‫الـمـلـتقـى الوطني الثاني عشرللتوترالعالي‬

The 12th National Conference on High Voltage Engineering

October 04–06, 2022

Electric Field in an Environment Protected Against Lightning

S. Bouazabia1, D. Khelil1, M.L. Amrani1, C. Ouchaou2, K. Mahi2
1
USTHB, Facuté de Génie-Electrique, Département Eectrotechnique, Laboratoire LSEI, Alger,
2
USTHB, Facuté de Génie-Electrique, Département Eectrotechnique, Alger,
Email: [email protected]

Résumé— Cet article s'intéresse à l'effet de la présence d'un The introduction of a lightning rod to protect an area,
paratonnerre vertical ou horizontal sur la répartition du champ modifies the distribution of the electric field. This is to provide
électrique. On montre que, dans la zone protégée définie par le protection on the area in question[2-5].
modèle électrogéométrique, le champ diminue pour un
paratonnerre horizontal et s'annule dans le cas du paratonnerre In order to identify these modifications, we propose to
vertical. study the behavior of the groundelectric field without and with
a lightning conductor. The protection used is a Franklin type
Mots clefs—Paratonnerre, champ électrique, zone de lightning conductor (single rod lightning conductor).
protection, modèle électrogéométrique.
We will show that the presence of the lightning conductor
Abstract—This article focuses on the effect of the presence of reduces the electric field in the protected zone given by the
a vertical or horizontal lightning protection on the distribution of electrogeometric model.
the electric field. It is shown that, in the protected zone defined
by electrogeometric model, the field decreases for an horizontal MODELLING
lightning conductor and is annulled in the case of the vertical A. Study system
lightning rod.
In the undertaken study, two cases are treated:
Keywords—lightning protection, electric field,protection zone, i. Environment protected by a vertical lightning conductor
electrogeometric model.
ii. Environment protected by a horizontal lightning
INTRODUCTION conductor.
Since antiquity, man has often attributed to lightning a All the calculation is carried out in two dimensions,
mythical dimension and a sign of anger and punishment from considering the maximum field plane, that is the plane formed
the gods for sins [1]. In the 18th century, it was discovered that by the tracer and the lightning rod.
lightning is an electric discharge which can be felt several
kilometers away by its light and the deafening noise it The studied system (figures 1 and 2) consists of a tracer
emits.The study of the lightning was and continues to be the represented by a tip electrode located at a height d from a plane
object of interest because of the inconveniences engendered on electrode of length L representing the ground. The tip electrode
the electricity network and human losses. is brought to the potential V equivalent to the voltage U100%.
Because it is inevitable, man has managed to limit its Head of
effects by setting up adequate protective devices. Leader
Benjamin Franklin was one of the first people to intercept Vertical
lightning. Thanks to his famous kite experiment, he proved that Rod
lightning is only an electric arc [1].
d
In 1752, he presented the very first lightning rod in the
form of a vertical rod which he placed on a house (lightning
rod with simple rod) [1]. h
Nowadays the protection devices have improved a lot but Ground
it’s very similar to the Franklin rod. Their sizing is inspired by xx
the electro-geometric model for negative lightning strikes. The
principle of attraction of the lightning rod is directly linked to
the peak effect [1-5]. Figure 1:Studied system with vertical protection

12th National Conference on High Voltage Engineering

124
 ‫الـمـلـتقـى الوطني الثاني عشرللتوترالعالي‬
The 12th National Conference on High Voltage Engineering
October 04–06, 2022

The vertical lightning rod is reproduced by a straight

segment (Figure1). The horizontal one by a point (Figure2). √( )(6)
They are ofhheight and placed on the plane electrode at a d is the strike distance.
distance x from the vertical axis passing through the tip
electrode. The lightning rod and the plane are grounded RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
(brought to the potential 0V). For the rest of the article, the electricfield values are
reduced to relative values where the max field on the ground is
Head of the base.
LeaderH In the absence of a lightning conductor, the equipotential
ead of lines are regular (figure 3.a) and the field is maximum on the
LeaderH vertical which passes through the head of the tracer (figure
ead of Horizontal 3.b). It steadily decreases away from this point.
d Leader Protection
The installation of a lightning rod (figures 4 and 5) distorts
d the equipotential lines where it is placed. The electric field
d decreases around the lightning conductor and is annulled for
h the vertical lightning conductor (figure 4).
xx h Ground
x h Ground The influenced zone is slightly wider than the limit
Ground protection zone defined by the electro-geometric model
(dotvertical lines).
Figure 2: Studied system with horizontal protectionFigure 1:Studied
system with vertical protectionFigure 1:Studied system with vertical
protection
B. Field calculation
The calculation of the electric field exploits Maxwell's
equations.
Gauss's theorem states that the flux coming out any element of
a volume is equal to the sum of the charges contained in this
volume: [7]
⃗ (1)
ρ: Volume density of charges and D the electrical induction
The relationship between induction and the electric field is:
⃗ ⃗ (2)
: Electrical permittivity (a)
and potential-field:
⃗ ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ (3)
By combining equations (1), (2) and (3), we obtain the
Poisson equation:
(4)
In the case where the space charge is non-existent (=0), we
solve the Laplace equation
(5)
The electricfield distribution is obtained by the FEMM
computer code under Matlab environment with a boundary
condition of the Neumann type, due to the absence of space
charges.
The capture zone of a lightning rod is the surface for which (b)
the structures do not undergo any lightning discharge. This Figure 3: Without lightning rod
surface, in the case of this study, extends over a distance in the
form of a circle of radius Z [5]:

12th National Conference on High Voltage Engineering

125
 ‫الـمـلـتقـى الوطني الثاني عشرللتوترالعالي‬
The 12th National Conference on High Voltage Engineering
October 04–06, 2022

When the height of the lightning conductor is increased

(figures 6 and 7), the reduction in the field is greater.

(a)

Figure 6: Electric field distribution on the ground in the presence of a vertical

lightning rod (x=50m)

(b)
Figure 4: With vertical lightning rod (x=100m)

Figure 7:Electric field distribution on the ground in the presence of a

horizontal lightning rod (x=50m)

By moving the lightning rod away from the tracer, the effect of
the lightning rod decreases, thus reducing the probability of
capturing lightning (figures 8 and 9).
(a)

(b)
Figure 5: With Horizontal lightning rod (x=100m) Figure 8:Electric Field distribution on the ground in the presence of a vertical
lightning rod (x=250m)

12th National Conference on High Voltage Engineering

126
 ‫الـمـلـتقـى الوطني الثاني عشرللتوترالعالي‬
The 12th National Conference on High Voltage Engineering
October 04–06, 2022

Figure 11: Electric field at the head of the tracer and at the top of the vertical
lightning rod according to the height of the horizontal lightning rod

CONCLUSION
The insertion of a lightning rod modifies the distribution of the
electric field on the ground when the lightning rod is placed in
an area close to the head of the tracer
For an horizontal lightning conductor, the field in the vicinity
of the lightning conductor is reduced and it is nulwhen the
lightning conductor is vertical.
The zone requested by the modifications is slightly wider than
the protection zone given by the electrogeometric model.
The field at the head of the tracer is higher than the field at the
Figure 9: Electric Field distribution on the ground in the presence of a top of the lightning rod.
horizontal lightning rod (x=250m)

The value of the electric field is higher at the head of the tracer REFERENCES
than at the top of the lightning conductor (figures 10 and 11).
By increasing the height of the lightning rod, these 2 fields
increase slightly. [1] E. Kuffel, W.S. Zaengl, J. Kuffel, “High Voltage Engineering”, Published
by Butterworth-Heinemann, Second edition, 2000.
[2] A. Haddad, D. Warne, “Advances in High Voltage Engineering”,
Institution of Engineering and Technology, London, United Kingdom,
2007.
[3] D. Khelil, S. Bouazabia, P.N. Mikropoulos, “Interception Probability of a
Protective Rod in the Presence of an Object on the Ground”, 2016 IEEE
International Conference on High Voltage Engineering and Application,
pp. 1-4, 2016.
[4] D. Khelil, S. Bouazabia, PN.Mikropoulos, “A fractal model of discharge
interception probability of a vertical grounded rod in the presence of a
neighbouring object”, Journal of Electrostatics (ELSEVIER),
Volume95C, October 2018, pp. 42-52.
[5] D. Khelil, S. Bouazabia, “Modeling and calculation of the electrical
discharge fractal dimension in the presence of a vertical rod”,
International symposium of electromagnetic fields (ISEF), Nancy
(France), 2019.
Figure 10: Electric field at the head of the tracer and at the top of the vertical [6] D. Meeker, “Finite Element Method Magnetics”, Version 4.2, User’s
lightning rod as function of the height of the vertical lightning rod Manual, June 17, 2004.

Figure 11: Electric field at the head of the tracer and at the top of the
vertical lightning rod according to the height of the horizontal lightning rod
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