Lightning consists of an electric discharge in a long air-gap involving an electrostatic phenomenon of breakdown of the air between cloud and earth.
This cloud to earth lightning discharges always cause intense currents to flow towards the earth, sometimes through natural (such as trees) or man-made (building structures, trees, wind turbines, etc.) structures and cause lightning damage. Lightning surges come, in fact, either from a direct impact or from an electrostatic (or electromagnetic) influence.
Direct strikes are less common than other ways in which lightning strikes people, but they are likely to be the most deadly. More than a third of lightning strike deaths occur in open areas. Other common places are industrial locations, construction and material handling facility such as loading and unloading areas.
Because of its huge energy, this type of discharge easily leads to ignition, primarily when the lightning duration is relatively long. Many other thermal effects can also appear which are linked to the quantities of charges brought into play during lightning strikes. They result in more or less significant melting points at the impact level when it comes to materials of high resistivity. On poor conductive materials, a great deal of energy is released in the form of heat. The moisture they contain then cause a sudden localized overpressure that can go until they burst.
Determining the potential for lightning damage:
Four factors are important in assessing the threat of lightning damage to a plant or facility:
· Frequency and severity of lightning storms
· Vulnerability of existing and proposed instrumentation
· Exposure of systems wiring to possible lightning strikes
· Potential harmful impact of instrument failure on the process
Most of this lightning damage can be avoided with lightning protection systems and surge protectors.
Lightning Eliminators is a one stop shop for lightning safety products. We have 3 individual product lines that can be integrated together for a comprehensive lightning protection system.
· Lightning Protection System
· Grounding System
· Surge Protection System
Our dedicated team of industrial experts are ready to evaluate, recommend and install highly effective lightning protection equipments to protect you and your facility from lightning damage. Contact us today at for more information.
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