|
MALZ - Frequency Domain Grounding Analysis
| MALZ analyzes the frequency domain performance of buried conductor networks and calculates the following quantities: earth and conductor potentials, longitudinal and leakage current distribution in the conductors, as well as magnetic fields in the air. This powerful grounding package is the ideal tool whenever coated conductors such as pipelines need to be modeled and / or if the metallic conductors can no longer be approximated as equipotential structures. |
Technical Highlights
MALZ was specifically developed to investigate problems involving a network of conductors energized at high frequencies or whose longitudinal impedances are significant.
- MALZ is particularly suited to modeling extensive ground networks and is also an excellent tool for analyzing conductor networks energized by currents at frequencies varying from 0 to 1 MHz.
- The conductors can be solid or hollow, coated or uncoated, and can be arbitrarily directed in a vertically, horizontally, spherically or cylindrically layered soils and soils with finite volumes of different resistivities.
- Each conductor system can be energized at different locations by complex valued currents. Each current source can inject a current which differs from other source currents in both magnitude and phase angle.
- For users who model medium to large-sized substations or power plants, in which the voltage drop in the grid conductors is often significant, MALZ offers a more powerful feature: you can now not only inject currents (Current energization), but also specify the induced EMF or any other kind of longitudinal voltage source in any number of conductors. This can be particularly interesting when studying the behavior of a long grounded structure, such as a pipeline, that runs parallel to a power line.
- MALZ automatically determines intersections between conductors, and therefore which groups of conductors constitute distinct (energized or passive) systems.
Technical Features
MALZ can be used to accurately conduct several types of engineering studies such as:
- Analysis of large grounding networks in low resistivity soils.
- Analysis of large HVDC electrodes for which the voltage drop along the ground conductors is significant.
- Response of grounding networks subject to high frequency currents (third, fifth and higher-order harmonics).
- Investigations related to the presence of pipelines (coated or not) or other similar metallic paths (rails, fences, etc.). MALZ can also analyze the effects of return electrodes (grounding network where earth currents return to the system generating sources.)
- Determination of the longitudinal (axial) and earth leakage (transversal) currents and potentials at each location in the grounding network (including return electrodes and metallic structures.)
- Determination of the magnetic field radiated by buried current carrying conductors (coated or not). The magnetic field can be computed at any point above the earth’’s surface.
- Evaluate the performance of cathodic protection schemes on corrosion-sensitive grounding systems.
- Response of grounding networks to transient currents such as lightning or capacitive discharges.
- MALZ supports soils with finite volumes having arbitrary resistivities. This finite volume soil model has been greatly improved by the introduction of several automated features that help control the distribution of the patches on the volume faces.
|
|
