IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 8, No. 1, January 1993.
GROUND RESISTANCE OF TEE POOT IN SUBSTATION YARDS
Baldev Thapar Victor Gerez Prince Emmanuel
Senior nember Senior &der Student &der
nontana State University
Bozeman, Mntana
-
Abstract The ground r e s i s t a n c e o f t h e f o o t i s
affec-the l i m i t e d d e p t h of t h e g r a v e l l a y e r
usually spread over t h e s u r f a c e of t h e s o i l i n
s u b s t a t i o n y a r d s . Equations and g r a p h s g i v e n i n IEEE
S t a n d a r d 80 t o determine t h i s ground r e s i s t a n c e are not
a c c u r a t e and g i v e c o n s e r v a t i v e r e s u l t s . T h i s paper
p r e s e n t s more a c c u r a t e equations and g r a p h s f o r
d e t e r m i n i n g t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e f o o t i n a
s u b s t a t i o n having a t h i n s u r f a c e l a y e r of g r a v e l .
A n a l y s i s h a s been made w i t h two models of t h e f o o t . I n
one model t h e f o o t i s r e p r e s e n t e d by an e q u i v a l e n t
c i r c u l a r p l a t e and i n t h e o t h e r by a n e q u i v a l e n t
rectangular plate. R e s u l t s o b t a i n e d w i t h t h e s e two
models and w i t h t h e I E E E Standard 80 method have been
compared.
Keywords: F o o t i n g R e s i s t a n c e , Grounding, S a f e t y , Body
current, Substations.
INTRODUCTION
The f o o t i n g r e s i s t a n c e ( r e s i s t a n c e of t h e ground
j u s t beneath t h e f e e t ) i s an important f a c t o r i n
d e t e r m i n i n g t h e s a f e s t e p and touch v o l t a g e f o r a
person i n a s u b s t a t i o n y a r d . The ground r e s i s t a n c e of
t h e f o o t i s u s u a l l y t a k e n as e q u i v a l e n t t o t h e ground
r e s i s t a n c e of a c i r c u l a r conducting d i s c having a
r a d i u s of 8 cm and p l a c e d h o r i z o n t a l l y on t h e s u r f a c e
of t h e ground. Ground r e s i s t a n c e , R f , of a c i r c u l a r
conducting d i s c of r a d i u s b on t h e s u r f a c e of a
homogeneous e a r t h of r e s i s t i v i t y p s , i s given by [ l ] :
for b = 0.08m
Rf = 3Ps
I n s u b s t a t i o n y a r d s an 8 t o 20 c m t h i c k l a y e r of
g r a v e l o r crushed rock i s u s u a l l y s p r e a d over t h e
s u r f a c e o f t h e e a r t h . This p r o v i d e s a high r e s i s t i v i t y
l a y e r below t h e f e e t of a person i n t h e s u b s t a t i o n
y a r d . The use of an i n s u l a t i n g s h e e t a t t h e problem
a r e a s i n a s u b s t a t i o n has a l s o been suggested [ 2 ] . A s
compared t o t h e e q u i v a l e n t r a d i u s of t h e f o o t , 0.08m,
t h e depth of t h e g r a v e l l a y e r i s not l a r g e enough t o
assume t h a t t h e m a t e r i a l i s homogeneous i n t h e v e r t i c a l
d i r e c t i o n . The t h i n s u r f a c e l a y e r of g r a v e l l a i d over
a s o i l of lower r e s i s t i v i t y r e s u l t s i n a ground
r e s i s t a n c e of t h e f o o t t h a t may be c o n s i d e r a b l y l e s s
t h a n t h a t g i v e n by e q u a t i o n ( 2 ) .
For d e t e r m i n i n g t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e f o o t
i n a s u b s t a t i o n yard, t a k i n g i n t o account t h e l i m i t e d
d e p t h of t h e t h i n s u r f a c e l a y e r of g r a v e l , I E E E
92 WM 218-8 PWRD A paper recommended and approved
by t h e IEEE S u b s t a t i o n s Committee of the IEEE Power
Engineering S o c i e t y f o r p r e s e n t a t i o n a t t h e IEEE/PES
1992 Winter Meeting, New York, New York, J a n u a r y 26-
30, 1992. Manuscript s u b m i t t e d J a n u a r y 31, 1991;
made a v a i l a b l e f o r p r i n t i n g November 2 0 , 1991.
0885-8977/92/$3.0001993 IEEE
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S t a n d a r d 80 g i v e s e q u a t i o n s i n t h e form of i n f i n i t e
series and graphs [l]. Based on t h e s e e q u a t i o n s f i n i t e
e x p r e s s i o n s and models f o r t h e f o o t i n g r e s i s t a n c e have
been developed [31.
The e q u a t i o n s g i v e n i n I E E E Standard 80 a r e
d e r i v e d w i t h c e r t a i n assumptions t h a t s i m p l i f y t h e
mathematics i n v o l v e d b u t i n t r o d u c e e r r o r s t h a t g i v e
r e s u l t s which are t o o c o n s e r v a t i v e . The e r r o r i n t h e
ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e f o o t o b t a i n e d from t h e s e
e q u a t i o n s i s l a r g e when t h e d e p t h of t h e g r a v e l l a y e r
i s small and t h e r a t i o of t h e r e s i s t i v i t i e s of t h e
g r a v e l and t h e u n d e r l y i n g s o i l i s high.
T h i s paper p r e s e n t s more a c c u r a t e e q u a t i o n s and
g r a p h s t o determine t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e f o o t
i n a s u b s t a t i o n having a t h i n s u r f a c e l a y e r of g r a v e l .
A n a l y s i s h a s been made w i t h two d i f f e r e n t models of t h e
f o o t . I n one model t h e f o o t i s r e p r e s e n t e d by an
e q u i v a l e n t c i r c u l a r p l a t e and i n t h e o t h e r by an
equivalent rectangular p l a t e .
IEEE STAHDARD 80 llETBoD
Following e x p r e s s i o n s for t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e ,
R f , of t h e f o o t are g i v e n i n I E E E S t a n d a r d 80 [ l ] .
P
Rf = $ F(X) (3)
00
F(X) = 1t 2 Z Q (4)
n=l
(5)
K = (P - P s ) / ( P + Ps) (6)
Where p s = g r a v e l r e s i s t i v i t y , ohm-m.
p = s o i l r e s i s t i v i t y , ohm-m.
X = h/b
h = t h i c k n e s s of t h e g r a v e l s u r f a c e
l a y e r , m.
b = e q u i v a l e n t r a d i u s of a f o o t (0.08m).
Using t h e s e e q u a t i o n s F(X) i s c a l c u l a t e d f o r h
v a r y i n g from 0.03m t o 0.25m and K v a r y i n g from -0.1 t o
-0.99. Graphs of F(X) v e r s u s h f o r v a r i o u s v a l u e s of K
are shown i n F i g u r e 1. When t h e r e i s no g r a v e l s u r f a c e
l a y e r , t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e f o o t i s p / ( 4 b ) .
Therefore, when h approaches zero, F(X) approaches
P I P s . Therefore, t h e v a l u e of F(X) f o r h=O f o r v a r i o u s
v a l u e s of K i s known and i s a l s o p l o t t e d i n F i g u r e 1.
For a l l v a l u e s of F(X) o b t a i n e d from e q u a t i o n s ( 4 )
t o (6), t h e s l o p e of t h e graphs i n c r e a s e s a s h
d e c r e a s e s . To connect t h e graphs t o t h e c o r r e c t p o i n t s
f o r h=O t h e s l o p e of t h e graphs h a s t o be d e c r e a s e d f o r
v e r y small v a l u e s of h. T h i s i n f l e c t i o n i n t h e graphs
r a i s e s doubt about t h e i r accuracy. A c l o s e r look a t
t h e mathematics used i n d e r i v i n g e q u a t i o n s (3) t o (5)
a l s o i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e s e e q u a t i o n s are not a c c u r a t e .
Equations (3) t o (5) a r e d e r i v e d assuming t h e f o o t
t o be e q u i v a l e n t t o a c i r c u l a r p l a t e of r a d i u s b and
a p p l y i n g t h e method of images [ 4 ] . The ground
r e s i s t a n c e , RC, of a c i r c u l a r p l a t e of r a d i u s b i n a n
 I/.
0.751
0.15 0.16
'
017 0 18 0 19 0.2 0.21 022 023
I
024
025
h,m
Pique 2 - E(X) versus h and K.
1~ _ _ . _ ___ _ _ T--- --
- ----
infinite homogeneous medium of resistivity p s is taken
as
Rc P,/ (8b) (7)
The mutual ground resistance, Gcr between two similar
parallel, coaxial, circular plates of radius b in an A

infinite medium is assumed to be K

5
= ps/(8 w) 18) 0.4 -0.20
-0.40
-0.60
Where s is the distance between the two plates.
-0.80
For any electrode discharging current in an -0.99
infinite medium, the potential at a large distance from
the electrode becomes identical with that for a
spherical electrode. Therefore, as s increases to a
large value, hc should approach ps/(4ns). From "0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 5
equation (E), for large value of s, hcapproaches h, m
p s / ( 8 s ) , which is not correct. Thus, equation (8) is
very approximate and is valid only when s<<b. Figure 3 - G(Y) versus h and K.
Therefore, equations (3) to (5) give lower value of the
ground resistance of the foot.

Value of the ratio L/a within reasonable limits is

A more accurate expression for the mutual ground
resistance between two similar, parallel, coaxial,
circular plates of radius b in an infinite medium is
given in Appendix A.
Using this expression for the mutual ground
resistance, and applying the method of images, the
following expressions for determining the ground
resistance of the foot are obtained. The derivation of
these expressions is given in Appendix A.
not critical. For L/a = 5 and L-0.2854mI Rf from
Equation (12) has the same value as the ground
resistance of the circular plate of radius 0.08 m.
Representing the foot by an equivalent rectangular
plate and applying the method of images, the following
expressions for determining the ground resistance of
the foot are obtained. The derivation of these
expressions is given in Appendix A .

00

G(Y) = 1 t 0.714 2 P
n-1
H(X) = 1 t S (10)
n=l Y = h/L (15)

P = Kn[ln

These expressions are valid for h/b > 2 or h>l6cm.
Figure 2 gives H(X) versus h for various values of K.
The foot can also be represented by an equivalent
rectangular plate. Ground resistance of a rectangular
plate of width 'ar and length L, on the surface of
homogeneous earth of resistivity p s is given by [51
L = 0.2854 m (17)
These expressions are valid for h>(a/2). For
L/a-5 and L-0.2854, "an is equal to 0.057m. Hence,
these expressions are valid for h>0.028m. Figure 3
gives G(Y) versus h for various values of K. This
figure covers all the practical range of the depth of
the gravel layer used in substation yards.

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 3

OWPBRZSON OF DIFFERENT MM!€IODS Table I - F(X), H(X) and G(Y)

The f u n c t i o n s H ( X ) and G ( Y ) a r e o b t a i n e d w i t h IEEE Suggested Values

d i f f e r e n t models of t h e f o o t . A s h approaches zero K h 80 Circ.Plate Rect.Plate
both H ( X ) and G ( Y ) should approach p / p s . The graphs of cm F(X) H(X) G (Y) G (Y)/F (X)
G ( Y ) given i n Figure 3 extend t o small v a l u e s of h up
t o t h e known p o i n t s f o r h-0 without any i n f l e c t i o n . -0.3 5 0.681 - 0.806 1.18
-0.3 10 0.807 - 0.883 1.09
Table I g i v e s v a l u e s of F ( X ) , H ( X ) , G ( Y ) and t h e -0.3 16 0.873 0.920 0.921 1.05
r a t i o G ( Y ) / F (X) for some r e p r e s e n t a t i v e v a l u e s of h and -0.3 20 0.897 0.935 0.936 1.04
K. The d i f f e r e n c e between t h e corresponding v a l u e s of
H(X) and G ( Y ) is l e s s t h a n 1%. The corresponding -0.5 5 0.514 - 0.705 1.37
v a l u e s of F ( X ) a r e always lower t h a n t h e v a l u e s of -0.5 10 0.703 0.820 1.17
G(Y) . The ground r e s i s t a n c e determined by t h e I E E E 80 -0.5 16 0.804 0.876 0.879 1.09
i s lower t h a n t h e r e s i s t a n c e found u s i n g t h e formulas -0.5 20 0.841 0.899 0.901 1.07
d e r i v e d i n t h i s paper by t h e value of t h e r a t i o of
G(Y)/F(X). For K l e s s t h a n -0.9 (or ps/p118.9) and h -0.7 5 0.373 - 0.619 1.66
l e s s t h a n 10 Qn t h i s r a t i o i s more t h a n 1.35. -0.7 10 0.612 - 0.766 1.25
-0.7 16 0.744 0.838 0.842 1.13
IEEE Standard 80 method g i v e s v a l u e s of t h e -0.7 20 0.793 0.869 0.871 1.10
f o o t i n g r e s i s t a n c e which a r e t o o low e s p e c i a l l y when
ps/p i s high and h i s low. The method given i n t h i s -0.9 5 0.252 - 0.545 2.16
paper g i v e s more a c c u r a t e and r e a l i s t i c v a l u e s . -0.9 10 0.533 - 0.718 1.35
-0.9 16 0.691 0.804 0.810 1.17
-0.9 20 0.750 0.841 0.844 1.13

Ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e f o o t i s u s u a l l y taken a s
t h r e e t i m e s t h e r e s i s t i v i t y of t h e g r a v e l l a y e r i n
t h e substation yards. Because of t h e l i m i t e d
t h i c k n e s s of t h e g r a v e l l a y e r , t h e a c t u a l ground
r e s i s t a n c e of t h e f o o t may be c o n s i d e r a b l y l e s s .
Expressions given i n I E E E Standard 80 f o r t a k i n g
i n t o account t h e l i m i t e d t h i c k n e s s of t h e g r a v e l
l a y e r f o r determining t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e
f o o t g i v e r e s u l t s which a r e c o n s e r v a t i v e . When
ps/p>18.9 and hS10 cm, t h e r e s u l t s a r e low by a
f a c t o r of more t h a n 1.35.
Equations (13) t o ( 1 7 ) i n t h i s paper g i v e a more
a c c u r a t e value of t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e f o o t
i n a s u b s t a t i o n yard w i t h a g r a v e l l a y e r of 3 t o 25
cm d e p t h . The use of t h e s e e q u a t i o n s should r e s u l t
i n economic design of t h e grounding systems for
substation yards.
APPENDIX A
Figure A 1 shows a p l a t e on t h e s u r f a c e of t h e
g r a v e l l a y e r of r e s i s t i v i t y ps over a s o i l of
r e s i s t i v i t y p . Depth of t h e g r a v e l l a y e r i s h. The
ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e p l a t e can be determined with
t h e use of t h e method of images [6]. The c u r r e n t
d i s c h a r g e d t o t h e ground by t h e p l a t e i s I . The two
boundary p l a n e s between t h e t h r e e m a t e r i a l s , a i r ,
g r a v e l and s o i l , produce a two way i n f i n i t e sequence of
images, some of which a r e i n d i c a t e d i n Figure A2. All
t h e s e images d i s c h a r g e c u r r e n t i n t o t h e uniform medium
Air
h 3 Crushed rock l a y e r , r e s i s t i v i t y p ,

Soil, r e s i s t i v i t y p
REFERENCES
"IEEE Guide f o r S a f e t y i n AC S u b s t a t i o n Grounding", Figure Al - Plate on the gravel layer.
ANSI/IEEE s t d . 80, 1986.

B. Thapar, and Z . A . Alaywan, " I n c r e a s i n g of Ground

R e s i s t a n c e of Human Foot i n S u b s t a t i o n Yards".
I E E E T r a n s a c t i o n s on Power Delivery, v o l . PWRD-4,
1989, pp. 45-59.
B. Thapar, V. Gerez, A . Balakrishnan, and D . A .
Blank, " F i n i t e Expressions and Models f o r Footing
Resistance i n S u b s t a t i o n s " . IEEE/PES 1991 Winter
Meeting, Paper # 91 WM 036-4 PWRD.

Y . Shiau, M . F . Genue, "Step P o t e n t i a l and Bodv

CurreNt Near a Buried . Horizontal Bare Conductor ii
a Two-layer E a r t h " . I I T Research I n s t i t u t e
Technical Report E6357-7, 1977.
H.B. Dwight, " C a l c u l a t i o n of Resistance t o Ground".
E l e c t r i c a l Enqineering, 1936, pp. 1319-1328.

J. Zaborszky, " E f f i c i e n c y of Grounding Grids with

Nonuniform S o i l " . A I E E T r a n s a c t i o n s , v o l . 74, 1955,
pp. 1230-1233.

E.D. Sunde, "Earth Conduction Effects in

Transmission Systems." (book), Dover P u b l i c a t i o n s ,
I n c . New York, 1968. Figure A2 - Plate and its images.

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 4

of resistivity p s . Whenever an image is taken on the ps = p s (ln? t $1

boundary between air and gravel, the current of the (A9)
image remains the same. However, when an image is
taken on the boundary between the gravel and soil, the For b = 0.08m, L/a = 5 and L = 0.2854m.
current of the image reduces by a ratio
When the foot is represented by an equivalent
K = (P - P ~ ) / ( P+ PSI (A11 rectangular plate, the ground resistance of the foot,
Re, is oiven bv the around resistance of the plate,
L.

The currents discharged by the images are shown in RrP. Ehat ions- (13) to- (16) give this resistance-.
Figure A2 and the whole space in Figure A2 is of
resistivity p s . The potential, VI of the plate caused
by the currents being discharged from the plate and its
images is given by
00

v = I[2R -k4 l! (Kn Rm(znh) 1 1 (A21

n=l
Baldev Thapar (M'60, SM'62) was born
Where R = ground resistance of the plate in an in India on Sept. 1, 1930. He
infinite medium of resistivity p s . received the B.Sc. (Honours) degree
h(2nh) - mutual ground resistance between the
two parallel plates oriented as shown
from Banaras Hipdu University, M.S.
and Ph.D. degrees from Illinois
Institute of Technology, in 1953, 1960
in Figure A2 and separated by distance and 1963 respectively, all in
(2nh). electrical engineering. From 1953 to
1955 he was with Punjab Public Works
Ground resistance of the plate is then given by Department, India, working in Power
System Operation. In 1955 he joined the faculty of
00
Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, India, where
RP = V / I = 2 R t 4 n-l
Z
lK Rm(2nh) (A3) he was Professor, Electrical Engineering from 1966 to
1985. In 1985-86 he was a Visiting Professor at
Louisiana State University. At present he is a
Professor in the faculty of Electrical Engineering
When the plate is circular of radius b, then R and Department, Montana State University, Bozeman.
Dr. Thapar is a Fellow of Institutions of Engineers
k(2nh) are given by (India). He is a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi
and Sigma Xi. His research interests are in electric
' R = =PS power system analysis, protection and grounding.
Victor Gerez (SM) was born in
=P,(1..-1b+-- 33 b4 Santander, Spain, on April 11, 1934.
1 (A51 He received his Engineering degree
Rm(2nh) 4n (2nh) l2 (2nh)2 40 (2nh) from National University of Mexico and
This equation gives good results for (2h)/b > 4, or his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the
h/b > 2. University of California at Berkeley
in 1958, 1969 and 1972 respectively,
From equation (A3) to (A5) the ground resistance all in electrical engineering.
of the circular plate, Rcpl can be determined. When From 1958 to 1965 he was an
the foot is represented by an equivalent circular plate electrical design engineer in several
of radius-b,the ground resistance of the foot, Rf, is Mexican companies. From 1966 to 1973 he was a member
given by the ground resistance of the plate, Rcp. of the technical staff of Mexico's National Utility.
Equations (9) to (11) give this resistance. In 1973 he became chairman of the Mechanical-Electrical
Engineering Department at the National University of
Mexico. In 1917 he was named director of the power
RECTA" PLATE system division in Mexico's Electric Research
Institute. He joined the Electrical Engineering
If the plate is rectangular of width "a" and Department at Montana State University in 1983 and
length L, then R and h(2nh) are given by [4,8] became chairman in 1984.
Dr. Gerez is the author of several articles on
system and power engineering and co-author of six
electrical and system engineering textbooks widely used
in Spanish speaking countries.
Prince Emmanuel is currently a graduate student
working on his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering
at Montana State University. He received his B.E.
(A71 degree from M.S. University, Baroda, India and M.Tech
This equation is valid i f 2h>a, or h>(a/2). degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay,
India, in 1982 and 1984 respectively, both in
From equations (A3), (A6) and (A7), the ground electrical engineering. In 1981-82 he worked as a
resistance of the rectangular plate, Rrpr can be Training Engineer in M/S Hindustan Brown Boveri Ltd.
determined and is given by where he was involved with design and development of
static power system relays. During 1985 he worked as a
ps 2L 1 2 - - Research Engineer at M/S Jyoti Ltd.where he was
R = si^; ( 1 5 t 2) [l t (A81 involved with design and development of ac/dc machines.
rP In(-2L t
a 2
1) n=l
From 1986 through 1987, he worked as a Lecturer cum
System Manager in M.S. University, Baroda, India.
where P is given by equation (15). Mr. Emmanuel has co-authored professional papers in
the area of AI application to power system security,
The rectangular plate is equivalent to the load forecasting and HVDC. His primary interests are
circular plate when AC/DC power system operation and dynamics.

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 5
Discussion remote ground
P b
E. P. Dick (Ontario Hydro Research, Toronto): The analytical formu- R,(x) = -sin-’ -
las presented by the authors have been helpful in beginning to provide 4n-b x
an explanation for errors that appear to be present in Figure 7 and 8, which was validated using paper reference [8] equation 2.18
page 40 of IEEE 80 (1986). Let us carry this task further by examining page 44. Surfaces of equal potential were found to be ellipsoids
the approximations implicit in the image methods used by the authors of revolution, allowing the mutual resistance to be generalized
and by Shiau et al. in paper reference [4] which led to IEEE 80. Errors to a point 2nh above the disk at radial distance x
may arise from: a) the different geometries assumed for images such
as points, spheres, circular disks and rectangular plates, b) symmetries PS
R,(x) = - K”sin-’a
assumed for the electric field arising from an individual image, c) the 7rb
potential impressed on the disk modelling the foot due to an individ-
ual image, d) truncation of series used to approximate rectangular 2b
CY=
plates and e) truncation in the number of images.
The authors comments on the following particular issues would be
J(2nh)’ + (x - b)’ + J(2nh)’ + (x + b)’
appreciated: Next the potential on the primary disk due to this mutual
1. For a) above, does the IEEE formula appearing in [4] not resistance was averaged over radial distances from 0 to b as
assume point images, or spherical images of arbitrary radius raised in c) above. This averaging was weighted by radial dis-
which use the same expressions? The test preceding equation tance r to give equal prominence to equal subareas of the disk
(8) in the current paper may give readers the impression that surface. The integration was done in closed form by fitting the
disk images were used. Can point or spherical images be consid- radial potential profile to a power series truncated after the
ered reliable simulators of disks when the image depth is less quadratic term. The resulting disk potential was found to be a
than several times the disk radius, a condition holding for most simple average of the mutual resistance at r = 0 and r = b.
of the abscissa in Figure l ? Finally, H(h) was calculated as described in the paper and has
2. For b) above, has the present paper considered proximity be- been listed in Table 1 for K = -0.8.
tween images and between images and the primary source?
Here we might picture the primary source and images as con- Table 1
ductive disks or plates which have to be present simultaneously, H(h) and H‘(h) over h for K = - 0.8
even if only one image is fed current at a time through the h H(h) H‘(h)
principle of superposition. These plates or disks would thus
force the potentials to be uniform locally altering the field 0.00 0.11
symmetry in a rather complex way, and affecting the results 0.002 0.14
unless the images and source remain far apart compared to 0.005 0.18
their own size. To what extent would this affect the accuracy of 0.01 0.31 0.24
the curves appearing on the left sides of Figures 2 and 3 in this 0.02 0.38 0.32
paper? Note that the point images used in [4] can approach 0.03 0.44 0.38
each other rather closely without incurring this error, although 0.05 0.55 0.46
errors due to a) may be large. 0.07 0.64
3. For c above, which is related to b), the primary disk or plate 0.10 0.72
potential due to an image current may be approximated by 0.15 0.80
averaging the soil potential profile over the plate surface assum- 0.20 0.85
ing it to be a non-conductor. It is interesting to note that the
disk potential in [4] was taken from the surface potential ap- As mentioned in the paper, such formulas become ill-condi-
pearing at radius b, while some smaller average radius may have tioned for small h so an alternative was developed. For small h,
given a more accurate result. Do the series used in (A5) and the current was assumed to flow to the second layer over this
(A7) attempt to approximate this averaging? distance h through a cylindrical surface area 7r b2 + 2 ~ r hThe
.
4. The authors present equation (8) as the mutual resistance resistive drop in the upper layer of p, h/(n-bz + 27rbh) was
assumed tacitly in [4] and thus by IEEE Guide 80, although this added to the resistance of the second layer of p/4b resulting in
does not explain why such an awkward term was chosen by
l + K 4 h
Shiau et al. at that time. The text of [4] on page 6 presents the
correct mutual resistance of a buried point source as an equa-
H‘( h) = -
1-K
+ --
~ b + 2 h (3)
tion (9). Then on page 9, the resistance of a surface plate
electrode for two layer soil is given which led to the (incorrect) From Table 1, it is apparent that H(h) approaches H’(H) within
IEEE Guide 80 formula. Since Shiau et al. state this was 0.06 per unit for an h of 0.02 m, with larger differences else-
derived “following the same procedures as described for hemi- where. Thus H’(h) and H(h) should be used below and above
spherical electrodes”, it must have been their intention to use a 0.02 m respectively. An intermediate curve could be sketched
similar formula and not (8) of the present paper. Could a simple manually, having an error bound of kO.03 per unit. The results
oversight in failing to rescale the mutual image terms when shown in Figure 3 of the paper for K = -0.8 agree within this
replacing the leading p/27rr factor for hemispheres with the tolerance. While such small differences may seem irrelevant to
p/4r factor for disks explain these differences? Given the practical studies, analytical formulas are also needed to validate
prominence of this issue with respect to the development of a software through benchmarks. It would be gratifying if formulas
revised IEEE guide 80, could the authors approach Shiau et al. can be found for this purpose having proven error tolerances
for their opinion on whether such an error occurred? rather smaller than the above.
5. Readers having commercial grounding software may want to use Manuscript received FebruaIy 26, 1992.
analytic formulas as a benchmark to validate their simulations.
For this purpose it is important to know the exact geometry
being calculated and the bounds on errors. Does equation (A81 F. P. Dawalibi (Safe Engineering Services & Technologies Ltd. (SESI):
apply to true rectangles or an approximation such as an ellipse? The authors should be commended for the development of simple
What are the error bounds within the states range of validity (h expressions which provide more accurate formulas for the calculation
exceeding 28 mm)? of the C , factor and for their scale model experimental verification
6. The discusser has developed the following formulas for foot and validation.
resistance which are also based on disk images but bear little I believe that both the value of the authors’ work and the reader’s
resemblance to (A5) of this paper. The mutual resistance for understanding of the subject would have been enhanced by combining
current fed to a disk of radius b in an infinite medium, with the two papers together, even if the consolidated paper would have
potential taken between radial distance x in the same plane and exceeded the official page limit.

...
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 6
The computerized analysis described in our paper [ l ] which was
presented at this same power meeting agrees, in general, with the
authors’ results. The only point requiring clarification relates to the
statement made by the authors that the slopes of the C, curves do not
approach zero as the thickness of the top layer approaches zero. This
conclusion is not substantiated by our computer results. However, in
our case, the model of the foot was made of thin meshed conductors
buried at a depth of 2 mm. Is the author’s conclusion based on their
scale model or on a mathematical analysis assuming zero burial
depth?
It is well known that the scalar potential of a point in a two layer
medium exhibits a zero slope for zero and infinite thickness of the top
layer. Therefore, this property will be preserved by finite summation
or uniformly convergent integration of the point source response. This
is how one determines the response of linear or surface sources. In
practice, linear conductors and plates must have finite radii or thick-
nesses and must be fully immersed in order to be able to use
grounding analysis computer models for their study.
The authors state that their approximate expression is not valid for
h < 2 cm. However, they have provided an illustration of what the
curves may look like in this range by interpolation. Would the authors
provide a mathematical or physical justification for their illustration?
Reference
[l] F. P. Dawalibi, W. Xiong, J. Ma, “Effects of Deteriorated and
Contaminated Substation Surface Covering Layers on Foot Resis-
tance Calculations” Paper No. 92 WM 221-2 PWRD, IEEE/PES
Winter Power Meeting, New York, January 26-30, 1992.
Manuscript received February 11, 1992.
BALDEW -AX, VICTOR GERE2.: The authors
a p p r e c i a t e t h e i n t e r e s t expressed by t h e d i s c u s s e r s and
s i n c e r e l y thank them f o r t h e i r comments.
We a p p r e c i a t e D r . F.P.Dawalibi‘s comment t h a t t h e
results obtained thfough computerized analysis
conducted by them a r e l n general agreement w i t h t h e
r e s u l t s presented i n t h i s paper. As mentioned i n t h e
papef, equation (16) i s v a l i d f o r h>0.028 m. Basic
physics demands t h a t a t h=O t h e d e r i v a t i v e of Rf with
r e s p e c t t o h should be given by:
Ps - P
d
z R f = - A ohmslm
Where A = Area of t h e f o o t i n c o n t a c t with
the top layer
Therefore, t h e s l o p e of t h e G(Y) curves a t h=O can be
determined from equation ( 1 D ) . The value of G(Y) a t
h-0 i s known. Because of t h e small s c a l e a t which
Figure 3 i s drawn t h e p o i n t s f o r h-0 and h=3 f o r each
value of K a r e connected by a s t r a i g h t l i n e . This l i n e
i s not n o t i c e a b l y d i f f e r e n t from t h e graph t h a t would
be obtained p l o t t i n g t h e mathematical expressions t h a t
a r e v a l i d f o r h<3cm.
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Mr. E . P . D i c k has r a i s e d important and p e r t i n e n t
q u e s t i o n s t o which our r e p l i e s a r e given below.
1. A c i r c u l a r d i s c source behaves l i k e a point o r
s p h e r i c a l source only i f it i s observed from a d i s t a n c e
much l a r g e r t h a n its r a d i u s . When t h e d i s t a n c e of t h e
observer i s comparable with t h e r a d i u s of t h e d i s c , t h e
source cannot be represented a s a point o r s p h e r i c a l
source without i n t r o d u c i n g appreciable e r r o r .
2. The images a r e used t o obtain the required
boundary c o n d i t i o n s a t t h e boundaries between t h e
g r a v e l and a i r and between t h e g r a v e l and t h e s o i l .
The mutual ground r e s i s t a n c e between t h e images and t h e
p l a t e i s an important f a c t o r and it i s determined with
only one image a t a time. Since t h e image i s p a r a l l e l
t o t h e p l a t e on a common a x i s , t h e flow of c u r r e n t from
t h e p l a t e i s not appreciably a f f e c t e d by t h e presence
of t h e image. The l i t t l e d i s t o r t i o n i n t h e flow of
c u r r e n t caused by t h e presence of t h e image can be
ignored f o r a l l p r a c t i c a l purposes even f o r a very
small d i s t a n c e between t h e p l a t e and i t s image.
3. The mutual ground r e s i s t a n c e given by t h e series
i n equations (A51 and (A71 i s based on t h e average
p o t e n t i a l on t h e p l a t e .
4. I t i s obvious t h a t Shiu et a 1 i n reference [ 4 ] of
t h e paper used t h e equation f o r a hemispherical
e l e c t r o d e as t h e b a s i s and a p p l i e d it t o a c i r c u l a r
p l a t e by changing only i t s l e a d i n g term from p/2nr t o
p/4r. They ignored t h e f a c t t h a t t h i s s i m p l i f i c a t i o n
can i n t r o d u c e a l o t of e r r o r when h i s small.
5. Equation (A8) i s based on equations (A6) and ( A ? ) .
The approximations used i n a r r i v i n g a t t h e s e equations
a r e given i n reference [SI of t h e paper. The
approximations used a r e v a l i d f o r p r a c t i c a l purposes.
6. Equation (1) given by Mr. D i c k is t h e same as
equation (2.18) i n reference [a] of t h e paper. This
equation cannot be used t o develop equation ( 2 ) given
by Mr. Dick. Surfaces of equal p o t e n t i a l s a r e
e l l i p s o i d s of r e v o l u t i o n f o r l i n e a r conductors. For a
c i r c u l a r p l a t e t h e s u r f a c e s of equal p o t e n t i a l s w i l l
not be e l l i p s o i d s with f i x e d f o c i i as assumed i n t h e
equation ( 2 ) .
(ID)
When h i s small, t h e c r o s s s e c t i o n a r e a through
which t h e c u r r n t will flow i n the gravel i s
approximately nb 5.
J u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r i n t r o d u c t i o n of
t h e term 2nbh i s not apparent.
W e agree t h a t it i s important t o f i n d expressions
t h a t are mathematically c o r r e c t f o r small values of h.
With t h e u s e of Legendre Functions we have obtained
a c c u r a t e mathematical expressions which a r e v a l i d f o r
small values of h. These expressions and t h e r e s u l t s
o b t a i n e d with them w i l l be r e p o r t e d i n near f u t u r e .
Manuscript received A p r i l 10, 1992.