Workingin the industrial field comes with its own set of dangers and risks.Thus, it becomes very important to find solutions to protect yourselfand the industry by every possible means. One of the major dangersfaced by the marine and oil industries situated off the coasts in theoceans is the risk of damage from lightning. Being located in vastopen spaces, there is always the risk of damage and even casualty inthese industries. And to provide protection for the potential risk,this is when Lightning Arrestors come into help.
These devices function as life saviors by providing protection against lightings.Voltage surges are generated by lighting in a number of ways and theycan directly hit the building. This surge of voltage can be extremelyfatal for all the electrical connections and wirings within theproperty. Thus, these devices are essential in protecting the circuitwhen lightning strikes it by defending the power systems. Iteffectively forwards the high voltage surge towards the ground andensures that no extra load falls upon the in house circuit.
Througha fairly simple earthing system or ground wire connection, the powersystem of the firm can be very easily saved from some severe damage.Thus in simpler words, with the help of devices like LightningArrestor in UAE, you can very conveniently protect your circuit anddivert the abnormal voltage surges to the ground efficiently.
WhatAre The Possible Damages That May Be Caused By Lighting?
Lightingmay be the reason for some fatal damage to the pieces of equipment inthe substation along with them in house. To understand what potentialrisks lighting possesses towards the equipment, you can go throughthe following:
1. The high surge of voltage can end up causingmajor damage to the internal winding of the equipments. The flashovercaused to this may even ruin the insulation over the windings andrender the equipments completely damaged.
2. The stroke oflighting may have a voltage greater than the peak voltage of theequipments. As a result of this, an external flashover may be causedin between the terminals of the electrical equipments. This can leadto some severe damage to the insulators.
3. The sudden surge ofvoltage can also cause major harm to the terminals of thetransformers and the equipments responsible for the powerdistribution.
HowDoes Lightning Arrestors Function?
Themain purpose of the Lightning Arrestors is to provide efficientprotection to the equipment and circuits from the harms of alightning strike. The working of the arrestors is fairly simple tothe amount of work it does. The basic working of the arrestorinvolves providing a pathway to the waves of lightning which possessrelatively lower impedance between the ground and the line. Theimpedance surge bounds the amplitude of the current flowing within alimit.
The arrestor ensures that there is no excess flow ofcurrent through the circuits the peak voltage. Thus, whenever thereis a surge in the voltage, the arrestor helps in offering a path oflow impedance to the wave as the surge diverter is triggered. Oncethat happens, the insulation of the arrestor is broken for a momentwhich allows the surge to get directed towards the ground. As soon asthe voltage of the entire system falls back below the value that hasbeen fixed, the insulation of the arrestor is restored and the systemstarts functioning as it is.
What Should Be Kept In Mind WhileInstalling Lightning Arrestors?
During the installation of the Lightning Arrestor in UAE some of the crucial points should be alwayskept in mind:
1. The trigger voltage of the arrestor should bekept at a higher value than the regular value of the voltageoperation. This is done to ensure that the arrestor should not bedrawing any current from the source under normal conditions ofoperation.
2. If there is a breakdown of the system, the arrestorshould be able to handle the discharge current and carry it forwardto the ground.
3. Once the discharge has been done, the arrestorshould be able to come back to the general state as early as possibleto avoid any loss of current or damage to the equipment.
Followingthese few points, you can ensure optimal safety for your machines atall points of time.
