Implementation of transformers in MultiFields, the inclusion of backflashovers and risk analysis in SES-Shield, the ability to model more realistic joint-use corridor configurations in SESTLC, the computation of ground potential difference in AutoTransient and in the Monitor Fault module of Right-of-Way. MultiFields computations have been accelerated by a factor that can reach 20 for systems with primarily horizontal conductors in two-layer soils, with uniform soil simulations also reduced in time. Acceleration has also been implemented in MultiGround and MultiGroundZ finite volume models and matrix inversions, as well as in Right-of-Way Modify Circuit operations. A new 3-D System Viewer will help you visualize finite soil volumes and conductor systems in MultiGround and MultiGroundZ: you can also see computation results, such as current charge densities in soil volume surface patches, and voltages and currents associated with conductors. The upcoming release of MultiFields will provide a choice of time windows (Hanning, Flattop, Rectangular) for waveform analysis.

SES is quite excited about further developments that have begun: support for coaxial cables in MultiFields, the ability to represent any three-dimensional shielding system in SES-Shield, a Group Mode in MultiLines that supports multilayer soils and computes ground resistance per unit length, full support for the Unipolar Wenner Method by Output Toolbox, and much more.

A host of other improvements have been made to the software as well, based on your wish lists sent to the CDEGS Users’ Group and your comments sent directly to SES. Let me emphasize that your input is not only welcome, it is of capital importance. We need to know what you would like the software to do, what you like about it, what you would like us to change. We use the software in our own research work, but everybody faces unique challenges and has unique needs. Please keep up the steady stream of constructive comments! Thank you for your support in this department.

I am proud to announce that SES will be moving to new offices, construction of which has now begun. Located in Laval, just a 10-minute drive north of our present headquarters, the new twin buildings, to be erected in two phases,

will include a large training facility, to accommodate focused applications training as so many of you have requested, plenty of room for our expanding staff, and a sports facility.

In a related vein, I would like to thank everybody present at this conference for making it such a valuable forum for the exchange of knowledge and opinions on CDEGS and related applications. On behalf of everybody, let me thank those users who have taken the time out of very busy schedules to prepare presentations and articles for this handbook. We are all grateful to Mr. Ernest Middleton and South Carolina Electric & Gas Company for hosting this conference, to Mr. Eugene Limoges, this year’s users’ group chairman, and to Mr. Deepak Mankar, this year’s treasurer. Finally, let me underline SES’s enduring gratitude to our legion of loyal users who have renewed technical support from SES, year after year, thus sustaining the R&D that goes into delivering to you the world’s most advanced power system grounding and electromagnetic compatibility software, along with technical support from internationally recognized experts.

Farid Paul Dawalibi, President

Issue No. 17, 2007

Welcome to the 17^th annual edition of the CDEGS Grounding and Electromagnetic Interference Conference, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I am delighted that so many of you have been able to take part in the meeting and have shown your enthusiasm for SES’s product development in this way.

Since we met last year in Houston, SES has developed some very interesting additions to the tools offered by CDEGS, such as the

SES is moving to new offices, with all the modern amenities

President’s Column

The Grounding Connection