Numerical simulation of the development process of lightning with two grounding points

Abstract

The lightning with two grounding points (TGP) is a special and more destructive lightning. Due to the lack of observational data, many physical problems of TGP lightning are still unclear. This paper attempts to establish a theoretical model to simulate the development process of TGP lightning. The simulation results show that the average horizontal distance between two grounding points is about half the average height of the branch point. Both branches move toward the ground at almost the same speed. The formation of TGP lightning seems to be independent of the height of the branch point. The results of our simulation are in good agreement with those found in nature for TGP lightning. This work contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the TGP lightning. It also can provide reference for the modeling of lightning with multiple grounding points.

Keywords

• Lightning
• Numerical simulation
• Random dielectric breakdown model
• Development process