Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Lacy Jr., Thomas E.

Committee Member

Mazzola, Michael

Committee Member

Pittman Jr., Charles U.

Committee Member

Newman Jr., James C.

Date of Degree

8-11-2017

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Aerospace Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Department

Department of Aerospace Engineering

Abstract

The Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure (PRSEUS) concept is characterized by through-thickness VectranTM stitching of warp-knit carbonabric prior to resin infusion. A series of novel lightning strike tests were performed on a PRSEUS panel. The panel’s lightning damage resistance was characterized as a function of peak current (50-200 kA) and strike location (mid-bay, stringer, frame). Both visual inspections and through-transmission-ultrasonic C-scans were used to investigate the damage resistance at the strike locations and to assess various damage mechanisms and morphologies. The size and severity of the damaged area depend strongly on the fiber orientation in the outermost ply, the amount of current injected into the panel, and the strike location relative to stitching lines. Increasing the current magnitude drastically increases the damaged area. Also, the presence of VectranTM structural stitches profoundly reduced the size and severity of lighting damage relative to similar strikes performed in panel regions without stitching.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19813

Comments

lightning damage resistance||PRSEUS||stitched composite

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