Lightning indirect effects certification of a transport aircraft by numerical simulation

The interaction of lightning with an aircraft induces voltages and currents in the onboard wire harnesses, which can cause critical electronic equipment damage or malfunction, thus compromising the flight safety. The lightning interaction with an aircraft made largely of composite materials, like Boeing 787 and Airbus 380, is a subject of strong interest to the aeronautical industry. The computational tool "Virtual Aircraft Electromagnetic Lightning Indirect Effect Evaluation" (VAM-LIFE) was developed for the complete analysis of the electromagnetic fields inside and outside a medium-sized aircraft struck by lightning, and for the evaluation of the indirect lightning effects induced in the aircraft wiring system. The tool VAM-LIFE was used to obtain the certification by the Italian Aeronautic Authority of the C-27J aircraft of Alenia Aeronautica for indirect effects of lightning. This paper reviews the main features of the tool and presents new computational results of specific interest for the certification process of the C-27J aircraft. Moreover, this paper discusses the relevant aspects related to the modeling and simulation of innovative advanced composite materials with improved protection performance against a lightening electromagnetic pulse stroke.