Lightning protection for circuit boards BACKPLANE

[usfhugs88]

Hi guys, I need your input and suggestions in this idea that I am working on. I would like to know the best way on how to protect your circuit board in case of a lightning hit.

For Testing purposes, I will attach alligator clips on the backplane pins (connectors) and zap them with a 1600V 1600A supply. This will be tested using a transient generator.

Please give me an input if you know any parts / designs that would be able to handle this much power intake. Please consider that this would be in a circuit boarad so space is limited.

I need suggestions on how to protect the board and also what about the wires/transmission lines???

Thanks.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I don't think any electronics can claim to be 'lightning proof', probably the best you can hope to do is to try and protect it from strikes that are fairly close - by protecting the phone and mains inputs.

I'm also impressed by your availablility of a 2.56 Megawatt electricity supply!, I wouldn't like to have your bills :lol:

But 1600V isn't much of a lightning test, you probably need to put three more zero's on the end!.

I see quite a lot of lightning damaged equipment come in for insurance estimates, any close strike (or an actual strike on the house) causes immense damage - components blown completely to pieces, tracks vapourised off the PCB.

What exactly are you wanting to protect, from what type of strike, and from what method of entering the board?.

 

[usfhugs88]

Lightning Protection

I am trying to protect a circuit of a backplane.
We have a transient generator that is built for lightning test. Lightning affects depends on distance as well, the farther the distance the lower the voltage strike.

Through document DO-160D the 5A waveform is 1600V/1600A that you have to protect through the power line and signal line, this is for aviation purposes. This is flight requirement and circuit requirements for all aviations.

I would like to know the best way to protect a circuit load by a lightning through a power line. Probably dissipate and reflect back the power to the source and be able to dump the energy through the cache. There would be no limiting resistor that is going to be used.

Usually to protect a circuit from ESD and Lightning you can use a TVS diode, depending on the Peak Pulse waveform that you want.