A Monte Carlo method to estimate the expected number of failures to buried optical fibre cables due to lightning strokes

Abstract

This paper presents an algorithm, based on a Monte Carlo method, to assess the yearly expected number of failures to buried optical fibre cables due to direct lightning strokes. The random parameters that have been considered in the calculation model are the lightning peak current, the distance between the cable and the point of impact of the stroke to soil and the cable failure current (i.e. the minimum value of the lightning peak current able to produce a failure on the optical fibre cable). The occurrence of the cable failures is then associated to a time Poisson stochastic process.