Development of Lightning Protection System (LPS) Designing Tool

Building structures are commonly exposed with the lightning phenomenon. Due to that, sometimes, it may cause a threat and bring an injury due to direct strike to the structure and hence may harm and gives physical damage for whomever near the risky area and this also may result to failure of internal system of the building. Therefore, a Lightning Protection System (LPS) is a system whereby it can prevent this to happen and reduce the risk to minimum. Where, Lightning Protection Systems is a system that is installed on building structures to protect it from the lightning strike being diverted. By that, it can dissipate the lightning current safely to pass a though the building structure and to the ground. Lightning Protection System consists of three major parts which are air terminal, down conductor and also grounding system. In designing this Lightning Protection System tool, it was followed based on the updated standard which is NFPA 780-2014 and was focused on three roof types which were ridge, flat and pitched roofs. Based on this standard, the data and mathematical equations were obtained to form algorithms whereby it would be used in the software afterwards. The tool would be developed and conducted by using Microsoft Excel 2010 since the algorithm was fit to be formulated in this software. Just then, the input and output interface should be constructed and thereby, by selecting and key an option provided, a user could have some basic idea on how the designing of Lightning Protection System work done and hence, show the criteria to design the Lightning Protection Systems.