The Development of a 3-D Rolling Sphere

Algorithm for Lightning Protection

Neil McDonagh Danijela Klopotan
ESBI ESBI
[email protected] [email protected]
Abstract-When designing Lightning Protection Systems
(LPS), the effectiveness of an air termination structure(s) may be
assessed by using the rolling sphere method. This method is
outlined in standards BS6651:1999 [1], IEC 62305 [2], and IEEE
998-1996 [3]. A number of 2D methodologies are presented in
these standards illustrating how to apply the rolling sphere
method. This paper proposes a new 3D approach to the
application of the rolling sphere method.

This new approach analyses the designated air termination

structures and forms stationary shapes around the air
Fig. 1. 3D-Stationary Shape for a Single Lightning Mast
terminations. This approach focuses on where a rolling sphere
can not go rather than where it can go. For example, a concave
This paper proposes a new 3D approach to the application of
cone, as shown in Figure 1, will describe the protected area
provided by a single lightning mast. Different shapes are the rolling sphere method. The new method relies on
required depending on the nature of the air termination system. stationary shapes rather than rolling spheres. In this regard it
All shapes will be a combination of sections of concave cones, is similar to the angle of protection method. However the
spheres and cylinders. shapes used are more complex. Table I defines the shape of
the zone of protection for different types of air termination
Index Terms-- air termination system, lightning protection,
rolling sphere method. structures. All possible zones of protection, even arising from
a combination of different air termination structures in close
I. INTRODUCTION proximity to each other, may be defined by the combination
of sections of concave cones, cylinders and spheres. For
Lightning protection systems (LPS) can be broadly example the protected area of a single lightning mast may be
categorised as having three components; air termination described by a concave cone constructed around a lightning
structure(s), down conductors and earth terminations. The mast, as shown in Figure 1.
effectiveness of the air termination structure(s) is assessed by
using the angle of protection method or in the case of taller
structures the rolling sphere method. A good description of II. EXISTING APPLICATION OF THE ROLLING SPHERE METHOD
the application of the rolling sphere method is: “Use of the A. 2D Methods – Section View
rolling sphere method involves rolling an imaginary sphere of Taking a plan drawing of the installation to be protected, a
radius S over the surface of the substation. The sphere rolls number of paths may be selected, over which the rolling of a
up and over (and is supported by) lightning masts, shield sphere of appropriate radius is considered, which may be seen
wires, substation fences, and other grounded metallic objects in Figures 2 and 3.
that can provide lightning shielding. A piece of equipment is
said to be protected from a direct stoke if it remains below the
curved surface of the sphere by virtue of the sphere being
elevated by shield wires and other devices. Equipment that
touches the sphere or penetrates its surface is not
Lightning Masts

protected”[3]. The application of the rolling sphere method is

outlined in BS6651:1999 [1] and IEC 62305 [2], IEEE 998-
1996 [3], and a number of 2D methodologies are presented in
order to apply the rolling sphere method.
TABLE I
PROTECTION ZONES USING 3D STATIONARY SHAPES
Protective Angle of Protection Rolling Sphere Stationary
Device Method Shapes
Mast Cone Concave Cone
Flat Wall Prism Cylinder Section
Cylinder Conical Frustum Concave Conical Frustum Fig. 2. Rolling Sphere Paths over Installation
 Y

(h , k)
Fig. 3. Rolling Sphere Method applied in a 2D Plane

One drawback of using this method is encountered when

considering a rolling sphere path that does not pass directly Lightning (x , y)
over a lightning mast or infrastructure to be protected. In this Mast
instance it is necessary to consider the effective height of the
lightning mast or the protected equipment. In order to
k-r X
calculate the effective height of a lightning mast the following
methodology may be used. A sphere considered in a 2D plane Fig. 4. 2D view of Sphere with Lightning Mast
is a circle described by Equation 1.
(x − h )2 + (y − k )2 = r 2 (1) k 2 − 2 yk + y 2 − r 2 + (x − h ) = 0
2
(2)
Where: 2
(x, y) is a point on the circumference of the circle Z = y 2 − r 2 + (x − h ) (3)
2
(h, k) is the centre of the circle and k − 2 yk + Z = 0 (4)
r is the radius of the circle
2 y ± 4 y 2 − 4Z
An illustration of this 2D view of the rolling sphere is shown
k= (5)
2
in Figure 4. The sphere is considered to be rolling into the
page, where the centre point of the sphere will not pass 2 y + 4 y 2 − 4Z
directly over the lightning mast. If a rolling sphere is
k= (6a)
2
impinged upon by a foreign object its path must change. In
our analysis the path of the sphere on the X axis does not k = y + r 2 − ( x − h) 2 (6b)
change. Therefore the sphere must move along the Y axis to TABLE II
avoid the obstacle as shown in Figure 4. EFFECTIVE MAST HEIGHT (METERS)
Mast 1 Mast 2
When the sphere is impinged upon it will rise to a height of
Rolling Sphere

Effective height

Effective height
(k-r) above the ground. Therefore the effect of the object at
Mast Height –

Mast Height –
Distance from

Distance from
radius –(r)

path – (x-h)

path – (x-h)
point (x, y) may be replaced by a different object in the path
(k-r)

(k-r)
of the sphere with effective height (k-r). This principle is used
(y)

(y)
to calculate the effective height of the lightning masts within
the substation compound for different paths of the rolling
sphere. Path
AA 60 20 0 20.00 15 0 15.00
The equation of a circle must be rearranged to solve for k, see BB 60 20 20 16.57 15 15 13.09
(2)-(6). Solving the quadratic equation (4) gives two solutions CC 60 20 25 14.54 15 0 15.00
one where k>y and one where k<y. Therefore the solution DD 60 20 7 19.59 15 10 14.16
depends on the height of the lightning mast in relation to the
radius of the rolling sphere. For the purposes of this analysis
it is considered that the centre point of the sphere is higher
than the height of the lightning mast k>y (see Equations 6a
and 6b). It can be seen that k-r is the effective height of the
lightning mast seen by the sphere if the lightning mast is
transferred directly into the path of the sphere. The effective
height of two lightning masts (such as in Figure 2), is
calculated and presented in Table II. A close-up view of a
substation with the rolling sphere method applied in a 2D
plane is shown in Figure 5. Fig. 5. Rolling Sphere Method applied in a 2D Plane
While this method is powerful, it can be time consuming to
apply, and leads to the creation of many separate drawings. Y
The method is only as accurate as the number of paths chosen
for analysis. Some skill may be required to choose the paths
that will lead to the identification of unprotected equipment.

B. 2D Methods – Plan View Equipment to Lightning

Considering a substation or other installation that needs to be be protected Mast
protected, taking account of the highest piece of plant and the (h,k)
height of lightning masts, it is possible to assign a protective (x,y)
radius to each lightning mast. Inside the circle of this radius
all items of plant below the specified height are considered to
be protected. If there is a large variation of the height of items E X
of plant then a number of different radii may be considered. P
An illustration of the determination of the protective radius is
shown in Figure 6. Fig. 6. Determination of protective radius

P = r + 2 Er − E 2 (7)
2 2
P = 2ry − y − 2 Er − E (8)
Where: P is the protective radius
r is the radius of the rolling sphere
E is the maximum height of the equipment
y is the height of the lightning mast

The equations to describe the protective radius can vary

depending on the height to the lightning mast compared to the
radius of the rolling sphere. Where y ≥ r , Equation (7)
should be used, and where y ≤ r , Equation (8) should be
used.

An illustration of the application of this method is shown in

Figure 7. While this method is extremely useful, drawbacks
include an over-simplification of the protection area between
different lightning masts, although some methods for Fig. 7. Rolling sphere method using 2D Plan view
addressing this issue are outlined in [3]. It may also be
cumbersome to design an optimal air termination system
when the objects to be protected are not of a uniform height.

C. 3D Method – Collection Surface

This Method has been proposed by Q Xie et al, in a paper
titled “Rolling Sphere Method using 3D Graphics Approach”
[4]. An illustration of the application of this method is shown
in Figure 8.

This approach does provide an extremely powerful 3-D

method for defining the protection area associated with a
rolling sphere. However, it may require the generation of
many different surfaces. It may be visually difficult to
determine what items of plant are actually protected and
which items are not. The application of this method may
require complex programming and 3D graphics software,
which may not be accessible to all lightning protection Fig. 8. A Simple Substation with Collection Surface [4]
professionals.
 III. PROPOSED METHOD - 3D STATIONARY SHAPES and sitting on the ground. The hollow space left by these
spheres coupled with the concave cones constitutes the zone
A. Single Lightning Mast of protection of the system.
This method may be summarised as taking the 2D-Plan view
method discussed in Section 2, and calculating the zone of
protection for items at a variety of heights. Each circle will To find the zone of protection, the arc between the two masts
correspond to a zone of protection for equipment at a certain and common to the two spheres must be calculated. The
height. Taking each circle, and moving it to its corresponding position of this arc is calculated in the following way: There
height, creates the concave cone shown in Figure 1 and are only two possible positions where a sphere can touch the
Figure 9. Another way to visualize this concave cone is by the ground and both lightning masts. The two centres of these
rotation of an arc of a circle around the vertical axis (lightning spheres are calculated using the equation of a sphere (12):
mast). The arc that is chosen is the arc that touches the ground
and the lightning mast. The arc equation is shown in (9). (x − p) + (y − q ) + (z − k ) = r 2
2 2 2
(12)
2
f ( x , y, z ) = (a cos u, a sin u , r - 2ar - a ) (9) Where (p,q,k) is the centre of the sphere.

where: 0 ≤ u ≤ 2π and 0 ≤ a ≤ r , There are two known coordinates for (x,y,z) and it is known
r is the radius of the rolling sphere that the height of the centre of the sphere is the same as the
a is the horizontal distance from the lightning mast radius of the sphere. This enables the calculation of two
possible centres of the sphere, and both p and q must be
The formula shown in (9) may be used wherever there is a solved for in (13) and (14). Using the centres of the spheres it
lightning mast that is taller than the radius of the rolling is possible to construct an additional zone of protection
sphere to be used. Where the lightning mast is smaller than between the two masts as shown in Figure 10. It may also be
the radius of the rolling sphere (9) is not valid. A new shown that shapes can be developed for more complex air
equation must be developed to describe this concave cone. termination systems involving buildings and more than two
This equation is described in (10) and (11). lightning masts.

A simple “IF” loop may be used to distinguish which

equation should be used when considering a single lightning − B ± B 2 − 4AC
mast. An illustration of the application of this method to an q= (13)
2A
installation with items of plant of various heights is shown in p = L − qM (14)
Figure 9, where the unprotected items are shown in red.
The variables used in (13) and (14) are defined in the
f ( x , y, z) = (a cos u , a sin u , Z) (10)
Equations (15) – (19).
( )
Z = r - r 2 + 2a 2rh − h 2 + (h 2 − 2rh − a 2 ) (11)
L= 1
x 2 + y 12 + z 12 − x 22 − y 22 − z 22 − 2r (x 1 − x 2 )
(15)
2 2 2(x 1 − x 2 )
Where: 0 ≤ a ≤ 2rh − h and 0 ≤ u ≤ 2π
M=
(y 1 − y2 )
(16)
B. Multiple Lightning Masts (x 1 − x2
)
Where two lightning masts are in close proximity to each A = 1+ M 2 (17)
other, their zones of protection may impinge on each other, B = 2 x 1 M − 2ML − 2 y 1 (18)
and provide a greater degree of protection to equipment
between the two masts. This will only happen if the distance C= (L + p
2 2 2 2 2
+ q 2 + x 1 + y1 + z 1 − 2 x 1 L − 2 z 1 r ) (19)
between the two masts is less than the diameter of the rolling ( ) (
Where x1 , y1 , z1 and x2 , y2 , z 2 are the two points )
sphere. In this case there are only two possible positions of where the sphere touch the lightning masts.
the sphere, where the sphere is touching both lightning masts

Fig. 9. Rolling Sphere Method for a Single Lightning Mast Fig. 10. Rolling Sphere Method for Two Lightning Masts
 IV. 3D STATIONARY SHAPES IN CAD PACKAGES V. CONCLUSION
Detailed equations have been presented as to how the areas of It has been shown that the rolling sphere method can be
protection can be defined mathematically for use in a applied more effectively by a method which involves placing
software package such as MATLAB TM. However the areas of certain shapes over objects that form the lightning protection
protection may be defined just as easily using a 3D CAD system (LPS) air termination structure. The method proposed
package. Figures 11-13 illustrate the application of the in this paper defines the surface of the protective area, as
method using a 3D CAD package. opposed to the consideration of rolling sphere in different
positions. Applying this methodology it is possible to define
the surface of the protected area of an entire LPS, which
includes a number of lightning masts or other protective
devices.

The areas of protection of a lightning protection system can

be defined mathematically in a software package such as
MATLABTM, or graphically in a 3D CAD package. The
Fig. 11. Rolling Sphere Method applied by ESBI
benefits of the new methodology over existing 2D and 3D
methods are:

Better definition of unprotected equipment (2D and 3D)

Reduction in the number of drawings needed (2D)

Reduction in computational power needed (3D)

When implementing this solution mathematically, the

definition of the code needed for execution of this method
may be time consuming to construct, but for designers and
engineers who use the rolling sphere method on a regular
basis it may be worthwhile. However, the CAD method is
extremely easy to apply for those who are users of 3D CAD
Fig. 12. Rolling Sphere Method applied by ESBI packages. When applied in a CAD package, the presentation
of the area of protection can be combined with local mapping
to give a clearer view of site orientation, and what items are
not protected.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Ken Atkinson for his
assistance in the production of this paper, and all at ESBI for
their encouragement in the production of this paper.

REFERENCES
Fig. 13. Rolling Sphere Method applied by ESBI
[1] BS651:1999 Code of Practice for protection of structures against
lightning
Here an example is given of a single lightning mast, where [2] International Standard IEC 62305 – 2006 1-4 “Protection Against
the unprotected item of plant is shown in red. The surface of Lightning”
the zone of protection is defined by the rotation of an arc of [3] IEEE std 998-1996 “ IEEE Guide for Direct Lightning Stroke Shielding
of Substations”
the rolling sphere around the lightning mast. It must be noted [4] Q. Xie et al Rolling sphere method using 3D graphics approach”,
that structures which are not part of the air termination system Power and Energy Engineering Conference, 2009. APPEEC 2009.
have no impact on the shape of the zone of protection, and Asia-Pacific
unprotected items are identified as those which are outside or
protrude the zone of protection. This method of presentation
can also be coupled with the superposition of local mapping,
see Figure 12. This makes this method extremely easy to
apply, and does not require complex mathematical equations.