Detection and location of direct lightning strokes to overhead power transmission lines by measuring currents from shield wires

This paper proposes a new method for detection and location of lightning strokes to overhead power transmission lines. The method uses sensors distributed along the transmission line, placed on the top of the towers, to detect and locate the stroke by measuring the stroke currents flowing from shield wires to the towers. When a lightning strikes the shield wire, the stroke currents flow from the wire to ground through the towers. If the lightning strikes the phase cable, the stroke currents induces currents in the shield wires which flow to ground through the towers. Each sensor measures the current and send the rate of change and the peak value to a computer for location processing and evaluation of the stroke severity.