On the Interception of Dart Lightning Leaders from Wind Turbine Blades

Wind farms are an important part of renewable energy system but they are frequently damaged by lightning strikes, especially to the blades of the turbine. Recent field observations have shown lightning damages several meters inboard away from the blade tip, which cannot be explained fully by the interception of stepped leaders or swept strokes. This paper proposes a possible additional mechanism to explain the lightning attachment points in inboard area of blade due to dart lightning leaders. This mechanism is verified through the Self-consistent Leader Inception and Propagation Model - SLIM-which is used here to dynamically evaluate the upward connecting leader propagation under the influence of both stepped and dart leaders.