Contribution to studies on calculation of D.C. stray currents

The paper presents two methods of the 3D simulation of the primary scalar potential of the electric flow field produced in the earth by d.c. traction stray currents. In the first method the equivalent rail is considered as an earth return circuit with distributed parameters, whereas in the second method the rail is treated as a circuit with lumped parameters. It is assumed in the paper that the system considered is linear, that the earth is a homogeneous medium of finite conductivity and that the effects of currents in nearby underground metal installations on the potential generated in the earth by track currents (primary earth potential) can be disregarded. An extensive parametric analysis to examine the roles of various factors, which affect the primary earth potential caused by stray currents, may be performed using simulation program developed. The technical application of the method presented, which can be useful at design stage e.g. of metal structures buried in the stray currents area, is illustrated by examples of computer simulation.