Last
week a new facility called the Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory in
Cardiff, England opened up to test the effects of lightning on
airplanes. While testing the effects of lightning on aircraft is not
new, this facility is state of the art, and can be used for other types
of lightning strike experiments outside the aviation industry, such as
the military.
This facilities machines are capable of generating up to 200,000 amps (seen below), which is six times the power of a typical lightning strike. The
key research to be done at this facility will be to test lightning
strikes on aircraft, especially jets made of composite materials, such
as the new Airbus A350. Being able to understand how the materials react
when struck by lightning is vitally important for safety. On average
airliners in Europe are struck by lightning at least once a year, and
the same goes for aircraft in the United States.
The
facility will test the materials used on multiple areas of the
aircraft, such as the wings, panels, and other areas that would be
subjected to the same forces expected from natural lightning, to ensure
they conform with the demanding safety standards. Most lightning strikes
that occur on aircraft happen when they fly into an area where a high
charge has built up and the jet either initiates or triggers the bolt.
"If
you look at lightening itself, it is a lot of charge gathering in the
base of a cloud, and suddenly being discharged to the ground by the
strike," Professor Manu Haddad, from Cardiff University’s School of
Engineering, explains.
"We
can mirror this using capacitors – it can make a large charge, in a
similar way, and discharge them very quickly. In aerospace, the industry
needs to protect planes against the worst that can be generated against
them," he said. "Only last week a plane in Austria was hit by lightning
as it left Vienna on its way to Innsbruck, and was forced to abandon it
and go back to Vienna for repairs. It can do, at the least, localized
damage."
Below
is a look at the capacitors which are used to store the charge before
they release the "lightning bolt". In order to maintain the safety of
the researchers, the control area is separated from the live equipment.
Sources: BBC, Wales Online, Accuweather
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