On the simulation of the interception of lightning dart leaders

Abstract

This paper presents the numerical evaluation of the propagation of positive upward connecting leaders under the influence of lightning dart leaders. The simulation is performed with the self-consistent leader inception and propagation model - SLIM-. An analytical expression is derived for calculating the charge per unit length required to thermalize a new upward leader segment. The simulation is validated with two dart leader attachment events in a lightning triggering experiment reported in the literature. Good agreement between the estimations and the measurements of dart leader interception in length, duration and velocity of upward leader propagation has been found. Further analysis is carried out on dart lightning leader interception.