LightningMaster Corp

Steel and fiberglass production tanks are subject to myriad vulnerabilities. They require multiple layers of static and lightning protection including:

  • Dissipation of static and bound charge (potential) on the stored product
  • Direct lightning attachment to the tank or tank battery
  • Bonding of all masses of inductance on the tank and battery

There exist solutions that attempt to defy susceptibilities, but they carry limited effectiveness.

We’ve outlined the design intent and performance inadequacies of traditional alternatives, followed by a summary of the advantages of Lightning Master Systems:

  1. Carbon veil: A conductive strip woven into a fiberglass tank with a grounding lug provided near the base of the tank. The intent is to dissipate static charge from the stored product onto the strip.
    • Drawback: This system presents a flat surface to the stored product. Because charge more readily dissipates into a liquid off small radius electrodes than off flat surfaces, the effectiveness of the veil is limited. If adjacent wraps of the veil do not overlap, it presents the possibility of arcing between wraps during a lightning strike or ground fault. The carbon veil does not provide bonding to miscellaneous masses of inductance on the tank, nor does it provide air terminals (lightning rods) or a full-size conductor to ground.
  2. In-tank suspension of chain or other appliance: This is also intended to dissipate static charge from the stored product onto the chain or other appliance.
    • Drawback: This system presents a flat (curved) surface to the stored product. Because charge more readily dissipates into a liquid off small radius electrodes than off flat surfaces, it limits the effectiveness of the appliance. The chain or other appliance does not provide bonding to miscellaneous masses of inductance on the tank, nor does it provide air terminals (lightning rods) or a full-size conductor to ground.
  3. Conductive paint
    • Drawback: Since paint serves only to coat the outside of a tank, it cannot dissipate static charge from the stored product. Conductive paint may help by providing a path for energy from a direct lightning strike down the bank exterior, but division of current over the face of the painted surface will be compromised if lightning attaches to the tank. It is highly unlikely the paint will be thick enough to prevent melt-through of the fiberglass, thereby not meeting lightning protection code requirements.
  4. Catenary system: Consists of grounded masts or poles supporting a wire or wires over the site; primarily intended to protect electric power utility company transmission and distribution lines by intercepting what would otherwise be direct strikes to the phase conductors.
    • Drawback: The overhead wires have no effect on streamer formation from the tanks, and therefore do not affect the likelihood of a direct strike to the tanks. They are merely intended to “get in the way” of a direct strike, intercepting and conveying it to ground. When used to protect tanks or other structures, this system cannot mitigate secondary effect arcing, the primary cause of ignition. Actually, if a catenary system performs exactly as designed and intercepts a direct strike, it maximizes the likelihood of secondary effect arcing across the tank and appurtenances by bringing the lightning energy to ground near the base of the tank.
  5. Conventional Lightning Rod system: This traditional solution leverages Franklin-type lightning rods arranged on the tanks and battery; an alternative based on attracting lightning to the lightning rod, then conveying it to ground.
    • Drawback: Designed to protect a wooden house or barn, it is inappropriate for use on tank batteries. Lightning attachment is not the primary cause of ignition; secondary effect arcing is the primary cause of ignition, thus introducing, not preventing, the primary cause of ignition.
  6. Early Streamer Emitting system: A small number of air terminals, (usually a single air terminal), are used to protect an extended area. It works by emitting a streamer early in the streamer formation phase of a lightning strike.
    • Drawback: Instead of keeping away direct lightning strikes, the opposite is true. They attract lightning to themselves and to the site. While lightning attachment is not the primary cause of ignition, the secondary effect arcing is the primary cause of ignition.

The Lightning Master Solution:

  • Our in-tank linear dissipater (patent pending) provides thousands of small radius points at various elevations throughout the stored product to dissipate static and bound charge on the product.
  • The bonding system brings all masses of inductance to the same potential, reducing the likelihood of arc-caused ignition.
  • The purpose-designed streamer-delaying air terminals (lightning rods) delay the formation of lightning-completing streamers from the tanks, thereby reducing the likelihood of a direct strike.

Lightning Master® is a full service, full spectrum static solutions, lightning and transient protection company serving the oil, gas and chemical industries since 1984. We wrote the book on lightning and static protection.