Lightning prevention system.

[tkeithlu]

Quote:
Originally Posted by tkeithlu View Post
[Lighting] does concentrate on the highest, sharpest point available.
Nope.

Garyfdl, that's straight freshman physics, so you'll have to supply more contrary evidence than examples of well heads being hit. That ten inch protrusion may indeed be the point of concentration over a small area. It's the reason that advice on self protection has you crouch with a rounded back rather than simply sitting on the ground or lying flat.

[GordMay]

Lightning Related Damage To Oilfield Equipment

Damage to oilfield electronics as a result of lightning strikes usually occurs one of two ways:

Direct hits are the worst case and fairly rare (thankfully). Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done to protect surface electronics and downhole gauges when this happens. The energy released from a lightning strike is so powerful that not much could survive a direct hit.

Nearby hits however account for the majority of damage from lightning. Power can move through pipes, powerlines, and the earth for several miles. The damage from a nearby hit is much less severe but the change in ground voltage is enough to short circuit radios, surface electronics, and downhole instrumentation. Most damage is occurred by nearby hits and isn’t always obvious that it happened.

Nearby hits damage equipment through either Galvanically Coupled Surge Voltage, Induced Surge Voltages, or Earth Potential Differences.

An example of Galvanically Coupled Surge Voltage would be if lightning hit a power pole and traveled into your structure.

An example of Induced Surge Voltage is if lightning hit a tree or building and creates a large electromagnetic wave that causes damage to the nearby equipment.

Earth Potential Differences occur when lightning hits a pole or tree and creates a high voltage potential during the duration of the strike and is attracted to structures in the ground such as pipelines and wellheads. This problem is magnified if the electronic equipment has a different earth ground than what it is connected to. Equalization then occurs and equipment can be damaged. An example would be copper cables from wellhead to the SCADA collection point.

More ➥ https://www.geopsi.com/blog/the-impo...ng-protection/

See also:

Well pump failure? It could be a lightning strike
➥ http://www.bedfordwelldrilling.com/2...htning-strike/

Stopping Oilfield Lightning Damage
➥ https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...SWPSC-2010.pdf

[tkeithlu]

QUOTE:"Timber mast and dyneema?"

Sparau, that's the conduction error. Before striking, lightning is a static electric charge, such as your shuffling leather shoes over a wool carpet. The fact of striking a particular point is independent of any conductive qualities. Once it starts discharging, however, it will take the easiest and often multiple routes from ground to cloud, so the damp salty dyneema and mast may become routes, with the superheating of any water in the route producing explosive steam.

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by Rumrace

I don’t think that BS button is real but I want one

Come on Rumrace, course it's real.

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Always entertaining reading advice from people who spell it “lightening”.

Thanks for pointing my error out. I thought that the different spellings are one of the multitude of differences between English and American English. But not so as I just learnt: Lightening is the present participle of the verb lighten. Lightning is the electrical discharge that happens during storms.

I discover all sorts of things from the forum and it's I guess the main reason I spend time here. Often points posters make, or their views disclosed will prompt me to do a bit of looking up and read up. I guess it's also a benefit in that the forum has a very wide spectrum of views and experiences. I mean that most sincerely. It is a very positive aspect.

[garyfdl]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Quote:
Originally Posted by tkeithlu View Post
[Lighting] does concentrate on the highest, sharpest point available.
Nope.

Garyfdl, that's straight freshman physics, so you'll have to supply more contrary evidence than examples of well heads being hit. That ten inch protrusion may indeed be the point of concentration over a small area. It's the reason that advice on self protection has you crouch with a rounded back rather than simply sitting on the ground or lying flat.

LOL Seems to me you're the one espousing freshman physics.

Did you not say, lightning "concentrate[s] on the highest, sharpest point available? Well... the top of a residential water well is not high, in fact most don't stick 10" above ground, (casing is expensive and drillers don't use any more than they have to.). Well heads are not sharp - the covers are flat, usually cast aluminum. And yet, they regularly get struck, and the taller 'sharper' objects around them apparently do not.

Now I will qualify: this is anecdotal evidence (which doesn't automatically make it invalid). My sources are:

• people (100's of them) who make a living in repairing/replacing well pumps (especially after thunder storms ).

• my son-in-law, whose well was hit last year when the pine tree (~8' away), house (15' away), and power pole (20' away) were apparently not (no discernible damage).

• and my brother-in-law. That well head is equidistant (+/- 2'~3') between the house, garage and 50' poplar trees along the edge of the woods. It is less than 5' from the ground mounted utility box that brings power to the house.

As a side story, I was there when the strike at my b-i-l's happened. We were in a heavy thunderstorm/lot's of lightning. I was installing knotty pine upstairs in the loft, when I heard what is best described as a 'scratchy/clicking' sound. The source was the unplugged cable TV coax which ran along the outside of the house and came back in through the wall. It was arcing between the inner solid conductor wire and the braided shield. As I was looking at it, thinking 'well, that's kind'a cool' there was a flash, an enormous 'BANG!' and the house shook. The lights in the house never flickered, there was no (apparent) damage to the buildings or trees, but we had no water - the well-pump was fried.

[team karst]

Originally Posted by garyfdl

…….

As a side story, I was there when the strike at my b-i-l's happened. We were in a heavy thunderstorm/lot's of lightning. I was installing knotty pine upstairs in the loft, when I heard what is best described as a 'scratchy/clicking' sound. The source was the unplugged cable TV coax which ran along the outside of the house and came back in through the wall. It was arcing between the inner solid conductor wire and the braided shield. As I was looking at it, thinking 'well, that's kind'a cool' there was a flash, an enormous 'BANG!' and the house shook. The lights in the house never flickered, there was no (apparent) damage to the buildings or trees, but we had no water - the well-pump was fried.

Thats a good story, and comes under the category of lightning predictors. These are commercially available, and can be seen at many golf courses and ballfields. They have a good basis in science, and measure local electric field strength. I bought one for my work decades ago, and visited the factory where they are made.

[garyfdl]

Originally Posted by team karst

Thats a good story, and comes under the category of lightning predictors. These are commercially available, and can be seen at many golf courses and ballfields. They have a good basis in science, and measure local electric field strength. I bought one for my work decades ago, and visited the factory where they are made.

I didn't know about lightning prediction systems and will look into them. Can you tell me the cost?

I had a running battle with the people who run the local learn-to-sail program for kids. I helped as a chaperone/instructor and told them they have to get kids off the water at the first sound of thunder. They felt they could wait until they actually see lightning. I still pulled kids off the water when thunder was heard, and was informed 'my services were no longer required' (kicked out of the program). I did get some 'come-uppance'. I informed the yacht club (of which I am a member) under whose 'umbrella' (insurance) the program operated. The club told the head instructor that he had to get the kids off the water at the first sign of bad weather or the sound of thunder. I still can't help with the program, but at least the kids are safe.

[team karst]

Thor Guard, Inc. - Lightning Prediction and Warning Systems

In Sunrise, FL. No idea on today's pricing. The model we bought had a compressor driven air horn array; quite loud to cover large areas.

[GordMay]

Lightning Detection Systems can range in cost from <$100 to several thousands of dollars.
You might get what you pay for.
The NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory uses several arrays of detectors.
➥ https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/...ing/detection/

[team karst]

This brings back memories. I sold NOAA a satellite weather receiver, and antenna system. It got hit by lightning [emoji43]

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by team karst

This brings back memories. I sold NOAA a satellite weather receiver, and antenna system. It got hit by lightning [emoji43]

Was it part of the GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM)?
➥ https://www.goes-r.gov/featureStorie...ngStrikes.html

WMO certifies two megaflash lightning records
A single lightning bolt captured by NOAA satellites was recently certified by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as the world’s longest flash on record. The horizontal distance of the bolt stretched 477 miles, from the central coast of Texas to southern Mississippi, when it flashed on April 29, 2020. This beats the previous record of 440.6 miles for a lightning strike across southern Brazil in 2018.
More ➥ https://public.wmo.int/en/media/pres...htning-records

Video ➥ https://youtu.be/Zy2px2NYu_I

[team karst]

No, tiros LEO polar transit satellites, and russian and Chinese too. This was a good while ago.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by team karst

No, tiros LEO polar transit satellites, and russian and Chinese too. This was a good while ago.

You're not kidding!
TIROS polar-orbiting meteorological satellites were launched in the early 1960s, when I was just entering my teens.

[team karst]

Noaa 11 and 12 for me. Early ‘90’s.
Using 138MHz sat band.

[garyfdl]

Originally Posted by team karst

Thor Guard, Inc. - Lightning Prediction and Warning Systems

In Sunrise, FL. No idea on today's pricing. The model we bought had a compressor driven air horn array; quite loud to cover large areas.

That's the one I saw on-line but no pricing on the site.

And thanks Gord! Appreciate the input!