Raytheon UK drives project to use SiC diodes for aircraft lightning protection
Raytheon UK is lending its expertise in high-temperature SiC (HiTSiC) to partner on a project that would provide aircraft electronics and wiring with a more efficient device to protect against lightning strikes, which can damage sensitive equipment.
The project - led by Controls and Data Services (part of the Rolls-Royce Group) and which also includes Newcastle University in the role of design authority and TT Electronics Semelab - is exploring the use of Raytheon's and Newcastle University's HiTSic technology to make Current Limiting Diodes (CLDs); a new kind of lightning protection device which stands to reduce the amount of electrical energy traditional suppressors have to deal with during a lightning strike.
"With today's composite materials replacing metallic components and skin materials, the reduced electrical screening in airframes is forcing a rethink of lightning protection architectures," said John Kennedy, head of Raytheon UK's Integrated Power Solutions. "Current Limiting Diodes will essentially absorb much of the electrical energy that the dampening device would otherwise have to channel during a lightning strike."
The two-phase project, funded under Innovate UK, is currently in phase one; Newcastle University is conducting electrical characterisation tests while TT Electronics Semelab develops the CLD packaging.
Kennedy is keen to express the importance of not compromising the lightning protection function in striving for lighter and more fuel-efficient aircraft: "CLDs have the potential to absorb excess energy surges induced in the electrical wiring by a lightning strike, while reducing the size and therefore the weight of the traditional suppressor devices. Therefore CLDs solve a specific problem of dealing with electrical surges by dissipating induced lightning energy more efficiently, while also contributing to the industry's weight-saving goals."
The project is expected to be completed by late 2015.
