was approximately 8.15%.
The relative contributions for each lightning compo-
nent to the lightning damage area were calculated
by the estimation formula; the results are shown in
Table 7.
Table 7 shows that the lightning damage area in the
CFRP laminate is primarily affected by lightning cur-
rent component C. The estimated results obtained sep-
arately from the electrical action integral and transfer
charge are consistent and agree well.
The increase in the lightning damage area of the
CFRP laminate is related to both the electrical action
integral and the transfer charge from the applied cur-
rent impulse. However, for a short duration and a high-
amplitude lightning current impulse, such as lightning
components A and D, the action integral is the key
parameter for assessing the ability to increase the
damage area. Correspondingly, the amount of transfer
charge can be used to evaluate the lightning damage
area when a lightning component that has a long dur-
ation and a low-average amplitude is applied.
Therefore, both the electrical action integral and the
transfer charge should be comprehensively considered
when estimating the lightning damage area in a CFRP
laminate, especially in experiments involving multiple
continuous sequential lightning strikes.
In addition, the calculation results presented
in Table 7 show that in the ‘‘ABCD’’ test mode,
Journal of Composite Materials 54(1)
the damage area in the CFRP is mainly influenced by
lightning components A and C, whereas component D
has a small effect. Because the lightning damage area is
calculated as the sum of the area with defects in CFRP
laminates, the increase in the damage area under mul-
1.40% tiple continuous sequential lightning strikes only repre-
3.12% sents the in-plane extension of the damage area to the
undamaged area under the influence of the additional
lightning component. However, the lightning damage
effects in CFRP laminates involve three-dimensional
damage expansion in both the in-plane and through-
thickness directions.
Therefore, the surface damage effect caused by light-
ning component D in the ‘‘ABCD’’ test mode can be
comprehensively analyzed:
1. According to Table 7, the contribution of lightning
component A to the damage area is approximately
40%, but the damage distribution in Figure 8(a)
shows that more than 80% of the damage area
ð8Þ caused by lightning component A is concentrated
with a damage depth greater than 0.5 mm is approxi-
mately 150 mm2.
2. In the ‘‘ABCD’’ test mode, the damage depth
reaches 0.8 mm under the lightning damage effect
of presequence lightning components A and B.
However, when lightning component C is injected,
the applied voltage in the thickness direction is low
due to the low amplitude of lightning component C,
which leads to the limited penetration ability of this
lightning component in the thickness direction.
Therefore, a larger proportion of the injected current
will be conducted along the in-plane fiber sheet.
The Joule heat generated during in-plane current dis-
persion will cause interlaminar resin pyrolysis and
damage area expansion in the upper surface (depth
less than 0.8 mm). In the ‘‘ABC’’ test mode, the
damage area with a damage depth greater than
1.5 mm is less than 100 mm2.
3. When lightning component D is applied, both the
discharge voltage and the current amplitude are
high, so the potential gradient generated in the thick-
ness direction is large. On one hand, under the effect
of a higher amplitude voltage and current, the resist-
ance in the depth direction of the laminated plate is
smaller, which makes it easier for lightning compo-
nent D to transfer into the depth direction, causing
an increase in the damage depth. On the other hand,
the high potential gradient will cause breakdown of
the interlayer resin, which allows lightning compo-
nent D to be conducted deeper into the laminate,
resulting in the expansion of the damage area in
deep layers. Note that after the interaction of light-
ning components A, B and C, most of the damage
Sun et al.
area exists in an extremely high-temperature state,
causing melting and sublimation of carbon fibers.
The ply delamination caused by the internal pressure
generated by resin pyrolysis will weaken the cohesive
force and mechanical properties of CFRP laminates.
Lightning component D is accompanied by a very
large shockwave, as well as overpressure and electro-
magnetic effects, which lead to an obvious expansion
in the damage area at greater depths.
The deep-layer damage caused by lightning compo-
nent D is mostly distributed beneath the damage area of
the previously applied lightning components. Although
the newly generated damage area is limited, Figure 8(e)
shows that with the addition of lightning component D,
the damage area with a damage depth greater than
1.5 mm increases to greater than 1000 mm2.
Analysis of the damage area can deepen our under-
standing of lightning damage effects from one side, but
it cannot completely assess the lightning damage degree
for CFRP laminates without considering the lightning
damage depth. In particular, for specimens that have
suffered from the presequence impulses, the damage
extension at different depths is also an important
factor for evaluating the damage effect of the newly
added lightning component.
Lightning damage effects under multiple continuous
lightning strikes
Based on the lightning damage caused by a single light-
ning component, the characteristics and damage effects of
lightning components can be understood to some extent.
However, it is worth noting that under multiple continu-
ous sequential lightning strikes, the presequence impulses
influence not only the thermal, electrical and mechanical
properties of the tested CFRP laminate but also the
Figure 12. Lightning damage in a CFRP laminate under lightning component D: (a) visual inspection and (b) ultrasonic C-scan.
123
conduction process of the other lightning components.
Therefore, the application order of the lightning compo-
nents is the key influencing factor for lightning damage in
CFRP laminates.
For example, when lightning component D had an
amplitude of 40 kA, its action integral was approxi-
mately half that of lightning component A applied to
specimen S1. From the visual inspection and ultrasonic
C-scan of the test specimen shown in Figure 12, the
lightning damage area in the CFRP laminate was
found to be approximately 900 mm2, and the lightning
damage type was similar to that in specimen S1 due to
the similarity between lightning components A and D.
However, in the ‘‘ABCD’’ test mode, when lightning
component D was continuously applied after being sub-
jected to multiple lightning components (A, B and C), the
expansion of the damage area to greater depths was sig-
nificant. This effect differed from the damage conditions
in Figure 12 because the thermal and mechanical proper-
ties of CFRP laminates are closely related to the speci-
men temperature and resin pyrolysis during the lightning
current conduction process, as discussed in the ‘‘Analysis
and evaluation of the lightning damage depth’’ section.
Therefore, the application sequence of multiple continu-
ous lightning components greatly affects the lightning
damage in CFRP laminates, which shows the theoretical
importance and application values of experimental and
mechanistic studies of multiple continuous sequential
lightning strikes for the establishment of lightning
damage evaluation methods and the optimization of
lightning protection structures for CFRP laminates.
Evaluation method for lightning damage of multiple
continuous lightning strike
The damage depth in the test CFRP laminates can be
evaluated using the applied lightning waveform
124
parameters of current amplitudes and rise rates.
The amount of transfer charge and the action integral
represent the thermal effects that are used to assess
the damage area. Using the waveform parameters as
the evaluation factors, the damage depth coeffi-
cients and damage area coefficients correspond to light-
ning current components that can be calculated, and
the calculation formulas for the lightning damage
depth and area were deduced. The deviations between
the calculated and experimental values for lightning
damage depth and area were less than 7% and 9%,
respectively.
However, the multiple-factor lightning direct effect is
a comprehensive process that includes the shockwave
effect, overpressure effect, thermal effect, electromag-
netic effect and dielectric breakdown effect. On one
hand, the expansion of damage is affected by multiple
factors. For instance, the damage area is related not
only to the Joule heat generated during the current
conduction process, which is in turn related to the
transfer charge and action integral but also to the
shockwave, overpressure effect and electromagnetic
force, which correlate with the current amplitude and
rise rate. On the other hand, the lightning waveform
parameters are related to each other. Specifically, the
transfer charge and action integral increase as the cur-
rent amplitude increases.
Although in this paper, only typical parameters of
the lightning waveforms were selected to assess the
degree of lightning damage, a lightning damage evalu-
ation method with higher accuracy and universality
that incorporates more comprehensive waveform par-
ameters with different weights should be developed in
future studies.
Conclusions
By analyzing lightning damage in CFRP laminates
subjected to multiple continuous sequential lightning
current components with different timing combin-
ations, the factors influencing lightning damage
depth and area were studied, and evaluation methods
for the damage properties of CFRP laminates were
explored. The main conclusions are summarized as
follows:
1. As a result of multiple continuous sequential light-
ning current strikes, the CFRP laminates suffered
serious lightning damage, including fiber fracture,
fiber erosion, resin pyrolysis and ply separation.
The lightning damage degree increased as the
number of applied multiple continuous sequential
lightning current components increased. When light-
ning components A, B, C and D were applied con-
tinuously in a single shot, the maximal damage area
Journal of Composite Materials 54(1)
reached 2790 mm2, and the structures of more than
30% of the fiber layers (1.28 mm, eight layers) were
destroyed.
2. Although the CFRP laminates suffered both in-
plane and through-thickness lightning damages, the
extent of lightning damage in the CFRP laminates
could be evaluated on the basis of the parameters of
the applied lightning components in different ways.
The lightning damage areas and depths of CFRPs
subjected to the single lightning component A
increased in a relatively nonlinear power function
fashion with the action integral of lightning compo-
nent A. However, the lightning damage evaluation
method of a single lightning strike is not suitable for
multiple consecutive lightning strikes. The lightning
damage caused by multiple consecutive lightning
strikes should be comprehensively evaluated by a
multifactor method.
3. The lightning damage depth of the CFRP lamin-
ate is determined by both the amplitude and the
rise rate. The lightning damage depth, which is
accompanied by the rupture and melting of the
carbon fiber and resin at the lightning attach-
ment point, is predominantly affected by lightning
current components A, B and D (lightning compo-
nent C has a relatively lower effect), which have
major mechanical impacts and cause a dielectric
breakdown effect.
4. The lightning damage area of the CFRP laminates is
closely related to lightning component C and can be
estimated by the waveform parameters of the elec-
trical action integral and transfer charge, which
determine the thermal effect of the lightning current
components. When lightning current components A
and D are applied, which have high-amplitude and
short-duration characteristics, the electrical action
integral is an important parameter for evaluating
the lightning damage area in a CFRP laminate.
For lightning current component C, which has a
long duration and a low-average amplitude, the
increase in the lightning damage area is dependent
on the amount of transfer charge.
The mechanism and evaluation methods for light-
ning damage effects caused by multiple continuous
sequential lightning current components differ substan-
tially from those of lightning components applied alone
or separately. Therefore, systematic and in-depth
research into lightning damage effects in CFRP lamin-
ates subjected to multiple continuous sequential light-
ning current components is necessary. Additionally, an
appropriate evaluation method that comprehensively
considers the damage area, the damage depth and the
application sequence of lightning components needs to
be considered comprehensively in future research.
 Sun et al.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup-
port for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article: This work was supported by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 51477132 and
51521065).
ORCID iD
Xueling Yao https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9929-9975
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