Fractal nature of probabilistic model of lightning discharge

The probabilistic nature of the propagation of lightning discharges and the consequent bending and branching of lightning leaders have rendered many protection systems ineffective and produced side flashes causing damage to nearby structures. In this paper, the authors discuss the limitations of the current probabilistic model of discharge propagation and the fractal model of the resulting geometry of the lightning cluster. Current simulation works have not selected modeling parameters in a logical manner because of the lack of adequate founding theories. Current works, therefore, have failed to identify the most sensitive parameters resulting in vastly different values for the fractal dimension of the lightning geometry. This paper attempts to remedy the above mentioned weaknesses.