Measurement of lightning-induced currents in

an experimental coaxial buried cable

E. Petrache', M. Paolone2,F. Rachidi', C.A. Nucci2, V. Rakov3, M. Uman3,
D. Jordan3, K. Rambo3, J. Schoene3, A. Cordier4, T. Verhaege4
1 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, EMC Group, Lausanne, Switzerland
2 University of Bologna, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Bologna, Italy
3 University of Florida, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Gainesville, FL, USA
4 Alcatel Submarine Networks Division, Villarceaux, France

Abstract-We present in this paper experimental results a discussion of the correlation between the horizontal
obtained at the International Center for Lightning Research & magnetic field and the induced current, as well as of the effect
Testing (ICLRT), Camp Blanding, Florida, where currents of lightning stroke position and distance from the buried cable
induced by triggered and natural lightning events were measured on the induced disturbances.
at one end of a shielded buried cable, both in the cable shield and
in the inner conductor. The horizontal magnetic field was also
measured. For the natural lightning events, the recorded 11. CABLECHARACTERISTICS
waveforms are correlated with the data obtained by the U.S. The underground cable is a 15-kV XLPE coaxial power
National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN). cable, approximately 140-m long, covered with an insulating
The paper provides also a discussion of the correlation
jacket (see Fig. 1).
between the horizontal magnetic field and the induced current, as
well as of the effect of lightning stroke position and distance from The geometrical characteristics of the cable are given in
the buried cable on the induced disturbances. Fig. 2. The cable is contained within a PVC pipe of 1 1 cm
diameter and 0.7 cm thickness and buried at a depth of 0.9 m.
Zndex Terms-Lightning, induced currents, buried cables,
coaxial cables.

I. INTRODUCTION

T HE problem of lightning-induced disturbances on buried

cables has recently received considerable attention (e.g.
[ 1,2]). Even though extensive experimental investigations
have been performed on the effect of indirect lightning on
overhead lines (e.g. [3,4]), to the best of our knowledge, for
buried cables such an experimental characterization is not
available in the scientific literature. The paper presents Fig. 1. Cable cross-section.
experimental results obtained at the International Center for
Lightning Research & Testing (ICLRT), Camp Blanding, Cable Shield \4 - 1 ,
,
,' Polyethylene
Tinned Comer Jacket
Florida. During Summer 2002, current induced by triggered
1 7 mm diameter
and natural lightning was measured at one end of a
distribution network coaxial buried cable, both in the cable EPR lnsulatio

shield and in the inner conductor. Simultaneously, the

horizontal magnetic field and the lightning return stroke
current (for triggered events) were also measured. For the
Semi-Conductor
natural events, the recorded induced current waveforms are Insulation
Aluminium Conductor
correlated with the data obtained by the U.S. National
Lightning Detection Network (NLDN).
The paper is aimed at providing a data set of simultaneous Fig. 2. Geometrical parameters of the cable
measurements of triggerednatural lightning events and the
relevant induced currents in a buried coaxial cable, which can The transfer impedance of the cable has been measured at
be of particular importance for model validation. Finally, the the EMC laboratory of the Swiss Federal Institute of
obtained data provide some indication of the adequacy of Technology in Lausanne using a triaxial-adapted
some typically accepted assumptions. The paper also provides measurement set up [ 5 ] . The results are presented in Fig. 3.

0-7803-7989-6/03/$17.00 02003 IEEE 262

 10 The magnitude of the transfer impedance as a function of
frequency exhibits a typical behavior, namely a decrease as
the frequency increases from about 3 to 30 kHz due to the
1 skin effect, and an increase in the higher frequency range due
-E to the field penetration into the cable shield. It can be seen
.c
0 that the magnitude of the transfer impedance reaches a value
0 01
3 of about 1 R/m at 10 MHz.
m
2
111. EXPERIMENTAL
SET-UP
0 01

As mentioned in the Introduction, this paper concerns the

current measurements on a buried cable induced by (i)
0.W1 triggered and (ii) natural lightnings. The topology of the
1 OOEIOJ 100E+04 1.00E+05 1.00Et06 1 WE47
Frequency[Hz]
experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 4. Concerning the
triggered lightning events, the rockets were launched from
two different launchers: (1) a 20-m high tower launcher
located 60 m away in the prolongation from the line left-end,
and (2) a ground launcher located on the side of the line, as
indicated in Fig. 4.
The terminations of the cable are placed inside metallic
boxes located in Instrument Stations (IS) 1 and 2 (see Figs.
43). The inner conductor was terminated with 50 R resistors
or was short-circuited to the shield. The shield of the cable
was connected directly to a vertical ground electrode at each
of its extremities. The ground electrodes were cylindrical
vertical rods of 12 m (IS1) and 24 m (IS2) length,
respectively. The measured value of the DC grounding
-
100Et06 lWE+07 resistance was 60 S2 for the ground electrode of IS1 and 37 R
Frequency [Hzl for the ground electrode of IS2. The conductivity of the soil
(b) was experimentally determined to be in the range 1.6.10” S/m
Fig. 3. Transfer impedance of the shielded cable. (a) magnitude;(b) phase.
to 1.8.10‘3S/m.

Ground launcher
Stroke locall

TOP VIEW

IS 2

&Ground rod IS 1
- R,, = 60R
-1.
- Ground rod IS 2
RE = 37R

Fig. 4. Buried cable experimental set-up and positions of the triggered lightning strokes.

263
 During summer 2002, different events related to both Iv. MEASUREMENT RENJLTS
triggered and natural lightning were recorded. Simultaneous
measurements of lightning return stroke current (in the case of A. Induced currents from lightning strokes at close range
triggered lightning), horizontal magnetic field (perpendiculars (triggered lightning)
to the line), and currents induced in the shield and in the inner We present in this section two sets of experimental data
conductor of the cable at the IS2 termination were obtained. obtained for stroke locations 1 and 2, as shown in Fig. 4.
The lightning stroke current was measured by means of
two T&M Research Products Inc. current shunts (R-5600-8) Stroke location 1 (recorded on August lSth,2002)
located at the rocket launcher. The magnetic field was For this event, the inner conductor was terminated at each
measured using a loop antenna sensor (TSN 245-H32, ends with a 50 Q resistor located in the metallic boxes shown
Thomson CSF) located at different positions shown in Fig. 4 in Fig. 4, a value close to that of the surge impedance of the
and having a bandwidth of 1 kHz to 130 MHz. The induced cable (about 58 Q). The magnetic field sensor was placed 45
currents were measured using the following sensors: for the meters from IS1 along the path of the buried cable (See Fig.
inner conductor an Eaton 112 current transformer with a 4).
bandwidth of 10 kHz to 200 MHz, for the shield conductor, a Fig. 6 presents simultaneous measurements of the lightning
Pearson 110 current transformer with a bandwidth of 1 Hz to retum stroke current, magnetic field, induced current in the
20 MHz . The measured signals from all the sensors were cable shield at IS2, and induced current in the inner conductor
relayed via optical fiber cables to a receiver and an 8-bit at IS2.
digitizing oscilloscope operating at 100 Msampleshec. The
digitizer features a segmented memory (1 Mbyte per 4 Stroke location 2 (recorded on July 25*, 2002)
channels), which is used to record waveshapes for up to 10 Fig. 7 presents the waveforms corresponding to the second
strokes per lightning flash with a time window of 100 ps per return stroke of a four-stroke flash recorded on July 25",
flash. 2002. For this case, the lightning current was not measured
Pictures presented in Fig. 5 show the instruments stations directly. However, from the magnetic field measurement, its
IS1 and IS2, the two launchers, and their relative positions. peak value can be estimated to be about 11 kA. During this
event, the inner conductor of the buried cable was terminated
on a 50 !2 resistor in IS1, and was short circuited in IS2. The
magnetic field sensor was located at about 21 m from IS1
along the path of the cable (see Fig. 4).
We can see from Figs. 6 and 7 that the induced current in
the shield of the cable can reach large values about 100 A. In
both cases, the shield current has a unipolar waveshape with a
HPW (half-peak width) duration of about 5 ps, shorter than
the FWHM of the return stroke current (about 30 ps), as well
as that of the magnetic field (about 10 ps).
Note additionally that, for similar lightning current peak
and waveshape, the induced current peak on the cable shield
for stroke location 1 ('side stroke') is twice as large as the one
for stroke location 2.
It can also be seen that, similar to the case of overhead
lines [7], the induced current for stroke location 1 is higher
than that corresponding to stroke location 2.
Finally, it is important to note that, due to the high value of
the cable transfer impedance, the current in the inner
conductor is a non-negligible fraction of the shield current. As
a consequence, the common weak coupling assumption when
calculating the response of such a cable might not be
adequate.
B. Induced currents from lightning strokes at distant ranges
(natural lightning)
During Summer 2002, in addition to the triggered lightning
(b)
Fig. 5. Instrument Stations 1 and 2 and their position with respect to the events, we recorded simultaneous waveforms of magnetic
launchers. (a) view from the tower launcher; (b) view from IS2. field and induced currents in the buried cable due to natural
lightning events.

264
 I I I I I I

I I I I I I

-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time [micrmeconds]

(a)
60 I I I I I , I I
I I I I I I

X I I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I

r----1----

I I I I I I
-10 I
-10 5 0 5 10 15 20 25
Time [microseconds]

I 1 I I I I 1

- I I /I I I I I I
2
al
BO

5 60
V
40

20

0
I I I I I I
I I I I I I
-20 -10
-10 5 0 5 10 15 20 25
Time [microseconds]

(C)
Fig. 7. Event recorded on July 25', 2002. Stroke location 2.
I I I I I I (a) Horizontal magnetic field. (b) Induced current in the cable shield at IS2. (c)
8 - - Induced current in the inner conductor at IS2
-
2 6 - -
In this section, we present two sets of measured data for
m

p 4-- which the impact position was determined by correlating our

0
records to data obtained from the US National Lightning
Detection Network (NLDN).
The inner conductor was terminated at each end in 50 R,
and the magnetic field sensor was placed 45 m from IS1 as
indicated in Fig. 4, oriented to measure primarily the magnetic
4' I
-10 5 0 5 10 15 20 25 field component perpendicular to the cable.
Time [m~croseconds] Figure 8 presents the experimental data corresponding to
(d) the two natural events occurred on 26 August 2002 at
Fig. 6. Event recorded on August 18". 2002. Stroke location 1. 19:14:51 GMT (Strike #N1) and 19:32:12 GMT (Strike #N2),
(a) Return stroke current. (b) Horizontal magnetic field. (c) Induced current in
the cable shield at IS2. (d) Induced current in the inner conductor at IS2. respectively. The relative position of the two flashes is

265
indicated in Fig. 9.
0.4 I I I I I
I
0.35
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E

$ 0.25
0)

-
i
i 0.2

0.15

g
I
0.1

0.05

r o o
-0.05

-0.1
I I I I I I -
m
29.95
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0
Time (micrcseconds] U
a,

-
a
._
-1
29.9

3 I I I I I ,
I I I I I I
29.85
2.5

2
-2
..
29.8

r
1.5
0
3 1 L :
n 29.75 i .................. ..
g 0.5 Strike #N1
m
0

-0.5
29.7 ' I

-82.05
I

-82
I

-81.95
I
-81.9
I I I I I I
1 Longitude [Deg]
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time [micrmecmds] Fig. 9. Lightning stroke locations relative to the buried cable.

0.08 , 1 I I 1 , I I V. CONCLUSIONS
Experimental results obtained at the International Center
for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) at Camp
Blanding, Florida have been presented and discussed.
$ 0.02 1 ---- -1- ---- Currents induced by triggered and natural lightning events
E were measured at one end of a shielded buried cable, both in
g o
0
0 -0.02 the cable shield and in the inner conductor. The horizontal
__-_
magnetic field was also measured. For the natural lightning
~

-c
-0.04 events, the recorded waveforms are correlated with the data
I I I I I I
I I I I I I obtained by the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network
-0.06
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 (NLDN).
Time [micrasecmds] It is shown that the induced current in the cable shield can
(C) reach values of about 100 A for close stroke locations (within
Fig. 8. Horizontal magnetic field (a), induced current in the shield at IS2 (b), 100 m). The induced current in the cable shield is
and, induced current in the inner conductor at IS2 (c) for two natural lightning
return strokes (from two different flashes shown in Fig. 9). characterized by a pulse width shorter than that of the
Dark line: Stroke location #N1 of Fig. 9 corresponding magnetic field at close range; while at distant
Grey line: Stroke location #N2 of Fig. 9 ranges, the induced current waveshape becomes very similar
to that of the magnetic field.
A first observation can be made by comparing the triggered Further, for the considered configuration, the induced
lightning event #1 and the natural events #1 and #2 (events in current in the inner conductor is characterized by a bipolar
which the cable terminations are the same), where it can be waveshape. Additionally, due to the high value of the cable
seen that the ratio between the cable induced peak current and transfer impedance, the current in the inner conductor is a
the (transverse) magnetic field peak value are similar, namely non-negligible fraction of the shield current. As a
7.1 to 6.9 m. consequence, the common weak coupling assumption used in
Moreover, it is interesting to observe that the waveform of calculating the response of such a cable might be inadequate.
the induced current in the cable shield is very similar to the The obtained results can be used to validate models of
waveform of the magnetic field. This can be explained by underground cables illuminated by lightning electromagnetic
considering that the horizontal electric field along the buried fields.

266
 [4] M.I. Femandez, V.A. Rakov, M.A. Uman, “Transient currents and
VI. REFERENCES
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February 1999. [6] F.M. Tesche, M. lanoz, and T. Karlsson, “EMC analysis methods and
[2] V. Cooray, “Underground electromagnetic fields generated by the retum computational models,’’ Wiley Interscience,New York, 1997.
strokes of lightning flashes,” IEEE Trans. Electromag. Compat., vol. 43, [7] A. Borghetti, C.A. Nucci, M. Paolone, F. Rachidi, “Characterizationof the
no. 1, February 2001. response of an overhead line to lightning electromagnetic fields,” Proc. of
[3] P.P. Barker, T.A. Short, A.R. Eybert-Berard, J.P. Berlandis, “Induced the 25th International Conference on Lightning Protection 18-22 Sept.
voltage measurements on an experimental distribution line during nearby 2000, Rhodes Greece.
rocket triggered lightning flashes,” IEEE Power Delivery., vol. 11, no. 2,
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267