A NEW GROUND RESISTANCE-REDUCING MATERIAL BASED ON WATER-ABSORBENT POLYMER

The increase in communications facilities is accompanied by a rapid in crease in the number of groundings required. However, it is difficult to achieve the required ground resistance values in areas of high grou nding resistance such as volcanic ash, sandy or rocky soils, so that t here is a strong need for the use of ground resistance reducing materi als. This article proposes a method of reducing ground resistance usin g water-absorbent polymers. The use of water-absorbent polymer materia ls is expected to provide approximately twice the resistance reducing effect as currently used materials. When selecting such materials for placement in the soil, it is necessary to consider susceptibility to d ecomposition by microorganisms as well as temperature characteristics. One type of water-absorbent polymer, anhydrous maleic acid polymers, is found to satisfy both requirements. In addition, the use of such po lymers as ground resistance reducing materials requires approximately 1/160 the quantity of currently used bentonite mixtures and causes app roximately 1/10 to corrosion of the copper used in grounding electrode s, demonstrating that water-absorbent polymers are a highly useful met hod of reducing grounding resistance.