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Title: 1994 Triggered Lightning Test Program: Measured responses of a reinforced concrete building under direct lightning attachments

Abstract

A rocket-triggered lightning test was carried out during the summer of 1994 on a specially designed steel reinforced concrete test building located at Ft. McClellan, Alabama. Currents, voltages, and magnetic fields were measured at 24 instrumented locations during 42 return strokes triggered to designated points on the structure and its lightning protection systems. As was found during an earlier similar lightning test of an earth covered munitions storage building, the buried power service conduits carried a much larger fraction of incident stroke current away from the building than did the intended grounding elements of the lightning protection system. Electrical breakdown and subsequent arcing occurred repeatedly to create dominant current paths to earth that were not accounted for in pretest linear modeling. Potential hazard level transient voltages, surprisingly more resistive than inductive in nature, were recorded throughout the structure. Also surprisingly, strikes to a single grounded protection mast system resulted in internal environments that were generally comparable to those occurring during strikes to roof-mounted air terminals. A description of the test structure, experimental procedures, and a full set of the resultant data are presented in this two-volume report.

Authors:
; ;  [1]; ;  [2]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  2. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
105109
Report Number(s):
SAND-95-1551/1
ON: DE95017635
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Aug 1995
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE; 42 ENGINEERING NOT INCLUDED IN OTHER CATEGORIES; EARTH-COVERED BUILDINGS; ELECTRICAL TESTING; LIGHTNING; LIGHTNING ARRESTERS; ENGINEERED SAFETY SYSTEMS; BREAKDOWN; FLASHOVER; MILITARY FACILITIES; MAGNETIC FIELDS; ELECTRIC CURRENTS; ELECTRIC POTENTIAL; CONCRETES; REINFORCED MATERIALS

Citation Formats

Schnetzer, G.H., Chael, J., Davis, R., Fisher, R.J., and Magnotti, P.J. 1994 Triggered Lightning Test Program: Measured responses of a reinforced concrete building under direct lightning attachments. United States: N. p., 1995. Web. doi:10.2172/105109.
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Schnetzer, G.H., Chael, J., Davis, R., Fisher, R.J., & Magnotti, P.J. 1994 Triggered Lightning Test Program: Measured responses of a reinforced concrete building under direct lightning attachments. United States. doi:10.2172/105109.
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Schnetzer, G.H., Chael, J., Davis, R., Fisher, R.J., and Magnotti, P.J. Tue . "1994 Triggered Lightning Test Program: Measured responses of a reinforced concrete building under direct lightning attachments". United States. doi:10.2172/105109. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/105109.
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@article{osti_105109,
title = {1994 Triggered Lightning Test Program: Measured responses of a reinforced concrete building under direct lightning attachments},
author = {Schnetzer, G.H. and Chael, J. and Davis, R. and Fisher, R.J. and Magnotti, P.J.},
abstractNote = {A rocket-triggered lightning test was carried out during the summer of 1994 on a specially designed steel reinforced concrete test building located at Ft. McClellan, Alabama. Currents, voltages, and magnetic fields were measured at 24 instrumented locations during 42 return strokes triggered to designated points on the structure and its lightning protection systems. As was found during an earlier similar lightning test of an earth covered munitions storage building, the buried power service conduits carried a much larger fraction of incident stroke current away from the building than did the intended grounding elements of the lightning protection system. Electrical breakdown and subsequent arcing occurred repeatedly to create dominant current paths to earth that were not accounted for in pretest linear modeling. Potential hazard level transient voltages, surprisingly more resistive than inductive in nature, were recorded throughout the structure. Also surprisingly, strikes to a single grounded protection mast system resulted in internal environments that were generally comparable to those occurring during strikes to roof-mounted air terminals. A description of the test structure, experimental procedures, and a full set of the resultant data are presented in this two-volume report.},
doi = {10.2172/105109},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1995},
month = {Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1995}
}
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Technical Report:
View Technical Report (5.31 MB)
DOI:  10.2172/105109
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  • ; ;
    A rocket-triggered lightning test was carried out during the summer of 1994 on a specially designed steel reinforced concrete test building located at Ft. McClellan, Alabama. Currents, voltages, and magnetic fields were measured at 24 instrumented locations during 42 return strokes triggered to designated points on the structure and its lightning protection system. Detailed descriptions of the test structure, measurements, and test procedures are given in Volume 1 of this report. The present volume contains plots of the complete set of test data.

  • ; ; ; ...
    On September 24, 25, 28, and 29, 1998 and on October 19 and 23, 1998, transfer impedance measurements were made on Los Alamos National Laboratories TA 16 - Building 411 and TA 8-- Building 23 to characterize their interior open-circuit voltage response to a direct lightning flash attachment to the structures. The theory, history, measurement methods and equipment, and specific measured results are detailed. The measured results demonstrate that if the remaining metallic penetrations are bonded, then the rebar of the two structures is sufficiently well connected to form a Faraday cage that reduces the maximum open-circuit voltage inside themore » structure to a sufficiently low level that the required standoff distance to prevent arcing to explosive assemblies is 6.8 inches for TA 16 - Building 411 and is 11.5 inches for TA 8 - Building 23.« less

  • ; ; ; ...
    On September 24, 25, 28, and 29, 1998 and on October 19 and 23, 1998, transfer impedance measurements were made on Los Alamos National Laboratories TA 16 - Building 411 and TA 8-- Building 23 to characterize their interior open-circuit voltage response to a direct lightning flash attachment to the structures. The theory, history, measurement methods and equipment, and specific measured results are detailed. The measured results demonstrate that if the remaining metallic penetrations are bonded, then the rebar of the two structures is sufficiently well connected to form a Faraday cage that reduces the maximum open-circuit voltage inside themore » structure to a sufficiently low level that the required standoff distance to prevent arcing to explosive assemblies is 6.8 inches for TA 16 - Building 411 and is 11.5 inches for TA 8 - Building 23.« less

  • ; ;
    A parameter study was conducted on stresses in reinforced nozzle-to-cylinder attachments under internal pressure loading as analyzed by the finite-element method. Twenty-five models with branch-to-run diameter ratios 0.08 less than or equal to d/D less than or equal to 0.50 and run diameter-to-thickness ratios 10 less than or equal to D/T less than or equal to 100 were investigated. A three-dimensional finite-element program, CORTES-SA, which was developed at the University of California at Berkeley specifically for analyzing tee-joint configurations, was used in the study. It was concluded from the study that both of the reinforcement designs investigated significantly reduce maximummore » stresses relative to configurations having little or no reinforcement. For internal pressure loading, neither of the reinforcement designs offered a significant advantage over the other in that both types of reinforcement gave very nearly the same maximum stresses.« less

  • ; ;
    A parameter study was conducted on stresses in reinforced nozzle-to-cylinder attachments under external moment loadings as analyzed by the finite-element method. Twenty-five models with nozzle-to-cylinder diameter ratios 0.08 less than or equal to d/D less than or equal to 0.50 and cylinder diameter-to-thickness ratios 10 less than or equal to D/T less than or equal to 100 were investigated. A three-dimensional finite-element program, CORTES-SA, developed specifically for analyzing tee-joint configurations, was used in the study. Each of the 25 models was analyzed for 6 individually applied external moment loadings, with 3 mutually orthogonal moment loadings on the nozzle end andmore » 3 on the cylinder. Two of the recommended nozzle reinforcement designs given in Subsection NB-3338.2, Section III, of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code were examined: nozzle thickening or standard reinforcement (S1 models) and 30/sup 0/ triangular pad reinforcement (P30 models). Essentially unreinforced models (U models) were also included for comparison. Although these design configurations have been recommended by the Code for many years, very little specific stress analysis information exists by which the adequacy or relative safety margins of the Code design rules can be judged. Results from the parameter studies reported here provide some of the needed information.It was concluded from the study that both of the reinforcement designs investigated significantly reduce maximum stresses relative to configurations having little or no reinforcement. Out-of-plane bending moment loading on the nozzle gave high maximum stress values for both unreinforced and reinforced configurations having relatively large, thin (d/D = 0.50, D/T greater than or equal to 20) nozzle attachments.« less