Applying a 3D Dipole Model for Lightning Electrodynamics of Low-Flying Aircraft

ABSTRACT

In this paper we apply a detailed electrostatic model of an aircraft to be used in an experimentally validated, new electric-charge-based circuit model for studying aircraft-lightning electrodynamics. The model is used to evaluate the electrodynamics of an aircraft under a thundercloud. As commercial and military aircraft continue to be subject to direct lightning flashes, we have previously developed a dipole model to characterize electrical currents and electric potential fluctuations on an aircraft for alternative design strategies to minimizing the severity of lightning-aircraft dynamics. With the increased severity of thunderstorms due to global warming, the need to predict and quantify electrical characteristics of the lightning-aircraft electrodynamics is greater, but they are normally not measurable. That dipole model is used here in a new a simple matrix formulation and applied to low-flying aircraft to compute the lightning channel voltages and currents after the aircraft is struck by lightning.

Keywords:

• Aircraft
• Dipole modelling
• Electrodynamics
• Lightning
• Transmission line modelling

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work is the result of a collaborative endeavour between professors at the PNG University of Technology and Michigan State University in doctoral training for PNG staff in Computational Electromagnetics and Lightning Effects on Engineering Systems.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joseph Fisher

Joseph Fisher received the BE and ME degrees in electrical engineering from the PNG University of Technology, Papua New Guinea and the University of Wollongong (Australia) in 1988 and 1993, respectively. He was formerly a senior lecturer within the Physics Strand of the School of Natural and Physical Sciences at the University of Papua New Guinea. He is currently a lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Communications Engineering at the PNG University of Technology, where he is engaged in PhD research through a joint research collaboration programme in the area of field computation and lightning effects on engineering systems between the PNG University of Technology and Michigan State University in the USA. His topic of research is “Severe Electric Storms and their Static and Dynamic Interaction with Low-Flying Aircraft and Airport Ground Systems”.

E-mail: [email protected]

Paul R.P. Hoole

Paul R.P. Hoole was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka in 1958. After having his basic schooling in Jaffna, he earned all his degrees, first degree to postgraduate, in the United Kingdom. He holds an MSc degree in electrical engineering with a Mark of Distinction from the University of London and an MSc degree in plasma science from University of Oxford. His doctorate, the DPhil, is from the University of Oxford. In his engineering career he has spent time in Singapore, Papua New Guinea, USA, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. After a long career as professor of electrical engineering, because of his interests in lightning engineering, he has just embarked on a job as professor of electrical and electronic engineering at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology in Lae, PNG. He has authored several papers and books in engineering. His latest book (with K. Pirapaharan and S.R.H. Hoole), Electromagnetics Engineering Handbook, was published by WIT Press, UK, in June 2013. Beyond the time he devotes to engineering teaching and research. He also spends time studying and teaching the Bible applied to contemporary times in seminaries and churches. He is married to a medical doctor, Chrishanthy, and they have three children: Esther, Ezekiel and Elisabeth.

E-mail: [email protected]

Kandasamy Pirapaharan

K. Pirapaharan, BSc Eng Hons (Peradeniya, Sri Lanka), MEng, PhD (Kinki, Japan), is an associate professor of electrical and communications engineering at the University of Technology, Papua New Guinea. Previously, he was a senior lecturer at Taylor's University in Malaysia. His doctoral research was in microwave and millimeter waves. From 2001 to 2003, he was a postdoctoral research associate at Centre for Computational Electromagnetics, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA. From 2004 to 2011, he was a senior lecturer in the Electrical and Information Engineering Department at University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka where he was Department Head (2005 to 2008). Prof. Pirapaharan's research interests include wave propagation in inhomogeneous media, adaptive antenna techniques and computational electromagnetics. He is a member of the IEEE and IET.

E-mail: [email protected]

S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole, BSc Eng Hons Cey., MSc with Mark of Distinction London, PhD Carnegie Mellon, is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Michigan State University. He has previously served as Member of the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka where with six others he regulated the administration of all 15 universities in that country. He was also Vice Chancellor, University of Jaffna and a fellow of the IEEE and Chartered Engineer. He holds a doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University and a higher doctorate, the DSc (Eng) degree, from London. Besides engineering, he has contributed much to the learned literature in the humanities and social sciences.

E-mail: [email protected]