A new grounding model for complex soil environments

Abstract

The purpose of arranging the grounding electrode is to discharge large currents, such as fault current and ensure the transmission line operate safely. In the grounding system of Chinese transmission network, the common grounding electrodes are horizontal installation and vertical installation. But two installation methods usually have the disadvantages, which are long distance installation and large depth burying, and they are restricted susceptible to uncertain factors such as pipelines, roads and geology, which leads the grounding resistance increasing and affect the normal operation of transmission lines. In order to solve the problem, this paper presents a new grounding model for complex soil environments and analysis from grounding resistance, surface potential and current distribution. The results show that the helix grounding electrode has good resistance reduction performance in complex soil environment, which effectively improves the surface potential distribution and the distribution of the spill current.