• DocumentCode
    3286660
  • Title

    Shall Masts and Metal Structures Supporting Antennae be grounded?

  • Author

    Mitolo, Massimo

  • Author_Institution
    Chu & Gassman, Middlesex
  • fYear
    2007
  • fDate
    6-11 May 2007
  • Firstpage
    1
  • Lastpage
    5
  • Abstract
    Antennae, if present on roofs, are, usually, the most prominent part of edifices. Grounding their metal supports is, generally, considered an effective means of protection of the structure against the effects of lightning strokes, eventually "attracted" by the antennae themselves. The antenna\´s mast and the down conductor are incorrectly assumed capable of safely draining to ground the lightning current flowing at the point of strike. This, supposedly, would prevent both hazard for people and damage to the building and electrical equipment situated inside of it This paper will substantiate how the sole grounding of the antenna\´s mast can instead result in lowering the safety of the edifice, and, thereby, expose users to the hazard of dangerous electrical sparking (flashover) and possible fires.
  • Keywords
    antenna earths; coaxial cables; earthing; flashover; lightning protection; antenna earths; antenna mast; down conductor; electrical sparking; lightning protection; metal support grounding; Buildings; Conductors; Electrical safety; Flashover; Ground support; Grounding; Hazards; Lightning; Protection; Safety devices; Antenna; Coaxial cables; Equipotential Bonding; Expected Frequency of Direct Lightning to the structure; Induced Electromotive forces; Inductance; Internal Lightning Protection System; Lightning Protection System; Safety Distance; Separation Distance; Tolerable Frequency of Lightning; dielectric strength;
  • fLanguage
    English
  • Publisher
    ieee
  • Conference_Titel
    Industrial & Commercial Power Systems Technical Conference, 2007. ICPS 2007. IEEE/IAS
  • Conference_Location
    Edmonton, Alta.
  • Print_ISBN
    1-4244-1291-9
  • Electronic_ISBN
    1-4244-1291-9
  • Type

    conf

  • DOI
    10.1109/ICPS.2007.4292109
  • Filename
    4292109