Analysis of the Grounding Resistance of a Hemispheric Electrode Located on a Truncated Cone

An analytical solution is derived to analyze the grounding properties of electrodes located on the top of a mountain with a realistic grounding structure. By using the derived close-form solution, the low-frequency response of a small hemispheric grounding electrode buried on top of a larger cone-shaped mountain, the variation of the grounding impedance with the apex angle and the distance between the center of the hemisphere and the cone edge is characterized. The derived solution is validated by comparison with a previous COMSOL simulation. Although hemispheric electrodes are not commonly used in practice, the important influence of the terrain profile is confirmed and the study can be especially useful in the evaluation of the grounding resistance for grounding located on elevated terrain.