Affiliations: [a] Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster, Ministry of Education (KLME), Joint International Research Laboratory of Climate and Environment Change (ILCEC), Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters (CIC-FEMD), Key Laboratory for Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation of China Meteorological Administration, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Yunfeng Zhang, Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster, Ministry of Education (KLME), Joint International Research Laboratory of Climate and Environment Change (ILCEC), Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters (CIC-FEMD), Key Laboratory for Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation of China Meteorological Administration, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China. Tel.: +86 25 58699867; E-mail: zhangyunfeng@nuist.edu.cn
Abstract: The three-dimensional model of a lightning rod under a thunderstorm simulated by COMSOL Multiphysics software is established in this paper to study the influencing factors on electric field distortion including the position, height and shape of the lightning rod. In the model, the thunderstorm cloud is equivalent to a plate capacitor; and the building, the lightning rod and the ground are regarded as perfect conductors; whereas their surface potential is zero. The electric field distortion coefficient K is used to measure the influencing parameters on the lightning attachment to the lightning rod. The analysis of model leads to the following conclusions: influenced by the electric field distortion, a lightning rod at a higher height or at the edge of the building is more likely stuck by the lightning. Considering the effects of the upward connecting leaders in the attachment process, we can further infer that the upward leaders usually start from the tip with greater distortion electric field in the attachment process. However, when the tip of the rod is too sharp, it is often accompanied by the fast attenuation of the electric field, which is not beneficial for the continuous development of the upward connecting leaders. Therefore, in the process of lightning protection design, it is necessary to consider both the position and the height, as well as the shape of the lightning rod in a comprehensive manner.
Keywords: Lightning rod, electric field, distortion coefficient, attachment process
