Rocket-triggered lightning studies for the protection of critical assets

The authors report on a computer program to determine quantitatively the electromagnetic (EM) environments inside an explosives storage structure that is struck by lightning. These environments were measured directly during rocket-triggered lightning (RTL) tests and were computed using linear finite-difference, time-domain (FDTD) EM solvers. The experimental and computational results were first compared in order to validate the code, and were then used to construct bounds for interior environments corresponding to severe incident lightning flashes. The code results were also used to develop simple circuit models for the EM field behavior-a process that resulted in a very simple physical interpretation of the structure's response that has significant practical and economic implications for design, construction, and maintenance of such facilities.< >