Electromagnetic Fields from Cloud-to-Cloud Horizontal Lightning Channel on Perfect Conducting Soil: Induced Potentials in Flying Aircraft

Abstract

Calculation expressions for the electric and magnetic fields produced by a horizontal cloud-to-cloud lightning channel, assuming a perfectly conducted ground, are proposed in this paper. These expressions depend on the current model traveling through the channel and serve as the starting point to calculate the induced fields and potentials at any point in space. The derived expressions for the fields are used to calculate the induced potentials by the channel on metallic structures such as vertically driven rods in the ground and aircraft in flight. The influence of soil with finite conductivity is discussed, and an estimation of the induced potentials in this situation is proposed.

Keywords

• cloud-to-cloud lightning channel
• perfect conducting soil
• induced potentials in aircraft