by Trevor Manas, Pontins
Corrosion of earthing and lightning protection systems can be avoided… giving them a lifespan of 30 years, in some cases.
Published in:
Electricity+Control, April 2016 (pages 16 – 20)
Enquiries: Email trevor@pontins.co.za
For earthing and lightning protection systems having a life span of 20 to 30 years, the correct appraisal of the site conditions, environmental factors, soil resistivity values, types of conductors and components must be carefully assessed. The correct site evaluations and subsequent design and installation should prevent premature corrosion of the earthing and lightning protection conductors, connectors and components and thereby increase the life expectancy of these protection systems. There are various factors that could cause corrosion of the earthing and LPS:
- Electrochemical corrosion (most cases)
- Galvanic corrosion
- Corrosion at buried connection points
- Air-borne corrosive particles
- Incorrect combination of materials
Take note
- Earthing and lightning protection systems should have a lifespan of between 20 and thirty years.
- Corrosion depends on the earthing materials and the type and composition of the soil.
- Correct site evaluations, design and installation should prevent corrosion of components in lightning protection systems.
Read the full article on Corrosion of earthing and lightning protection systems in PDF format.
