3D printed nickel-plated carbon fiber mesh for lightning strike protection

•A nickel-plated carbon fiber mesh was proposed for lightning strike protection (LSP).•Fabrication integrated nickel coating, continuous carbon fiber, and 3D printing.•Arc evolution and damage morphology were analyzed to explain the LSP mechanism.•Smaller damage area and lower damage depth were achieved than copper. In this study, a 3D printed nickel-plated carbon fiber mesh is proposed as an interconnected lightning strike protection (LSP) layer. The conductive nickel coating provides the fibers with sufficient electrical and thermal conductivity. The continuous carbon fibers maintain their appealing features of low density, and high strength and modulus. The 3D printing technology offers low process costs and enables rapid manufacturing of LSP layers for complex and large-scale structures. Herein, simulated lightning experiments at 100 kA were performed. The lightning-induced electric arc was recorded to observe its evolution during the contact, expansion, and attenuation stages. The in-plane and cross-sectional damage analysis demonstrated that the nickel-plated carbon fiber mesh achieved effective arc dissipation and load suppression, which limited the damage area and depth within the surface layer. These results indicate that the proposed method can be employed as a potential LSP candidate in future aviation applications.