Lightning strike damage tolerance of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites is prone to misinterpretation. This study demonstrates that the design of lightning strike testbeds can be a major cause of the misinterpretation. The risk of misinterpretation originates from the lack of standards clearly defining testbed design requirements including electrode size and ground electrode edge configuration. Here we report the impact of electrode size and ground electrode edge configuration on the damage characteristics of CFRP matrix composite laminates caused by simulated lightning strikes. The results suggest that the level of damage is influenced by discharge current amplitude, discharge diameter, and the existence of electrical insulation covering ground electrode edges. Specifically, the damage increases with increasing discharge current amplitude and decreasing discharge diameter. Most importantly, we report that electrically insulating the edges of ground electrode prevents lightning discharge current from bypassing CFRP matrix composite laminate samples and directly striking the ground electrode. Experiments conducted without electrically insulating the edges resulted in considerably lower sample damages than those resulted from experiments conducted with the electrically insulated ground electrode edges. Our findings suggest that electrode size and ground electrode edge configuration have significant influence on the results of lightning strike experiments.

碳纤维增强聚合物（CFRP）复合材料的雷击破坏容忍度容易被误解。这项研究表明，雷击试验台的设计可能是造成误解的主要原因。错误解释的风险源自缺乏明确定义测试台设计要求的标准，包括电极尺寸和接地电极边缘配置。在这里，我们报告了电极尺寸和接地电极边缘配置对CFRP基复合材料层压板的模拟雷击损伤特性的影响。结果表明，损伤程度受放电电流幅度，放电直径和覆盖接地电极边缘的电绝缘的影响。特别，损害随着放电电流幅度的增加和放电直径的减小而增加。最重要的是，我们报告说，对接地电极的边缘进行电绝缘可防止雷电放电电流绕过CFRP基质复合层压板样品并直接撞击接地电极。在不对边缘进行电绝缘的情况下进行的实验，与对电绝缘接地电极边缘进行的实验相比，对样品的损害要低得多。我们的发现表明，电极尺寸和接地电极边缘配置对雷击实验的结果有重大影响。我们报告说，电绝缘接地电极的边缘可防止雷电放电电流绕过CFRP基质复合层压板样品并直接撞击接地电极。在不对边缘进行电绝缘的情况下进行的实验，与对电绝缘接地电极边缘进行的实验相比，对样品的损害要低得多。我们的发现表明，电极尺寸和接地电极边缘配置对雷击实验的结果有重大影响。我们报告说，电绝缘接地电极的边缘可防止雷电放电电流绕过CFRP基质复合层压板样品并直接撞击接地电极。在不对边缘进行电绝缘的情况下进行的实验，与对电绝缘接地电极边缘进行的实验相比，对样品的损害要低得多。我们的发现表明，电极尺寸和接地电极边缘配置对雷击实验的结果有重大影响。在不对边缘进行电绝缘的情况下进行的实验，与对电绝缘接地电极边缘进行的实验相比，对样品的损害要低得多。我们的发现表明，电极尺寸和接地电极边缘配置对雷击实验的结果有重大影响。在不对边缘进行电绝缘的情况下进行的实验，与对电绝缘接地电极边缘进行的实验相比，对样品的损害要低得多。我们的发现表明，电极尺寸和接地电极边缘配置对雷击实验的结果有重大影响。