Low cost sensor for measuring keraunic index and

lightning density in the Amazon Region

Adonis Ferreira Raiol Leal Brígida Ramati Pereira da Rocha

UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO PARÁ SIPAM
Belém, Brasil Belém, Brasil
adonisleal1@hotmail.com brigida.rocha@sipam.gov.br

Abstract—The keraunic index indicates the number of

thunderstorm days per year in a given region. The registration
can be obtained from organizations responsible for the
monitoring the national territory for the incidence of lightning.
This index is used by Brazilian standards to assist in the design of
systems for lightning protection (SPDA) NBR-5419. It is essential
for risk analysis involving lightning. Another important
parameter is the lightning density (lightning per square
kilometer/year).
To establish a good mapping of keraunic index and lightning
density in the Amazon Region it is necessary a great number of
sensors. In order to measure lightning automatically we propose
a prototype sensor for measuring the keraunic index
autonomously. The sensor will measure the amount of lightning
in a particular region during the interval of one year, and
II. THE PROJECT
The prototype is basically constituted of two antennas, a
loop and a flat plate one. The signals from these antennas are
connected to an electronic circuit, which are connected mainly
in a PsoC device, specifically the CY8C27443-24PI type [1].
Antena Loop
To tune the antenna in the aimed frequency of 10Khz, it
was used a resonant capacitor in parallel, with an antenna
output. To calculate what the capacitance necessary to tune
this frequency, the equations 1 and 2 (below) were used [2] [3]
  

 = 1 


 + 3 +
 (1)

determine how many days of the year lightning occurred.
Basically the prototype consists of a loop antenna with resonant Where:
frequency centered at 10kHz, to capture the peak of the
 is the loop inductance in micro henrys.
electromagnetic signal emitted by lightning, an flat plate antenna
to measure the variation of the electric field, amplifiers with A is the length of one of the sides of the loop in
programmable gain, a system of analog filtering to eliminate centimeters (cm)
possible unwanted noise, an counter days to determine the days
of the occurrence of lightning, and a counter for the lightning. B is the space between each loop in centimeters (cm)
Most of these systems are implemented internally to PSoC
N is the number of the turns in the loop
(Programmable System-on-Chip) , which is the microcontroller
with analog and digital modules, reconfigurable, thus the system K1, K2, K3 and K4 are factors that vary according to the
as a whole will be more immune to interference because the the antenna geometry.
sub systems will be encapsulated within the PSOC.
  !
The system will be developed to work autonomously within one
year, so it will be possible to acquire data of the keraunic index of
 = "#$# % (2)
&'
the coverage area of the sensor, and the implementation of more
sensors that can be used to generate isokeraunic maps for the
region.
First the loop inductance was calculated, and with this
Keywords: keraunic index, lightning density, loop antenna, flat result we calculated the capacitor’s resonance according to the
plate antenna, PSoC. aimed frequency. For the frequency of 10KHz it was
calculated that a capacitor of 1,418749 μF, however since
I. INTRODUCTION there is no commercial capacitors within this range, we
The objective of this paper is to present a project for a adopted a 1μF capacitor, which would produce a resonant
lightning detector prototype for estimate the lightning density antenna around 12KHz, which comply to the needs of this
project.
and keraunic índex similar to CIGRE 10KHz lightning counter
and it has as main characteristc the low cost and simple and
objective interface.
Amplifiers
The amplifiers used are placed internally to the PSoC. The
gain of this amplifier can be programed according to the array
of the resistors in the feeding input and can vary between
0.062 and 48. In the first stage of the amplifier it was used a
gain of 48 in the input of the loop antenna; and in the second
stage a gain of 4, implemented through a development
interface called "PSoC designer”.
Filter
Both amplifiers and filters were designed using analogic
blocs inside the PSoC. The implemented filter had a bandpass
switch in a central frequency of 10Khz and a bandwidth of
14KHz.
Comparator
The function of the comparator in the prototype is to
generate a pulse for the counting algorithm when a lightning
occur. It will continuously analyze the output signal in the
second stage of the amplification, and when this signal trepass
a certain threshold, its output will go to a high logic level, that
is a output pulse of +5V.
LCD
In the LCD display will present 3 data: NR which
corresponds to the number of lightning detected, DR which
are the density of lightning for the region installed sensor and
IC which is the IC keraunic index.
Costs
The costs for the development of prototypes were divided
in three groups: outlay with materials, intellectual
development and tests. The cost for the production in large
scale/mass production is below US$ 1.000,00 which meets the
regional needs.
Algorithms.
Basically, three algorithm in C languages were
implemented in the PSoC microprocessor, the first is a counter
which will increase the variable “number of lightning” each
time the comparator treshold is trespassed. The second
algorithm will calculate the lightning density for the region of
installation of the antenna and the third will count the keraunic
index.
III. TESTS AND RESULTS
The test occurred on 01/16/2014, in the interval between
1800h and 1930h (local time). In this test the antenna was
installed indoors (in a shelter). In order to validate and
compare the obtained results, we used data from the
STARNET network (Sferics Timing And Ranging NETwork)
available in [4], where it is available in real time the location
of lightning, as well as the time distribution in intervals of 15
minutes.
In figure 1 it can be seen some examples of lightning
detected during a storm.
Fig. 1. Example of lightning detected during a storm.
To determine the area of scope of the sensor it was carried
out the following methodology during a thunderstorm.
1- The prototype was reset, at the same time an image of a
localization of a lightning in the surroundings of the
installation of the sensor using the STARNET network.
2- Then, the prototype was left in operation during 15 min,
which is the same time for the actualization of the STARNET
network.
3- After these 15min period a new image was acquired
with the localization of the lightning, from the same region
that was analyzed previously and it was verified the number of
lightning detected by the prototype..
4- With this information it was identified the lighnings that
occurred in this time interval, which ones were identified by
the sensor and which were not.
5- The region of the scope for the sensor was defined by
the location of the furthest lightning detected and the nearest
lightning not detected by the sensor.
CONCLUSION
The tests for the prototype showed to be very satisfactory.
The scope area was estimated in approximately 104Km, and
the low cost of production make it viable to be installed in a
large number in the amazon region where this type of system
is scarce.
Despite the advantages of this system it is still necessary to
perfect it, especially regarding the development of a more
advanced energy module, with a more advanced battery bank
to supply power when eventual power outages.
Acknowledgment
.
References
[1] http://www.cypress.com/?id=1370
[2] Carr, Joseph J. (1994). "Small Loop Antennas for MW, AM BCB, LF
and VLF Reception - Part 1." Elektor Electronics (UK), June1994, pp.
58 - 63.8
[3] Carr, Joseph J. (1994). "Small Loop Antennas for MW, AM BCB, LF
and VLF Reception - Part 2." Elektor Electronics (UK), July/August
1994, pp. 104 - 109.
[4] http://www.zeus.iag.usp.br/zeus_google_v3/