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    Doc101414 00a

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    Doc101414 00a

    Uploaded by

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    DOC101414.00A

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    51 views2 pages

    Doc101414 00a

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    of 2

    Application Note

    BTD-300 Thunderstorm Detector


    Visibly Better

    Offshore
    Dr Alec Bennett PhD MInstP FRMetS CMet

    The offshore industries are challenging and lightning strike was reported in the vicinity by
    potentially dangerous places to live and work. remote, third-party lightning location networks.
    Whether it is the oil and gas markets or the With the live on site monitoring using a BTD-300
    wind energy sector, the prevailing weather an immediate restart of the O&M activities is
    conditions provide significant challenges to the possible once it is safe to do so.
    continued safe operation of the facility.
    In addition to lightning detection, the BTD-300
    Thunderstorms play a significant part to has the unique ability to detect the presence of
    disruption of operations including personnel electrically charged precipitation and strong
    transportation via helicopters. It is not just the electric field. Both of these features indicate the
    threat of lightning, but also the dangerous wind- presence of a Cumulonimbus cloud overhead,
    shear and icing events which can take place providing an early warning of potential nearby
    inside a cumulonimbus cloud. Knowledge of the lightning activity and aiding the reporting of this
    proximity and direction of travel of a nearby significant cloud type.
    thunderstorm is vital to ensure safety and
    minimise operational downtime. The BTD-300 is virtually immune to all forms of
    man-made radio-frequency interference,
    “Most of the time we get notification after minimising false alarms. With the ability to
    the thunderstorm has arrived. We would detect over twice as many flashes as
    like to know about it before it arrives, so conventional lightning detectors, the high
    that we can take the appropriate safety sensitivity combined with low false alarm rates
    actions”. makes it the ideal choice for reliable
    thunderstorm detection.
    Whilst no one can prevent the arrival of a
    thunderstorm, early warning of its development To demonstrate the performance at an offshore
    and location ensures that key personnel are facility, Cofely Fabricom –GDF Suez (Engie) was
    prepared for the possibility of a quick change to asked to install a BTD-300 on a substation for
    their activities. An additional advantage of the the wind farm C-Power (Thortonbank, Belgian
    BTD-300 thunderstorm detector is the North Sea).
    operational time gained after the lightning has
    stopped. In the past, technical crew waited for a The installation of the BTD-300 on the C-Power
    fixed period of time (one hour) after the last substation was used to evaluate its ability to

    © Biral - Bristol Industrial & Research Associates Ltd. 2015


    For more information, visit www.biral.com or contact us at [email protected]
    provide the wind farm operator advanced real serious accidents.
    time information about thunderstorm activity
    within a 56km (30nm) radius. During the For example, in Oil & Gas UK Health and Safety
    evaluation period, they maintained their existing Report 2013 (for period 1992-2012):
    lightning warning contract with a large and
    internationally renowned provider of “For accidents caused by external
    thunderstorm information to verify the resultant factors, 86 per cent of them were
    information. because of weather related events,
    including five lightning strikes and an
    After several weeks of no thunderstorm activity encounter with a water spout. The final
    (and no false alarms!) the system was fully accident accounts for the remaining 14
    tested by one very significant storm on 3 per cent and was due to a very heavy
    helideck landing caused by adverse
    February 2015. On this particular day there was
    helideck environmental effects (caused
    no visible lightning in the distance to give the
    by hot turbine exhaust plume).”
    operator the tell-tale signs of an approaching
    storm. The reporting timeline was as follows: and
    Ÿ The BTD-300 software screen alerted the “Eighteen reportable non-fatal accidents
    operator to a strong electric field at the site have also occurred since 1992. These
    Ÿ Within 15 minutes a strike was recorded include major component failures, pilot
    <20nm (<37km) away, bearing 090 degrees error, lightning strikes, major airframe
    Ÿ Personnel were informed to implement damage, and main and tail rotor
    the risk assessment protocol damage.”
    Ÿ Within a further 2 minutes a strike was
    recorded overhead – the first of this storm The presence of Cumulonimbus (CB) clouds are
    Ÿ 10 minutes after the first strike was treated as a significant weather condition due to
    detected by the BTD-300, the report is their threat to aircraft, as noted by the Helipad
    received from the existing national network Met Observer training course, which includes the
    provider. following relevant parts in the latest training
    Ÿ The strike was recorded by the network as syllabus:
    being 2.3km away from the substation, a
    range in accordance with the BTD-300 Ÿ Identification of convective clouds and the
    overhead alert. operational significance of TCU/CB clouds
    Ÿ Observing and reporting lightning and
    Denis Renson of Cofely Fabricom –GDF Suez thunderstorms
    said as a result of this outcome:
    Both overhead CB clouds and local
    “This has clearly demonstrated why the thunderstorms are detected by the BTD-300,
    BTD-300 is such a useful tool for the aiding the Helipad Met Observer. The ability to
    offshore industries by giving an detect both potential overhead storms and
    advanced warning of the possibility of a locate all subsequent flashes in the area is
    thunderstorm. This warning allowed our unique to the BTD-300, representing a
    customer to make an informed risk
    significant step change in both early warning of
    assessment and to maintain the safe
    an impending storm as well as in giving a much
    operation of the platform”.
    higher confidence that the threat has passed.
    Thunderstorms present a particular danger to References:
    helicopter operations, with published reports of Ÿ www.irata.associationhouse.org.uk/show_doc.php?doc_i
    helicopter accident statistics specifically d=4056
    mentioning lightning as a major factor in many Ÿ http://www.stormgeo.com/assets/ArticleFiles/CAP-437-
    Offshore-Meteorological-Observer-Training.pdf

    About the Author


    Dr Bennett is the Meteorological Products Manager for Biral, UK. He has a PhD in Atmospheric Electricity
    and 10 years' experience in research and development of lightning detection systems, including working
    at the UK Met Office and is a visiting Research Fellow at the University of Bath. He has written over 20
    papers in atmospheric electricity, which have been published in peer-reviewed international journals.

    © Biral - Bristol Industrial & Research Associates Ltd. 2015 DOC101414.00A


    For more information, visit www.biral.com or contact us at [email protected]

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