Transient Analysis of Parameters Governing Grounding Systems by the FDTD Method

The main purpose of this work is to analyze the transient behavior of grounding systems parameters by the development of a parallel computational code based on the Finite Difference Time Domain Method (FDTD-3D). The obtained results for potential, current and Transitory Grounding Resistance (TGR), considering a single electrode, strongly agree with real measurements available in literature. Additional results have been obtained through the implementation of several grounding configurations, including stratified soils. Such results and the flexible presented methodology can be used to project systems able to provide higher levels of protection from lightning discharges or failures on the main electrical power system.