sparkta user manual

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Sparta Lightning Protection

User Manual

Version 1.0

March, 2013


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User Manual

Sparta Lightning Protection - http://www.spartalightning.com/ Page 2/31

Sparkta Lightning Protection Systems Design

Read before using this software

This software license agreement is a legal agreement between you and author of this software (Sparta

Lightning Protection) for the software product Sparkta.

By installing or using the software product, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this

agreement. If you do not wish to agree to all the terms and conditions of this agreement, you must not

install or use Sparkta.

License Agreement

1. GRANT OF LICENSE. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Agreement, Sparta Lightning Protectiongrants to Licensee a non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the software Sparkta. This license is

solely for the use of the Software by the Customer on a single computer. Licensee may not, however,

transfer or sublicense the Licensed Program to any third party, in whole or in part, in any form, whether

modified or unmodified.

2. TERM OF LICENSE. The license will continue perpetually from the date of purchase. The Customer maytransfer the Software to another computer, provided that the Software may not be used on more than

one computer at any given time.

3. TRIAL VERSION. Use of the Software Product without purchase of a License shall be limited to evaluationpurposes only. The Licensee shall have the right within a maximum period of 30 days starting from the

date of first use of the software. Any kind of distribution of the software is prohibited.

4. MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT AND UPDATES. For a period of one year following the purchase of theSoftware, updates and new versions are free of costs. In order to receive updates after the first year it is

necessary to pay an annual maintenance fee. The first year and the annual maintenance fee also

provide technical support by email.

5. COPYRIGHT. The Software is copyrighted, and all rights therein are reserved by Sparta LightningProtection. The Software Product is licensed, not sold.

6. LIMITED WARRANTY. The Customer assumes all responsibility for the selection of the Software asappropriate to achieve the results intended by the Customer. Licensor does not warrant that the

functions contained in the Software will meet licensee's requirements or that the operation of the

Software will be uninterrupted or error free.

7. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. In no event will Sparta Lightning Protection be liable for any amount ofincidental, consequential or other indirect damages arising out of the Customers use of the Software,

including, lost profits, interruption of business or any incidental or consequential damages.8. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. The Customer acknowledges that has read and understands this agreement, and

agrees to be bound by all its terms and conditions.


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Contents

1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 4

2 Interface ..................................................................................................................................................... 4

3 Creating a new project ............................................................................................................................... 5

4 Settings ....................................................................................................................................................... 5

5 Adding physical data .................................................................................................................................. 6

5.1 Roofs ................................................................................................................................................... 7

5.2 Air terminals ....................................................................................................................................... 9

6 Editing physical data ................................................................................................................................. 10

6.1 Roofs ................................................................................................................................................. 10

6.2 Air terminals ..................................................................................................................................... 11

7 Deleting physical data .............................................................................................................................. 12

7.1 Roofs ................................................................................................................................................. 12

7.2 Air terminals ..................................................................................................................................... 13

8 Saving a Project ........................................................................................................................................ 14

9 Opening a project ..................................................................................................................................... 15

10 Visualizing the structures ..................................................................................................................... 16

11 Simulating and analyzing results .......................................................................................................... 18

12 Risk assessment .................................................................................................................................... 20

12.1 Simplified risk assessment ................................................................................................................ 20

12.2 Detailed risk assessment .................................................................................................................. 22

13 Creating a report .................................................................................................................................. 23

14 Step by step .......................................................................................................................................... 24


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1 IntroductionSparkta is software for the design of Lightning Protection Systems using the electrogeometric model and

the NFPA 780 Risk Assessment methodology. The program is a tool for carry out designs that ensure user

defined lightning risk levels using the least amount of strike termination devices.

The methodology of design using Sparkta is an iterative process which consists of adding air terminals only

at points which have the greatest likelihood of lightning strikes. Each time, the user adds only one or few

air terminals and evaluates the risk. The process finish when the risk components are less than the

tolerable values.

The program allows the analysis of the protection provided not only by the air terminal but also for other

elements such us metallic roofs, chimneys, etc.

2 InterfaceThe figure below shows the interface provided by Sparkta.

Sparkta consists of a Menu Bar, a Toolbar and two Panes. The menu bar and the toolbar provide access to

the data files, graphics, simulation, and other facilities of the program. The left pane provides the access to


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the physical data of the structure (roofs and air terminals). The right pane shows the 3D view, plan view

and graphic results of the simulation.

3

Creating a new projectWhen the user just opens the program it is not needed to create a new project. If you have opened aproject, then the option New project will close the current project and will create an empty project.

Click on the button

The program will ask if you really want to begin a new project. You will loose the not saved changes in the

current project.

Click on Yes to begin a new project, or No to continue in the current project.

4 SettingsThe option Settings allows to set the parameters for the simulation.

Click on the

button


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The program will show a dialog window with the settings for the simulation.

Project Name User defined name for the current project

Type of simulation The user can choose: Probabilistic or Single Current simulation.

- Probabilistic: the program simulates flashes with discharge currentsaccording to a distribution of probability. Choose this type of

simulation if you want to assess risk.

- Single current: the program simulates flashes with a single dischargecurrent or striking distance.

Lightning flash density Flashes per square kilometer of the place where the project is located. This

parameter is needed only if the Probabilistic simulation is selected.

Striking Distance Striking distance in meters of the flashes. This parameter is needed only if the

Single Current simulation is selected. If the user set this parameter, the

program automatically calculates the Discharge Current.

Discharge Current Discharge current in kA of the flashes. This parameter is needed only if the

Single Current simulation is selected. If the user set this parameter, the

program automatically calculates the Striking Distance. The program uses the

following relationship between striking distance and discharge current:

D: Striking Distance in meters

I: Discharge Current in kA

Write the name of the project, select the type of simulation and set the parameters needed. Click on

Save to save the changes or Cancel to keep the current settings.

5 Adding physical dataFor the simulation the user have to model the structure. For the electrogeometric model the relevant parts

of the structure are the roofs and the strike termination devices (air terminals).


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5.1 RoofsEach roof is modeled as a quadrilateral or a set of quadrilaterals. To create a new roof, follow the sequence

in the figure below.

Right Click onRoofs

Click on

New Roof

The program will show a dialog window with the parameters of the roof.

Select the type of roof you want to add to the physical model. Any roof can be modeled as a set of

quadrilaterals, however the program offers the possibility of other types of roofs for make it easier the

modeling. Once you select the type of roof, the program displays the required parameters, the dimensions

are in meters. The following figure shows the parameters for each type of roof.


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Rectangle Quadrilateral Gable

Broken Gable Hip mansard

The metallic roofs that have a metal thickness of 4.8 mm (316 in.) or greater and that are connected to the

protection system in accordance with Section 4.9 of NFPA 780, can be used as strike termination devices.

In this case check the option Metal roof used as strike termination device, the program will assume the

flashes to this roofs like to the flashes to the air terminals.


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Set the parameter of the roof and click on Save button to add the new roof or on Cancel button to

abort.

5.2 Air terminalsTo add a new air terminal, follow the sequence in the figure below.

Right Click on

Air Terminals

Click on

New Air Terminal


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The program will show a dialog window with the parameters of the air terminal.

The dimensions are in meters. Set the parameters of the air terminaland click on Save button to add the

new air terminal or on Cancel button to abort.

6 Editing physical data6.1 RoofsTo edit any roof follow the sequence in the figure below.

Right Click on

The roof to edit

Click on

Edit Roof


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The program will show the roofs dialog window as in the following figure.

The user can change both the physical parameters and the name of the roof, the type of the roof cannot be

changed. Click on the Save button to save the changes or on Cancel to keep the current parameters.

6.2 Air terminalsTo edit any air terminal follow the sequence in the figure below.

Right Click on

The air terminal to edit

Click on

Edit Air Terminal


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The program will show the air terminals dialog window as in the following figure.

The user can change any parameters of the air terminal. Click on Save button to save the changes or on

Cancel button to keep the current parameters.

7 Deleting physical data7.1 RoofsTo delete any roof follow the sequence in the figure below.

Right Click on

The roof to delete

Click on

Delete Roof


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The program will show the dialog window as in the following figure.

Click on Yes button to delete the selected roof or on No button to abort.

7.2 Air terminalsTo delete any air terminal follow the sequence in the figure below.

Right Click onThe air terminal to

delete

Click on

Delete Air Terminal

The program will show the dialog window as in the following figure.

Click on Yes button to delete the selected air terminal or on No button to abort.


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8 Saving a ProjectTo save the project with the current file name, click on the Save Project button.

Click on the button

The program will save the project with the current file name and extension .xml.

To save the project with a different file name, click on the Save Project As button.

Click on the button

The program will show the Save As dialog window.


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Write the file name and click on the Save button to save the file with the written name, click on Cancel

button to abort.

9

Opening a projectTo open an existing project click on the Open Project button.

Click on the button

The program will show the Open dialog window.

Select the folder and the Sparkta file with .xml extension, click on the Open button to open the project,

click on the Cancel button to abort.


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10Visualizing the structuresThe program offers two dimensional and three dimensional views of the project. To display the

two dimensional view, click on the Plan View button.

Click on the button

The program will show the plan view of the project. The roofs are shown as quadrilaterals and the air

terminals as green dots.

To display the three dimensional view, click on the View 3D button.

Click on the button


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The program will show the 3D view of the project. The roofs are shown as solids and the air terminals as

red lines.

The user can zoom the views. The option Zoom In makes the view larger, the option Zoom Out makes

the view smaller and the option Zoom to Fit adapts the size of the view to the size of the window.

Click on the button

Click on the two or

three dimensional view

Click on the button

Click on the two or

three dimensional view


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The graphical result can be copied to the clipboard by clicking on the Copy Image button.

Click on the button

The results of the last simulation can be deleted by clicking on the Clear Results button.

Click on the

button

If the user has simulated with the Probabilistic type of simulation option, then the program allows

carrying out analysis based on the yearly lightning strike frequency. To do this analysis, click on the

Results button.

Click on the button


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The program will display the following window with two tables.

The results window shows the yearly strike frequency total, tabbed by a range of discharge current and

tabbed by roofs. In the results tables the user can identify the roofs with highest direct flash probabilities

and decide the most convenient places to install the air terminals.

12Risk assessmentSparkta allows the user to assess the lightning risk and design the lightning protections systems to reduce

the lightning risk components to tolerable values. Two methods can be used, simplified risk assessment

and simplified risk assessment.

12.1Simplified risk assessmentUsing this option the user can evaluate the risk of the installation in a simply way according to the section

L.5 from the NFPA 780. To assess the risk, click on the NFPA 780 Simplified Risk Assessment button.

Click on the

button


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The program will show the Simplified Risk Assessment window.

Select the parameters of the structure according to the NFPA 780. The user can calculate the risk using

collected area formulas or using the results of the simulation. Check the Use strikes/year from

electrogeometric model simulation option to use the results of the simulation; in this case the program

uses the yearly lightning strike frequency to the structure calculated in the last simulation and the

dimensions of the structure are not needed. This option requires that the user had previously carried out a

probabilistic simulation. Click on the Calculate button to calculate the risk.


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The program will highlight the yearly lightning strike frequency to the structure Nd in the color red if it is

greater than the tolerable lightning frequency Nc, otherwise it will be highlighted in the color green.

12.2Detailed risk assessmentUsing this option the user can evaluate the risk of the installation in a detailed way according to the sectionL.6 from the NFPA 780. To assess the risk, click on the NFPA 780 Detailed Risk Assessment button.

Click on the

button

The program will show the Detailed Risk Assessment window.

Select the parameters of the structure according to the NFPA 780. The user can calculate the risk using

collected area formulas or using the results of the simulation. Check the Use strikes/year from simulation

option to use the results of the simulation; in this case the program uses the yearly lightning strike


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frequency to the structure and near the structure calculated in the last simulation and the dimensions of

the structure are not needed (dimensions of the adjacent structure are required). This option requires that

the user had previously carried out a probabilistic simulation. Click on the Calculate button to calculate

the risk.

The program will highlight in red color the risk components that are greater than its tolerable value; the risk

components that are lower than its tolerable value will be highlighted in green.

13Creating a reportWith this option the user can create a report including the input data, the results of the simulation and the

risk assessment.

Click on the

button

The program will show the Report dialog window.


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The user can print or save the report in Excel, Word or PDF formats.

14Step by stepUsing Sparkta the user can carry out the following designs:

Design for the installation of strike terminals for a predefined striking distance or discharge current. Design for the installation of strike terminals using simplified risk assessment Design for the installation of strike terminals using detailed risk assessment

The following example shows how to design a lightning protection systems using Sparkta. Depending on

the type of design is the procedure.

1. Create a new project

2. Select the type of simulation and set the parameters


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3. Add the roofs of the structure. Select the type of roof and set the parameters.

4. Add the air terminals of the structure and set the parameters.


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5. Display the plan view and the 3D view.


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6. Save the project


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7. Run the simulation


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8. Analyze the results


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9. Simplified Risk Assessment


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10.Detailed Risk Assessment

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