16-QMP-05-3A

DESIGN GUIDE FOR

EARTHING CALCULATION FOR ONSHORE

PLANT AREA

0 05.01.07 General Revision And Issued due to change in organization AP JKK RNS
name
0 01-09-04 First issue IB ASA NS
Rev. Date Description Prpd. Chkd. Appd.
Word

Standard Number Rev.

DESIGN GUIDE FOR
EARTHING CALCULATION
Saipem Triune Engineering Pvt. Ltd., 06-DG-006 0
FOR ONSHORE PLANT
New Delhi
AREA
Sheet 1 of 6
 16-QMP-05-3A

CONTENTS

1.0 PURPOSE 3

2.0 REFERENCE STANDARDS 3

3.0 GENERAL FEATURES OF EARTHING SYSTEM 3

4.0 CALCULATION PROCEDURE 3

5.0 EQUIPMENT EARTHING SCHEDULE 4

6.0 LIST OF ATTACHMENTS 4

Standard Number Rev.

DESIGN GUIDE FOR
Word

EARTHING CALCULATION
Saipem Triune Engineering Pvt. Ltd., 06-DG-006 0
New Delhi
FOR ONSHORE PLANT
AREA
Sheet 2 of 6
 16-QMP-05-3A

1.0 PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to lay down the guidelines and design procedure for
performing earthing calculation for safety earthing for onshore plant area projects.

2.0 REFERENCE STANDARDS

Code of Practice for Earthing : IS-3043

3.0 GENERAL FEATURES OF EARTHING SYSTEM

Earthing system shall include an earthing network with designed number of earth electrodes,
earth strips attached to meet the required value of earth resistance.
The following equipment shall be earthed.

- Metallic non current carrying parts of all electrical apparatus such as transformers,
switch gears, bus ducts, UPS, chargers, capacitor banks, NGR’s, motors, lighting/
power panels, cable trays, terminal boxes, control stations, lighting fixtures,
receptacles etc.
- Steel structure
- Static equipment like storage tanks, vessels, spheres, columns and all other process
equipment
- Cable shields and armour
- Fence/ gate for transformer and capacitor banks
- Lighting poles and masts
- Any other equipment required to be earthed/ bonded.

4.0 CALCULATION PROCEDURE

Earthing calculation shall be as per IS 3043-1987.

4.1 Calculation Of Pipe Electrode Earth Resistance

The resistance of a Pipe Electrode (Re) is calculated based on IS-3043 section 9.2.2

Re = 100  loge 4 l (ohms)

2l d
Where,
Re = Resistance of one Pipe Electrode
 = Soil resistivity (Ohm-m)
l = Length of pipe electrode (cm)

Standard Number Rev.

DESIGN GUIDE FOR
Word

EARTHING CALCULATION
Saipem Triune Engineering Pvt. Ltd., 06-DG-006 0
New Delhi
FOR ONSHORE PLANT
AREA
Sheet 3 of 6
 16-QMP-05-3A

d = Diameter of pipe electrode (cm)

4.2 Calculation Of Strip Electrode Earth Resistance

The Strip electrode resistance (Rs) is calculated by the following formula taken from Code of
Practice for Earthing IS 3043 Section 9.2.3.
RS = 100 loge 2 l 2 (ohms)
2l wt
Where,
RS = Resistance of Strip Electrode
 = Soil resistivity (Ohm-m)
l = Length of the strip (cm)
w = Depth of burial of the electrode (cm)
t = Width of the strip (cm)
4.3 Calculation Of Size Of Main Earthing Conductor
The cross-sectional area of earthing conductor for disconnection time not exceeding 5 sec.
Based on IS-3043 section 12.2.2.1
S = I x  t x CF
k
where, S = cross-sectional area (in sq.mm.)

I = fault current (in amperes)

t = operating time of the disconnecting device (in sec)

k = factor from table 6D of IS 3043

= 56 for G. I. Strip assuming 40°C initial temperature and 200°C final

temperature for T3 for hazardous area

CF = Corrosion factor, 10% shall be considered

4.4 Calculation Of Equivalent Earth Resistance Of The Grid
Total Earth resistance RT = RE || RS
Where,
RT = Total Earth resistance (Ohms)
RS = Resistance of Strip Electrode (Ohms)
RE = Total Resistance of Earth electrodes (Ohms)
RE = Re / n (Ohms)
Standard Number Rev.
DESIGN GUIDE FOR
Word

EARTHING CALCULATION
Saipem Triune Engineering Pvt. Ltd., 06-DG-006 0
New Delhi
FOR ONSHORE PLANT
AREA
Sheet 4 of 6
 16-QMP-05-3A

Where, Re = Resistance of one Pipe Electrode

n = Total Number of Earth Electrodes
Required number of Earth Electrodes shall be interconnected with the GI strip to get the value
of resistance to earth less that specified in the design basis (typically 5 Ohm).

4.5 Current Density

Maximum Permissible Current Density

I= 7.57 x 103 A/ m2
Sqrt( x t)

Where, t = Duration of earth fault (in sec)

 = Soil resistivity (Ohm-m)

4.6 Calculation
Earthing Calculation is attached as Attachment 1.

5.0 EQUIPMENT EARTHING SCHEDULE

Following table indicates the earthing conductor details for Equipment Earthing, from Earth
plate or from Main Earth grid to the equipment.

TYPE OF EQUIPMENT EARTH CONDUCTOR

Motors up to 3.7 kW No. 8 SWG Solid
Motors 5.5 kW to 30 kW & welding receptacles 10 MM (3/8”) Dia wire rope
Motors above 37 kW including HV Motors 16 MM (5/8”) Dia wire rope/
40x5 MM G.I. Strip
Building Columns 40x5 Strip

Storage Tanks (Vertical & Horizontal) 40x5 Strip

Vessels & Heat Exchangers 40x5 Strip
Small equipment & Instruments No. 8 SWG Solid
Lighting, Power & Instrument Panels 10 MM (3/8”) Dia wire rope
Push Button Stations No. 8 SWG Solid
Street Lighting Poles 10 MM (3/8”) Dia wire rope

Standard Number Rev.

DESIGN GUIDE FOR
Word

EARTHING CALCULATION
Saipem Triune Engineering Pvt. Ltd., 06-DG-006 0
New Delhi
FOR ONSHORE PLANT
AREA
Sheet 5 of 6
 16-QMP-05-3A

TYPE OF EQUIPMENT EARTH CONDUCTOR

Pipe Racks 25 Sq. MM.

6.0 LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

Attachment 1 – Sample earthing calculation

Attachment 2 – Soil resistivity calculation

Standard Number Rev.

DESIGN GUIDE FOR
Word

EARTHING CALCULATION
Saipem Triune Engineering Pvt. Ltd., 06-DG-006 0
New Delhi FOR ONSHORE PLANT
AREA
Sheet 6 of 6