Wuhan University's Leizhou Lightning Test Base Achieves Success in Rocket-Triggered Lightning Experiments
TapTechNews July 16th news, according to the official news of Wuhan University today, on June 25th, 26th and July 4th, 2024, the Leizhou Field Lightning Test Base of Wuhan University (Guangdong) witnessed three consecutive thunderstorm days with three successful rocket-triggered lightning experiments this summer, kicking off the 2024 summer field rocket-triggered lightning comprehensive observation experiment with 6 successful hits.
It is introduced that the thunderclouds in nature have the characteristics of large expansion range, fast movement speed, instantaneity and randomness, and contain a large number of intra-cloud discharges and a small number of discharges to the ground. The problems such as flight delays, transmission line tripping, and new energy grid disconnection caused by summer lightning discharges have caused serious harm and losses to the society.
Lightning protection is an important field related to the national economy and people's livelihood. The rocket-triggered lightning technology has established a laboratory of nature's lightning. When a thunderstorm is overhead in the natural environment, by launching a dedicated triggered lightning rocket, the ground-fixed discharge of the thunderstorm cloud can be achieved. The dedicated spool at the tail of the triggered lightning rocket is wound with several hundred meters of thin steel wire, and the steel wire is connected to the ground facility together with the insulated wire. During the rapid ascent of the rocket, the steel wire is quickly pulled apart to form a long metal channel near the ground, causing the thunderstorm cloud to discharge to the ground.
Wuhan University has set up the Engineering Research Center of Lightning Protection and Grounding Technology of the Ministry of Education and the National Key Laboratory of Monitoring, Warning and Safety Protection of Lightning Disasters in Energy. The Leizhou Field Lightning Test Base of Wuhan University, is the first rocket-triggered lightning field test base in the field of electrical engineering in China, independently developed and built by the team of Professor Wang Jianguo of the Engineering Research Center of Lightning Protection and Grounding Technology.
The triggered lightning team composed of graduate students Zhang Chenxuan, Xu Changfeng, Duan Denglei, Wang Weibin, Wang Zhipeng, Geng Maorong, Zhang Li, and Chen Jiangtao from the High Voltage and Insulation Technology major of the School of Electrical Engineering and Automation of Wuhan University, under the leadership of the on-site commander-in-chief Professor Wang Jianguo, Professor Zhou Mi, and postdoctoral Cao Jinxin, overcame difficulties such as the hot and humid climate in the south, the fast-moving speed of lightning in the coastal area, the short launch window period, and the large workload of outdoor observation layout, and the rocket-triggered lightning experiment was successful for three consecutive thunderstorm days.
The success of this experiment is another progress in the rocket-triggered lightning technology and method of the Leizhou base team after the success of nine out of ten shots in a thunderstorm day in 2023, and rich observational data have been obtained. The lightning strike of 110 kV substation interval equipment in the experiment is the first case at home and abroad.
TapTechNews found out that the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences had conducted rocket artificial triggered lightning experiments in Shandong in 2021. The Leizhou Field Lightning Test Base tea m of Wuhan University successfully conducted the rocket-triggered lightning experiment for the first time in 2022, and now it has been successful for three consecutive years.