Vladimir A. Rakov

New insights into lightning processes gained from triggered-lightning experiments in Florida and Alabama

Analyses of electric and magnetic fields measured at distances from tens to hundreds of meters from the ground strike point of triggered lightning at Camp Blanding, Florida, and at 10 and 20 m at Fort McClellan, Alabama, in conjunction with currents measured at the lightning channel base and with optical observations, allow us to make new inferences on several aspects of the lightning discharge and additionally to verify the recently published “two-wave” mechanism of the lightning M component. At very close ranges (a few tens of meters or less) the time rate of change of the final portion of the dart leader electric field can be comparable to that of the return stroke. The variation of the close dart leader electric field change with distance is somewhat slower than the inverse proportionality predicted by the uniformly charged leader model, perhaps because of a decrease of leader charge density with decreasing height associated with an incomplete development of the corona sheath at the bottom of the channel. There is a positive linear correlation between the leader electric field change at close range and the succeeding return stroke current peak at the channel base. The formation of each step of a dart-stepped leader is associated with a charge of a few millicoulombs and a current of a few kiloamperes. In an altitude-triggered lightning the downward negative leader of the bidirectional leader system and the resulting return stroke serve to provide a relatively low-impedance connection between the upward moving positive leader tip and the ground, the processes that follow likely being similar to those in classical triggered lightning. Lightning appears to be able to reduce, via breakdown processes in the soil and on the ground surface, the grounding impedance which it initially encounters at the strike point, so at the time of channel-base current peak the reduced grounding impedance is always much lower than the equivalent impedance of the channel. At close ranges the measured M-component magnetic fields have waveshapes that are similar to those of the channel-base currents, whereas the measured M-component electric fields have waveforms that appear to be the time derivatives of the channel-base current waveforms, in further confirmation of the “two-wave” M-component mechanism.

Parameters of triggered-lightning flashes in Florida and Alabama

Channel base currents from triggered lightning were measured at the NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida, during summer 1990 and at Fort McClellan, Alabama, during summer 1991. Additionally, 16-mm cinematic records with 3- or 5-ms resolution were obtained for all flashes, and streak camera records were obtained for three of the Florida flashes. The 17 flashes analyzed here contained 69 strokes, all lowering negative charge from cloud to ground. Statistics on interstroke interval, no-current interstroke interval, total stroke duration, total stroke charge, total stroke action integral (∫ i2dt), return stroke current wave front characteristics, time to half peak value, and return stroke peak current are presented. Return stroke current pulses, characterized by rise times of the order of a few microseconds or less and peak values in the range of 4 to 38 kA, were found not to occur until after any preceding current at the bottom of the lightning channel fell below the noise level of less than 2 A. Current pulses associated with M components, characterized by slower rise times (typically tens to hundreds of microseconds) and peak values generally smaller than those of the return stroke pulses, occurred during established channel current flow of some tens to some hundreds of amperes. A relatively strong positive correlation was found between return stroke current average rate of rise and current peak. There was essentially no correlation between return stroke current peak and 10–90% rise time or between return stroke peak and the width of the current waveform at half of its peak value. Parameters of the lightning flashes triggered in Florida and Alabama are similar to each other but are different from those of triggered lightning recorded in New Mexico during the 1981 Thunderstorm Research International Program. Continuing currents that follow return stroke current peaks and last for more than 10 ms exhibit a variety of wave shapes that we have subdivided into four categories. All such continuing currents appear to start with a current pulse presumably associated with an M component. A brief summary of lightning parameters important for lightning protection, in a form convenient for practical use, is presented in an appendix.

Distribution of charge along the lightning channel: Relation to remote electric and magnetic fields and to return‐stroke models

We derive exact expressions for remote electric and magnetic fields as a function of the time- and height-varying charge density on the lightning channel for both leader and return-stroke processes. Further, we determine the charge density distributions for six return-stroke models. The charge density during the return-stroke process is expressed as the sum of two components, one component being associated with the return-stroke charge transferred through a given channel section and the other component with the charge deposited by the return stroke on this channel section. After the return-stroke process has been completed, the total charge density on the channel is equal to the deposited charge density component. The charge density distribution along the channel corresponding to the original transmission line (TL) model has only a transferred charge density component so that the charge density is everywhere zero after the wave has traversed the channel. For the Bruce-Golde (BG) model there is no transferred, only a deposited, charge density component. The total charge density distribution for the version of the modified transmission line model that is characterized by an exponential current decay with height (MTLE) is unrealistically skewed toward the bottom of the channel, as evidenced by field calculations using this distribution that yield (1) a large electric field ramp at ranges of the order of some tens of meters not observed in the measured electric fields from triggered-lightning return strokes and (2) a ratio of leader-to-return-stroke electric field at far distances that is about 3 times larger than typically observed. The BG model, the traveling current source (TCS) model, the version of the modified transmission line model that is characterized by a linear current decay with height (MTLL), and the Diendorfer-Uman (DU) model appear to be consistent with the available experimental data on very close electric fields from triggered-lightning return strokes and predict a distant leader-to-return-stroke electric field ratio not far from unity, in keeping with the observations. In the TCS and DU models the distribution of total charge density along the channel during the return-stroke process is influenced by the inherent assumption that the current reflection coefficient at ground is equal to zero, the latter condition being invalid for the case of a lightning strike to a well-grounded object where an appreciable reflection is expected from ground.

Transient response of a tall object to lightning

Experimental data showing the transient behavior of tall objects struck by lightning are reviewed. The influence of this transient behavior, illustrated by simple calculations, on measured lightning current and measured remote electromagnetic fields is discussed. The estimated equivalent impedance of the lightning channel at the time of the initial current peak is appreciably higher than the characteristic impedance of an ordinary tall object (a factor of 3 or so for both the Ostankino and Peissenberg towers and about a factor of 2 for the CN tower). The grounding impedance of a tower is typically lower than its characteristic impedance. Thus, the current reflection coefficient is negative at the top and positive at the bottom of the tower. The similarity of the statistical distributions of subsequent-return-stroke peak currents in: 1) natural downward lightning; 2) natural upward (object-initiated) lightning; and 3) rocket-triggered lightning measured at objects with heights ranging from 4.5 to 540 m suggests that current peaks are not significantly influenced by the presence of a tall object, provided that measurements are taken at the top of the object. This inference is consistent with modeling results of Melander (1984) who showed that the current peaks measured in Switzerland and Italy at the top of 70-m and 40-m towers, respectively, are essentially unaffected by the presence of the towers. If lightning current could be represented by an ideal current source, current at the top of the object would be equal to the source current at all times. The peak current measured at the bottom of a tall object is usually more strongly influenced by the transient process in the object than the peak current at the top. For example, peak currents measured in the lower part of the 540-m Ostankino tower are about a factor of two higher than the peak currents measured near the tower top because the current reflection coefficient at the bottom of the tower is near +1. Observations and modeling suggest that a tall metallic strike object replacing the lower part of lightning channel serves to enhance the lightning-radiated electromagnetic fields relative to the fields due to similar lightning discharges attached directly to ground, this effect being more pronounced for the sharper lightning current pulses.

Overview of Recent Progress in Lightning Research and Lightning Protection

This review paper, prepared for this second special issue on lightning of the IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, summarizes major publications on lightning and lightning protection since the first special issue published in November 1998, i.e., during the last decade. The review is organized in the following five sections: lightning discharge-observations, lightning discharge-modeling, lightning occurrence characteristics/lightning locating systems, lightning electromagnetic pulse and lightning-induced effects, and protection against lightning-induced effects.

Observed leader and return-stroke propagation characteristics in the bottom 400 m of a rocket-triggered lightning channel

Using a high-speed digital optical system, we determined the propagation characteristics of two leader/return-stroke sequences in the bottom 400 m of the channel of two lightning flashes triggered at Camp Blanding, Florida. One sequence involved a dart leader and the other a dart-stepped leader. The time resolution of the measuring system was 100 ns, and the spatial resolution was about 30 m. The leaders exhibit an increasing speed in propagating downward over the bottom some hundreds of meters, while the return strokes show a decreasing speed when propagating upward over the same distance. Twelve dart-stepped leader luminosity pulses observed in the bottom 200 m of the channel have been analyzed in detail. The luminosity pulses associated with steps have a 10-90% risetime ranging from 0.3 to 0.8 μs with a mean value of 0.5 μs and a half-peak width ranging from 0.9 to 1.9 μs with a mean of 1.3 μs. The interpulse interval ranges from 1.7 to 7.2 μs with a mean value of 4.6 μs. The step luminosity pulses apparently originate in the process of step formation, which is unresolved with our limited spatial resolution of 30 m, and propagate upward over distances from several tens of meters to more than 200 m, beyond which they are undetectable. This finding represents the first experimental evidence that the luminosity pulses associated with the steps of a downward moving leader propagate upward. The upward propagation speeds of the step luminosity pulses range from 1.9×10 7 to 1.0×10 8 m/s with a mean value of 6.7×10 7 m/s. In particular, the last seven pronounced light pulses immediately prior to the return stroke pulse exhibit more or less similar upward speeds, near 8×10 7 m/s, very close to the return-stroke speed over the same portion of the channel. On the basis of this result, we infer that the propagation speed of a pulse traveling along the leader-conditioned channel is primarily determined by the channel characteristics rather than the pulse magnitude. An inspection of four selected step luminosity pulses shows that the pulse peak decreases significantly as the pulse propagates in the upward direction, to about 10% of the original value within the first 50 m. The return-stroke speeds within the bottom 60 m or so of the channel are 1.3×10 8 and 1.5×10 8 m/s for the two events analyzed, with a potential error of less than 20%.

Leader properties determined with triggered lightning techniques

This paper presents current and electric field measurements from two triggered lightning flashes, 9519 and 9516, initiated by the classical and altitude technique, respectively, at Camp Blanding, Florida, in 1995. The current measurement for flash 9519 shows that the upward positive leader, initiated at the top of the grounded wire unreeled by the triggering rocket, propagates in a discontinuous pattern made of successive current pulses of tens to a few hundreds of amperes and separated by intervals of 20-25 μs. The downward negative leader in flash 9516, initiated from the electrically floating conductor, has a velocity greater than 1.3 x 10 5 m s -1 , a stepping interval of 18 μs, and step length of about 3-5 m; the associated peak currents inferred from the electric field steps are at least 600 A.

Initial stage in lightning initiated from tall objects and in rocket‐triggered lightning

We examine the characteristics of the initial stage (IS) in object-initiated lightning derived from current measurements on the Gaisberg tower (100 m, Austria), the Peissenberg tower (160 m, Germany), and the Fukui chimney (200 m, Japan) and their counterparts in rocket-triggered lightning in Florida. All lightning events analyzed here effectively transported negative charge to ground. For rocket-triggered lightning the geometric mean (GM) values of the three overall characteristics of the initial stage, duration, charge transfer, and average current, are similar to their counterparts for the Gaisberg tower flashes and the Peissenberg tower flashes, while the Fukui chimney flashes are characterized by a shorter GM IS duration and a larger average current. The GM IS charge transfer for the Fukui chimney flashes is similar to that in the other three data sets. The GM values of the action integral differ considerably among the four data sets, with the Fukui action integral being the largest. The observed differences in the IS duration between the Fukui data set and all other data considered here are probably related to the differences in the lower current limits, while the differences in the action integral cannot be explained by the instrumental effects only. There appear to be two types of initial stage in upward lightning. The first type exhibits pulsations (ringing) during the initial portion of the IS, and the second type does not. The occurrence of these types of IS appears to depend on geographical location. The characteristics of pulses superimposed on the initial continuous current (ICC pulses) in object-initiated (Gaisberg, Peissenberg, and Fukui) lightning are similar within a factor of 2 but differ more significantly from their counterparts in rocket-triggered lightning. Specifically, the ICC pulses in object-initiated lightning exhibit larger peaks, shorter risetimes, and shorter half-peak widths than do the ICC pulses in rocket-triggered lightning.

Review of lightning properties from electric field and TV observations

From analysis of simultaneous electric field and TV records of 76 negative cloud-to-ground lightning flashes in Florida, various lightning properties have been determined and several new facets of ...

Voltages induced on an overhead wire by lightning strikes to a nearby tall grounded object

The aim of this study was to identify conditions under which the presence of tall strike object can serve to increase or decrease lightning-induced voltages on a nearby overhead wire. We examined the ratios of magnitudes of lightning-induced voltages on the overhead wire for the cases of strikes to a tall object and to flat ground as a function of distance from the lightning channel d, current reflection coefficients at the top of the strike object rhotop and at the bottom of the strike object rhobot, the current reflection coefficient at the channel base (in the case of strikes to flat ground) rhogr, and the return stroke speed v. Lightning-induced voltages were computed using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The transmission line (TL) model was used to find the distribution of current along the lightning channel and the strike object. The ratio of magnitudes of lightning-induced voltages for tall-object and flat-ground cases increases with increasing d (ranging from 40--200 m), decreasing rhobot(<1), decreasing rho top (<0, except for the case of rhobot=0), and decreasing v (<c, speed of light). Also, the ratio increases with decreasing the lightning current rise time. Under realistic (expected) conditions such as rhobot=1,rhotop=-0.5, and v=c/3, the ratio is larger than unity (the tall strike object serves to enhance lightning-induced voltages), but it becomes smaller than unity (the tall object serves to decrease lightning-induced voltages) under some special conditions, such as rhobot=1,rhotop =0, and v=c