An Advanced Technique for Earthing System Analysis

In this paper, a new technique for the analysis of an earthing system is presented. The technique depends on the determination of the electric-field intensity around the earthing system and distribution of the current injected into the soil. The line integral of the electric-field intensity is used to calculate the earthing resistance. The electric-field intensity is calculated by the charge simulation method, where the locations of simulating charges are optimized by using the particle swarm optimization technique. The proposed technique is applicable to simple as well as complex earthing systems. Uniform soil and multilayer soil can be accommodated. The procedure provides accurate computation of earthing system resistance and the voltage profile. The obtained results have been validated by comparison with other analytical and numerical methods.