A numerical modelling of an electric arc and its interaction with the anode: part III. Application to the interaction of a lightning strike and an aircraft in flight

A numerical model is proposed to describe the arc and its interaction with a composite material in an anodic configuration. After a validation step with experimental results in two dimensions (2D) from the literature, the model is used to quantify the degradation level of the material versus the pulse duration and the current intensity value. The flux components show the importance of the Joule effect in the composite. Then, in order to simulate the aircraft displacement, an external convective force is applied. A three-dimensional (3D) model is thus developed and used to evaluate the degradation of the composite material. This model shows the behaviour of the plasma column representing the lightning strike and quantifies the power transferred to the anode.