Lightning current waves measured at short instrumented towers: The influence of sensor position

Abstract

The influence of the current sensor position along short-instrumented towers on the contamination of measured lightning current waves was evaluated. The evaluation was performed by simulation, employing a hybrid electromagnetic model. Assuming certain simplifications, the dynamic behavior of lightning channel was considered, including core losses and corona sheath. The results showed that, for realistic front time values of negative downward strokes, the current wave measured at tower top and at its base is practically the same, for first and subsequent strokes. Therefore, for short towers, the wave amplitude is not dependent on the current sensor position. Copyright 2005 by the American Geophysical Union.