Aeronautics and astronautics – Miscellaneous
Patent
1991-01-02
1992-07-07
Barefoot, Galen
Aeronautics and astronautics
Miscellaneous
361218, B64D 4502, H05F 102
Patent
active
051276011
ABSTRACT:
A device for shielding composite material surfaces of aircraft from the destructive forces associated with lightning strikes and for protecting avionics from electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI), is provided, consisting of a thin metallic foil having uniformly spaced polygonal apertures formed therein. The polygonal apertures are so shaped as to provide at least one axis along which the shield material can expand or lengthen, permitting the shield material to better fit the irregular or compound curved surfaces found on aircraft. The foil shield can also be used to protect the filler material used between joints and to repair breaks and openings formed in the aircraft surface. When fashioned out of aluminum and applied to a composite material, such as graphite epoxy, the shield may be plated with nickel to prevent galvanic corrosion caused by the contact between dissimilar materials. When manufactured from copper the shield provides a solderable surface. A method for manufacturing such a shield is also provided where photolithographic techniques are used to mask, expose, and etch apertures into metallic sheets.
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patent: 3989984 (1976-11-01), Amason et al.
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"Astro Strike Screening" product advertisement by Astroseal Products Manufacturing Corp., Old Saybrook, Conn., May 1988 (2 pages).
"TD-715", cover letter and product data sheet by Brunswick Technetics, DeLand, Florida, Sep. 24, 1987 (2 pages).
"Lightning Protection of Aircraft, A Short Course", Lightning Technologies, Inc., Mar. 1985, document cover sheet and pp. 4.15-4.22.
"Aircraft Jolts from Lightning Bolts", IEEE Spectrum, Jul. 1988, pp. 34-38.
Barefoot Galen
Lightning Diversion Systems
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