Computer analysis of earthing systems in horizontally or vertically layered soils

Abstract

[Abstract] The main objectives of grounding systems are to guarantee the personal safety, the equipment protection and the continuity of the power supply. To attain these goals, the potential distribution on the earth surface and the equivalent resistance of the earthing system have to be determined in a reliable an efficent way. In this paper, we present a numerical technique based on a Boundary Element Method for grounding analysis of horizontally and vertically latered soils. The feasibility of the proposed method is demostrated by means of its application to a real grounding grid considering different types of soilo models.