Numerical Simulation of Corrosion Characteristics of Copper Grounding Grid Materials in Extreme Weather

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigates the corrosion characteristics of copper grounding grid materials in extreme weather conditions through numerical simulation, providing essential corrosion data for substation operation and maintenance. According to the corrosion principle of copper grounding grid materials, three typical soil environments were selected: alkaline laterite soil, acidic soil, and acidic sediment. The physicochemical properties of these soils were determined through redox potential measurements. Subsequently, the electrochemical parameters of the copper grounding grid materials were calculated using weak polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to derive their corrosion rates. Using ANSYS finite element software, a corrosion model was established with the corrosion rates of the copper grounding grid materials and the physicochemical properties of the soil as inputs. This model simulates the corrosion behavior under different conditions, including extreme weather, varying soil types, and moisture content levels. The numerical simulation results demonstrate that higher moisture content in all three soil types leads to increased corrosion rates of the copper grounding grid materials. Specifically, at a water‐to‐soil ratio of 1:1, the self‐corrosion current density of the materials exhibits a time‐dependent increase across all tested soil environments.

Keywords

• copper grounding grid
• corrosion characteristics of materials
• extreme weather
• finite element analysis
• numerical simulation
• water content