International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN:2319-6890)(online),2347-5013(print)

Volume No.4, Issue No.4, pp : 192-196 01 April 2015

Practical Approach on Lightning and Grounding Protection System

Shan Jose Varghese

Master of Power Systems Engineering, Valliammai Engineering College, Affiliated to Anna University-
Chennai
Email:[email protected], [email protected]

Abstract: Lightning Protection and Grounding of Electrical dramatic effect on the overall effectiveness of the grounding
and Mechanical equipment’s for the Protection of the system. One of the primary factors that can increase the
Human Beings, Structure of the building and equipment impedance of the grounding system is the type and manner in
protection, safe working of the Worker at Industry as per my which the electrical connections to the grounding system are
latest practical knowledge in the site environment in extreme made. Contractors and others install these systems cannot
climatic condition of low lying areas of the Gulf Region in underestimate the importance of ensuring that each grounding
the challenging projects. All the conductor calculation, connection is made in an effective manner.
Lightning Risk Factor calculations, all the system Lightning, Electrical and Mechanical Equipment surge
information regarding the level of protection required for protection is the one of the major complicated protection in the
site are mentioned in this paper. Lightning, Electrical and World. As both can cause major causality and damages in the
Mechanical Equipment surge protection is the one of the building and the path way surroundings. As per the world status
major complicated protection in the World as it is there are more number of causalities as occurred by the
unpredictable. As both can cause major causality and Lighting and short circuit errors. Grounding of the electrical
damage the building and equipment’s in the path way and mechanical equipment will have low potential difference
surroundings. As per the world status there are more and hence can cause less effect on the human and building
number of causalities as occurred due to Lighting and short structure. Complete information regarding the Lightning and
circuit errors. Grounding of the electrical and mechanical Surge arrestor system is illustrated as per my finding while
equipment can have low potential difference hence will not working as the Design Electrical Engineer.
cause much damage as the surge current has easy path to II. Lightning System and Methodology
the ground. Complete information regarding the Lightning
and Surge arrestor system is illustrated as per my findings A. Risk Factor
while working as the Design Electrical Engineer. The Risk factor is calculated using the lightning history from
Keywords—Risk Factor, Earthing, Grounding, Air the purposed geographical location. The Lighting protection
terminal, Conducor loop, Surge arrestor, Earth pit, Earth depends on the Ground materials and the soil resistivity of the
rod, Down conductor, rebar(steel reinforcing bar). proposed site location. Also the type of purpose of the building
also matters for the Lightning protection system installed.
I. Introduction
Design of electrical grounding with lightning The risk is calculated by the probable average annual loss in
protection systems is one of the most important aspects of any the structure and in the service due to the Lightning Flashes,
electrical distribution system, yet it is often misunderstood and divided into:
subsequently installed improperly. There are several important 1. Annual number of lightning flashes influencing the
reasons why a grounding and lightning protection system structure and the service
should be installed. But the important reason is to protect 2. Probability of damage by one of the influencing lightning
people! Other reasons includes protection of structures and classes.
equipment from unintentional contact with energized electrical 3. The mean amount of consequential losses.
lines. The grounding system must ensure maximum safety Lightning flashes influencing the structure may be divided
from electrical system faults and lightning. Equipment and into, 1. Flashes terminating on the structure,
building protection is provided by low impedance grounding 2. Flashes terminating near the structure, direct to
and bonding between electrical services, protective devices, connected services (power, telecommunication lines, other
equipment and other conductive objects so that faults or services) or near the services.
lightning currents do not result in hazardous voltages within Lightning flashes influencing the service may be
the building. Also, the proper operation of overcurrent divided into,
protective devices is frequently dependent upon low 1. Flashes terminating on the service,
impedance fault current paths. 2. Flashes terminating near the service or direct to a structure
Many factors determine the overall impedance of the connected to the service.
grounding system. Building components, such as structural The types of damage are classified in to
steel and interior piping systems, can be used to create an D1: Injury to living beings
effective grounding system. The manner in which these D2: Physical Damage
components are installed and interconnected can have a D3: Failure of Electrical and Electronic Systems.
The types of Losses are classified into
IJER@2015 Page 192
 International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN:2319-6890)(online),2347-5013(print)
Volume No.4, Issue No.4, pp : 192-196 01 April 2015

L1: Loss to Human

L2: Loss of service to Public
L3: Loss of Cultural Heritage
L4: Loss of Economic Value
As per the information we have received from the above
classifications the Design Engineer will assign the risk Factor
for the Building to be protected.
R1: risk of loss of human life
R2: risk of loss of service to the public
R3: risk of loss of cultural heritage
R4: risk of loss of economic value
For calculating the Risk assessment we have application
software which provides us the Class of Lightning protection
required for the particular Project. According to the risk Figure (i) Representation of Protection Angle Method
calculation the Lightning Protection System type will be A- Edge of the air terminal system
applied for the building premise. R - Reference plane
O-C - Radius of the protected area
B. Class of Lightning Protection System h - Height of the air termination rod.
According to the Risk factor of the Building system Class α – protection angle.
of Lightning Protection system is determined by the The oval shaped reference plane is the area where the
Characteristic of the Structure of Building to be protected. systems will be protected. The Protection angle of the Lightning
protection system Determined by the class of lightning
Lightning Protection Level Lightning Protection System
Protection system.
I I
(b) Rolling Sphere Method:
II II
Rolling Sphere method is the calculating the area of
III III protection for the Building to be protected in this the length of
the air terminal above the surface reference plane will be the
IV IV radius of the Rolling sphere calculation.
Table (i) Class of Lightning Protection System Area covered by the rolling sphere is the area will be
There are four Different Class for the Lightning protection protected by the air terminal. The figure (ii) shows the details of
system based on the Risk Factor of the Building Structure. The the rolling sphere calculation details.
relation between the lightning protection level and lightning
protection level is shown in Table (i) .
An external Lightning Protection System has three major
systems combined they are,
1. Air termination system
2. Down conductor system
3. Earth termination system
1. Air Termination System
Air termination system can be composed combination of
the following elements such as intercepting terminal rod,
Catenary wire for wire air termination type of protection and
Mesh Conductors.
(a) Positioning of the Air terminal
Air termination system interception rod has to be placed at
the corner, exposed points and edges in the open air located at
high level of the building structure.
There are some of the acceptable methods to determine the Figure (ii) Representation protection of Rolling Sphere
position of the air termination system, Where,R – Radius of the rolling Sphere for the lightning
(a) Protection Angle Method protection or height of the air termination system
(b) Rolling Sphere Method
(c) Mesh Method α – protection angle
(a) Protection Angle Method
The height of the air terminal rod can be found out by the
In protective angle method the Lightning system is assigned formula:
as per the figure (i) shown which shows the height of the
R = 10. I ^0.65------------- (i)
terminal rod for the lightning protection,
IJER@2015 Page 193
 International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN:2319-6890)(online),2347-5013(print)
Volume No.4, Issue No.4, pp : 192-196 01 April 2015

Where, I – Surge Current in kA. than separate down conductors installed as part of the lightning
protection system. These steel columns can be used as the down
R – Radius of the Rolling Sphere protection.
conductors. Since the lightning current is not effected by the
(c) Mesh Method: structure, multiple down conductor paths in parallel will result
in lower voltage differences between the top of the building and
The mesh method is the interconnection of the all the air
the foundation. This voltage differential can be important in
terminal at the roof edge of building to be protected. This mesh
buildings with electronic equipment interconnected between
line conductor travels through the roof edge line, roof
floors, in antenna towers and similar instances.
overhangs and roof ridge lines.
Test joints shall be installed in each of the Down conductor
The mesh method network of air termination system is connection to the Earth Rod except in the case of natural down
accomplished in such a way that the lightning conductor will conductor through rebar. For the measuring purpose the joints
always have at least two metallic routes to the earth, hence shall be capable of being opened with the help of a tool.
lightning current getting easy route to the earth.
3. Earth Termination System
In the Table (ii), Class I is the high Protection to Class IV is
Earth is the looping of the down conductor to the Earth rod
the Low protection level. The mesh size is the mesh
at the Earth pit for the easy transfer of high current due to surge
interconnection between the loop in the roof of the building.
current from Lightning Strike.
Class of LPS Rolling Sphere Mesh size, w There are two type of Earth termination system;
size, R m m
Type (A):- In this, the Air Termination is done at one or two of
I 20 5x5 the building roof, this air terminals will not be meshed. There
II 30 10x10 will be down conductor which connect all the Earth
Termination. This type is mostly used in the low structure
III 45 15x15 especially houses.
IV 60 20x20 Type (B):-In this Earth Termination System is preferred for the
Table (ii)Rolling Sphere Size and Air Terminal Mesh Size. meshed air termination system and Lightning protection system
with several down conductors. This type of arrangement
For the any of lightning protection system the roof comprises either a ring electrode external to the structure in
conductor shall be of wire conductor or the square rod type contact with the soil. This type of Earthing is recommended for
conductor. the bare solid rock.
The preferred earth rod loop conductor shall be the thin The distance between the earth rods should be two times the
wired earth cables as per the short circuit voltage rating of the height of the earth rod. Every Earth pit should be minimum
electrical system. 1.5meter away from the any building structure. If the Earth pit
location is near to the water pipe so the soil resistivity will be
2. Down Conductor
reduced to get better discharge of surge current.
In order to reduce the probability of damage caused due to
the Lightning current flow in the Lightning protection system, III. Electrical Busbar Grounding
the down conductor has to be arranged, accordingly to have an The Earth bar to the earth pit is connected according to the
easy path for the surge current. type of Power Equipment to be protected. As per the maximum
The distance between down conductor as per the Class of fault which will be following through the system is considered
Lightning Protection System is shown in the Table (iii); as the fault current for the Earth system.
Class of LPS Typical Distance m The table below shows the fault current detail of the
I 10 different system in power system.

II 10 Type of the Fault current (kA) Fault Clearing

System time(Tc)
III 15
LV System 44 0.5
IV 20
HV System 1.5 0.3
Table (iii) Distance between down conductor
Conductors connect the air terminals to each other and to As per the type of the system and their Fault current details
the metal structure of the building, to miscellaneous metal provide us the Size of the conductor to be used in the Grounding
parts of the building and down to the counterpoise and/or earth system. Each electrode at the Earth pit shall be Minimum
electrodes. In some cases, Grounding connections are made to 2metre depth such that it penetrates summer water table.
the steel columns or to the rebars (steel reinforcing bars) used IV. Mechanical Equipment & Structure Grounding
in concrete construction. In most large buildings, the heavy Equipment grounding pertains to the system of electric
steel structure provides a much lower impedance path to earth conductors (grounding conductor and ground busbar) by which

IJER@2015 Page 194

 International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN:2319-6890)(online),2347-5013(print)
Volume No.4, Issue No.4, pp : 192-196 01 April 2015

all noncurrent carrying metallic structures within an industrial Four lightning protection levels (LPL) are defined, the
plant are interconnected and grounded. The main purposes of highest level being LPL I and the lowest level LPL IV.
equipment grounding are as follows:
According to the classification, the current peak (50 kA) is
(1) To maintain low potential difference between metallic highest for LPL I and reduced to 37.5 kA for LPL II and to 25
structures, ensuring freedom from electric shocks to personnel kA for LPL III and LPL IV.
in the area
Corresponding to the four lightning protection levels, four
(2) To contribute to superior protective performance of the
classes of LPS (I, II, III, IV) are defined.
electric system.
(3) To avoid fires from volatile materials and the ignition of The Fault current created due to the lightning stroke is
gases in combustible atmospheres by providing an effective shown in the table (iv);
electric conductor system for the flow of ground-fault currents
and lightning and static discharges to essentially eliminate Class of LPL/LPS Fault Current If (kA)
arcing and other thermal distress in electrical equipment. I 50kA
All electric conductor housings (for example,
metallic conduits, cable trays, junction boxes, etc.), equipment II 37.5kA
enclosures, and motor frames should be interconnected by an III & IV 25kA
equipment grounding conductor system that will satisfy the
protection requirements. Table (v) Class of Lightning Protection System and the Fault
The Equipment Grounding Conductor sizing is done using Current Range
the Voltage drop calculation and according to the size of the The Lighting and grounding conductor as per the type of
power cable the Earthing Cable is laid. In voltage drop lightning protection is calculated using the Conductor sizing
calculation the load of the Equipment is considered and formula,
accordingly the size of the cable determined.
Cable sheath at the cable gland at the both ends are also A= If ------------- (ii)
connected to the grounding loop for the protection. All Cable (TCAP x 10^-4) x ln Ko + Tm
trays and trunkings are also looped with the grounding busbar. (Tc.ar.ρr) Ko + Ta
Also all the structures such as metal stairs of the access to the
roof used in the building shall be looped with the Grounding Where,
Busbar. All the Mechanical Pipes are looped with the A - Conductor Cross section; mm2
Grounding busbar for the Protection from surge current which If - Maximum Earth Fault Current (kA)
occurred outside the site or inside the site. Tm – Maximum allowable temperature (°C)
V. Results and Tables Ta – Ambient temperature (°C)
Conductor calculation is done for both Lightning and also Ko – Material constant for Copper at 0 °C.
for the Grounding of the Equipment inside the Building. TCAP – Thermal capacity factor Copper- 3.42j/cm3-
(a)Lightning Protection Conductor: °C.
The minimum thickness of the meshed lightning ar – Thermal Co-efficient of resistivity for copper 1/°C.
conductor at the roof top of the building shall be, ρr – Specific Resistivity for copper at 20°C.
Material Minimum Thickness Tc – Maximum fault Duration Sec.
Galvanized Steel 0.5 From ASTM Standards,
Stainless Steel 0.4 Ko – 234 °C
Copper 0.3 TCAP –3.42j/cm3-°C
Aluminium and Zinc 0.7 ar – 0.00393 1/°C
Lead 2.0 ρr – 1.72µ.ohm.cm of copper at 20°C.
Table (iv) Minimum Thickness Lightning Conductor Tm – 250 °C
Calculation are done based on the ASTM Material data sheet
The conductor size is done by calculating the Class of the
and the Class of Lightning Protection System. Design Margin of
Lightning protection required for the Structure.
30% is taken into consideration in the final conductor sizing. In
Soil Resistivity can be calculated using Wenner four-pin further simplification of the Conductor sizing Equation (ii); we
probe. As per this Site, Soil Resistivity Calculation, the soil have Equation (iii);
resistivity at a depth 1.5meter below the Ground level is Akcmil = I.Kf .√tc -------------(iii)
Soil resistivity (ρ) soil = 53 Ω‐m Where,
An additional layer of gravel or Asphalt will be placed Akcmil - area of conductor in kcmil
around open area that does not contain reinforced concrete I - rms fault current in kA
layer, to ensure high surface layer resistivity: tc - current duration in s
Kf - constant from ASTM for the material at various
Surface layer resistivity (ρs) = 10000 Ω.m values of Tm(fusing temperature or limited conductor

IJER@2015 Page 195

 International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN:2319-6890)(online),2347-5013(print)
Volume No.4, Issue No.4, pp : 192-196 01 April 2015

temperature based on 11.3.3) and using ambient References

temperature (Ta) of 40C
As the Lightning protection system is Meshed, so i. ANSI/IEEE 141-1986 “Recommended Practice
consider the path 50:50 ratio for mesh effect i.e. the meshed Electrical Power Distribution for Industrial Plants”; Approved by
loop at roof and the down conductor in the lightning protection IEEE Board (Dec12, 1985) and American National Standards
system. Institute (Jun 04, 1986).
ii. IEEE-80-2000 “IEEE Guide for Safety in AC
IV. Conclusion Substation Grounding”; By sub Station Committee of Power
Engineering Society-Approved on 30 January 2000, By IEEE-SA
After the installation check for the resistivity of the Standards Board.
earthing and grounding to have resistance valve less than 1 Ω. iii. BS-EN 62305-3:2006 –Part 1: Protection Against
As per finding it is noted that the potential difference of the Lightning – General Principles.
equipment is reduced so as to safe guard human and the iv. BS-EN 62305-3:2006 –Part 2: Protection Against
building structures from the damage caused by the lightning Lightning – Risk Management.
surge or short circuit current. v. BS-EN 62305-3:2006 –Part 3: Protection Against
It is observed that the Lightning protection System I Lightning – Physical Damage to Structures and Life Hazards.
& II should have a yearly check and the Lightning Protection vi. BS-EN 62305-3:2006 –Part 4: Protection Against
System III & IV requires two year check-up for the resistivity Lightning – Electrical and Electrical Equipment’s within Structures.
vii. BS-EN 6651-1999 –Code of Practice for
and looping for the error less protection. It is observed that the
Protection of Structures Against Lightning.
Earthing done on rebar should have more number of down viii. Risk Assessment Application “aplicaciones
conductor as the Rebar is Steel and hence the conductor do not tecnologicas” is used and the details which is based on the IEC EN
have more conductivity as compared to copper. 62305.
The Conductor sizing varies according to the rating ix. Kahramma Standards: - “Regulations for the
of current through the conductor. All the power cable should Installation of Electrical Wiring Electrical Equipment and Air
have earth cable which will be the have size of the power conditioning Equipment” Dec 2010.
cable (for example-240mm2 power cable requires 120mm2 x. NFPA 70 – 2011 Edition – National Electrical
earth cable). code.

IJER@2015 Page 196