130 IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 5 , No.

1, January 1990

GROUND RESISTANCE OF CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS TN SUBSTATION YARDS

Baldev Thapar Gaur F e r r e r Donald A. Blank

Sn.Member IEEE Member IEEE
Montana S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y Administration
B O M e V i l l e Power
Bozeman, M n t a n a Portland, Oregon

Abstract - The r e i n f o r c e d c o n c r e t e foundations i n and graphs which can be e a s i l y and d i r e c t l y used t o

a s u b s t a t i o n yard have e x t e n s i v e r e i n f o r c i n g s t e e l determine t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e of v a r i o u s t y p e s of
which i s i n m e t a l l i c connection with t h e l a i d ground foundations found i n t h e substation yards. The
conductor. The foundations may contribute v a l i d i t y of t h e proposed a n a l y t i c a l procedures i s
s i g n i f i c a n t l y t o t h e d i s s i p a t i o n of t h e f a u l t and v e r i f i e d with t h e model t e s t s .
leakage c u r r e n t s . Simple t o use equations and graphs
a r e p r e s e n t e d i n t h i s paper t o determine t h e ground
r e s i s t a n c e of v a r i o u s t y p e s of foundations encountered CLASSIFICATION OF FOUNDATIONS
i n substation yards. The v a l i d i t y of t h e a n a l y t i c a l
approach has been v e r i f i e d with s c a l e model t e s t s . The For e v a l u a t i n g the ground resistance, the
ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e foundations e s t i m a t e d as f o u n d a t i o n s i n a s u b s t a t i o n yard can be c l a s s i f i e d i n
suggested i n t h e paper can be used t o e v a l u a t e t h e r o l e t h e following four categories:
of t h e foundations a s grounding element.
( a ) Mat f o u n d a t i o n s .
Keywords: Ground resistance, Substation yard These a r e shallow foundations having less t h a n
foundations. l m depth below t h e s o i l l e v e l . Horizontal
s p r e a d i s much g r e a t e r than t h e depth and t h e
r e b a r s form a h o r i z o n t a l mat.
INTRODUCTION (b) Direct v e r t i c a l f o o t i n g s .
The h o r i z o n t a l c r o s s - s e c t i o n a r e a of t h e s e
There a r e a l a r g e number of foundations i n a foundations i s uniform from t o p t o bottom.
s u b s t a t i o n y a r d t o support dead end l i n e towers, The depth may vary from 0 . 5 t o 5 m. The
switches, c i r c u i t b r e a k e r s , i n s u l a t o r s , equipment, r e b a r s a r e v e r t i c a l and form a p r i s m a t i c cage.
l i g h t i n g units etc. These foundations a r e normally of (c) Pyramidal s p r e a d f o o t i n g s . -
reinforced concrete type. According t o t h e ANSI/IEEE These foundations a r e i n t h e shape of a
recommendations, t h e anchor b o l t s and angle s t u b s of pyramid. The depth may vary from 0 . 5 t o 3 m.
t h e s t r u c t u r e s a t t h e s u b s t a t i o n yards should have a The r e b a r s form a pyramidal cage.
r e l i a b l e m e t a l t o metal c o n t a c t with t h e r e i n f o r c i n g (d) Spread f o o t i n g s with s l a b .
s t e e l ( r e b a r s ) i n t h e foundations. [ l ] . Therefore, t h e The depth of t h e s e foundations may vary from 1
r e b a r s g e t e l e c t r i c a l l y connected with t h e l a i d ground t o 3 m. A t t h e bottom of t h e f o o t i n g i s a
conductors i n the substation through t h e s t e e l reinforced concrete slab with h o r i z o n t a l
s t r u c t u r e s and anchor b o l t s o r a n g l e s t u b s and become r e b a r s forming a mat. The f o o t i n g above t h i s
an i n t e g r a l p a r t of t h e grounding system. s l a b may be c y l i n d r i c a l having v e r t i c a l r e b a r s
o r pyramidal with r e b a r s i n t h e form of a
Concrete below ground l e v e l i s a semiconducting pyramidal cage.
medium having 30 t o 90 ohm-m r e s i s t i v i t y . [ l ] . The wide
s p r e a d use of r e b a r s i n c o n c r e t e foundations r e s u l t s i n F i g u r e 1 shows t h e four types of t h e foundations
t h e foundations contributing significantly t o the d e s c r i b e d above.
grounding system. The ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e
f o u n d a t i o n s i n a s u b s t a t i o n may be comparable with t h e
ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e l a i d grounding system.

To e v a l u a t e t h e r o l e of t h e foundations a s ground
element and t o e s t i m a t e t h e magnitude of t h e f a u l t and 1 IyI
leakage c u r r e n t s t h a t may be c a r r i e d by t h e foundations
it i s necessary t o know t h e i r ground r e s i s t a n c e .
D i r e c t l y a p p l i c a b l e formulas o r g r a p h i c a l methods t o
determine t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e foundations a r e
not a v a i l a b l e . However t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e
r e b a r s i n t h e foundations can be determined by t h e
c l a s s i c a l method of d i v i d i n g t h e r e b a r s i n small l i n e a r
elements. This method r e q u i r e s feeding a l o t of d a t a
t o t h e computer f o r e x t e n s i v e computations. This i s
inconvenient and time consuming, s p e c i a l l y when high
degree of accuracy i s not r e q u i r e d i n t h e a n a l y s i s and
d e s i g n of grounding systems. It i s , t h e r e f o r e ,
d e s i r a b l e t o develop simple t o use formulas or
g r a p h i c a l methods. This paper p r e s e n t s such formulas

(C) (d)
89 SM 803-8 PWRD A paper recommended and approved
by t h e IEEE S u b s t a t i o n s Committee of t h e I E E E 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 Fig. 1. Foundations i n s u b s t a t i o n yards.
1989 Summer Meeting, Long Beach, C a l i € o r n i a , July 9- ( a ) Mat foundation.
14, 1989. Manuscript submitted January 31, 1989; (b) Direct v e r t i c a l footing.
made a v a i l a b l e f o r p r i n t i n g May 9, 1989. ( c ) Pyramidal spread f o o t i n g .
( d ) Spread f o o t i n g with s l a b .

0885-8977/90/0100-0130$01.00 0 1989 IEEE

 131

Horizontal c r o s s - s e c t i o n of t h e f q o t i n g s may be The ground r e s i s t a n c e , R f , i s given by

c i r c u l a r , square or r e c t a n g u l a r . Cross-section a r e a a t
t h e t o p of t h e f o o t i n g may vary from 0 . 0 5 t o 5 sq.mr
?he s i z e of r e b a r s commonly used v a r i e s from #3 (0.952 (4)
cm d i a . ) t o #9 ( 2 . 8 6 5 cm d i a . )
The r e b a r s i n a foundation have m u l t i p l e m e t a l l i c
connections with each o t h e r through r i n g s , binders and This technique g i v e s f a i r l y a c c u r a t e r e s u l t s when
binding wire. As such t h e r e b a r s can be considered L/A i s g r e a t e r than 10, but cannot be used f o r small
e l e c t r i c a l l y connected w i t h each o t h e r . The r e s i s t a n c e v a l u e s of L/A. When L/A i s l e s s t h a n 2 t h e ground
o f f e r e d t o t h e flow of c u r r e n t i n t h e r e b a r s i s r e s i s t a n c e o b t a i n e d by t h i s technique w i l l be l e s s t h a n
negligible. h a l f of t h e a c t u a l value, r e s u l t i n g i n an e r r o r of more
t h a n 1 0 0 % . A l a r g e number of d i r e c t v e r t i c a l f o o t i n g s
I n most s o i l s t h e r e s i s t i v i t y of concrete buried i n s u b s t a t i o n yards have L/A l e s s t h a n 5. It i s
i n s o i l i s approximately same o r l e s s t h a n t h e t h e r e f o r e necessary t o develop a g e n e r a l formula
r e s i s t i v i t y of t h e s o i l . I n such c a s e s i t i s s a f e t o applicable t o a l l ratios of L/A encountered i n
assume t h a t t h e c o n c r e t e b u r i e d i n e a r t h has t h e same p r a c t i c e . The development of such a formula i s given i n
r e s i s t i v i t y a s t h e l o c a l s o i l . Therefore, expressions appendix A. B, given i n equation (A6) i s t h e r a d i u s of
f o r t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e foundations a r e f i r s t t h e e q u i v a l e n t c y l i n d r i c a l conductor t h a t w i l l give
developed with t h e assumption t h a t t h e r e s i s t i v i t y of correct results.
t h e medium surrounding t h e r e b a r s i n t h e foundations i s
uniform. When t h e r e s i s t i v i t y of t h e c o n c r e t e i s more S o l u t i o n of e q u a t i o n s (A6) and ( A ? ) involves
t h a n t h a t of t h e s o i l , t h e expressions developed w i t h lengthy calculations. For easy a p p l i c a t i o n t h e graph
t h e assumption of uniform s o i l w i l l give a lower value given i n Figure 2 has been developed a f t e r s o l v i n g t h e
of the calculated ground resistance and need e q u a t i o n s on t h e computer f o r 1 2 0 0 c a s e s w i t h t h e
modifications. The necessary modifications a r e following v a r i a t i o n of parameters:
p r e s e n t e d i n a l a t e r s e c t i o n of t h e paper.
p = 1 0 0 ohm-m.
a = 0.005 t o 0.015 m.
n = 2 to 16
MAT FOUNDATIONS L = 0.5 t o 5 m
R = 0 . 1 t o 1 . 0 m.
The r e b a r s i n t h i s t y p e of foundation form a
h o r i z o n t a l mat with a l a r g e number of meshes very near
t o t h e s u r f a c e of t h e s o i l . Without i n t r o d u c i n g The ground r e s i s t a n c e of a d i r e c t v e r t i c a l f o o t i n g
s i g n i f i c a n t e r r o r t h e mat may be assumed t o be a p l a t e o b t a i n e d from Figure 2 f o r t h e above mentioned range of
a t t h e s u r f a c e of t h e s o i l . The ground r e s i s t a n c e , Rm, parameters w i l l not be d i f f e r e n t from t h a t given by
of t h e r e b a r s i n uniform s o i l can t h e n be estimated by e q u a t i a n (A7) by more than 1 0 % . For any r e s i s t i v i t y of
means of t h e formula of a c i r c u l a r metal p l a t e a t zero t h e s o i l o t h e r t h a n 100 ohm-m, say x, t h e ground
depth. [ 2 ] . r e s i s t a n c e can be determined by m u l t i p l y i n g t h e value
o b t a i n e d from f i g u r e 2 by (x/lOO). Figure 3 g i v e s t h e
R, = p / ( 4 r ) (1) r e l a t i o n between L/B and L R f .

where p = r e s i s t i v i t y of t h e s o i l , ohm-m.
r = r a d i u s of a c i r c u l a r p l a t e having same a r e a
a s t h e a r e a of t h e mat, m.

DIRECT VERTICAL FOOTINGS

I n c a s e of t h e d i r e c t v e r t i c a l f o o t i n g s , t h e
r e b a r s form a v e r t i c a l p r i s m a t i c cage. The c r o s s -
s e c t i o n of t h e cage may be c i r c u l a r , square or
r e c t a n g u l a r . The a n a l y s i s i s presented f o r t h e r e b a r s
i n t h e form of a c y l i n d r i c a l cage. However i f t h e
r e b a r s a r e i n t h e form of a square or r e c t a n g u l a r
p r i s m a t i c cage, t h e square or r e c t a n g u l a r c r o s s - s e c t i o n
may be r e p l a c e d by an e q u i v a l e n t c i r c u l a r c r o s s - s e c t i o n
having t h e same perimeter a s t h a t of t h e square o r
rectangular cross-section. The given number of r e b a r s
a r e assumed t o be spaced uniformly.

If t h e h o r i z o n t a l d i s t a n c e between t h e r e b a r s i s
much l e s s t h a n t h e l e n g t h of t h e r e b a r s , t h e ground
r e s i s t a n c e i n a uniform s o i l may be determined by
applying t h e technique of geometric mean r a d i u s . The n
r e b a r s each of r a d i u s a and l e n g t h L below t h e s u r f a c e
of t h e s o i l may be replaced by an e q u i v a l e n t
c y l i n d r i c a l conductor of r a d i u s A and l e n g t h L.131. m
\
-J

where S i = Horizontal distance between t h e f i r s t and

i t h rebar.

When t h e r e b a r s form a c y l i n d r i c a l cage of r a d i u s R [ 4 ]

Si = 2R s i n [ ( i - l ) n / n ] i = 2,3, ...n (3) Fig. 3 . Radius of e q u i v a l e n t c y l i n d r i c a l conductor.

132
PYRAMIDAL SPREAD FOOTINGS
I n pyramidal spread f o o t i n g s t h e r e b a r s form a
pyramid of c i r c u l a r , square o r r e c t a n g u l a r c r o s s -
section. The a n g l e made by t h e r e b a r s w i t h t h e
v e r t i c a l i s usually l e s s than 30". The ground
r e s i s t a n c e of t h e r e b a r s i n t h e form of a pyramid may
be determined by assuming t h e r e b a r s t o be v e r t i c a l
with s p a c i n g between them e q u a l t o t h e mean of t h e
s p a c i n g a t t h e t o p and a t t h e bottom and using t h e
method p r e s e n t e d i n t h e previous s e c t i o n . The v a l i d i t y
of t h i s approach has been v e r i f i e d through t h e s c a l e
model t e s t s d e s c r i b e d i n a l a t e r s e c t i o n of t h i s paper.
SPREAD FOOTINGS WITH SLAB
The r e b a r s i n t h i s type of foundation can be
d i v i d e d i n t h e following two groups:
(a) Rebars forming t h e v e r t i c a l cage which may be
c y l i n d r i c a l or pyramidal.
(b) Horizontal r e b a r s forming t h e mat a t t h e base.
The ground r e s i s t a n c e , Ra, of t h e r e b a r s i n group
( a ) can be e v a l u a t e d a s d e s c r i b e d i n t h e previous
s e c t i o n s . The ground r e s i s t a n c e , Rb! of t h e r e b a r s i n
group ( b ) can be e s t i m a t e d by assuming t h e mat formed
by t h e r e b a r s t o be a c i r c u l a r p l a t e a t depth L, and
u s i n g t h e following e q u a t i o n . [ l ] .
1 [ 5 , 61
Rb = (' 1 t 2 . 5 L/r ) (5)
The mutual ground r e s i s t a n c e , Rab between t h e two
groups of r e b a r s can be determined from Figure 4 . The
b a s i s on which t h i s f i g u r e i s developed a r e d e s c r i b e d
i n appendix B. Figure 4 i s based on 100 ohm-m s o i l
r e s i s t i v i t y . Rab o b t a i n e d from t h i s f i g u r e should be
changed i n d i r e c t p r o p o r t i o n t o t h e a c t u a l r e s i s t i v i t y
of t h e s o i l .
The ground r e s i s t a n c e , R,, of a l l t h e r e b a r s i n
t h e foundation can t h e n be determined.
L /r
Fig. 4 . Mutual ground r e s i s t a n c e .
HIGH RESISTIVITY CONCRETE
The assumption t h a t t h e r e s i s t i v i t y of t h e medium
surrounding t h e r e b a r s i n t h e foundations i s uniform
and e q u a l t o t h e r e s i s t i v i t y of t h e s o i l w i l l g i v e a
lower v a l u e of c a l c u l a t e d ground r e s i s t a n c e when t h e
r e s i s t i v i t y of t h e c o n c r e t e i s higher t h a n t h a t of t h e
local soil. The following two elementary c a s e s form
t h e b a s i s of t h e m o d i f i c a t i o n s necessary t o c o n s i d e r
t h e high r e s i s t i v i t y of t h e c o n c r e t e i n t h e e v a l u a t i o n
of t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h e foundations.
Ground r e s i s t a n c e of a vertical cylindrical
e l e c t r o d e encased i n c o n c r e t e i s given by 151
(7)
Where L = Length of t h e v e r t i c a l e l e c t r o d e .
B = Radius of t h e e l e c t r o d e .
BC= E x t e r n a l r a d i u s of t h e c o n c r e t e .
p = R e s i s t i v i t y of t h e s o i l .
pc= R e s i s t i v i t y of t h e c o n c r e t e .
The c o n c r e t e encased e l e c t r o d e can be r e p r e s e n t e d
by an e l e c t r o d e of t h e same l e n g t h and e q u i v a l e n t
r a d i u s Be. The ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h i s e l e c t r o d e i s
g i v e n by
Equation ( 7 ) i s based on t h e following approach.
(a) Surface of t h e c o n c r e t e i s assumed t o be
equipotential.
(b) The medium i s considered i n two segments,
c o n c r e t e and s o i l .
(c) The ground r e s i s t a n c e i s determined by adding
t h e r e s i s t a n c e i n t h e two segments.
Following t h e same approach t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e
of a c o n c r e t e encased c i r c u l a r p l a t e a t zero depth i s
g i v e n by
Where r = Radius of t h e p l a t e .
rc= E x t e r n a l r a d i u s of t h e c o n c r e t e .
The c o n c r e t e encased circular p l a t e can be
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 of r a d i u s
re a t z e r o d e p t h . The ground r e s i s t a n c e of t h i s p l a t e
i s g i v e n by
Equating ( 1 0 ) and (11)
1
The r e b a r s i n t h e mat foundations o r i n t h e s l a b
of s p r e a d f o o t i n g s a r e q u i t e c l o s e t o each o t h e r . The
c o n c r e t e s u r f a c e which may be about 5 cm away from t h e
r e b a r s can be assumed a s an e q u i p o t e n t i a l .
When t h e r e b a r s a r e i n t h e form of a c y l i n d r i c a l
cage, t h e p o t e n t i a l d i f f e r e n c e between t h e r e b a r s and a
p o i n t near t o t h e cage i s given by e q u a t i o n (C2)
derived i n Appendix C. Using t h i s equation
e q u i p o t e n t i a l s around t h e cage can be drawn. F i p r e 5
shows a t y p i c a l e q u i p o t e n t i a l f o r e i g h t r e b a r s . With a
c o n c r e t e cover of 5 cm ( 2 . 5 times t h e diameter of t h e
r e b a r s ) t h e v a r i a t i o n of p o t e n t i a l on t h e o u t e r s u r f a c e
of t h e c o n c r e t e i s l e s s t h a n 1 0 % . Thereforfi, t h e o u t p r
 133

m
L.cm
2.54

8-cm

Fig. 6. Ground resistance of four vertical rebars.

-
Model scale 1:5
F i g . 5. Equipotential for rebars forming a Resistivity of water = 65 Ohm-m.
cylindrical cage. mo
L, cm
E54
surface of the concrete in these foundations can be UK)

approximated as an equipotential.
Considering the outer surface of the concrete in
the foundations as an equipotential, equations (9) and
(12) can be used to modify the method presented in the
previous sections of this paper, to take into account
the high resistivity of the concrete. Step by step
procedure for each case is given below.
Mat foundations. 8-cm

Calculate r, radius of a circular plate having the Fig. 7. Ground resistance of four inclined rebars.
same area as the mat. Model scale 1:5
From equation (12) calculate re. Resistivity of water = 65 ohm-m.
Replace r by re in equation (1) and calculate the
ground resistance. Table I. Ground Resistance-Scale Model Tests
a = 0.65 cm
Direct vertical and pyramidal spread footings.
L R Ground Resistance, ohms
For the given L and A determine LRf from figure 2. m m Measured Calculated
Determine L/B from figure 3 and calculate B.
Determine Be from equation ( 9 ) . .254 1 80 70.7
Using equation (8) calculate the ground resistance. .889 1 33.8 33.7
1.016 1 32.3 30.5
Spread footings with slab.
.254 .5 92.0 93.0
Find the ground resistance, RaT of the rebars .381 .5 73.8 70.8
forming the vertical cage as explained in 2 above.
Find the ground resistance, Rb, of the rebars
forming the mat as explained in 1 above. To find the ground resistance of the actual rebars in a
In figure 4 replace r by re and determine the
mutual ground resistance Rab. medium of 100 ohm-m resistivity, the ground resistance
From equation (6) calculate the ground resistance. obtained from figures 6 and 7 should be multiplied by
100/(65x5) and the linear dimensions should be
multiplied by 5.
Table I gives a comparison of the ground
SCAT% W E L STUDIES resistance obtained from the scale model studies and
the analytical method presented in the earlier section.
Scale model studies with four rebars were The calculated values are quite close to the measured
conducted in the laboratory using water as the medium. values.
Models to a scale of 1:5 were constructed and the
ground resistance was measured. The following A model of rebars in a spread footing with slab
variation of parameters of the model were considered. shown in figure 8 was constructed to a scale of 1 : 5 .

Resistivity of water = 65 ohm-m L. - 60 cm--r!

Radius of rebars, a = 0.13 cm ! square ,

Length of rebars,L = 2.54 to 20.32 cm
Radius of circle on which the
rebars are placed, R = 5 to 35.5 cm
Angle of rebars with vertical = 0, 20° Pyramid.

Ground resistance versus R for different values of

L is shown in figure 6 for vertical rebars and in
figure 7 for rebars inclined at 20". In figure 7, R i s
average Of R at t,he top and the bottom of the rebars.
Comparing figures 6 and 7 it is observed that the
ground resistance of rebars in pyramid formation at a
particular average value of R is same as for the
vertical rebars having corresponding value of R and L. Fig. 8. Spread footing with slab.
134

The ground resistance of the model measured in the
electrolytic tank using water (p 60 ohm-m) as the
medium was 63 ohms. The ground resistance of the full
scale foundation in a soil of 100 ohm-m resistivity is
63x100/(60~5) = 21 ohms. The method given in the
earlier section for calculating the ground resistance
gives the following results.
n = 8 a = 0.65 cm R =
L = 76.5 cm r = 62 cm
Ra =40.5 ohms
Rb = 25.2 Ohms
Rab= 20.9 O h m s
Ground resistance of the foundation, RS
The calculated value is close to the measured
value.
GROUND RESISTANCE OF TYPICAL FOUNDATIONS
Parameters of two foundations in each
classification and the calculated ground resistance are
given in table 11. Resistivity of the soil is taken as
100 ohm-m. The ground resistance of a fence post is
calculated from equation (4) with A equal to the radius
of the pipe and is included in table 11. A cover of 5
cm of concrete on the steel is assumed.
Ground resistance of a number of foundations at
230 kV X2 Shelby (Montana) substation yard and at 115
kV South Cut Bank (Montana) substation yard was
measured more than 20 days after the foundations were
laid. Both the substations were under construction and
the ground conductor was not laid within a distance of
30 m. The foundations in these substations were of
direct vertical footings type. A large number of
measurements were made for equipment support, 115 kV
take off, 115 kV switch support, and lighting unit
foundations. In all cases the measured value of the
ground resistance was found to. be a little less than
the value calculated with the assumption that the
concrete had the same resistivity as the soil.
The field study, though limited to only one
classification of foundations, indicate that the ground
resistance of a foundation in a substation yard is
significant and the calculated value can be safely used
to evaluate the role of the foundations as a grounding
element.
CONCLUSIONS
A substation yard may have hundreds of foundations
38.2 cm and fence posts which form an integral part of the
grounding system. The ground resistance of these
foundations can be determined with the equations and
graphs presented in this paper. When all the
foundations are connected in parallel through the laid
ground conductor and overhead aerial wires the
resultant ground resistance of the foundations in the
= 24.4 ohms. substation yard may be comparable with the ground
resistance of the laid ground conductor.
The information presented in this paper will be
useful to evaluate the role played by the foundations
in a substation yard as grounding element and to
estimate the magnitude of the fault and leakage
currents carried by the foundations.
The authors are grateful to the Bonneville Power
Administration for sponsoring the work reported in this
paper and to SSR Inc. Engineers, Billings, Montana f o r
the permission to make field measurements in the
substation yards under construction.
REFERENCES
[l] "IEEE Guide for Safety in AC Substation Grounding",
ANSI/IEEE Std. 80, 1986.
[2] P. Lament, "General Fundamentals of Electrical
Grounding Techniques", Le Bulletin de la Societe
Francaise des Electiciens, July 1951.
[ 3 ] R. Rudenberg, "Grounding Principles and Practices-
1, Fundamental Considerations on Grounding Currents".
Electrical Engineering, Vol. 64, 1945, pp. 1-13.
[4] "Transmission Line Grounding-Volume I", EPRI
Research Project Report EL-2699, 1982.

Table I1 -Ground Resistance of Foundations 151 E.J. Faaan and R.H. Lee, "The Use of Concrete-
Enclosed RGinforcing Rods as Grounding Electrodes, "
IEEE Transactions on Industry and General Application,
Mat Direct SDreid Fence Vol. IGA-6, 1970, pp. 337-348.
Foundations Vertical Footings Post
Foo- With [6].B. Thapar, A.C. Sharma, N.K. Abrol, "Grounding

3Y
1 2 3 - 4 --5 Resistance of Concrete Encased Electrodes",
Proceedings, 51st Research and Development Session,
Central Board of Irrigation and power, 1984, pp.
L,m - - 3.96 1.83 1.52 .76 .91 121-129.

a, - - 1.6 .8 .794 .635 3.8 [7] E.D. Sunde, "Earth Conduction Effects in
Transmission Systems". Dover Publication, New York,
n 8 6 16 8 1968. (Book)

Rim - 53.34 22.9 67.8 29 -

APPKNDIX A
rtm 2.25 .64 - - 1.29
Ground resistance of rebars.
Consider a linear conductor of length L and radius
Ground a, in an infinite medium of resistivity p , with its
Resistance 11.1 38.9 11.6 26.2 11.78 20.5 62.3 center at (O,O,O) and its length along the x-axis.
ohms I P c=p When this conductor discharges a unit current in the
medium the potential at any point (x,y,z) is given by
Ground [71
Resistance 12.0 52 21.2 53 13.5 24.6 121
ohms, p c=5p

1. Power Transformer foundation 2. Equipment Pedestal

3. 115 KV dead end tower footing 4. Equipment support
5. 115 KV dead end tower footing
6. 115 KV, 230 KV, PT, CT support
 135

The average P o t e n t i a l over a p a r a l l e l l i n e a r conductor two conductors i s approximately given by t h e p o t e n t i a l

Of t h e same l e n g t h a t a d i s t a n c e S i s given by a t p o i n t P when t h e c y l i n d r i c a l conductor d i s c h a r g e s a
u n i t current i n t h e ground, P i s a t a d i s t a n c e xp from
t h e c e n t e r of t h e p l a t e so t h a t t h e a r e a s of t h e p l a t e
2 L/2 J-iq7-z
+ $ 1
: t
i n s i d e and o u t s i d e t h e circle of r a d i u s EP a r e e q u a l .
xp = r / 4 2
vav = JL
4 n ~ E In dx
Using t h e method of images t h e p o t e n t i a l a t p and
J m t x - g hence the mutual ground r e s i s t a n c e Rab i s given by t h e
following equation.

For n r e b a r s forming a c y l i n d r i c a l cage t h e

d i s t a n c e between t h e first and t h e i t h r e b a r i s given F i g u r e 4 g i v e s t h e r e l a t i o n between LRab and LIS
by e q u a t i o n ( 3 ) . When a u n i t c u r r e n t i s discharged by
a l l t h e r e b a r s , each r e b a r d i s c h a r g e s a c u r r e n t l / n . APPENDIX c
The p o t e n t i a l on t h e f i r s t r e b a r because of t h e c u r r e n t potential at a point near the rebars.
d i s c h a r g e d by t h i s r e b a r i s given by
Consider n very l o n g conductors, each of r a d i u s a,
i n t h e form of a c y l i n d r i c a l cage i n a n i n f i n i t e medium
(A31 a s shown i n f i g u r e C1. Let t h e c u r r e n t discharged by
e a c h conductor be I/n per unit length. By
s u p e r p o s i t i o n t h e p o t e n t i a l d i f f e r e n c e between a p o i n t
The p o t e n t i a l on t h e f i r s t r e b a r because of t h e P and conductor 1 i s given by t h e following e q u a t i o n i f
c u r r e n t d i s c h a r g e d by any o t h e r r e b a r can be determined t h e end e f f e c t s a r e n e g l e c t e d .
from e q u a t i o n ( A 2 ) . By s u p e r p o s i t i o n t h e t o t a l
p o t e n t i a l a t f i r s t r e b a r because of t h e u n i t c u r r e n t r l/n
d i s c h a r g e d by a l l t h e r e b a r s i s given by

Where DlID2,D3, ....

Dn i s t h e d i s t a n c e of p o i n t P
from t h e conductors 1 , 2 , 3 , . . . . n r e s p e c t i v e l y .
S2,S3,S4, ...
Sn i s d i s t a n c e of conductor 1 from
conductor 2,3,4 .....n r e s p e c t i v e l y .
The r e b a r s can be r e p r e s e n t e d by an e q u i v a l e n t
conductor of l e n g t h L and r a d i u s B. The p o t e n t i a l of Equation ( C l ) can b e w r i t t e n a s
t h i s conductor when discharging unit current i n
i n f i n i t e medium i s

i=l -
vPc =
In A
(C2)
Equating (A4) and (AS)

I ?

B = [a
n
n
i=2
1 t - t 1
rn Fig. B1. Vertical c y l i n d r i c a l
conductors.
and horizontal plate

Ground r e s i s t a n c e of v e r t i c a l r e b a r s forming a
c y l i n d r i c a l cage i n a d i r e c t v e r t i c a l f o o t i n g i s given
by 0 O -0-2a

R = (In 5 -1)

APPENDIX B
Mutual ground resistance
Consider a v e r t i c a l c y l i n d r i c a l ccnductcr of l e n g t h
L and a h o r i z o n t a l p l a t econductor of r a d i u s r a s shown
i n f i g u r e 91. The mutual ground r e s i s t a n c e between t h e Fig. C1. Long conductors forming c y l i n d r i c a l cage.
136

+
B Tha ar (Mr60,SMr62) was born in
India on Sept. 1, 1930.
He received the B.Sc. degree in
Electrical Engineering from Banaras
Hindu University, M.S. and Ph.D.
degrees in Electrical Engineering
from Illinois Institute of
Technology, Chicago, in 1953, 1960
and 1963 respectively. From 1953
to 1955 he was with Punjab Public
Works Department, Electricity
Branch, Chandigarh, India, working
in Power System Operation Section.
In 1955 he joined the faculty of
Punjab Engineering
College, Chandigarh, India, where 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 Department, Montana
State University, Bozeman.
Dr. Thapar is a Fellow of Institution of Engineers
(India). He is a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi
and Sigma Xi. His research interests are in electric
power system analysis, protection and grounding.

Omar Perrer was born in Havana,

Cuba on July 13, 1943. He received
a B.S. Math & Physics, B.S.E.E. and
M.E. from the University of Puerto
Rico, 1969, 1971 and 1980
respectively. He worked with B & L
Inc., from 1971 to 1979 where he
was engaged in several engineering
and management roles in
construction and design in Power
System for industries and utilities
facilities. Since 1979, he worked
as a consulting engineer and
Associate Professor for the
Polytechnic University of Puerto
Rico.
Mr. Ferrer is a member of IEEE Power Engineering
Society, NAFI and NFPA. He is a Registered
Professional Engineer in several states in the U . S . and
Puerto Rico.

Donald A. Blank received the BSEE degree from Seattle

University in 1955. Subsequently, he became employed
at The Boeing Co. in Seattle, Wash., where he designed
flight electronics for eight years. He then joined the
Substation Engineering Division at the Bonneville Power
Administration in Portland, Oregon. There, he has been
involved in most aspects and levels of design, most
recently in substation grounding.