HVDC ground electrode heat dissipation in an N-layer soil

The temperature distribution in an N-layer soil, due to high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) injection via ground electrodes, was computed using finite-difference methods. The temperature profiles for various ground electrode shapes buried in a two-layer soil were computed using these same techniques. The results obtained were then compared with results obtained experimentally in the laboratory. A sensitivity analysis was performed on the effect of the height of the top layer of a two-layer earth model. The computed results agree very well with those obtained experimentally. The effect of varying the height of the top layer of a two-layer earth was then investigated. The computations indicate that the temperature can be predicted as a function of this height.< >