Original subtitles

Hello and welcome to this DIN plan tutorial.

Today I will show you how to calculate the separation distance in DIN plan and your optimization options.

First, let's see how the separation distance works when planning lightning protection using the mesh method.

To this end, I've already prepared a building planned using a mesh.

DIN plan can automatically calculate and visually display the existing separation distances.

You need an active internet connection for the calculation.

Always consider the settings of the corresponding lightning protection class before the calculation.

This affects the calculation result.

You can check your setting at the bottom of the screen.

If you want to calculate the separation distance, we can find this corresponding icon in the lightning protection tab under calculation.

Alternatively, we can also place this icon on the toolbar for easy access.

There are two different methods for calculating the separation distance in DIN plan.

In earlier versions, the separation distance was calculated independently of the protected volume analysis.

This equates to a worse case scenario as each conductor is assumed to have a direct pointer strike.

This calculation method is used when a separation distance is established without calculating the protected volume.

If you click on the icon after creating the lightning protection system, the following notification appears.

It explains that no protected volume calculation has been carried out so far.

This means that when the separation distance is calculated, a point of strike is assumed on all air termination systems.

Areas that are actually protected may as a result be regarded as points of strike.

The yellow areas shown here indicate the separation distance in solids.

The blue areas indicates the separation distance in air.

These cylindrical volumes already show that the separation distance is higher in some places than in others.

In this case, this is due to missing down conductors.

DIN plan version 1.5.6 introduces another calculation method.

You can find the details in DIN project by selecting the settings tab and then download.

So now it is possible to consider the protected volume in the calculation.

This means that lines that lie within the protected volume are threatened as pure not splitting points and no longer as direct points of strike.

As a rule, this calculation leads to reduced separation distances as we will see later.

To activate this calculation method, the protected volume must be calculated before the separation distance calculation.

If you then carry out the separation distance calculation, the following notification appears.

It explains that the separation distance calculation will now be performed taking the protected volume calculation into account.

Points of strike are then only calculated on elements where there is a possibility of a direct strike.

All other connected elements are used purely for current distribution.

If we want to know exactly what the separation distance is at certain points, we can display it using the dimension separation distance at nodes icon.

If we are interested in the separation distance at a certain point, we can display a numerical value at the desired point using the dimension separation distance command.

We also have the option of displaying different volumes for the separation distance.

If we select a volume by clicking on it, we can choose in the properties window whether we want to have the separation distance displayed in air, insulating material or solid material.

The number in the brackets describes the medium.

1.0 stands for air, 0.7 for insulating material and 0.5 for solid material.

Let me briefly illustrate the differences in the separation distance for the two calculation methods.

Taking the protected volume into account produces a more accurate calculation and therefore smaller separation distances.

Here you can see a comparison of the two calculation methods.

Let us now take a look at how the separation distance changes when we add further down conductors and connections.

As soon as we intervene in the planning, the separation distance is no longer displayed because it has to be recalculated.

It is important to mention that the separation distance in calculation method 2, that means with consideration of the protected volume, always refers to the protected volume existing before the calculation.

If air termination systems are subsequently changed, thus altering the protected volume, this is not automatically detected.

So before calculating the separation distance, it is generally advisable to first delete the protected volume, then recalculate the protected volume and then carry out the separation distance calculation as the last step.

Let's now see how the separation distance works when planning HYI lightning protection.

For demonstration purposes, the building drawn here is slightly higher than in the previous example.

We activate the calculation of the separation distance again using the same icon.

The cylinder shown here visualizes the separation distance.

The warning indicates that the separation distance at this air termination rod is too high.

The warning is also described in more detail in the notification window.

We can see that the separation distance of 0.760 m is too high.

We can displace the value again via the dimensioning tool.

We can reduce the separation distance by adding another down conductor or by intermeshing the air termination rod with another air termination rod.

To intermesh, I select two air termination rods with the CTRL key held down, then right-click and select Add intermeshing.

When the separation distance is calculated again, we see that the warning has disappeared and the separation distance is now maintained.

A marked difference can be seen between the diameter of these separation volume cylinders and those of the other air termination rods.

You can find more tutorials and news about DINPLAN on our e-learning platform.

Thank you and see you next time!