Lightning testing at AEA Technology Culham recent developments

During a thunderstorm, the very high voltage stresses in the atmosphere become sufficient to break down the air and form a lightning channel carrying impulsive currents which may reach hundreds of thousands of amps. This channel often attaches to a structure on the ground, and may even include the structure of a flying aircraft in its path. It is vital for manufacturers and their customers to know that normal operation of systems which are critical to safety will not be jeopardised. Lightning damage also causes expensive downtime and repairs. Therefore there is a need for testing and analysis to determine the lightning susceptibility of structures and systems or to demonstrate that they are adequately protected. The continuing development of materials and electronic technologies and an increased understanding of lightning phenomenology has meant a need to update from time to time the range of pulsed power facilities available. This paper outlines some of the recent developments