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.

► The well known electrogeometrical method has been compared with a lightning attachment methodology by means of the lightning protection design of power transmission lines.
► Simulations of extra high voltage towers are presented.
► The results have shown a very good agreement between the physical methodology and the electrogeometrical method.
► Lightning attachment is observed to the shielding wires in all of the cases however there are streamer inception and aborted incepted leaders from other points over the structures.
► The electrogeometrical method which is an empirical method has been validated using a methodology based on the physics of lightning.