Lightning characterization using short baseline lightning sensor system

Abstract

Lack of accurate lightning strike details have continue to be resulting causes of disaster across the continent especially at regions with high isokeraunic level like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia to mention few among many despite their installed lightning protection. This natural phenomenon is associated with a very strong current discharge causing several damages to lives and properties, and still remain the main source of forest fire which leads to enormous economic losses from damaging of structures and facilities. However, researchers have been in search of how best to withstand this recurring phenomena because it is believed that the knowledge of its constituents have great role to play in the protection of lives and properties against the menace which can only be achievable via comprehensive design of sophisticated protection gadget. These basic parameters include the current amplitude, polarity of the charge transfer, number of stokes per flash, lightning characterized patterns with duration of some occurrences which plays important roles in scientific research, protection analysis as well as serves as warning notification. Several attempts had been made in studying these fundamentals of the lightning parameter which are mainly achieved through manual analysis by taking measurements directly from the oscilloscope with some analysed in MATLAB but lacking full automation and require lot of human effort thus, incorporates some forms of errors as well as other challenges due to the bulkiness of the data. The study therefore, develops and presents how the basic lightning parameter could be achieved using Labview computer-based program mainly to address all the challenges as well as provide long term measurement due to non-availability of commercialized software for the findings. However, this research analysis was based on threshold detection techniques using labview software for the development of automated analysing labview-based programs. The developed programs were evaluated with an automated analysis of some 30 captured lightning signal under Malaysia atmospheric condition and proven to be 20% more accurate when compared with its manually analysed results based on the present analytical techniques. For the characterized parameters, 18 lightning flashes (60%) fitted BIL model while 7 lightning flashes (23%) fitted BL model and 5 lightning flashes (17%) falls to have irregular model patterns. Also, further analysis on the detected BIL shows about 60% of the PBP trains occurs within time duration of 1-5 ms. And, its intermediate processes ranges mostly between 30-40 ms for 11 (60%) lightning flashes out of the 18 flashes characterized as BIL model type. However, newer version of the software was recommended as it is expected to have more advanced signal processing features which may likely include the missing signal pattern recognition block which will definitely provide better accuracy and efficiency.