Numerical simulations of thunderstorm-induced corona processes near lightning rods installed on grounded structures

For the purpose of estimating the efficacy of a lightning rod, the current of a corona was numerically calculated from a rod placed (i) centrally on the roof of a vertical grounded cylindrical structure, a model of a man-made object, and (ii) at the top of a grounded hemispherical structure of large radius, such as a hill or mountain. The calculations were carried out for a slowly varying thundercloud electric field and when this field was enhanced by the charge of an approaching downward leader. In case (i), variation of the ratio between the height and radius of the cylindrical structure leads to a variation in the (a) corona current from the tip of the rod over a wide range and (b) distance from which lightning is attached to the rod. In case (ii), it is shown that, contrary to the case of rods installed on the ground surface, a slowly rising thundercloud electric field can be sufficient to initiate streamers and upward leaders from rods tens of meters in height installed on the top of tall, grounded, hemispherical structures. When the thundercloud electric field is enhanced by the charge of an approaching downward leader, the discharge processes near the rod depend on its length and the height of the tip of the downward leader relative to the top of the hemispherical structure, but are almost independent of the hemisphere radius.     

基于先导放电理论的直升机初始雷击附着位置北大核心CSCD

提出了一种基于流注-先导放电理论的数值模拟方法来快速判断直升机初始雷击附着点。首先,根据标准SAE-ARP 5416A中规定的相关试验方法,确定平板电极大小、直升机离边界距离等参数。然后,利用Becerra-Cooray正极性先导起始和发展判据对UH-60"黑鹰"直升机的主旋翼翼尖、尾旋翼翼尖、水平尾翼以及机头部位进行分析比较。最后,通过不断改变平板电极电势的方法,找到各个关键位置产生稳定正极性先导所需的最小背景电场值,以此为依据来对其初始雷击附着位置进行分析。结果表明,主旋翼翼尖最易成为初始雷击附着位置,而机头则较难成为初始雷击附着位置。     

Shielding failure rate calculation by means of downward and upward lightning leader movement models: Effect of environmental conditions

In this paper the effects of environmental conditions on shielding failure rate (SFR) of transmission lines are investigated. The study utilizes a previously published work in which leader progression model for lightning upward and downward leaders are used to calculate the SFR. Taking into account the effects of reduced air density and humidity on the parameters of upward leader model and wind pressure on the movement of lightning leaders and wires, SFR and maximum lightning stroke current causing shielding failure are computed. The electric field in all simulations is calculated by means of charge simulation method. The results of simulation show that the effects of relative air density and height of installation are quite higher than that of the wind pressure and humidity while the humidity has the lowest impact on the SFR of investigated transmission line.     

Modeling the development of the stepped leader of a lightning discharge

A stochastic-deterministic model is presented for the propagation of a downward-moving leader. Lightning formation is described by a stochastic growth of branching discharge channels which is determined by the electrostatic field. The dynamics of the electric field and of the charge distribution over the lightning structure are calculated deterministically. The model includes the initiation of lightning, a preliminary discharge in a cloud, the propagation of a downwardmoving stepped leader toward the earth, and the initiation and upward motion of a return stroke from the earth’s surface. Numerical execution of the model yields a dynamic picture of the development of the downward-moving leader and of the intracloud discharge structure. The effect of the charge density in the cloud and the parameters of the developing channels on the spatial-temporal, current, and charge characteristics of the stepped leader’s propagation are studied. The effect of free-standing structures on the distribution of points on the earth’s surface where lightning strikes is examined. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 48–53 (April 1999)     

一次人工触发闪电上行正先导的传输特征

利用山东一次人工触发闪电的高速摄像和30 m, 60 m和480 m的同步电场测量, 清晰显示了人工触发闪电上行正先导的传输特征.上行正先导头部光强相对较强, 二维发展速度变化波动较大并呈现明显不规则性,表明上行正先导发展具有明显的梯级特征. 在先导开始阶段从340 m到705 m高度之间上行正先导平均发展速度为9.8×10⁴ m/s,起始速度是 3.8×10⁴ m/s,局部速度总体上随高度呈现增加趋势.电场变化在近距离产生有规律的梯级状 变化,记录到的28个梯级相邻梯级间隔变化从14 μs 到 39 μs,几何平均值为25.1 μs. 估计的先导梯级长度分布在0.9 m到3.7 m,几何平均值为1.7 m.先导电场变化由慢的正向梯级状变化和 脉冲变化组成,结合光学和电场变化测量结果,得出正先导头部通道发生弯曲可使其电场变化的梯级特征减弱 或消失;正负先导梯级形成机制可能类似,均由其先导头部前端的双向流光发展而来.     

Evaluation of parameters influencing the lightning performance of communication towers by numerical modeling and experimental tests

This paper analyzes the effective parameters on lightning performance. The effects of tower height, breakdown electric field threshold, the ground slope of installation place, and the effect of the trees around the tower are investigated. A 3-D numerical analysis model is proposed to determine the number of direct lightning strokes to antennas. The communication tower, lightning rod, downward descending leader and upward leaders are modeled by different shapes of charges. Finally, a small-scale communication tower was built and tested in a high voltage laboratory. The experimental tests were consistent with the simulation results verifying the merits of the proposed method.     

闪电物理

闪电物理研究的重点是地闪的研究，地闪的物理过程包括云中起闪过程，闪电传播过程及接地过程，在较大范围的云中强电场区内，两雨滴掠过碰撞形成的细丝顶端产生的电晕或冰类痧汽凝结物表面的电晕可能触发闪电；闪电在空气中的传输过程就是先导从电晕向电弧的转化过程；闪电落地过程的核心是上迎先导的形成及与下行先导的连接，闪电物理研究的重点在闪电落地过程，并应与雷电防护研究结合起来进行。     

Recoil leader formation and development

The existing interpretation in the lightning literature, based on field measurements, defines recoil leaders as negative leaders. However recoil leaders are floating conductors, and, based on this physical assumption, they should be defined as bipolar and bidirectional leaders. This physics-based assumption has never previously been verified experimentally. Such verification, reported in this paper, has been obtained from observations of branched upward positive leaders from a tall tower using a high-speed video system synchronized with electric and magnetic field change and luminosity measurements on the ground. The analysis of these observations clearly reveals the nature of recoil and dart leaders as bidirectional and bipolar electrodeless discharges that develop from a small region along a path of the decayed channels of a previous positive leader, or a positively charged return stroke of negative CG flashes.     

On the streamer discharges emitted from the head of a person located in the vicinity of lightning strikes and their possible consequences

In this paper the currents associated with the streamer discharges generated from the head of a person located in the vicinity of a lightning strike are investigated. In the analysis the location of the person with respect to the lightning strike is selected in such a way that only a streamer burst, without the formation of a connecting leader, is emitted from the head. The current associated with these streamer bursts could exceed several hundreds of mA and may last for several hundreds of microseconds. The results of the calculation show that the passage of the streamer currents through the body of the person could create electric fields in the brain large enough to excite neurons. Depending on the strength of lightning flash and the distance to the strike point these streamer bursts can give rise to phosphenes which are a form of visual experience that occurs when the visual cortex is stimulated by electric currents.     

Triggering and guiding of an upward positive leader from a ground rod with an ultrashort laser pulse. I. Experimental results

Using a plasma channel produced by an ultrashort laser pulse, we have studied the laser triggering and guiding of a positive leader from the tip of a 2-m vertical rod standing on the bottom plane of a 7-m plane-plane gap. The purpose of this setup was to reproduce in the laboratory the electric field conditions leading to the onset of a positive upward leader from a ground rod as a downward negative leader is approaching during a thunderstorm, in order to demonstrate the working principle of a possible future laser lightning rod. The leader triggering properties of the laser-created plasma channel have been studied as a function of the synchronization of the laser pulse with the voltage impulse applied to the gap. We show that the laser pulse reduces the inception voltage of the leader compared to its normal value and that the laser plasma channel guides the propagation of the upward leader at a velocity ten times higher than that of an ordinary leader, with a significantly lower charge per unit length. We show that laser guiding of the leader significantly reduces the breakdown voltage of the gap and that the effect of the laser channel at the end of a lightning rod can be compared quite favorably with the effect of an additional metal rod of the same length.     

On the interception of lightning flashes by power transmission lines

The design of the lightning protection system LPS of transmission lines is based on the well known electro-geometrical model. The electro-geometrical model assumes that the first point on a power transmission line that will come within striking distance of the tip of a down-coming stepped leader channel is the strike point of the lightning flash. The model neglects almost all of the physics associated with the lightning attachment.Nowadays, as it is possible to use modern hardware and software tools and several different numerical methods, it is feasible to apply the physics of the discharge process to the study of lightning attachment. Such models take into account the movement of the downward and the resulting upward leaders from different points on the structures under consideration.In this paper, a procedure based on lightning physics was used to analyze the lightning attachment phenomena in EHV transmission lines of 230 kV and 500 kV and the results were compared with the predictions of the electro-geometrical method.     

基于分形理论的飞机雷击初始附着点的数值模拟

飞机雷击附着点的确定能够为飞机防雷设计提供依据,是飞机雷击区域划分和飞机各部件进行雷电试验鉴定的先决条件.本文提出了一种基于分形理论的飞机雷击初始附着点数值模拟的新方法.该方法首先依据标准SAE-ARP5416中有关飞机雷击附着点试验的规定,确定放电间隙、雷电起始坐标、飞机姿态和放电次数等参数,然后根据分形理论,使用电介质击穿模型模拟符合自然界雷电物理机理和几何特征的雷电先导分形发展过程,同时考虑飞机自身触发双向先导的情况,最终得到飞机的雷击附着点分布.通过本文方法仿真模拟得到飞机F-4雷击附着点的分布概率,并分别与该飞机飞行实验和实验室高压放电实验测试得到的真实雷击附着点的概率分布情况比较,结果基本吻合,验证了该方法的有效性.研究结果为飞机雷击附着点仿真模拟提供了一个有潜力的方法,可作为飞机防雷设计和今后开展相关研究工作的基础.     

Identification of striking distance considering the velocity ratio and competition among the leaders

The striking distance is an important parameter to design a reliable lightning protection system. To protect an object against direct strikes, an improved leader progression model combined fractal geometry and the leader initiation criteria proposed by M. Becerra is introduced to determine the striking distance on a given structure. Both the deterministic and stochastic features of the lightning leader are considered and more detailed three-dimensional numerical simulation of the leader discharge is achieved due to the application of extended grid. Some of the basic methods and strategies are outlined and the influence on protection zone caused by leader velocity ratio is analyzed. Moreover, a comparative analysis of the results obtained through the improved model, the rolling sphere method and the Cooray model is performed. The results indicate that the presented method is closer to the natural lightning and the selection of the breakdown point is actually a complex competitive process among numerous upward leaders.     

Characteristics of lightning flashes striking the CN Tower below its tip

It has been observed that tall structures are sometimes struck by lightning below their tops. This phenomenon necessitates the use of special procedures for the protection of tall structures from lightning hazards. This paper focuses on the analysis of lightning flashes that struck the CN Tower below its tip over an extended period of time (1991–2005). Through the use of video images recorded during the reporting period, it was found that out of 404 flashes to the tower, only 16 hit the tower below its tip (3.96%). The distance between the tower's tip and the strike location varied from 5.4 to 70 m. Statistical analysis of flash characteristics of strikes below the tower's tip generally shows that the flash duration and the number of strokes per flash are considerably lower than those for the majority of cases, when the tower is struck at its tip. Furthermore, a trend of decrease in flash duration is found as the distance between the tower's tip and the strike location increases. Therefore, based on the analysis of the available data, lightning strikes below the top of a tall structure do not seem to pose greater danger than strikes to the structure's top, assuming that the structure is also protected along its sides. It is hoped that the presented observations and statistical analyses will be of value in the development of sophisticated measures against lightning hazards at elevated objects.     

On peculiarities of the method for determining the probability of lightning striking terrestrial explosive objects

We have described a new probabilistic method for calculating and assessing lightning striking terrestrial explosive objects using a combined criterion for the emergence of upward streamer and leader discharges from the elements of the object being protected and lightning rods taking into account the probabilistic nature of the avalanche–streamer and streamer–leader transitions, the trajectories of a downward stepped lightning leader and lightning current. It has been shown that the disregard of possible formation of uncompleted streamer discharges from the elements of the object in the electric field of a downward lightning leader, which can ignite explosive emission, decreases the rated probability of the object being damaged by a lightning stroke by several times.     

基于先导发展模型的舰艇避雷防护评估仿真

基于先导发展模型实现了海域上地闪先导2维数值放电模拟,完成了海域上地闪先导放电通道过程的图样采集。通过建立二维舰船模型,并根据相关标准对舰船模型进行避雷针的数量、高度、位置设定,对此模型进行雷电先导放电数值试验。经大量试验统计分析,舰船采用单根避雷针设计方案时,避雷针的高度较高,使得接闪概率明显增大,但在避雷针周围取得了较理想的防护效果;与单根设计方案相比,双根避雷针设计使得舰船整体结构高度降低,总的接闪次数有所减少,防护效果更佳。该评估方法可与长间隙放电试验和雷电观测互为补充,进一步完善了水面舰艇避雷系统防护评估检验技术,为舰艇的雷电防护提供理论基础。     

Technique for calculating the vulnerability of explosive surface objects by lightning

A probabilistic technique for estimating the vulnerability of explosive surface objects by lightning has been proposed. It uses a combined criterion for initiation of upward streamer and leader discharges form the elements of the object and lightning diverters. This criterion takes into account the probabilistic nature of avalanche–streamer and streamer–leader transitions and also the trajectories of the lightning’s downward stepped leader and lightning current. It has been shown that, if the formation of the downward leader of incomplete streamer discharges from the elements of the object in an electric field is neglected (these discharges may set fire on explosive emissions), the probability of lightning-induced failure of the object is underestimated by several times compared with the calculated value.     

Estimation of the lightning strike incidence of free-standing masts

An efficient method is proposed in this paper for estimating the lightning strike incidence of free-standing masts. In the proposed method, the attractive volume is defined to describe the lightning attraction characteristic of the mast. Its border is determined from the interception condition of the upward leader to the downward leader. Introducing the modified formula allows the mast height dependency to be included in the evaluation of the striking distance. An integral is performed on the attractive surface to obtain the equivalent exposure area of the mast, with the stochastic distribution of approach angle of the downward leader taken into account. Then, the annual strike incidence is calculated for various mast heights. To confirm the validity of the proposed method, a comparison is made between calculated results and empirical formulas.     

The striking distance of lightning flashes and the early streamer emission (ESE) hypothesis

The attachment of a lightning flash to a lightning conductor (or to any other structure) takes place through a connecting leader that rises from the structure towards the descending stepped leader of a lightning flash. The spatial separation between the tip of the stepped leader and the lightning conductor (or the grounded structure) at the initiation of the connecting leader is known as the striking distance. In this paper the striking distance of stepped leaders is derived as a function of conductor height, conductor radii and the prospective return stroke current. Based on these results the validity of the early streamer emission (ESE) hypothesis is discussed. According to the ESE hypothesis, the striking distance of a lightning conductor can be increased by the artificial initiation of streamers from a lightning conductor. The results cast doubt on the validity of the ESE hypothesis. This in turn calls for more experimental data and field validations before using the ESE hypothesis in standard lightning protection practice.     

闪电双向先导理论及观测:极性不对称、不稳定及间歇性

闪电双向先导原理的提出及观测验证是闪电物理研究近几十年最重要的进展之一,而正、负先导及流光的极性不对称性及传输的持续、间歇性,是理解闪电各种过程物理机制的关键.本文对闪电双向先导的概念及进展进行了总结和讨论,重点强调了正、负先导流光传输机制特别是门限电场的不对称性,阐述了正先导传输的连续性及其在闪电始发、负先导的空间先导形成、不稳定先导通道中的反冲先导建立等过程中独特的启动作用.