Transient induced response on cables by lightning electromagnetic pulse with different experimental conditions

• The inductive properties of different cables, including communication and electrical cables, coupled into the double toroidal magnetic field are summarized in the time-domain waveforms and accumulated energy. • Influence of the various type and shielding methods of communication cables on induced surges is revealed. • Different number of cores and different shielding methods of cables are investigated for their ability to protect against lightning surges. • The simulation results of the double toroidal magnetic field are basically the same as the experimental results, which can be used as subsequent experimental calculations, both for different lightning surges and different experimental environments. The coupling of lightning electromagnetic pulse (LEMP) on cables can generate disruptive surge current and voltage, which may cause damage to devices or systems connected with cables. In this paper, a double toroidal magnetic field, through injection of an 8/20 μ s lightning current into a double toroidal coil, is generated to induce indirect effects on nine communication/electrical cables. The impacts of different types and shielding methods of communication cables on induced surge current are evaluated, and the results show that twisted-pair cables with shielding layer have the best shielding effectiveness, with the ability to absorb more energy on the communication cables from LEMP. In addition, the study's findings demonstrate that the induction properties of cables are independent of the number of cores, but related to the shielding layer of cables. Meanwhile, simulation analysis in CST Studio Suite is carried out here, and results are basically similar to experimental results, with the difference attributed to the ignorance of some losses in the simulation environment. Finally, the magnetic field strength at each point of the LEMP is simulated, with some engineering proposals for the actual and simulated experiments.