The Performance of Charge Transfer System against Lightning Rod at the Communication Towers Analyzed by Using Lightning Video System and Rogowski Coils

A majority of researchers and scientists doubted the effectiveness of Charge Transfer System (CTS). This paper presented an experimental approach to analyze the cTs by using lightning video system (LVS) and Rogowski coils. The observation of CTS was conducted at a station with a communication tower with the height of 75 meter, located in the state of Pahang, Malaysia. The lightning flash density within this area was between 7 and 10 flashes/km²/year. The results observed using the LVS showed pictorially several lightning return strokes occurring some several meters away from the communication tower. It is interesting to note that none of the pictorial views showed any lightning return stroke which was due to upward-going leaders initiated by the tower itself. Unbelievable, the maximum total surge current values observed by using Rogowski coils at the tower legs, ladder and gantry were 7400 amperes. The chronology of system shutdown and equipment damages occurring in this station before and after installing CTS was also presented. The results then were compared with that of another communication tower located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that was installed with lightning rod. The results obtained at the latter tower were a courtesy of Tominaga et al.