4.

Ground Return in HVDC Transmission:

A ground return means the ground or sea water or both as the return
conductor. Most dc transmission lines use ground return path for reasons
of economy and reliability. The monopolar link and homopolar link use the
ground return continuously for carrying the return current whereas the
bipolar link uses ground return for short duration of emergency (when one
of the lines is under repair or maintenance). For the same length of
transmission the resistance offered by the ground in case of dc is much
less than that in case of ac transmission.

This is because the direct current in the earth, unlike alternating current,
does not follow closely the route of the line but spreads over a very large
cross-sectional area in both depth and width. The resistance of ground
returns path in case of dc is independent of the length of lines (for long
lines) and is essentially the sum of grounding resistances of the earthing
electrodes at the two ends of the line.

Besides the advantage of economy, there are two more definite

advantages of using ground return. The first advantage is that a dc line
can be built in two stages—the line can be built as a monopolar line with
ground return in the initial stages and may be converted into a bipolar line
on a later date when the load requirement increases.

Thus a considerable part of the total investment can be deferred until the
second stage. The second advantage is the reliability of the system i.e. in
the event of an outage of one conductor of the bipolar line, it can be
operated temporarily at almost half of its rated power, by using the
healthy line and the ground.

Ground return lines have some problems also. The main problems are
designing of ground electrodes for low resistance and low cost of
installation and maintenance, location and screening of electrodes so
that ground currents cause negligible electrolytic corrosion of buried or
immersed metallic structures, prevention of interference of the ground
currents with the operation of other services such as ac power
transmission, railway signals, ship’s compasses etc. and control of
surface gradient near the electrodes for the safety of persons, livestock
and fish.