What a great week it’s been! We have delved in to the world of lightning protection and innovation. After presenting our ideas for the model to our Liaisons, we got received insightful feedback and got approval to proceed with out idea. Aayan, our coding wizard, worked his magic and created a sleek interface. This provides a great proof of concept and will be unveiled in the coming week for prototype day.

The beauty of our model lies in its simplicity and effectiveness. With easy file uploads, users can seamlessly input data for analysis, receiving a comprehensive grounding and lighting risk rating, with limited input from the user.

But that’s not all, Phillip O and Phillip T, meeting with none other than Professor Rakov, a lightning expert at the University of Florida. Who has authored or coauthored 5 books, and more than 800 other publications on various aspects of lightning.

Professor Rakov shared that building materials do not impact electric field enhancement. A big take away was that height is an important factor to consider, due to the leader process and its frequency. Additionally, not all grounds are created equal. If your ground isn’t a perfect conductor, brace yourself for secondary effects from arcs and side strikes.

However, to overcome this you should consider ground resistivity, average current, and distance between panels. Oh, and don’t forget the loop conductors – they’re the unsung heroes intercepting lightning.

What a great week it has been creating the model, talking with a professional, and gaining a greater understanding the problem. Stay tuned for more updates!