Proposal of new zoning concept considering lightning protection of wind turbine blades

The present paper discusses a new method of dividing the wind turbine blades in different zones, to argue for a principle of differentiating the lightning protection system. The argumentation is based on experiences gathered during the past five years, consisting of laboratory testing, numerical modeling and gathering of field data. Finally the conclusions are correlated with the requirements in the new standard concerning lightning protection of wind turbines; IEC 61400-24 [1].