Professional Documents
Culture Documents
OF NONCONVENTIONAL
APPROACHES TO LIGHTNING
PROTECTION
BY M . A . U M A N AND V . A . RAKOV
Neither data nor theory supports claims that "lightning elimination" and "early streamer
emission" techniques are superiorto conventional lightning protection systems
C
ONVENTIONAL S Y S T E M S . P r o p e r l y de
signed conventional lightning protection systems efficacy of the conventional approach has been well
for ground-based structures serve to provide demonstrated in practice (e.g., Harris 1843, 140-156;
lightning attachment points and paths for the light- Symons 1882; Lodge 1892; Peters 1915; Covert 1930;
ning current to follow from the attachment points Keller 1939; Szpor 1959). The classic text on the con-
into the ground without harm to the protected struc- ventional lightning protection of structures is Golde
ture. Such systems are basically composed of three (1973). The theoretical justification of the conven-
elements: 1) "air terminals" at appropriate points on tional approach is fairly crude, in part due to our in-
the structure to intercept the lightning, 2) "down con- complete understanding of lightning's attachment to
ductors" to carry the lightning current from the air ground-based objects. Hence, the fact that conven-
terminals toward the ground, and 3) "grounding elec- tional systems have a history of success in preventing
trodes" to pass the lightning current into the earth. or minimizing damage to structures is the primary
The three system components must be electrically justification for their use. It is nevertheless instruc-
well connected. Many national and international stan- tive to review the current understanding of the light-
dards describe conventional lightning protection sys- ning processes, this understanding being consistent
with the experience gained from the use of conven-
tional structural lightning protection systems.
The lightning stepped leader, the process that ini-
AFFILIATION: UMAN AND RAKOV—Department of Electrical and tiates a cloud-to-ground flash, begins in the cloud
Computer Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
charge region (near 5-km height in temperate sum-
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Dr. M. A. Uman, Department of
mer for the typical flash that lowers negative charge)
Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida, 216
Larsen Hall, P.O. Box I 16200, Gainesville, FL 3261 1-6200 and propagates toward Earth at a typical average
E-mail: uman@ece.ufl.edu speed of 105 m s-1. The charge on the leader channel
DOI: 10.1 ! 75/BAMS-83-12-1809 (effectively drained from the cloud charge source)
Infinalform 25 July 2002
produces an electric field near the earth's surface that
©2002 American Meteorological Society is enhanced by objects projecting above the surface
such as trees and grounded air terminals on struc-