Measurement of Negative Lightning Return Strokes Using a Proposed Small-Scale Parallel Plate Antenna at the Central Region in Peninsular Malaysia

Lightning can occur between the clouds (intra-clouds), ground-to-cloud (CG), and inside the clouds. The lightning strike hazards can be managed appropriately using a lightning detector system consisting of an antenna, buffer amplifier circuit, and a measurement device. In this study, the development and fabrication of small-scale parallel plate antenna were carried out by reducing the physical height and antenna dimension to measure the generated electric fields. The experimental work was conducted at the rooftop of the College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Selangor, Malaysia, from August 2019 to March 2020. The total number of 115 return strokes (RS) of negative lightning events were recorded during the measurement period. Characterization of seven types of criteria for negative return stroke has been analysed and compared to the existing parallel plate antenna with a similar climate condition and different countries. Based on the comparative study, the proposed and the existing parallel plate antenna shows a good agreement. Hence, the proposed small-scale parallel plate antenna can be used as a portable, lightweight, and easy to install device for the lightning measurement system.