Experimental Investigation and Numerical Modeling of Surge Currents in Lightning Protection System of a Small Residential Structure

Abstract

The distribution of lightning current in the lightning protection system (LPS) and the electrical circuit of two test structures simulating residential buildings was experimentally studied at two research facilities in Florida and in Poland. In Florida, the experiments were conducted using rocket-triggered lightning, and in Poland a mobile current surge generator was employed. The soil in Florida was sandy, while in Poland it was mostly clay. Simulations of lightning current in the LPS and the electrical circuit of each of the test structures were also performed. In this paper, we present results of experiments and numerical modeling of lightning current distribution in different configurations of LPS installed on the test structures at the two sites.