Ingelva

Technology

The Antiimpatto® protection system enters the electromagnetic field that precedes the formation of the lightning leader, acting as a passive reflector with a very rounded directivity function. The radio-frequency energy invested in the antenna is therefore partly consumed and partly reflected.

The Antiimpatto® system does not centralize the lines of force of the electrostatic field, and is comparable to a multidirectional and multi-range antenna for radio frequency modulations. The energy reflected by the lightning rod exerts a dispersive action influencing both the mechanisms of separation and accumulation of charges, and the formation of partial microdischarges. The lightning leader, hindered in its genesis, has difficulty in producing itself and the charge has an spatial and temporal evolution devoid of the last macroscopic phase.

The Antiimpatto® system also eliminates the effects of interference and electromagnetic induction, the primary cause of damage to electrical and electronic systems and normally generated in traditional prevention systems, from the passage of lightning from the receptors (lightning rod or Faraday cage) to the earthing network (grounding).

Ingelva defends every property from the action of lightning with its design and the most appropriate sizing of the Antiimpatto® system, guaranteeing its effectiveness for 10 years with insurance cover from Allianz of €1.5 million.

Our Appliances are divided into three product families according to their function and an Antiimpatto® system is usually made up of products from each of them:

Air Defence

The elements constituting air protection are: the primary head, the secondary aerial heads (aerial correctors) and the aerial element RLC. The primary head is the final electrode vis-à-vis the cloud and, ultimately, the element that causes the disintegration of the accumulation of storm energy. The correctors have the function of obviating the macroscopic unevenness of the stationary electric field and changes in the directivity function of the lightning protection-environment complex. The RLC device is a further strengthening of the electromagnetic activity of the head and the installation: it is characterized by a considerable coefficient of self-induction, which implies a high impedance value for rapidly changing voltages.

Terrestrial defence

The element that constitutes the protection for the ground zone is represented by the block impedance. This element has the task of introducing a high impedance with respect to variable currents with an extremely fast fronts, as in the case of ground to cloud lightning, while it is characterized by negligible impedance for stationary and quasi-stationary speeds (50/60 HZ).

Intermediate protection

This type of protection is aimed at defending all the particularly delicate and sensitive electronic elements present in private homes and companies: alarm systems, televisions, computers and data servers. For this purpose specific voltage limiters are used, different in terms of threshold and time of intervention, overtaking voltage, power consumption and power loss. These circuits provide for the protection of power, telephone and intercom lines, data transmission and antenna cables. In the case of very intense inductions, they are the preferred site for damage, “saving” the user; in the final analysis, therefore, they act as a safety valve.