The Collection Volume Method for lightning protection of marine ships

This paper investigates and demonstrates a developed technique to use the Collection Volume Method (CVM), for the placement of either conventional or non-conventional lightning protection systems (LPS) for ships. Each lightning eliminator is assigned a striking distance, which is calculated as a function of its height, radius of curvature, ship location, ship dimensions, risk factor, and lightning related parameters. The (CVM) was compared to the old traditional methods using lightning rods of different heights and different lightning leader currents. Applying the (CVM) developed method to use the conventional or non-conventional lightning protection systems was our key to find the optimized placement of air terminals to ensure that the most efficient lightning protection system is installed on the ship, Our technique has proved to be the most efficient (LPS), since it achieves the desired level of protection and safety at the lowest possible cost.