Lightning Research Group. LRG

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Available positions (Internship and PhD)

Investigation of corona and leader properties useful for lightning protection


DENA is looking for a qualified Ph.D. student within the European project H2020 SAINT project: "Science And INnovation with Thunderstorms". The student will be supervised by the UPC Lightning Research Group.

DENA (INGESCO group) is a lightning protection company. DENA manufactures lightning protection components, lightning warning systems and high voltage tests. In addition, Labelec is the high voltage laboratory of DENA. The laboratory is an accredited for testing of lightning protection components. The laboratory has two voltage impulse generators of 1 MV and 2.5 MV respectively and an impulse current generator of 100 kA currently being upgraded to 200 kA. The market of the laboratory includes lightning protection of wind turbines and aircraft.

More information at: www.labelec.es

Context:

Current external lightning protection is just based on air termination systems, down conductors and grounding. The most common air terminations are lightning rods and conductor meshes. All are only conceived to receive lightning attachments but not getting any additional information.

The objective of this project is to investigate streamer and leader properties to be used in lightning protection. This research will be applied to design ‘smart’ lightning rods able to detect conditions for corona and leader inception and to obtain data from the lightning events. These smart lightning rods will be the next generation of lightning protection.

SAINT will provide a unique environment for this project thanks to the different objects of the researchers and the collaborations in the consortium.

 

Tasks:

1)      High voltage laboratory experiments to investigate the conditions of corona inception and the transition to leader discharge. Optical and electromagnetic measurements will be conducted in order to find suitable methods to be included in field experiments.

2)      Laboratory data will be also used to feed numerical models of coronas and leader transition. Bot, laboratory and simulations will be used to determine the required measurement system to include in lightning protection systems.

3)      Proposal and development of the detection and measurement systems.

4)      Field investigations at the UPC group instrumented tower.

 

Some experiments and modelling will be done in collaboration with other Ph.D. students in the SAINT project.

 

Candidates: Shall have skills in high voltage engineering, instrumentation and/or discharge physics.

 

 

EURAXESS PhD offer:     https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/215879.


Application:

Send a CV to Victor Lorenzo:  

Deadline for Application:

15th of June 2017

 Important dates:

- Deadline for applicants 15th June 2017

- From now to 15th June 2017 we can ask you for an interview (skype).

- After 15th June 2017 the project selection board will make the decision.