The simulation of the soil ionization phenomenon around the grounding system by the finite element method

A simulation model based on finite-element method is presented to simulate the soil ionization phenomenon around the grounding system. The advantage of the methodology proposed in this study against analytical methods is that both simple and complex grounding systems buried in homogeneous or nonhomogeneous soil taking into account soil breakdown process can be modeled. The suggested modeling is validated by comparison of the calculated results, which are laid out for grounding rod and grounding grid, with experimental tests results and simulations results found in literature. The performance of grounding system, considering the soil ionization effect at high-magnitude current, is also compared with the one not considering the soil ionization effect