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Abstract
The evolution of climate and of electrical devices are raising users’ awareness about the protection of structures and plants against common overvoltage phenomena and those ones of atmospheric origin. Therefore, a continuous evolution of thunderstorm phenomena, increasingly concentrated and intense, is occurring. Conversely, electric devices are increasingly being equipped with electronics indispensable for their right functioning and are very sensitive to electromagnetic phenomena of an induced and conducted nature. In Italy, the law concerning work health and safety compels employers to assess the risk raised by lightning and to ensure that buildings, systems, structures, and equipment are protected from the effects of lightning in agreement with national and international technical standards. In the agricultural livestock sector, the new guidelines of agricultural policy in Italy requires farms to re-examine their structures, in particular the compatibility with animal protection requirements. In the event of a fault, the electric circuit must be interrupted in times not higher than expected and, in particular in the agricultural and zootechnical structures, it is necessary to maintain the contact voltages to negligible values by carrying out additional equipotential connections among the masses and with foreign masses that can be touched. Furthermore, particular attention is required in limiting the step voltage to which animals are particularly sensitive to, by connecting the electro-welded metal grids, which are commonly located under the concrete floor of animal shelters, to the earth collector. Taking in mind the aforesaid, the aim of this work was to analyze the technical standard concerning the protection from lightning with reference to the agricultural livestock sector and the study of the salient components to set up a suitable lightning protection system for a medium-sized stable.
Highlights
Every year Italy is meanly stroked by about 600,000 lightning strokes, with an average ground lightning density of about 2 strokes per km2 each year, even if the actual density of lightning depends largely on the geographical conformation [1,2,3]
To have complete protection from lightning, a set of devices is needed: Lightning protection system (LPS), which includes the lightning protection equipment itself, the protection measures for electrical and electronic equipment from the electromagnetic pulses connected with lightning (Lightning ElectroMagnetic Pulse, LEMP), protection against overvoltage arising from electromagnetic pulses (Surge Protection Measures, SPM) and, in general, all kinds of protections useful to safeguard fire prevention and technological structures and systems [12,13,14]
The Rx risk components for loss of human lives arises from the following equation: Rx = Nx ·Px ·Lx where: Nx is the number of lightning strokes per year on the surface to be evaluated; Px is the probability of damage; Lx is the loss, or the quantitative assessment of damages
Summary
Every year Italy is meanly stroked by about 600,000 lightning strokes (excluding seas), with an average ground lightning density of about 2 strokes per km each year, even if the actual density of lightning depends largely on the geographical conformation [1,2,3]. Different ways of upward warm air masses with a sufficiently high humidity gives rise to dense masses of clouds (cumulus) having a height ranging from 5 to 12 km and a diameter ranging from 5 to 10 km [4,5]. The drops of water and the ice particles contained in these clouds become electrically charged due to processes of separation of electrostatic charges, such as friction and nebulization [6,7,8]. In the upper part of the clouds, particles with a positive charge accumulate while, in the lower part, those with a negative charge accumulate. The obtained charge density can produce electric fields having strengths of several hundred kV/m, triggering lightning discharge mechanisms [9,10,11]. To have complete protection from lightning, a set of devices is needed: Lightning protection system (LPS), which includes the lightning protection equipment itself, the protection measures for electrical and electronic equipment from the electromagnetic pulses connected with lightning (Lightning ElectroMagnetic Pulse, LEMP), protection against overvoltage arising from electromagnetic pulses (Surge Protection Measures, SPM) and, in general, all kinds of protections useful to safeguard fire prevention and technological structures and systems [12,13,14]
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