CORDIS provides links to public deliverables and publications of HORIZON projects.
Links to deliverables and publications from FP7 projects, as well as links to some specific result types such as dataset and software, are dynamically retrieved from OpenAIRE .
Exploitable results
The main objective of this project was the production of a Guide to Best Practice in Protection of Wind Turbines against Lightning. By making this widely available to the European wind energy industry it is intended that lightning protection practice will improve and the effects of lightning strikes reduced. It is hoped that the information will be of a practical nature and that the guidance to the designers and operators of wind turbines will help them minimize the effects of lightning strikes in a cost effective way.
The project consisted of a number of phases.
- Collation of recorded strike data by questionnaire and document survey: This project phase identified particular areas where research effort could be concentrated during the project.
- Estimation of the risk posed to a wind turbine by lightning: The risk of an individual wind turbine being damaged by lightning varies according to a number of factors. The local lightning strike density, the average strength of the local lightning strikes and the design of the wind turbine lightning protection system are examples of these. This project phase assessed the risk posed to a wind turbine by lightning.
- High voltage and high current testing of wind turbine blades: The vulnerability of different blade designs and possible means of protection were investigated. This project phase was aimed at providing guidance relating to blade lightning protection techniques.
- High current testing of bearings: If a wind turbine blade is struck by lightning, the resulting lightning current will inevitably flow through the main bearing and any pitch bearing that may be fitted. It was not clear whether these bearings could be damaged by lightning current and this project phase was used to test wind turbine bearings with high current to investigate this issue.
- Determination and examination of probable current path: The guidelines of existing good lightning protection practice have been reviewed for their relevance to wind turbines and wind farms. Case studies have been made of existing wind turbine nacelle and tower designs to demonstrate the likely distribution of severe strike current and the consequent effects in generating induced voltages in wiring.
- Personnel protection: With the possibility always existing of windfarm personnel being on a windfarm during a lightning storm an analysis of the possible hazards was carried out. The scale of the hazard and means of maintaining the safety of operators on wind farm sites were specific areas of investigation.
- Windfarm earthing: The response of wind farm earthing systems to lightning current was investigated using computer simulation. This work was intended to provide a better understanding of the performance of a large earthing system to an injection of current with high frequency components.
- Production of a designers best practice guide: The guide, incorporating results from all the other project phases, aims to assist designers to assess the risk from lightning arising from their design, manufacture and siting of their turbines and guide them in the provision of appropriate protection measures.
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