On the lightning attachment process of wind turbine–observation, experiments and modelling

Wind power plays an increasingly important role in power generation as one of the most popular renewable energy sources. With the increasing capacity and height of wind turbines, lightning incidents have become one of the most serious threats to wind turbines, especially for wind turbine blades. It is important to fully understand the lightning attachment process of a wind turbine, which is not only essential to academic research but also useful to the design of a lightning protection system. Plenty of work has been conducted from three main perspectives: field observations, laboratory experiments, and simulation models. In this paper, the existing research achievements have been reviewed, and problems to be solved have been proposed. The monitoring of lightning incidents on wind farms remains a challenge, and a device to capture lightning strikes to wind turbines with high efficiency is in demand. The impact of sensors on the blade on the lightning protection system cannot be ignored and needs further investigation. For the simulation model, the influence of space charge on the lightning attachment process is not fully understood, and improvements might be made to the existing model.