The Geometry and Charge of the Streamer Bursts Generated by Lightning Rods under the Influence of High Electric Fields
The streamer bursts generated during the initiation and propagation of leaders play an important role in the creation and maintenance of hot discharge channels in air. The most important parameters related to streamer bursts in this respect are the length of the streamer bursts, their lateral extent...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/12/2028 |
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| author | Vernon Cooray Hasupama Jayasinghe Marcos Rubinstein Farhad Rachidi |
| author_facet | Vernon Cooray Hasupama Jayasinghe Marcos Rubinstein Farhad Rachidi |
| author_sort | Vernon Cooray |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The streamer bursts generated during the initiation and propagation of leaders play an important role in the creation and maintenance of hot discharge channels in air. The most important parameters related to streamer bursts in this respect are the length of the streamer bursts, their lateral extent and the charge associated with them. The lateral extent of the streamer bursts may play a significant role in deciding the path and the tortuosity of the discharge channels of laboratory discharges and lightning. The charges associated with the streamer bursts are needed in understanding the physical processes associated with the streamer-to-leader transition. In this paper, the length, the lateral extension and the charge of the streamer regions generated by grounded conductors when exposed to external electric fields are estimated. This estimation is based on two assumptions: (i) once a streamer is incepted, the streamer head follows the direction of maximum background electric field at the location of the streamer head and (ii) the streamer continues to extend along this direction until the potential drop along the streamer channel matches the potential drop caused by the background electric field between the initial and end points of the streamer channel. The same technique could be used to estimate the streamer bursts generated in laboratory discharges and lightning stepped leaders. It is shown that in estimating the geometry of the streamer region, it is necessary to include the spread of streamers caused by branching. Moreover, the charge associated with the streamer region increases as the frequency of branching increases. The results obtained confirm that the charge in the streamer region can significantly change the potential ahead of the streamer region from the background potential and this has to be taken into account in any study that simulates the initiation and propagation of lightning leaders. Since the streamer bursts of leaders control the direction and speed of the leaders, the technique we have used here could be implemented in lightning leader progression models. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:21:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5fd184a6de54db8b10fb19290ffcf49 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:21:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5fd184a6de54db8b10fb19290ffcf492023-11-24T13:11:37ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332022-12-011312202810.3390/atmos13122028The Geometry and Charge of the Streamer Bursts Generated by Lightning Rods under the Influence of High Electric FieldsVernon Cooray0Hasupama Jayasinghe1Marcos Rubinstein2Farhad Rachidi3Department of Electrical Engineering, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, SwedenSchool of Management and Engineering Vaud, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, 1401 Yverdon-les-Bains, SwitzerlandElectromagnetic Compatibility Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, SwitzerlandThe streamer bursts generated during the initiation and propagation of leaders play an important role in the creation and maintenance of hot discharge channels in air. The most important parameters related to streamer bursts in this respect are the length of the streamer bursts, their lateral extent and the charge associated with them. The lateral extent of the streamer bursts may play a significant role in deciding the path and the tortuosity of the discharge channels of laboratory discharges and lightning. The charges associated with the streamer bursts are needed in understanding the physical processes associated with the streamer-to-leader transition. In this paper, the length, the lateral extension and the charge of the streamer regions generated by grounded conductors when exposed to external electric fields are estimated. This estimation is based on two assumptions: (i) once a streamer is incepted, the streamer head follows the direction of maximum background electric field at the location of the streamer head and (ii) the streamer continues to extend along this direction until the potential drop along the streamer channel matches the potential drop caused by the background electric field between the initial and end points of the streamer channel. The same technique could be used to estimate the streamer bursts generated in laboratory discharges and lightning stepped leaders. It is shown that in estimating the geometry of the streamer region, it is necessary to include the spread of streamers caused by branching. Moreover, the charge associated with the streamer region increases as the frequency of branching increases. The results obtained confirm that the charge in the streamer region can significantly change the potential ahead of the streamer region from the background potential and this has to be taken into account in any study that simulates the initiation and propagation of lightning leaders. Since the streamer bursts of leaders control the direction and speed of the leaders, the technique we have used here could be implemented in lightning leader progression models.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/12/2028lightninglightning protectionlightning attachmentconnecting leadersstreamer region |
| spellingShingle | Vernon Cooray Hasupama Jayasinghe Marcos Rubinstein Farhad Rachidi The Geometry and Charge of the Streamer Bursts Generated by Lightning Rods under the Influence of High Electric Fields Atmosphere lightning lightning protection lightning attachment connecting leaders streamer region |
| title | The Geometry and Charge of the Streamer Bursts Generated by Lightning Rods under the Influence of High Electric Fields |
| title_full | The Geometry and Charge of the Streamer Bursts Generated by Lightning Rods under the Influence of High Electric Fields |
| title_fullStr | The Geometry and Charge of the Streamer Bursts Generated by Lightning Rods under the Influence of High Electric Fields |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Geometry and Charge of the Streamer Bursts Generated by Lightning Rods under the Influence of High Electric Fields |
| title_short | The Geometry and Charge of the Streamer Bursts Generated by Lightning Rods under the Influence of High Electric Fields |
| title_sort | geometry and charge of the streamer bursts generated by lightning rods under the influence of high electric fields |
| topic | lightning lightning protection lightning attachment connecting leaders streamer region |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/12/2028 |
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