Determination of the resistance of a grounding system with application of finite element method

摘要

The protection of the equipment, the safety of persons and the continuity of the electrical supply are the main objectives of the grounding system. For its precise design, the possible potential distribution on the ground and the equivalent resistance of the system must be determined. Grounding systems are considered to be rod electrodes and flat electrodes buried vertically in the ground. A simulation grounding model was established through FEM method on relevant constraints, such as soil resistivity, number, position and length of electrodes. Through this study, the grounding resistance values obtained with COMSOL Multiphysics are compared with the proven analytical formulas. The results indicate that this simulation can be used as fast solution for industrial applications and has acceptable results for calculating the resistance of a vertical grounding.