Section Title: Results – Unprotected Area Trends
Introductory Paragraph
This section presents the analysis of unprotected area as a function of stroke current range for three
different lightning protection rod lengths: 0.5 m, 1.0 m, and 1.5 m. The data are stratified by four Lightning
Protection Levels (LPL I to LPL IV) and analyzed across stroke current intervals ranging from 1.0 kA to 26.0
kA. The objective is to identify trends in protection performance across configurations.
Figures 1–3 (Line Graphs)
Figure 1. Unprotected area vs. stroke current range for rod length 0.5 m across LPL I–IV.
Line graph showing the trend of unprotected areas decreasing with increasing stroke current. LPL IV
consistently shows the largest unprotected area.
Figure 2. Unprotected area vs. stroke current range for rod length 1.0 m across LPL I–IV.
A noticeable drop in unprotected area occurs after 6.8 kA. LPL III and IV dominate in area coverage until the
mid-range.
Figure 3. Unprotected area vs. stroke current range for rod length 1.5 m across LPL I–IV.
Rod length 1.5 m provides the highest protection overall. Steeper declines in unprotected areas are
observed compared to shorter rods.
Table 1 (Summary Table)
Table 1. Maximum unprotected area (m²) for each rod length and LPL level.
This table summarizes the peak values extracted from the full dataset, helping to highlight the most critical
points of vulnerability across configurations.
• Highest unprotected area at LPL IV for 0.5 m rod.
• Rod 1.5 m shows consistently lower values beyond 4.8 kA.
Discussion Paragraph
From the plotted data and summary table, it is evident that shorter rod lengths exhibit larger unprotected
areas at lower stroke currents, particularly in higher LPL classifications. In contrast, the 1.5 m rod
demonstrates a significantly improved performance, reducing unprotected area more rapidly as current
increases. This indicates that longer rods are more effective in mitigating unprotected zones, especially in
higher-risk scenarios.
Supplementary Section
Figures S1–S3. Bar graphs of unprotected area across stroke current ranges for rod lengths 0.5 m, 1.0 m, and 1.5
m, respectively.
These charts provide an alternative view of unprotected area distribution. Use to visually compare exact
magnitude differences between LPLs.
Mentioned in text: “For a detailed breakdown of magnitude comparisons, see Supplementary Figures S1–
S3.”
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