Impact of Nearby Lightning Strikes on Wireless Power Transfer Ground Assembly

Abstract

Direct hits from Lightning Strikes (LS) are commonly recognized as dangerous events for open air installations, but also the much more frequent case of LS hitting nearby can cause overvoltage potentially damaging connected circuits, if not correctly protected. In this paper, adopting a hybrid formulation, we simulate the voltage induced at the terminals of a Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) ground coil by a LS hitting the ground nearby the system. The induced overvoltage has a non-negligible amplitude, depending on the distance of the hit, the tortuosity of the lightning channel, and the inclination of the coil with respect to the ground plane.