Diseño de sistemas de puesta a tierra utilizando electrodos químicos : utilización de programas de solución de ecuaciones con el método de elementos finitos fem para la inclusión de electrodos químicos en el diseño de sistemas de puesta a tierra.

Abstract

This component presents a simulation and design guide for grounding systems, specifically, systems that contain chemical electrodes. The simulation is carried out in the ANSYS-Workbench computer program, and it starts with obtaining field measurements of the soil resistivity and the grounding resistance of several case studies. Subsequently, geometric models of the active electrodes and the soil are created using the AutoCAD computer program, this is achieved from the technical specifications of the electrodes and for the soil model from field measurements and using the ETAP computer program to determine the apparent resistivity of a two-layer soil model. Given geometric models of the grounding system, they are loaded into ANSYS, edge and load conditions are applied, and the system is subjected to a short-circuit current of a predetermined value. Using the finite element method, ANSYS obtains values resulting from electrical potentials and heat losses. From the simulation results, in the first instance, a fixed resistivity value of the graphite electrode is established, this is necessary due to the varying manufacturing methods of these electrodes, which result in the absence of representative resistivity value for this element. Applying the same short-circuit current, new results are obtained, to subsequently validate the study cases and interpret the results obtained for grounding resistance and evaluate the grounding system under the IEEE std 80 standard, the values of step and touch voltages. Finally, a guide is presented in the form of a flowchart, which will facilitate the design of grounding systems applying the ANSYS and ETAP computer programs.