Modeling and Simulation of the Potential of four Grounding Electrodes Using the Finite Element Method

The choice of electrode geometry in the design of grounding systems is very important for the high-voltage transmission and telecommunications networks. The resistance of these electrodes plays a key role in dissipating the fault current into the ground. The objective of this paper is to calculate this resistance for different soil configurations using the finite element method. A grounding system composed of four vertical cylindrical rods in a homogeneous and heterogeneous soil was used. The obtained results show the distribution of the voltage in the ground as well as the computed value of the resistance of the electrodes. In addition, the values of the resistance obtained by simulation for simple shapes were compared with those calculated analytically for validation.