Journal of Ocean Engineering and Science

Volume 1, Issue 1

(6)Nearshore regional behavior of lightning interaction with wind turbines

Gilbert A. Malinga, John M. Niedzwecki^∗
Zachary Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
Received 29 January 2015; received in revised form 27 April 2015; accepted 13 May 2015
Available online 29 January 2016

Abstract
The severity of lightning strikes on offshore wind turbines built along coastal and nearshore regions can pose safety concerns that are often overlooked. In this research study the behavior of electrical discharges for wind turbines that might be located in the nearshore regions along the East Coast of China and Sea of Japan were characterized using a physics-based model that accounted for a total of eleven different geometrical and lightning parameters. Utilizing the electrical potential field predicted using this model it was then possible to estimate the frequency of lightning strikes and the distribution of electrical loads utilizing established semi-empirical relationships and available data. The total number of annual lightning strikes on an offshore wind turbine was found to vary with hub elevation, extent of cloud cover, season and geographical location. The annual lightning strike rate on a wind turbine along the nearshore region on the Sea of Japan during the winter season was shown to be moderately larger compared to the lightning strike frequency on a turbine structure on the East Coast of China. Short duration electrical discharges, represented using marginal probability functions, were found to vary with season and geographical location, exhibiting trends consistent with the distribution of the electrical peak current. It was demonstrated that electrical discharges of moderately long duration typically occur in the winter months on the East Coast of China and the summer season along the Sea of Japan. In contrast, severe electrical discharges are typical of summer thunderstorms on the East Coast of China and winter frontal storm systems along the West Coast of Japan. The electrical charge and specific energy dissipated during lightning discharges on an offshore wind turbine was found to vary stochastically, with severe electrical discharges corresponding to large electrical currents of long duration.
© 2016 Shanghai Jiaotong University. Published by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords: Nearshore wind turbines; Physics based model; Lightning strikes; Electrical current; Strike frequency; Electrical charge.