Effect of resistance on lightning return stroke current

This paper describes a new method of calculation to determine the return stroke current by integrating all discharge currents along the channel. Using this method, the effect of added resistance in the lightning discharge channel is calculated. We find that the values of peak current, current risetime, and current-time derivative along the channel are strongly influenced by an additional resistance at the base of the channel. This result is of importance in the behavior of lightning protection terminal systems.