Lightning Protection Methods for Wind Turbine Blades: An Alternative Approach

Mucsi, Viktor; Ayub, Ahmad Syahrir; Muhammad-Sukki, Firdaus; Zulkipli, Muhammad; Muhtazaruddin, Mohd Nabil; Mohd Saudi, Ahmad Shakir; Ardila-Rey, Jorge Alfredo

Abstract

Lightning strikes happens in a fraction of time, where they can transfer huge amounts of charge and high currents in a single strike. The chances for a structure to be struck by lightning increases as the height increases; thus, tall structures are more prone to lightning. Despite the existing lightning protection systems available for wind turbine blades, there are still many cases reported due to the fact of damage caused by lightning strike. Owing to that, the present work introduces a new approach for a lightning protection system for wind turbine blades where preliminary investigations were done using Analysis Systems (ANSYS) Workbench. Two models were developed: one with a conventional type down conductor system and the other with a hybrid conductor system. The recorded findings have been compared and discussed, where it was found that the hybrid conductor system may provide alternative protection from lightning for wind turbine blades.

Citation

Mucsi, V., Ayub, A. S., Muhammad-Sukki, F., Zulkipli, M., Muhtazaruddin, M. N., Mohd Saudi, A. S., & Ardila-Rey, J. A. (2020). Lightning Protection Methods for Wind Turbine Blades: An Alternative Approach. Applied Sciences, 10(6), Article 2130. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10062130

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 10, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Mar 20, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020
• Deposit Date: Nov 24, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 25, 2020
• Journal: Applied Sciences
• Electronic ISSN: 2076-3417
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 6
• Article Number: 2130
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app10062130
• Keywords: lightning; lightning protection system; wind turbine blades; ANSYS workbench
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2701654
• Publisher URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/6/2130/htm