Fabrication and Performance Assessment of Bonding Jumpers for Aircraft Applications

Abstract

Bonding jumpers are critical aircraft components that ensure electrical continuity between structural elements and protect against lightning-induced failures, and they must comply with the EN-4199 aviation standard. Despite their safety-critical role, the design, fabrication, and performance evaluation of bonding jumpers, particularly domestic manufacturing, have not been systematically investigated in the literature. In this study, tin-coated copper wires were braided to fabricate bonding jumper specimens and benchmarked against imported bonding jumpers used in passenger aircraft. All specimens were characterized by FESEM–EDX analysis, tensile testing, and electrical resistance measurements. Domestically manufactured bonding jumpers exhibited tin coating ratios, tensile strengths, and electrical resistance comparable to those of imported specimens. In addition, catalog data from leading international manufacturers were evaluated, revealing that the manufactured specimens achieved equivalent or superior performance in both mechanical and electrical properties. These findings represent the first systematic study in the literature to comprehensively investigate the design, fabrication, and multi-parameter performance characterization of bonding jumpers, thereby establishing a scientific foundation for future research and qualification studies in this field.