Analysis of the Impact of Remote Earth Configurations Using CDEGS

This study investigates the impact of remote earth configurations on electromagnetic interference, focusing on ground potential rise (GPR) and magnetic field (M-Field) characteristics. Two remote earth configurations, a grid remote earth and a ring with multiple rods are simulated using CDEGS software. While field testing provides direct evidence of remote earth effects, simulations are also valuable for studying electromagnetic behavior. However, this study assumes 2-layer soil conditions, and real scenario results may vary due to factors like soil type, moisture, or material properties. For the grid remote earth, increasing the distance from the test rod significantly reduces interference, with the M-Field decreasing by 95 % and GPR by 83 % as the distance increases from 10 m to 80 m. The peak GPR drops sharply by 20 % when the radius increases from 1 m to 2 m, but further expansion to 3m yields a smaller reduction (7.9%). Beyond 3m, GPR stabilizes, with a negligible 1.2 % increase at 4 m, suggesting optimal radius lies between <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\mathbf{2 m - 3 m}$</tex>. However, the GPR-affected area expands with larger radii, posing safety risks to nearby equipment and personnel. These findings emphasize the importance of optimizing remote earth configurations to minimize interference and improve safety during high-voltage testing.