Semi-solid state adaptive impedance composites for HIRF protection

The feasibility of piezoelectric-based Adaptive-Impedance Composites (AIC) as a method of protecting aircraft equipment from lightning strike events and the resultant High-Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF) was investigated. Classical Laminated Plate Theory (CLPT) and sheet vibration theory were applied to analytically derive the performance of the AIC. Multiple prototypes were built for high voltage testing which revealed closed- to open-circuit switching as fast as 77 μs. It was observed that slight geometric variations of the AIC strongly influenced the activation voltage. The voltage necessary to trigger the 85mm long, 3rd generation AIC's impedance could be set between 10 and 60 V. The test data and the analytical predictions were compared with the lightning strike data gathered by ONERA. The comparison indicated the AIC switching speed was over 30 times faster than the necessary minimum to shield typical avionics and flight control mechanisms from lightning-strike induced electrical eddy currents and HIRF.