Engineering Lightning Return Stroke Models Incorporating Current Reflection From Ground and Finitely Conducting Ground Effects

Abstract

A return stroke model that incorporates a reflected wave from ground without introducing any current discontinuities at the return stroke front is introduced. The incident current is treated using current generation concepts and the reflected current using current dissipation concepts. It is shown that the effect of the reflected current wave is to cause flattening of close electric field waveforms within about 10 μs. Additionally, it is shown how a return stroke model could be utilized to study the effect of ground conductivity on the return stroke current. The results show that the peak time derivative of current in lightning strokes terminating on poorly conducting ground is significantly lower than in the case of highly conducting ground. The model is also used to predict the spatial variation of return stroke velocity. The results show that the return stroke velocity increases initially, reaches a peak, and then decays with increasing height.