Neno

A new trend in the aerospace industry is the use of composite materials in the
construction of aircraft wings and fuselages. This has brought about new technologies,
with a reduction in weight being a major advantage. At the same time, lightning safety
has become a new challenge, not only for aircraft system integrators but for component
and subassembly designers as well. Due to the low conductivity of the composite
structures, in the case of a direct lightning strike, high currents will flow through the
conductive structural elements. As a result of electromagnetic effects, a significant
amount of energy will be present on all aircraft metallic assemblies, including electrical
harnesses, cables, and hydraulic transport elements. Considering that all hydro-
mechanical components are connected with hydraulic tubes, they become part of
conductive paths where induced currents and pulse voltages can cause serious
damage. The intention of this article is to bring awareness to the Aerospace industry
and to outline safety boundaries concerning future projects with composite structures.

Biography:

Mr. Novakovic has more than 30 years of experience in various
aircraft systems design, integration, testing, and certification. In 2009,
he joined Collins Aerospace, an RTX business unit, and since then,
he has been developing electric power systems for major commercial
programs, including Boeing 787, 777X, Airbus A350, Bombardier
A220, Embraer E2, COMAC 919, and Irkut MC21. In recent years,
his focus has been on Aircraft Electrical Power System and
Secondary Power Distribution Optimization, where he has
contributed with several U.S. patents and technical publications. His
technical articles are published in SAE Aerospace journals and
presented at international conferences and seminars. Recently, as a
part-time lecturer, he has been teaching electrical engineering at the
University of Washington.