Efficient Lightning Protection: Optimization of Economic, Environmental and Safety Aspects

Abstract

It has been shown that the scale of damage in buildings with steel reinforcement, due to direct lightning strikes, is insignificantly small compared to lightning effects on buildings with no such steel reinforcement. Observed small-scale damages are also confined to points of strike; hence the only risk for occupants and properties is injury or damage caused by falling materials. A large number of such cases have been observed in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. All damaged structures, observed in this study, have a steel reinforcement structure, which may not be in compliance with specifications in IEC 62305-3, for it to act as the sole down conducting system. Such observation prompts us to re-examine specifications set forth in standards, which are difficult to be achieved in practice and also not applicable to buildings that have already been constructed. Existing recommendations prevent engineers from using steel reinforcement as the down conductor in many cases; a fact that leads to the addition of large amount of copper unnecessarily into the environment, non-installation of protection systems or adoption of non-conventional systems.

Lightning related human risks.

“…Such drawbacks and limitation in data collection and manipulation makes the estimation of N g through T g highly erroneous, sometimes by even greater than 100%. Such inaccuracy in N g may explain the observation of high lightning injury records in areas of relatively less lightning density (estimated via isokeraunic level) in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka [21].…”

“…During the first decade of this century, noteworthy efforts have been taken by lightning safety educators to promote the safety guidelines in the developing world [21,22]. However, the small number of educators involved and the massive number of people in many developing countries with little access to educational programs or media has made lightning injury prevention knowledge dissemination an uphill task and may be a key reason for the remaining high number of lightning deaths and injuries in these countries despite the safety promotions that have been launched there [27,28].…”

“…This may be due to higher lightning density in tropical and subtropical countries (thunder days per year have a direct correlation to lightning density), population density, urban-rural ratio, labor-intensive agriculture and fishing, more open air structures and methods of transportation, construction practices, less availability of structures with 'Faraday Cage' effects, literacy rate, poverty, and probably other factors. The GomesKadir equation [21] can be used to make a rough estimation of annual lightning deaths and injuries in a given region. It also provides qualitative information on how the death rates will change due to various socioeconomic factors, apart from the geographic location.…”

Lightning Related Human Risks and Risk Management

“…We emphasize that even though a "safe structure" may be damaged in the event of a lightning strike if it is not given a proper lightning protection scheme, it may still protect occupants. Although Gomes et al [57] proposed low cost lightning protection systems for small structures (both stationery and movable) and Gomes and Kadir [61] proposed the ways of reducing the cost of lightning protection scheme for structures with steel reinforcement, these have yet to be tested for lightning safety.…”

Assessment to Effectiveness of the New Early Streamer Emission Lightning Protection System

“…[2] Besides killing human or animals by lightning striking, properties like buildings, equipments, buildings systems, electronics and vehicles could be also seriously damaged in extensive way. [3][4][5][6][7][8] During summer seasons in Taiwan, lots of local afternoon thunderstorms and a number of typhoons emerging from the Pacific Ocean torture this island each year. News that people get killed and properties suffer great losses by lightning strokes sounds familiar.…”