Lightning protection is one of the problems that a ship faces when navigating in storms or even when docked in the port. The lightning current causes physical damage to the elements that lead it, from the lightning capture element to its exit towards the sea surface.

The department of current impulses of the LCOE-HV technological Center has been collaborating since 2019 with the company “Future Fibers Rigging Systems” (part of the North Technology Group) for the development and improvement of lightning protection in yachts.
Since the beginning of the collaboration, the LCOE has carried out different tests with different objectives such as: evaluating the physical damage caused by the lightning current in elements such as masts or rigging, developing, and validating protection techniques against possible damages or studying the distribution of currents and energies in the rigging of the sailboat when the lightning strikes these rigs directly.

Mast of a sailboat during a lighting impulse voltage test at the LCOE.

More information: Ángel Ramirez angel.ramirez@ffii.es