PARAMETERS AFFECTING THE TRANSIENT RESPONSE OF VERTICAL PIPE ELECTRODES TO IMPULSE EXCITATION

Abstract

In this article, an application of the transmission line theory is presented for analyzing various parameters that affect the transient response of ground electrodes. In order to simplify the presentation and the interpretation of the results obtained, a vertical buried pipe electrode was chosen as the ground electrode. The ground electrode is connected to a grounding conductor, the upper part of which is connected to an ideal current source. The impact of the overhead geometry of the grounding conductor upon the transient response of the ground electrode is analyzed by varying the length of the grounding conductor. The ideal current source generates a normalized wave shape current impulse, a so-called double exponential impulse. The effect of the time to peak of the impulse (steepness of the rising edge of the peak current) on the transient response of the ground electrode is analyzed by varying the current wave shape parameters. The impact of soil parameters on the transient response of the ground electrode is also analyzed. The soil is modeled as a single-layer homogeneous isotropic semispace. The soil-air boundary is represented by a plane. The results obtained are presented graphically and discussed.