Shape Evaluation Test of Diverter Strip for Lightning Protection of Wind Turbines

Diverter strips prevent direct lightning strikes on the down-conductors in wind turbine blades and lead direct lightning strikes to the receptors. Conventional diverter strips are designed for use in aircraft and are damaged by a single lightning strike due to the thin metal chip. Also, unlike aircraft, which can be inspected after each flight, diverter strips used on wind turbines cannot be inspected for more than one year. Therefore, diverter strips for aircraft do not have sufficient lightning resistance, and it is necessary to develop diverter strips suitable for installation in wind turbines. In a previous study, materials were investigated, and it was found that diverter strip made of molybdenum have the lowest current damage. In this paper, diverter strips of various shapes are tested. High currents were injected into them and the damage is investigated to determine the most suitable shape of diverter strip for lightning protection of wind turbine blades.