SBIR Phase I: Extremely Low Frequency Characterization of High-Risk Lightning

SBIR 第一阶段：高风险闪电的极低频特征

• 批准号: 2223166
• 负责人: Istvan Kereszy
• 金额: $ 25.01万
• 依托单位: HELIOS POMPANO INC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-03-01 至 2023-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2223166&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Extremely; Low; Frequency

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project includes a notable reduction in the area burned by lightning-initiated wildfires. Understanding which lightning strikes are capable of igniting wildfires is critical as in the Western U.S. lightning-initiated wildfires are responsible for over 70% of the area burned in these environmental catastrophes. Globally, wildfires are responsible for 6.45 gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually (18% of total emissions). Detecting high risk lightning strikes (those capable of igniting wildfires) may also significantly reduce losses of life, wildlife, habitats, property, and forests as currently lightning-initiated wildfires in the US devastate 4-6 million acres per year. The reduction of wildfires can reduce large evacuations and smoke-related health conditions, thereby improving the health and welfare of the American public. Both people and businesses would benefit from lower insurance rates due to the decreased risk of wildfire damage. Large wildfires are a constant concern to more than half of the mission assurance priority military installations due to routine testing and training activities that are significant ignition sources. The proposed project may also address military ignition concerns. Wildfires start when a long continuing current (LCC) strikes the ground at a location where the environmental conditions are conducive for fire ignition. LCCs are those that last for 40 ms or longer and are essentially responsible for excessive heating. The transformative aspect of this research lies in the ground-based characterization of Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) lightning emissions to identify LCC strikes, with a 95% target detection efficiency and with 40 m accuracy. While for most lightning strikes the current ceases to flow after tens of microseconds, a small portion of lightning strikes (less than 10%) contain a continuing current that lasts thousands of times longer, from tens to hundreds of milliseconds. This can be viewed as a quasi-stationary arc between the cloud charge source and the ground and is detectable through electrostatic field changes and ELF emissions. A secondary innovative feature lies in the use of machine learning algorithms to pinpoint high risk lightning ignitions by analyzing the environmental conditions at the LCC strike location. This technology can identify a fire in seconds, unlike the present heat or smoke identification systems that can take hours or days to identify a fire.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力包括显著减少闪电引发的野火烧毁的面积。了解哪些雷击能够引发野火至关重要，因为在美国西部，闪电引发的野火造成了这些环境灾难中超过70%的烧毁面积。在全球范围内，野火每年造成6.45亿吨二氧化碳（CO2）排放（占总排放量的18%）。检测高风险雷击（能够点燃野火的雷击）也可以显着减少生命、野生动物、栖息地、财产和森林的损失，因为目前美国每年有400万至600万英亩的闪电引发的野火。减少野火可以减少大规模疏散和与烟雾有关的健康状况，从而改善美国公众的健康和福利。由于野火损失的风险降低，人们和企业都将受益于较低的保险费率。大型野火是超过一半的使命保证优先军事设施的持续关注，因为常规测试和训练活动是重要的点火源。拟议的项目还可能解决军事点火问题。当一个长持续电流（LCC）在环境条件有利于着火的地方撞击地面时，野火就开始了。LCC是那些持续40 ms或更长时间的，并且基本上是过度加热的原因。这项研究的变革性方面在于极低频（ELF）闪电发射的地面表征，以识别LCC罢工，目标检测效率为95%，精度为40米。虽然对于大多数雷击，电流在数十微秒后停止流动，但一小部分雷击（不到10%）包含持续时间长数千倍的持续电流，从数十毫秒到数百毫秒。这可以被看作是云电荷源和地面之间的准静态电弧，并且可以通过静电场变化和ELF发射来检测。 第二个创新特征在于使用机器学习算法，通过分析LCC雷击位置的环境条件来查明高风险的雷击点火。这项技术可以在几秒钟内识别火灾，而不像目前的热或烟雾识别系统，可能需要几个小时或几天来识别火灾。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。