Venturing across the expansive open sea is an exhilarating yet unpredictable experience, with ever-changing weather patterns constantly threatening the safety of boats, their crew and passengers. Among the most dreaded natural occurrences faced by boat owners are lightning strikes. Fortunately, the advent of advanced technologies, like the Sertec CMCE (Compensador Múltiple de Campo Electroatmosférico) Lightning protection de-ionising technology, now offers boat owners a dependable solution to shield their vessels from the destructive impact of lightning strikes. A technology that does not allow the conditions for a lightning strike by de-ionisation, creating a protected area into a balanced stable state, so that no build-up of opposite charge exists even in the most severe storm and while under motion; a technology that is passive and requires no power.
One of the key advantages of the CMCE Lightning protection technology is its universal design, enabling installation on various types of boats. Whether you own a sleek yacht, a sturdy fishing vessel, luxurious catamaran, Super Yacht, or work vessel the CMCE can be easily installed.
In 1916, the visionary electrical engineer Nikola Tesla unveiled a groundbreaking invention that would revolutionize the way we safeguard our surroundings from the destructive force of lightning strikes on land and at sea.
Tesla possessed an extraordinary ability to perceive problems from a unique perspective, leading him to question the efficacy of traditional lightning protection technologies like the Franklin rod. He argued that these conventional methods posed a significant danger to society, as they attracted lightning strikes, through ionisation.
Tesla’s unparalleled insight into the fundamentals of electrical law inspired him to devise a revolutionary solution based on the principles of charge attraction and repulsion. By de-ionising a protected area Tesla’s invention eliminated the accumulation of charge, preventing the conditions of opposite charge attraction and creating a neutral state of safety
Before Tesla’s innovative breakthrough, the widely accepted method of lightning protection relied on the use of lightning arrestors the Franklin rod, invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1752 over 270 years ago. These ionised metal rods, typically affixed to the top of structures, were designed to attract lightning strikes, and conduct the resulting electrical energy safely to the ground through an earth cable.
However, Tesla saw inherent flaws in this approach. By enticing a lightning strike to a particular location, Franklin rods brought forth the full magnitude of a lightning strike, including its colossal current exceeding 30,000 Amps, soaring voltages, scorching heat, harmful radiation, and lightning- fast speeds. Consequently, the protection afforded by such systems was limited, potentially endangering both the structure being protected and the surrounding environment.
On average, it is estimated that there are about 3 to 8 million plus lightning strikes occurring worldwide each day, so in the range of 44 to 100 strikes per second, which can be seen in real time on the incredible free site www.blitzortung.org.
Lightning occurs within a cumulonimbus cloud, the Latin cumulus (heaped) and Nimbus (rain) within the troposphere. Cumulonimbus clouds can reach up to the top level of the troposphere, which is the boundary with the stratosphere. This boundary is called the tropopause and it typically ranges from 8-18 km (5-11 miles) in height depending on latitude and season. So some of the largest cumulonimbus clouds can reach heights of up to 18 km (11 miles) above sea level. It is a towering cloud that is associated with thunderstorms and it is characterized by its distinctive anvil-shaped top and dense vertical structure. Cumulonimbus clouds can produce various types of severe weather, including heavy rain, strong winds, hail, lightning and carry several hundred thousand tons of water.
The development of lightning within a cumulonimbus cloud involves several stages:
The first stage of a cumulonimbus cloud’s development begins with warm air near the surface which rises, carrying moisture with it. As the warm air ascends, it cools and condenses into a cumulus cloud. As the cumulus cloud continues to grow vertically, it enters the mature stage and it becomes a cumulonimbus cloud. Strong updrafts of warm, moist air continue to feed the cloud, while downdrafts of cool air develop along its edges. This vertical motion within the cloud creates strong updrafts and downdrafts, resulting in the separation of positive (protons) and negative electrical charges (electrons), within the cloud and stepped leaders are created.
Cumulonimbus contains supercooled water droplets at sub-freezing temperatures. When these droplets come into contact with ice nuclei (tiny particles or dust), they freeze, forming ice crystals. Similarly, when the supercooled water droplets come into contact with freezing nuclei, they form small hailstones called graupel.
Within the thundercloud, updrafts and downdrafts cause the ice crystals and graupel to move around, colliding with each other as well as with supercooled water droplets. During these collisions, the ice crystals and graupel have different masses and electrical properties. As a result, some electrons are transferred from one particle to another, causing an imbalance in charge between the two.
The cumulonimbus cloud becomes charged with an air molecule losing an electron and charge separation has occurred, and the air is ionised… with negative charge at the bottom and a positive charge at the top of the cloud. The negative electron charge at the bottom of the cloud repels the electrons in the ground, causing a positive charge to accumulate on the surface of the earth (land or sea) and a high build-up of charge, creates high attraction to the build-up of opposite charge within the cloud… perfect conditions for discharge to occur.
As the electric field intensifies, a stream of electrons or “leader” moves down from the clouds toward the ground in a series of short jumps, each jump is called a “step.”
The leader’s path is not a straight line but travels in a zigzag pattern towards the ground. As the leader approaches the ground, a positive charge rises from the ground to meet the leader. When the upwardly rising positive charge and the downwardly moving negative charge meet, they form a channel of electric current.
Once this electric charge channel is completed, it becomes the primary path, and a massive discharge of energy called the “return stroke” occurs from the ground to the cloud. During a thunderstorm, multiple discharges may occur including within the cloud (IC), between clouds (CC), or from the cloud to the ground (CG) and ground to the cloud (GC). These discharges can number in the thousands.
It’s important to note that while the stepped leader is responsible for creating the ionised path, it is the subsequent return stroke that delivers the most significant amount of current and is the most dangerous aspect of lightning on the ground or sea. Therefore, it is crucial to take lightning safety precautions during thunderstorms to avoid being struck by lightning.
Lightning strikes can carry extremely high voltages. Typically, cloud-to- ground lightning bolts can reach several hundred million volts (MV), with some exceptional strikes exceeding one billion volts.
Lightning strikes travel at incredible speeds. The initial stage of a stepped leader can propagate at speeds of around 220,000 miles per hour (354,000 kilometres per hour), while the return stroke – the visible flash of lightning – travels at about one- third the speed of light and can be multiple discharges within the original channel. It emits a wide range of radiation, including visible light, infrared radiation, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and radio waves. The intense light emitted by lightning is what we commonly perceive as the visible flash.
During the final moments before the lightning strike connects with its end point, a sudden surge of current rushes through the leader channel. This intense electrical current rapidly heats the air surrounding the channel to an extremely high temperature, which can exceed 30,000 degrees Celsius (54,000 degrees Fahrenheit). much hotter than the surface of the sun. This extreme heat can vaporize or melt conductive materials, resulting in fires or structural damage. This rapid and extreme heating of the air causes it to expand explosively, creating a shockwave that we perceive as thunder.
The explosive expansion of air occurs almost instantaneously along the entire length of the lightning channel. The speed of sound in air is approximately 343 meters per second (about 1,125 feet per second), and the shockwave generated by the expanding air travels at this speed in all directions. This results in the rumbling sound we hear as thunder.
The distance between the lightning strike and an observer affects the time delay between seeing the lightning flash and hearing the thunder. Since light travels much faster than sound, the lightning flash is seen almost instantaneously, while the sound takes longer to reach the observer’s ears. By counting the seconds between the lightning and the thunder, one can estimate how far away the lightning strike occurred (every 5 seconds of delay corresponds to roughly 1 mile or 1.6 kilometres of distance). This is a useful safety measure to assess the proximity of a thunderstorm. However lightning strikes can occur many miles, kilometres outside the original storm, so caution must always be observed.
An example shown around Majorca where thousands of discharges occurred….
One of the key advantages of the CMCE lightning protection technology is its universal design, enabling installation on various types of boats. Whether you own a sleek yacht, a sturdy fishing vessel, or a luxurious catamaran, the CMCE can be easily installed as mentioned previously. There are three specialized CMCE models for marine installation, all constructed to guarantee long- lasting performance in the harshest marine environment conditions, while preventing lightning strikes.
The SERTEC CMCE operates as a passive sensor system that provides permanent protection by balancing and deionising the effects of atmospheric phenomena using one or more compensators. By stabilising the existing electric field in its environment, it creates a ‘shield’ that cancels the formation of the ascending tracer by draining the electric charges to the earth or surrounding water in harmless milliamperes. This eliminates the formation of lightning within the protected area.
Each capacitor has one of its electrodes referenced to the ground system which is charged with the same polarity as it. The free electrode induces atmospheric charges of opposite polarity to the ground system, balancing internally between its electrodes. This generates a flow of charges to the ground system, which are absorbed from the atmosphere, not allowing the formation of lightning.
The CMCE also has an optional Accessory that shows the CMCE lightning protection model functioning 24/7 in any weather, providing real time data. Storm 7 is a condition monitor for electrical current drainage in milli Amps (mA) humidity, atmospheric pressure, temperature, also providing alarms, which is an advantage for insurance purposes and maintenance. It has a data transfer function via multiple protocols, generating reports.
There are three specialized CMCE lightning protection models for marine installation, all constructed to guarantee long- lasting performance in the harshest marine environment conditions while preventing lightning strikes.
Specialized Marine Models
- CMCE Gold – Thanks to its small size and weight, it is especially used for small boats, sailboats, marine buoys, etc., protecting 25 Metres radius. Weight: 2.3 lbs, 1.043Kg., Measurements: 4.9 x 8..5 in 124 mm x 125.9 mm
- CMCE Platinum – For use in medium-size fishing or expedition boats, catamarans, small yachts, etc., protecting 55 Metres radius. Weight: 6 lbs 2.722Kg., Measurements: 6.4 x 10 in. 162.56 mm X 254 mm
- CMCE Diamond – Developed for maximum protection on yachts, cruise ships, cargo ships, military ships, etc., protecting 120Metres radius. Weight: 13.6 lbs 6.169Kg ., Measurements: 9.8 x 14.9 in. 248.92 mm X 378.46 mm
The safety of people and property is always our top priority. The CMCE Lightning protection technology offers a practical and reliable solution for boat owners seeking to protect their vessels from the dangers of lightning strikes. Vessel owners can sail the seas with peace of mind by investing in this cutting-edge technology, ensuring that it protects their boats and those aboard from nature’s most formidable force.
Case Study
One of our many successful CMCE installations includes the Chevron California Voyager, a 613-foot chemical/oil tanker that primarily operates in the Gulf of Mexico. Lightning can cause severe damage to the ship’s navigation and communication systems, in addition to the risk posed by highly flammable cargo on board. To ensure continued operations, Chevron installed one CMCE Diamond and one CMCE Platinum. Both units were grounded to the ship’s structural steel.
For further information you can contact Email: sjhorsley@sertec.com.py Website: www.sertecmarine.com
By Stephen Horsley, PMIET, MIEEE, MCIGRE, MNSAI. Sales Director Sertec SRL