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Development of a Template for the Risk Assessment for Lightning Protection

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 Development of a Template for the Risk Assessment
for Lightning Protection System Design based on
MS IEC 62305
Mohamad Adib Ahmad Fathi Siow Chun Lim
Faculty of Engineering Faculty of Engineering
Multimedia University Multimedia University
Cyberjaya, Malaysia Cyberjaya, Malaysia
madibfathi@gmail.com clsiow@mmu.edu.my
Abstract—MS IEC 62305: Protection Against Lightning
standard serves as the main reference for lightning risk
assessment and lightning protection design and installation in
Malaysia. Lightning risk assessment is complex and
complicated to be used manually. A computer tool or software
could simplify the work in lightning risk assessment. A
template was developed in Microsoft Excel for lightning risk
assessment. The development focused on features such as user-
friendly interface, multiple zone and service calculation
capability, comprehensive, informative, and able to suggest
protection measures. All calculations and parameters for risk
calculation were identified from MS IEC 62305-2: Risk
Management. The calculations and interactive user interface
were made using Excel’s built in functions and coding in VBA.
The template was validated through comparison of results
between the template, MS IEC 62305-2, and other software
such as SIRAC and RISK in three different case studies. In all
three case studies, the template achieves results similar to the
results in IEC 62305-2.
Keywords— Lightning Risk Assessment; Lightning
Protection; IEC 62305; MS IEC 62305
I. INTRODUCTION
Lightning protection development started in the 1750s
where the first method was documented in Poor Richard’s
Almanack (issue 1753) by Benjamin Franklin [1]. Lightning
protection has well been established since then. The aim of
lightning protection system (LPS) is to intercept lightning
flashes and channel the lightning currents to the ground. This
is mainly to prevent physical damages to structures, to
safeguard living beings from step and touch voltages, and to
minimize or eliminate the effect of induced voltages in
internal systems.
Guidelines and standards for lightning protection for
structures and services were made by the International
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in IEC 62305: Protection
Against Lightning. Many countries including Malaysia
adopted the IEC 62305 as the standard for lightning
protection. The Malaysian Standards (MS) adopted the 1st
edition of the IEC 62305 published in 2006. There are four
parts in the IEC 62305 standard which provides the
principles of lightning protection [2], thorough risk
calculation steps and assessment [3], instructions on
installation and design of systems in lightning protection [4],
978-1-5386-6635-7/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE
Ir. Lee Cheng Pay
Duriane Consult
Bandar Puteri
Puchong, Malaysia
leechengpay@duriane.com
and instructions on installation, design, maintenance, and
testing of internal system protection devices [5].
Although the standard is well thought out, some have
raised concerns and proposed further improvements to the
standard. For instance, T. Horvath in [6] discussed that the
three methods stated in [4] for determination of air
termination placement are problematic and a better method
that harmonizes all methods with the rolling sphere method
as the basis can be created. Lightning risk analysis is being
improved with the inclusion of Monte Carlo method [7-8]
and Fuzzy Logic [9-10] in the risk calculation.
Some may question the practicality of installing lightning
protection mainly in economic standpoint because of the
unpredictable and random nature of lightning strikes, as well
as the hefty price of lightning protection. They require
justifications to install lightning protection. IEC has made a
detailed guideline to analyse the risk of loss due to lightning
flashes in IEC 62305-2 [3]. The risk calculation can
determine and justify the need for lightning protection.
Although the guideline for risk analysis and assessment is
well described, the calculation can be tedious and complex.
Lightning risk calculation and assessment software is useful
for lightning protection design, and the determination of the
need for lightning protection.
II. OPTIMUM FEATURES FOR RISK ASSESSMENT SOFTWARE
Several software has been made for lightning protection
risk assessment. Table I shows the features of several
software as stated by their developers. SIRAC [11] which
was made by IEC Technical Committee 81 (TC81) and IEC
62305-2 serve as main references for lightning risk
assessment software developers.
It can be concluded that the optimum features to be
implemented in lightning risk assessment software are:
• user-friendly and interactive interface
• multiple zones and services calculation
• comprehensive and informative risk evaluation
report
• capable of suggesting protection measure
 TABLE I. FEATURES OF DIFFERENT EXISTING SOFTWARE TABLE II. VALUE OF KS1
TUPA Construction material KS1
SIRAC [3] RISK [12] LIRA [8] CDRisk[14]
[13]
Unknown/Non-conductive 1
Integration Bricks and mortar/Masonry 1
of Monte Reinforced concrete 0.2
Includes all Carlo
Metal column/beam 0.2
Simplified parameters. statistical
calculation simulation. Reinforced concrete panel 0.01
for typical Calculation Metal cladding 0.01
Protection
and general for up to 10 Interactive Detailed
measure
settings. zones. interface. summary
suggestion. Other than that, instead of grouping the type of structure
report.
Single zone Supports to their corresponding relative loss values as being done in
evaluation. multiple Unlimited SIRAC, the template ungroups them as shown in Table III.
languages. number of This way, it is easier for the user to select the specific
zones and structure type, and for the template to determine which risks
services. of loss are to be calculated based on the selected type of
structure.
III. TEMPLATE DEVELOPMENT
With the optimum features in mind, a lightning risk TABLE III. VALUE OF LF CORRESPONDING TO TYPE OF STRUCTURE
assessment template was developed using Microsoft Excel. Lf (related Lf (related
Type of structure
Microsoft Excel is a convenient platform, and powerful to R1) to R4)
calculation software that is widely used across the world for Hospital 0.1 0.5
many applications especially in finance, accounting, and Residential 0.1 0.1
banking sector. Lightning risk calculation can be done easily Hotel 0.1 0.2
using this software. Microsoft Excel also has the capability Commercial 0.05 0.1
of executing VBA codes which is very useful in the making
School 0.05 0.2
of the user interface for the template.
Industrial 0.05 0.5
Place of worship 0.02 0.2
A. Features
Museum 0.02 0.5
The template includes all parameters stated in [3] with
Public entertainment 0.02 0.2
only one fixed parameter: the parameter for KS2
corresponding to the screening effectiveness of internal Office 0.01 0.2
shield. It was designed to reduce the complexities of risk Agriculture (Livestock) 0.01 0.5
calculation and analysis and choosing risk parameters. It can Agriculture (Crops) 0.01 0.5
calculate risk for up to five zones, and two services (power Service/Utility (Gas/Water) 0.01 0.1
line, telecommunication line or both). It can also suggest Service/Utility
0.01 0.1
lightning protection measures to be installed to reduce the (TV/Telecom/Power)
risks values to below the tolerable value. The template also Economic building 0.01 0.2
highlights the changes to the risks values when a lightning Others 0.01 0.1
protection measure is selected in its report page. A full report
(report page, structure info, services info, zones info, and risk
components info) can be saved into a PDF format by C. Risk Calculation
pressing a designated button in the report page. The risk calculation in the template follows the equations
stated in [3]. For the calculation it is assumed that the surge
B. Database protective device (SPD) is always conform to IEC 62305-4,
and is always provided for equipotential bonding. The
A few sheets were created to store all parameter values template uses Excel’s built-in functions such as referencing,
stated in [3]. Some parameters were added or slightly and VLOOKUP for all of the calculations. The number of
changed for easier formula referencing, and to simplify dangerous events, probability of damages, and amount of
parameter selection. One of the additions is the parameter for loss are calculated in different sheets to reduce complexity of
KS1 which is based on the screen effectiveness selection in formula and easier to check for miscalculation.
SIRAC. But, instead of selecting screen effectiveness, the
template asks the user to select construction material to
determine the value for KS1 as shown in Table II. D. User Interface (UI)
The UI was designed to help the user understand the
parameter selections, to get the user informed, and to guide
the user through the process of filling in information. Drop
down menu, pop-up messages, and buttons were used for the
UI. Some coding in VBA was also used to highlight the risks
of loss that are higher than the tolerable value. Fig. 1 and 2
show the UI for the structure information page and the report
page of the template.
 provision to ‘Automated’ for zones with risk of fire and
recalculate all combination of lightning protection measure.
If there is still no possible combination, the user will be
notified.

Fig. 1. Structure Info Page

Fig. 3. Flowchart for Auto Protection Measure Selection

IV. TEMPLATE VALIDATION

Validation was done through the comparisons of results
from the template, MS IEC 62305-2, SIRAC [11], and other
software for three case studies stated in [3].

A. Country House
The country house case study is a good example to show
the viability of the template to calculate single zone
structure. The results show that the R1 calculated using the
template is similar to the results from MS IEC 62305-2,
SIRAC, and RISK as shown in Table IV.

TABLE IV. R1 RESULTS FOR COUNTRY HOUSE

MS IEC SIRAC
Template RISK [12]
62305:2 [3] (1.0.3)
RA 1.03E-11 - 1.03E-8 -
RB 1.03E-6 1.03E-6 1.03E-6 1.03E-6
Power 8.78E-11 9E-11
RU 2.29E-7 2.29E-10
Telecom 1.41E-10 1.41E-10
Fig. 2. Report Page Power 8.78E-6 8.78E-6
RV 2.29E-5 2.29E-5
Telecom 1.41E-5 1.41E-5
E. Auto Protection Measure Selection R1 (10-5) 2.40 2.39 2.42 2.40

All possible combination of lightning protection measure B. Office Building

is calculated. The template will then choose a random
combination of lightning protection measure that reduces all
risk of loss to less than the tolerable value. Fig. 3 shows the
flowchart for the auto protection measure selection. There
may be cases when there is no possible combination of
protection measure. In this case, the template will set the fire
Office building case study includes the calculation for
multiple zones. The results for R1 from the template and MS
IEC 62305-2 are shown in Table V and IV respectively. The
template achieved similar results to the results in MS IEC
62305-2.
 TABLE V. TEMPLATE RESULT FOR R1 FOR OFFICE BUILDING Table IX and X are the results for R4 from the template
Template and MS IEC 62305-2 respectively. The same can be
Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5 concluded for the results for R4.
RA 2.2E-8 0 1.1E-11 8.79E-11 7.69E-12
RB - - 2.2E-5 1.76E-6 1.54E-7
Power - - 1.8E-12 1.44E-11 1.26E-12 TABLE IX. TEMPLATE RESULT FOR R4 FOR HOSPITAL
RU
Telecom - - 5.85E-12 4.68E-11 4.1E-12 Template
Power - - 3.60E-6 2.88E-7 2.52E-8 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4
RV
Telecom - - 1.17E-5 9.36E-7 8.19E-8 RA - - - -
R1 (10-5) 0.0022 0 3.73 0.298 0.0261 RB 0 4.47E-4 4.47E-5 4.47E-5
Power - 8.93E-4 8.93E-4 8.93E-4
RC
TABLE VI. IEC 62305-2 RESULT FOR R1 FOR OFFICE BUILDING Telecom - 8.93E-4 8.93E-4 8.93E-4
Power - 8.45E-5 8.45E-3 8.45E-3
MS IEC 62305:2 [3] RM
Telecom - 1.01E-4 1.01E-4 1.01E-4
Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5
Power - - - -
RA 2E-8 0 - - - RU
Telecom - - - -
RB - - 2.21E-5 1.77E-6 1.6E-7
Power - 2.66E-6 2.66E-7 2.66E-7
Power - - ≈0 ≈0 ≈0 RV
RU Telecom - 7.38E-5 7.38E-6 7.38E-6
Telecom - - ≈0 ≈0 ≈0
Power - 5.32E-6 5.32E-6 5.32E-6
Power - - 3.62E-6 2.9E-7 2E-8 RW
RV Telecom - 1.48E-4 1.48E-4 1.48E-4
Telecom - - 1.18E-5 9.4E-7 8E-8
Power - 5.44E-6 5.44E-6 5.44E-6
R1 (10-5) 0.002 0 3.752 0.3 0.026 RZ
Telecom - 8.2E-5 8.2E-5 8.2E-5
C. Hospital R4 (10-3) 0 11.1 10.6 10.6

Hospital case study includes calculation for multiple TABLE X. IEC 62305-2 RESULT FOR R4 FOR HOSPITAL
zones, risk components RC, RM, RW, and RZ, and calculation
for R1 and R4. Table VII and VIII show the results for R1 MS IEC 62305:2 [3]
from the template and MS IEC 62305-2 respectively. The Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4
RA - - - -
results are very close. The small differences might be due to RB - 4.49E-4 4.49E-5 4.49E-5
rounding adjustments. Power - 8.98E-4 8.98E-4 8.98E-4
RC
Telecom - 8.98E-4 8.98E-4 8.98E-4
TABLE VII. TEMPLATE RESULT FOR R1 FOR HOSPITAL Power - 8.49E-3 8.49E-3 8.49E-3
RM
Telecom - 1.02E-4 1.02E-4 1.02E-4
Template Power - - - -
RU
Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Telecom - - - -
RA 8.93E-8 8.48E-11 3.13E-12 4.47E-13 Power - 2.7E-6 2.7E-7 2.7E-7
RV
RB - 4.24E-4 1.56E-6 2.23E-7 Telecom - 7.42E-5 7.4E-6 7.4E-6
RC - - 8.93E-5 8.93E-5 Power - 5.3E-6 5.3E-6 5.3E-6
RW
RM - - 8.47E-4 8.47E-4 Telecom - 1.48E-4 1.48E-4 1.48E-4
Power - 5.05E-13 1.86E-14 2.66E-15 Power - 5.5E-6 5.5E-6 5.5E-6
RU RZ
Telecom - 1.40E-11 5.16E-13 7.38E-14 Telecom - 8.25E-5 8.25E-5 8.25E-5
Power - 2.53E-6 9.31E-9 1.33E-9 R4 (10-3) - 11.16 10.68 10.68
RV
Telecom - 7.01E-5 2.58E-7 3.69E-8
RW
Power - - 5.32E-7 5.32E-7 V. DISCUSSION
Telecom - - 1.48E-5 1.48E-5
Power - - 5.44E-7 5.44E-7
The template has been proven to be viable to be used as a
RZ risk assessment tool for lightning protection. Its calculations
Telecom - - 8.20E-6 8.20E-6
R1 (10-5) 0.00893 49.7 96.2 96.1 for R1 and R4 have been validated through the comparisons
of the three case studies. As shown in Section IV, the
TABLE VIII. IEC 62305-2 RESULT FOR R1 FOR HOSPITAL template produces similar results to the results in MS IEC
62305-2 for all case studies and in other software as well for
MS IEC 62305:2 [3]
Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4
country house case study. The results discussed have shown
RA 9E-8 - - - the capability and validity of the template.
RB - 4.27E-4 1.57E-6 2.2E-7
RC - - 8.98E-5 8.98E-5 A. Template’s Limitations
RM - - 8.52E-4 8.52E-4
Power - ≈0 ≈0 ≈0
The main limitation of the template is that no validation
RU
Telecom - ≈0 ≈0 ≈0 has been done for R2 and R3 due to absence of a main
Power - 2.5E-6 ≈0 ≈0 reference. The case studies in MS IEC 62305-2 are only
RV
Telecom - 7.05E-5 2.6E-7 4E-8 related to R1 and R4. Other than that, the template still has
RW
Power - - 5.3E-7 5.3E-7 one fixed parameter which is the screening effectiveness of
Telecom - - 1.48E-5 1.48E-5 internal shield, KS2. The template would require the user to
Power - - 5.5E-7 5.5E-7 own Microsoft Excel for Windows to be able to use the
RZ
Telecom - - 8.25E-6 8.25E-6
template. Compatibility of the template was not tested on all
R1 (10-5) 0.009 50 96.8 96.62
version of Microsoft Excel, but any version above 2010
should work well.
 The template is based on MS IEC 62305 which is an
adoption of the 1st edition of the IEC 62305 published in
2006. There are a few changes that were made by IEC in the
2nd edition of the IEC 62305 as stated in [15]. Some of the
changes are new minimum withstand voltage, refined and
simplified collection area, details on explosive area, new
parameters, changes in amount of loss calculation, and new
value of tolerable risk for R3.
B. Future Enhancements
Since the template is developed Microsoft Excel, it is
easy to edit the template to conform to the new edition of
IEC 62305. The risk assessment template is only a part of
lightning protection system design. The template can be
complemented with design software for lighting protection
such as the software made by Morii et al. in [16].
VI. CONCLUSION
The IEC 62305 standard contains guides for installation
and design, testing, and risk management for lightning
protection. Design and installation of lightning protection
require justifications on whether it is necessary to protect a
structure from lightning flashes from the study of risks. Risk
assessment for lightning protection is complex with lots of
conditions and parameters. A template is developed using
Microsoft Excel to make the calculation for the risk
assessment analysis for lightning protection easier. The
template was validated by comparing its results for three case
studies with the results in MS IEC 62305-2. The results have
shown that the template is viable and follows the calculation
guidelines in MS IEC 62305-2. By using this template,
lightning protection designers and engineers can justify the
need for a lightning protection system to their clients.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Facilities provided by the Faculty of Engineering,
Multimedia University Malaysia is greatly acknowledged.
Feedback and technical input by Duriane Consult is also
appreciated.
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