Lightning Risk Assessment tool, implementation of the IEC 62305-2 standard on lightning protection

Abstract

A comprehensive implementation of the risk management methodology detailed in the IEC 62305-2:2010 (Protection against lightning, Part 2: Risk management), called the Lightning Risk Assessment (LIRA) tool, is presented. LIRA was developed to facilitate the risk assessment calculations presented in IEC 62305-2 by means of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that allows specifying all input parameters, in accordance with the definitions and values presented in the standard. The user has access to all the parameter values and calculation methods as detailed in the standard. This tool provides the capability to evaluate unlimited individual services in an unlimited number of zones in addition to a report generation capability that lists all input parameters and calculation results in several report formats. Furthermore, LIRA provides a direct interface to a Monte Carlo statistical tool, previously developed at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), as an additional method of evaluating the annual number of dangerous events. The Hospital case study detailed in Annex E.4 of the standard is presented and final results from LIRA are compared to those in the standard. A case study of a typical Florida household is also presented using the Monte Carlo statistical tool as the input source of the annual number of dangerous events.