Study on the Influence of Lightning Current on Space-Time Evolution of Secondary Arc

The research methods of secondary arc parameters have been developing for half a century and there have also been some new developments in the mathematical model of lightning current. However, due to the technical limitations, no study has been carried on the space-time evolution of secondary arcs in thunderstorm weather after lightning strikes. In this paper, considering the electromagnetic force, thermal buoyant force, wind load and air resistance in the motion of the secondary arc, a chain arc model was established, which was combined with the double exponential function lightning current model. The motion of the secondary arc and the change of arc extinguishing time with or without lightning current were observed. The results show that lightning could accelerate the motion of the secondary arc and shorten the arc extinguishing time of the secondary arc. Then, by adjusting the different parameters of lightning current function, lightning start time and lightning duration, the impact of various factors on the motion process of the secondary arc and arc extinguishing time was obtained. The different effective values of the secondary arc current was selected to observe the impact of the same lightning current model on the different secondary arc current arc extinguish situation. The results show that a higher lightning current level, an earlier lightning start time, and a lower effective value of the secondary arc current could all make the impact of the lightning current more obvious. The motion and extinguishing process of secondary arc between 0.001-0.01s of lightning strike duration are basically identical. The research work can provide some reference for the analysis of space-time evolution of secondary arc in thunderstorm field.