Lightning Consulting
In addition to power quality consulting and training, The Southwest Office specializes in issues relating to lightning. These include advanced lightning protection, grounding, transients, lightning hardening of high-technology facilities and lightning forensics. Dr. Stringfellow is also conducting on-going research into lightning electric and magnetic fields inside buildings.
With his expertise in both lightning tracking systems and electrical power systems, Dr. Stringfellow offers a unique ability to analyze lightning accidents associated with severe property damage or personal injury.
Lightning Risk Analysis
Lightning Risk Analysis services are provided for clients concerned with lightning safety and the management of risk. Using archived data from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) and electrogeometric models, PowerCET can provide an analysis of the number and location of likely lightning strikes to a building or a facility for any specified period. These techniques are based on those developed by Dr. Stringfellow for the South African Code for the Lightning Protection of Structures.
Lightning Forensic Investigations
Lightning Forensic Investigations are offered for the analysis of lightning and site investigation data in incidents where lightning or storms have been implicated in severe property damage or injury. Projects have included the investigation and identification of power line and structural lightning damage, factors leading to downing of power lines, disruption of secure data processing and banking facilities and electrocutions. Dr. Stringfellow has extensive experience of the National Lightning Detection Network , analysis of both real-time and archived data and specialist site investigations.
Lightning Protection & Hardening
Lightning Risk Analysis is used as the basis for the appraisal of the need for lightning protection of structures and facilities, together with an analysis of the sensitivity of the operation to damage or disruption. A comprehensive site survey is used to identify any vulnerable services or systems, including power, communication line and roof-mounted equipment. Recommendations for the installation of a lightning protection system and hardening of the power and communication system are based on this survey. Hardening includes improvements to grounding, bonding and shielding of vulnerable services and the installation of suitable surge suppression devices.
Clients include banks, online stock-trading computer systems, stock exchanges, telecommunications facilities, aerospace, military and government data centers.
