Wind Power

Lightning Striking Protection Expanded Metal Foils
Carbon fiber wind blades are gradually replacing full glass fiber blades to adapt to the development of greater output power of wind energy.

Carbon fiber wind blades increase strength while reducing weight, allowing these larger turbines to spin at lower wind speeds.

But carbon fiber is conductive, making it easier to be struck by lightning, but it has not enough conductivity to draw energy out of the blades. This requires additional protection to avoid catastrophic failures caused by lightning strikes.

The nickel and aluminum expanded metal foils is widely used on the composite blade material manufacturing for lightning striking protection, preventing the damage from lightning striking and extending the blade service life.Micro expanded metal (copper or aluminum expanded metal foil) has excellent electrical conductivity. Insert the aluminum/copper expanded metal into composite material and form the material into blades to supply a lightweight shielding solution to wind energy. Besides, it is one of the ideal materials for electromagnetic compatibility of composite material.

When struck by lightning, it can play a critical electrical conductivity to effectively dissipate the destruction of lightning strike, protect the carbon fiber layer and prolong the service life.