CHPT 1 PDF

Power System Grounding SEC
CHAPTER 1:
SYSTEM EARTHING
1. Earthing requirements
It is a statutory obligation in most countries, as well as a technical requirement,
that all parts of an electric power system shall have an effective connection to
earth (or to ground in American parlance). This implies that each electrically
separate part of a system, which is magnetically coupled to other parts at the
transformation points, must be separately earthed. In the words of the
definition contained in the 1937 Electricity Supply Regulations, which still holds
good, ‘A connection to earth means connected with the general mass of earth in
such a manner as to ensure at all times an immediate and safe discharge of
energy’. The purpose of earth connections in different parts of a system differs,
but generally one or more of the following is fulfilled:
a) Zero phase-sequence protection. The earth connection must provide a
path of low impedance and adequate thermal capacity for earth fault
(zero sequence) current so that protective relays may operate
satisfactorily.
b) Equipment or protective earthing. This is to ensure the safety of the
public and of the personnel who operate electrical equipment.
c) Limitation of earth potential differences. This is to avoid injury or death
to persons or to animals who are more susceptible to electric shock
than human beings.
d) Lightning and over voltage protection. This conducts to earth charges
due to lightning and protects equipment from over-voltage by means of
surge arresters to which the earth connection is made.
On any transmission or distribution system, these requirements are satisfied by
both system earths and equipment earths. There must also be adequate
bonding of the connections throughout the earthing system to ensure that
currents to earth of the highest magnitude may be carried without fusing of
joints or of the earth conductor itself and without appreciable voltage drop.
2. Means of earthing
System earthing may be direct, by a connection straight to earth, or indirect with a
resistor or reactor connected in the earth lead. In either case the earth connection
2
is made to the system neutral (star point) where this exists or, on a true 3-phase
system, by establishing an artificial star point. The various means are shown in Fig.
1 and the application of these means to an entire system is shown by Fig. 2.
Generators normally have their star point earthed directly or through a resistance
which limits zero sequence current, due to an earth fault, to between 10 and 25
per cent of the 3-phase fault current; the lower figure is determined by the
minimum current required to operate earth fault protection relays and the upper
figure by the cost of the resistor as decided by the energy loss in the time that the
maximum fault current may continue to flow. Generator earthing on the British
system is either by resistor of 300 A rating or by high resistance provided by a
transformer with a grid resistor across the secondary which limits the current to
about 10 to 15 A. This applies to all larger sets, say 60 MW and above, which are
connected through transformers to the 132, 275 or 400 KV systems, but the now
obsolescent direct connected generator would have its earthing related to the rest
of the 33 or 11 KV system which would in practice mean a resistor to carry 300 to
500 A. European continental practice favors higher values of generator earthing
resistance, even resonant-circuit earthing to give a minimum fault current,
therefore causing the least possible damage for faults within the generator itself.
Power transformers are a means of establishing a system earth connection where a
star-connected winding is available, particularly with main transmission lines where
delta-star- and star-delta- connected main transformers or star-connected auto-
transformers normally have the sending-end and receiving-end earth connections
made at the star points (Fig. 2). A delta-connected tertiary winding on such
transformers, for connecting to a synchronous compensator does not affect nor is
affected by the earth connection. Where no star-point exists, as on a secondary
transmission system supplied by a delta-connected transformer at 66KV or below,
it is necessary to establish a star-point by means of an earthing transformer (Fig. I
(h) and (j)). The only duty of such a transformer is to pass zero phase-sequence
current in the event of an earth fault on the system, accordingly its size and cost
must be kept to the minimum. It may be connected star-delta, with the delta-
connected secondary winding on open- circuit, or alternatively with both the
primary and the secondary windings of a one-to-one ratio transformer,
interconnected to form an inter-star connection; this latter is generally a more
economical construction except where an additional winding is provided to supply
the substation auxiliary load.
3
Fig-1 Methods of system earthing. (a) to (d) are consumer’s voltage systems and
(e) to 0) are medium and high voltage systems. Arrows indicate direction of power
flow.
4
Fig. 2 Schematic Diagram of Earthing on a system from generator to consumers
On main transmission lines where the earth resistivity is normal, the tower footings
usually provide an adequate low-resistance earth, although earth electrodes may
be provided for special towers, but in addition a tower may be connected to
adjacent towers by means of an earth wire or wires carried on the highest point or
points of the towers. The earth wire, when present, not only provides lightning
protection but, in the event of a fault to earth, it provides a path to the nearest
system earth for zero phase-sequence currents additional to that provided by the
earth electrodes and the earth itself (Fig. 3 (b)). This assists earth fault protection
where earth resistivity is high or variable. Terminal towers are connected to the
earthing systems at the substations at either end of the line. This provides better
earthing than the individual tower earths and, for lines with an overhead earth
5
wire, gives the best protection against lightning. Medium voltage lines (33 KV and
below) of wood pole construction are to one of two specifications, the difference
being mainly in the earthing and bonding requirements. One construction specifies
a continuous earth wire with bonding and earthing at intermediate poles while the
other does not specie an earth wire and only requires bonding and earthing at
poles which carry transformers, hand-operated switchgear or cable take-off, in fact
the provision of equipment earths where the equipment itself may be dangerous if
it becomes faulty. Such a line is sometimes referred to as an ‘unearthed line’ and is
able to withstand high impulse voltages due to lightning and is relatively free of
trouble due to temporary earthing of the line conductors by birds, etc. It relies in
fact on the insulation resistance of the wood or concrete pole to minimize the fault
current at ground level.
Low or consumer voltage lines of 3-phase, four-wire construction have the neutral
or earthed conductor carried continuously from pole to pole. This provides a
safeguard against a broken line conductor remaining undetected since, in falling, it
is likely to make contact with the neutral conductor and thus operated protective
equipment. Leakage across an insulator is protected against by bonding the
supporting metalwork of insulators together and to the neutral conductor. In the
case of metal poles, the insulator-supporting framework is insulated from the pole.
A pole which is used as a support for both HV and LV lines, as for instance the
terminating pole of a HV line which carries a transformer, has a special earthing
requirement which is that the earth of the high-voltage system must be kept
separate from the low voltage system earth and neutral. This means, in effect, that
the earthing of the transformer tank and its supporting structure should be at the
base of the pole carrying the transformer and the neutral of the LV system should
be separately earthed at the first pole away on the LV line. The reason for this may
be seen from Fig. 4 where, in the event of the consumer earth being of lower
resistance than the common earth on the HV/LV pole, a flash-over is liable to occur
in the consumer’s installation.
6
Fig. 3 Earth fault on an overhead line showing the paths of the fault current; (a)
with no earth wire, (b) with continuous earth wire carried on the towers.
A general principle of equipment earthing is that the housings of all current-

carrying parts must be bonded together by copper wire or strip conductors of
adequate thermal capacity so that no reliance is placed on glands, bolts, racks,
worm screws, wheels nor any supporting metalwork to conduct fault current in the
event of an internal fault in the equipment. Transformer tanks, frames of machines
and other large equipment have at least one earthing terminal which must be
provided with locknut or other anti-vibration device. For outdoor equipment which
is manually operated, the best protection which may be afforded the operator is
the provision of an earth-mat, bonded to the equipment at the point where a man
must stand to operate it. In the event of a fault to earth, the equipment and the
earth-mat, which is usually a copper tape mesh buried just below the earth
surface, reach almost the same potential so that an operator, in contact with the
equipment and with earth in the vicinity of the mat has no voltage across the body.
7
Fig. 4 Fault current distribution with a common earth for high voltage equipment
and low voltage neutral. Earthing resistance Rc causes a rise in voltage at A which
may be sufficient to cause a flashover in the consumer’s main switch.
3. Neutral Systems
3.1 Insulated Neutral System
An alternator stator winding or transformer
secondary winding with unearthed star-point
is shown in figure 5.
Under healthy, balanced conditions, the star-
point will be at earth potential even though
it is not connected to earth. When a ground
fault occurs on one line, as shown, the fault
current is limited by the line to earth
capacitances, one of which is shorted out by
the itself. Thus the fault current (If) is the
phasor sum of.
These currents lead their respective line
voltages as shown, and leads VR by 90O.
Fig. 5
8
At the instant of arc extinction (i.e. when If waveform passes through zero), the
point B is therefore either at + max, phase voltage to earth or at - max. phase
voltage to earth. Taking the instant when B is at + max. VPH to earth, then N is at
earth potential, and R and W will each be at 0.5 max. VPH to earth.
Since the potential of B to earth is a maximum, the arc will be immediately
restruck. This instantaneously earths B. so that N is then at max VPH to earth and R
and W are each at - 1.5 max. VPH to earth. Thus, at the instant of re-strike, R and
W have their potentials with respect to earth suddenly changed from -0.5 max. VPH
to - 1.5 max. VPH. This happens each time the lf waveform passes through zero and
causes a succession of voltage surges to be generated into the system.
Furthermore, all line insulation must be capable of withstanding 1.5 max. VPH
instead of max. VPH to earth.
3.2 Advantages of Earthing the Neutral
• The star-point is always at earth potential so that when an earth fault occurs
on one line, the potential difference between the healthy lines and earth
cannot exceed max. VPH. Also graded insulation can be used on the line end
turns of transformers.
• Simple protective systems based on the detection of earth leakage currents
can be used.
• An arcing ground fault cannot occur.
3.3 Disadvantages of Earthing the Neutral

• The earth fault current is very much heavier than in an insulated neutral
system because in the latter the fault current is limited by the line to earth
capacitances.
• Earth connections must be made at all vulnerable points in the system. This
is at grid substations and consumer substations as well as at generating
stations and consumers’ premises.
• In an earthed neutral system, an earth fault must be isolated immediately
because of the heavy fault current. In an insulated neutral system
immediate isolation is not essential although it is desirable, since the voltage
surges generated by arcing ground faults may be three or four times normal
voltage.
9
Above 33 KV line, the cost of transformer insulation is an important part of the

total cost of a system. Therefore significant economies can be made by earthing
the neutral, so that graded insulation may be used. Also, above 33 KV, the line
impedance is usually high enough to limit earth fault currents to a reasonable value
without using a resistance or reactor in the earth connection.
In general, therefore, high voltage transmission systems have their star-points
solidly earthed and systems up to about 33 KV line are earthed through a resistor
or tuned reactor.
3.4 Methods of Earthing

• Solid copper connection to buried earth electrode.
• Connection to earth through a resistor of a few ohms.
• Connection to earth through an un-tuned reactor.
• Connection to earth through a tuned reactor (called an arc suppression coil
or Peterson coil).
• If the supply system has no star-point, an artificial one can be created by
means of the special earthing transformer shown in figure 6.
10
3.4.1 Solid Earthing

In solid earthing a direct metallic connection is made from the neutral of the
system to one or more earth electrodes. The earth electrodes may be of plates,
rods or pipes buried in the ground.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7 shows a three phase system with its neutral solidly earthed and with a
ground fault at F in phase B.
The phasor diagram of the voltage and currents are as shown in fig. 8
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Considering fault at F in phase B, the current in phase B consists of:

a) (ir + iy), the vector sum of which is equal to icf This flows from faulty phase B
to earth.
b) Faulty current If provided by the power source.
By analyzing the fault current with the help of symmetrical components we
get:
3VBN 3VPH
If = =
Z1 + Z 2 + Z 0 Z1 + Z 2 + Z 0
Where:
Vph phase voltage
Z1, Z2 and Z0 are positive, negative and zero sequence impedances.
11
Advantages of Solid Earthing

• The neutral point is always at earth potential under all operating conditions
and as such the voltage of any conductor with respect to earth will never
exceed the normal phase voltage of the system. It results in saving of cost
as we have to provide insulation not beyond phase voltage.
• The heavy fault current I nullifies the effect of capacitive current icf so no
arcing phenomena or over voltage occurs.
• Lightning arresters for solidly earthed system can be employed.
Disadvantages
• The increased ground fault current produces more conductor burning, more
burning of circuit breaker contacts and influences greatly the neighboring
communication circuits.
Uses
This system can be used at voltage levels below 2.2 KV and above 33 Ky.
3.4.2 Resistance Earthing

The disadvantages of solid grounding i.e. heavy ground fault currents can be
reduced by inserting a current limiting device between the neutral of the system
and earth. One of the current limiting device is resistance - metallic or liquid. Now
a days liquid resistors are mostly used because of the following advantages.
Though the metallic resistors have the advantages that these do not alter with time
and practically de not require any maintenance but these are slightly inductive.
Liquid resistors are free from the above disadvantages.
Fig. 9 Fig. 10
Figures 9 and 10 indicate a fault at F in phase B and vector representation of
voltages and currents. The three currents at F are If, IBR. The current If lags behind
the phase voltage by an angle which depends upon the value of resistance of the
12
resistor R and reactance of the system up to point of fault. Icf is the resultant of IBR
and I and IBY (IBR and IBY lead VR and VY by 90°). It may be noted that if the value
of R is made very high then it amounts to ungrounded system and if the value of
resistance R is made very low then it practically amounts to solid earthing.
So it is a general practice to choose the value of resistor such that fault current If
does not exceed the full rating of the largest transformer or generator.
VL
Resistance of resistor R =
3I
Where: VL — Line voltage in Kv.
I Full load current of largest generator or transformer in kilo amperes
R - Resistance in ohms.
There is another formula, given by Peterson for finding the value of
resistance of resistor R.
K
i.e. R =
C R + CY + C B
Where: CR, CY and C8 are the capacities of each phase to earth.

K -varies between I to 2.5.
Advantages
• It facilitates the use of discriminative protective gear and minimizes the
hazards of arcing grounds.
• It improves the stability of the system.
Disadvantages
• Loss of power occurs in resistance and sometimes it becomes difficult to
dissipate energy from resistance to atmosphere.
• It adds to the cost of resistor and fi.ill rating of lightning arresters have to be
used.
Uses
It is used on a system operating at voltage between 2.2 KV to 33 KV and the total
capacity of source should be more than 5 MVA.
3.4.3 Reactance Earthing

Reactance earthing means earthing through an impedance predominantly reactive.
A system is said to be reactance earthed if the ratio of zero sequence component
of reactance of the apparatus connected and positive sequence component of
13
X0
reactance i.e. exceeds 3 but is less than the value required for resonant
X1
earthing.
3.4.4 Arc Suppression Coils (Peterson Coil)

The advantage of a free neutral can be obtained by joining the neutral of a 3 phase
supply system to earth through special reactor known as an arc suppression coil or
a Peterson coil, the effect of which is to prevent unbalanced capacitance currents
entering an earth fault, and so producing the dangerous intermittent arcing. The
diagrams 11 and 12 indicate the connections of an arc suppression coil X to the
neutral of a 3 phase transformer supplying through three lines, R, Y, and B. Let
there be a fault at F in phase B. The voltages to earth of lines R and Y become
equal to the line voltage of the supply, and the capacitance currents from these
lines to earth are equivalent to those that would flow in two similar condensers CR
and CY. The resultant of the currents in these two condensers is 90O lagging on the
resultant of two voltages R to B
and Y to B. The voltage to earth
of neutral is the same as the
neutral to B voltage and owing to
thus voltage a current will flow
through X to earth 90O lagging
on this neutral to B voltage which
is in phase with the resultant of R
to B and Y to B voltages.
Fig. 11
14
In practice the arcing current may be not exactly zero due to the Fact that the
Petersen coil has a little resistance. Also tappings will be necessary so that the
value of L can be altered when the length of the line is altered.
Fig 12
The resultant capacitance current from lines R and Y and the current flowing from
the neutral through X are respectively 90o leading and 90° lagging on the same
voltage: their directions are therefore opposite at every instant, so that, if the
ohmic value of the reactance of X is correctly adjusted, the two currents will be
equal, and will cancel to zero, and no current will enter the system at the fault on B
line. In effect the capacitive currents from the unearthed lines return to the source
of supply through the arc suppression coil x.
The resultant capacity current is 3 times the normal charging current of one phase.
I CF = 3I BR
3 VL 3 3VPh 3VPh 3  Vph
I BR = = = = =
XL Xc Xc Xc
3xLine T = 3  line to neutral Ch arg ing
Where: V1 - Line voltage.
Xc - Capacitance from line to neutral.
V ph
Fault current I f = where XL - is the inductance of coil.
XL
As described earlier that Icf is neutralized with If
15
I CF = I F
3V ph V ph 1 1
or = or XL = → L=
XL XC 3C 3 2 C
The current rating of the coil is given by
3VPh
I=
XC
An arc suppression coil is constructed like an oil immersed transformer and

consists of a winding on an iron core provided with a number of taps, so that its
ohmic resistance can be adjusted or tuned to such a value that the current it
passes in earth fault conditions corresponds to the resultant unbalanced
capacitance current of the system in which it is used. The arcing suppression coil
may be rated either for short time duty of about 5 minutes, or so that it will carry
its rated current continuously. A short time rated coil is equipped with an
automatic circuit breaker, which by the action of a relay responsive to the neutral
to earth voltage, short circuits the coil after the lapse of definite time lag, and so
connects the neutral of the system directly to earth. A short time rated coil allows
the clearing of intermittent faults, without interruption of the supply. Sustained
faults are removed by the disconnection of the faulty section by the ordinary gear.
A continuously rated coil allows a fault to remain in the system till it is located and
removed.
An arc suppression coil is usually provided with an auxiliary winding for energizing
a relay to operated the short circuiting device of a short time rated coil, or a
graphic instrument for recording the number and duration of faults on the system.
16
3.4 Peterson Coil

Suppose that an arcing ground fault occurs on one line as shown in Fig. 12.
Fig 12
The Fault connects the Petersen coil across the blue phase winding causing a
current If to flow through the coil. Assuming that the coil has negligible resistance.
IL must lag lB by 90O as shown. If IL numerically equal to IF by tuning the reactor
appropriately then the arcing current is the phasor sum of If and IL is zero at all
instants.
Let the appropriate inductance of the Peterson coil be LH then:
VLine
IL = 3
LA
Now I F = 3I CBR or 3I CBr  A
VLine
But I CBR =
1
C
VLine
Therefore L = 3VLine • L =
3L
1 X
And L = H or X L = 
3 C
2
3
17
Example .1
A 230 KV, 3 phase, 50 c/s, 200 Km transmission line has a capacitance to earth of
0.02 µF/Km per phase. Calculate the inductance and Solution:
1
L=
3 C 2
1
=
3  (2f ) 2  C
1
=
3  3.13  (3.14  50) 2  (200  0.02  10 −6 )
1
=
3  314  (200  0.02  10 −6 )
2
10 6
= = 0.8455henrys
3  98586  4
230
V ph ( 3  10 3 )
IF = =
XL XL
230 10 3
= 
3 2  50  0.845
230 10 3
=  = 50 Amperes
3 314  0.845
230
Rating = 50  = 6640 KVA
3
Example.2
A 132 KV, 3 phase, 50 c/s transmission line 200 Km long consists of three
conductors of effective diameter 20.00 mm arranged in a vertical plane with 4 m
spacing and regularly transposed. Find the inductance and KVA rating of the arc
suppresser coil in the system.
Solution:
Capacitance between phase to neutral or earth
18
4. Earth Resistivity and the Earth Gradient

Earth resistivity, as normally stated in ohm-meter or ohm-cm (1 .m = 100.cm),
varies widely between different types of soil and is particularly affected by the
moisture content. This is because conduction in soil is mainly of an electrolytic
nature so that a high moisture content, in excess say of 20 per cent by weight, is
required to give the minimum resistivity of a range. Ranges of approximate values
for the various types of soil are shown in Table 1. Made-up ground is
indeterminated and ground containing soluble salts, acid or alkali, will have
resistivity which varies widely with the amount and the type of the chemical
content. Soil resistivity rises sharply when the moisture content falls below about
22 per cent by weight so it is essential to bury current-carrying electrodes at such
a depth that the surrounding soil is not affected by seasonal variations, particularly
19
drying out during dry weather. In temperate climes, the variation in moisture
content of the soil with seasonal changes occurs mainly at the surface, within a
depth of 1 meter; below this depth the moisture content and resistivity do not
change to a marked degree. An earth electrode or mat should therefore be driven
or buried deep enough to be permanently in contact with moist earth, but where
this is not possible or, as in the case of a large earth-mat, too costly, a well-
distributed system of vertical rods, driven to a sufficient depth and bonded to the
earth grid, will usually suffice.
Table I
Type of Soil Resistivity -m

Clay and loam 10-16
Sandy clay 80-200
Marsh peat 150-300
Sand 130-500
Rock and chalk any value up to I o
The minimum specific resistivity for clay/loam of 100-m is the value at 20° C.
Increase of temperature may show a slight decrease in resistivity provided local
drying-out at the electrode surface does not occur.
However, decrease in temperature of the same soil to - 5° C shows a very rapid

rise in soil resistivity to 50 -m and at -20°C the same soil has a resistivity of 500
-m. This is a further reason for placing earth electrodes at a sufficient depth
since, as with moisture variation, this will avoid an increase in resistivity due to
frost penetration of the earth.
Since earth resistivity measurements are normally made with small currents, it is
important to ascertain that larger currents, such as those which may occur during
a system earth fault, do not alter the resistivity value. This is so provided the earth
current due to a fault is of sufficiently short duration, but if it persists for more
than a second, the heat generated due to the contact resistance between the
electrode and the ground may dry out the earth in the vicinity of the electrode,
causing a rise in earth resistance due to a reduction in moisture content. Excessive
drying out of the soil around an electrode may leave an air-space as a result of
earth shrinkage, giving defective earth contact. This is however only likely to occur
20
with a fault current of long duration and is, in any case, only dangerous on low-
voltage systems since, with high voltage, spark-over occurs which does not lead to
appreciable increase in earth resistance. A very large earth current may also give
rise to a voltage gradient, which exceeds the breakdown value of the earth
adjacent to the electrode, which depends on the nature of the soil but is of the
order of some KV per cm. If this value is exceeded, arcs will start at the electrode
surface, effectively increasing the size of the electrode and reducing the voltage
gradient to a value which the earth can withstand. The number of electrodes to be
used for a given fault current and duration depends on tile thermal capacity of
earth rods which is further considered in the following section.
A voltage gradient in the earth occurs when current from an electrode flows
through the earth resistance. It is theoretically infinite at the surface of the
electrode and decreases to zero at an infinite distance from the electrode.
Practically, a danger exists to persons or large animals, particularly the latter due
to their greater sensitivity and the greater distance apart of their legs, if the
potential difference at the ground surface is sufficient to pass a dangerous current
across the body from leg to leg. This potential difference, known as the step
voltage, because it is the voltage which a man would receive across the body by
taking a 1-meter step in a radial direction from the earth electrode, depends on the
current density at the step, the resistivity of the soil and the depth of the electrode
for rod pipe electrodes. It has been shown that if the electrode is situated at a
greater depth than 1 meter, the voltage difference at the surface is very small. It is
therefore a necessary precaution that earth connections on overhead lines,
whether an equipment or system earth, should be by means of an insulated
conductor, from some point well out of reach of man or animal, to the actual
electrode whose top should be at least 0.5 meter, but preferably deeper, below
ground level.
5. Earth electrodes and networks
The simplest earth electrodes for the calculation of potential gradient, voltage
above remote earth and earth resistance are the hemisphere at the earth surface
and the sphere buried at a sufficient depth to minimize the discontinuity of the
surface. Although these electrodes are seldom used in practice, the equations
21
derived for them form the basis of those for the more usual rod or plate electrodes.
For the hemisphere (Fig. 13) of radius r from which a total current I spreads out
radially into the earth, the current density through a concentric hemisphere of
radius x is
I
i=
2X 2
and the potential gradient at distance x is obtained from the voltage drop across
the hemispherical shell of thickness dx,
pIdx
voltage drop = pi dx =
2X 2
pI
potential gradient e x =
2X 2
The voltage from the surface of the hemisphere to a point at the distance x is the
line integral of the potential gradient from r to x,
pI dx pI  1 1 
V X =  edx =  = −
2 X 22 2  r x 
VX is in volts for i in A/m2 and p in ohm-m.
Fig. 13 The hemispherical earth electrode
22
The potentials at the surface of the hemisphere and at a distance x, with reference
to remote earth potential, are respectively,
The resistance R at the electrode surface is
This assumes perfect contact between electrode and earth but additional contact
resistance is normally small and is ignored in practice. An indication of the order or
earth resistance is that for a hemispherical electrode of radius 0.5 m, embedded in
clay-loam of the minimum resistivity (p= 10 -m);
rising to a value of say 95 ohm for sandy loam of higher resistivity. As the curves
of Fig. 14 show, this resistance is distributed over the entire hemisphere to an
infinite radial distance, but in practice the greater part of it is concentrated in the
vicinity of the electrode. This fact is of importance in determining the step voltage,
which human or animal could receive in the vicinity of an electrode. 1f for example,
a faulty transmission tower is considered which delivers 100 A to earth and
assuming a hemispherical electrode as above and an earth resistivity of 50 -m,
the potential gradient at a distance of 0.5 m from the electrode surface is
50  100
e= = 800 / m
2  (0,5 + 0.5) 2
a high value which is likely to result in a fatal step voltage near the electrode.
For the spherical electrode with an insulated lead, buried at depth h, where h is
very great, the area of equipotential surface is twice that of the hemisphere so the
values of eqns. (1.1) to (1.4) are all halved giving:
pI
Potentialg radient e x =
4X 2
23
Fig. 14 Values of potential E and potential

gradient e (broken line) for a
hemispherical
electrode of radius r = 05m, earth
resistivity of 10 -m, dissipating a current
of 1A to earth.
potentials at the surface of the sphere and
at distance x respectively
With h finite but still large compared to r, the non-uniformity due to the earth
surface may be eliminated by considering identical and equal current flowing from
an image electrode at a distance h above the earth surface (Fig. 15). The electric-
field strength at a point P1 in the area is then due to the superposition of the
electric fields of the two electrodes so that the potential at point P1, distant x and
x respectively from the center of the electrode and its image in Fig. 15 is
For a point at the surface of the electrode x becomes rand x’ becomes 2h

approximately so
Whence the resistance at the electrode surface is increased
24
Potential and gradient at the earth surface at point P2, distant x from the point
vertically above the center of the sphere, is
25
Fig. 15 Spherical atmosphere and its image for a calculation of resistance, potential
difference; eqns. (10.7) to (JO.10)
The potential at the earth surface vertically above the center of the sphere
(x=0) is
So the difference in potential between the surface of the sphere and the earth
surface vertically above it is
Figure 16 shows the potential around a buried spherical electrode based on eqns.
(15) to (16). The maximum potential gradient evidently occurs between (x0.5) and
(x=1.0) and is in fact independent of x and dependent only on the depth of the
sphere, being given by
26
Fig. 16 Variation of potential at point P, in Fig. 10.7 due to a spherical electrode.

E, is the potential vertically above the centre of the electrode
The potential at the earth surface, vertically above the center of the sphere, is
lower the greater the buried depth. However, the difference of potential between
this area of earth surface and the metal structure which is connected to the
electrode increases with depth, so a man standing on the surface and in contact
with the structure receives a higher voltage across the body. An increase in depth
of an electrode is thus no protection against contact with a structure connected to
it but, from eqn (18), increase in depth reduces the maximum potential gradient
and therefore gives lower step voltages away from the structure.
In practice earth electrodes are normally of rod or pipe in which the length is great
compared with the diameter. An approximation to a rod of length L and diameter
d, driven vertically into the earth, is to divide it into a large number (n) of nearly
spherical elements in contact, each passing a current I/n into the earth and having
a mutual distance, equal to the sphere/rod diameter, of I/n. This gives an earth
27
resistance,
The method of calculation is however approximate and a more accurate practical

formula is
Whether the factor be taken as 4 or 3 is of little significance, as is the shape of the

rod (lid) since it forms only the argument of the logarithm. What is important is the
length (I) since the earth resistance is nearly inversely proportional to it. Rods or
pipes should be spaced a distance apart at least equal to their length plus the
depth of the top below the earth surface thus a 2-meter rod driven 1 meter below
the surface should not be closer than 3 meters to a similar rod in parallel with it.
The potential at the earth surface at the earth surface at a distance x from the rod
has the approximate expression
and the gradient on the earth surface is
For large values of x the gradient approximates to the expression for the
hemispherical electrode (eqn. 1.2) and for distances short compared with the rod
length
where i is current per unit length,
giving a potential at the rod surface of
28
therefore
from which Fig. 17 has been drawn, for p=10-m and i=1 A/m. Cast-iron pipes of
10 cm or greater diameter are used in special circumstances and hot galvanized
mild steel pipes of up to 5 cm diameter may be used where low cost is necessary,
such as in temporary installations. But since they cannot be driven, the cost is
greater than rods and the resistance higher than that obtainable with plates for
equivalent amount of excavation.
Fig.17. Variation of potential with

distance for a rod electrode
of length 3 m, diameter
3cm and dissipating a
current of IA per metre of
rod-length. E, is the
potential at the rod surface.
Plates, either flat or ribbed, have the advantage of greater current dissipation
where excavation is necessary and rods cannot be driven. A circular plate electrode
of radius r, buried at a depth h, in either horizontal or vertical plane (Fig. 18), with
the connection insulated, has the approximate resistance
29
This empirical equation gives results which differ little from measured values and in
practice it is sufficient to take
and
and apply interpolation for medium depths. A square plate is comparable with a
circular plate with a radius of 0.6 times the side, or a plate 1 meter square buried
at a depth of 1 meter has a resistance of 0.25p, a value close to that for a 4 meter
rod.
Rectilinear electrodes buried horizontally may be either of round rod or flat strip for
which the approximate earth resistance are:
Or
where I is length, d is rod diameter, w is strip width and h depth at which the
electrode is buried, all dimensions being in meters. Rods and strips, if laid parallel,
should not be closer than 2.5 meters since the less the distance apart, the smaller
the advantage in reducing resistance value. Large substations require an earthed
area which may consist or rod electrodes, driven at regular intervals, connected
below the surface by rectilinear rod or strip to which each rod electrode is bonded,
30
the whole forming a grid which saturates a corresponding area of earth and is
almost equivalent to a solid plate buried at the same depth. An approximate
estimate of earth resistance is therefore given by eqn. (22) and a more accurate
estimate by considering the total length of buried conductor in the area.
6. Earthling and bonding of equipment and cables

The equipment earth is the means of connecting the outer casing or supporting
structures of all live equipment to the main body of earth and, in the event of an
earth fault within the equipment, it may have to carry the full phase short-circuit
current. Equipment earthing is essential for the safety of operating personnel, but
particularly so on overhead line distribution systems. In underground distribution
networks all live equipment is metalclad and earthed, the cables with their sheaths
and sometimes armour, the switchgear and the transformers, but this is not so on
overhead systems without a continuous earth wire, that is the majority of
distribution networks below 33 KV. In this case the resistance of the earth return
path for fault current may be high, and a dangerous voltage may exist on faulty
equipment unless an additional parallel return path is provided by the equipment
earth. Bonding is the term for connections made between the outer casing and
supporting structures of all live equipment, and to the earth electrode, in order to
provide a low resistance path for leakage current to the equipment earth and back
through the main body of earth to the system earth. This ensures adequate current
to operate the protective equipment and reduces the magnitude and duration of
dangerous voltages. Bonding conductors must be as short as possible and so
arranged that any fault current is diverted to them instead of flowing
indiscriminately through housings and support frames, since these normally have
bolted connections in their construction where local heating and sparking might
occur.
Bonding conductors and their joints must have adequate thermal capacity for the
estimated fault current and its duration. This latter is normally taken as 3 seconds,
the same as the short-circuit time rating of switchgear and current transformers.
4 cm by 5 mm (1/5 in by 3/16in) copper strip:
Main earth or common bonding bars in major substations.
Individual equipment bonding for main structures in outdoor substations at 33 KV
and above.
HV cable bonding where cable size are larger than 120 mm2.
31
Transformer tank bonding above 500 KVA.

Common bonding systems in substations where the fault level is above 75 MVA at
6.6 and 150 MVA at 11 KV.
Neutral bus-bar bonding on LV boards above 500 KVA.
2.5 cm by 3 mm (1 in b 1/8 in) copper strip:
Bonding in small distribution substations where fault levels are less than 75 MVA at
6.6 and 150 MVA at 11 KV or where the HV cables are 120 mm2 or less.
Transformer tank bonding below 500 KVA.
HV and LV cable bonding, 70 mm2 or below.
LV disconnecting boxes, pillars, kiosks and auxiliary equipment in all substations.
Danger points in equipment earthing which need special attention are equipment
operating handles such as that for a section switch on an overhead line.
The danger here is that an earth fault may occur while the operator is opening or
closing the switch, either due to insulator failure on line or switch, or to the
opening n error or an energized circuit resulting in an arc to the structure. In either
case the steelwork of the tower, or the switch- operating mechanism, even if
separately earthed, may be raised to a sufficient voltage above earth to give a
dangerous step or touch voltage. If the operating handle is within an extensive
substation earth-grid area, step voltage should be within safe limits as elsewhere
within the station perimeter, but for an isolated switch on an overhead line further
protection is necessary. This may consist of an insulating handle or, more
effectively, the bonding of the switch handle and associated mechanism to a
separate earth-mat, buried horizontally as near the earth surface as is practicable,
at a position immediately below that at which the operator must stand, while the
tower steelwork, cross-arms, etc., is separately earthed. If an earth fault occurs
which raises the steelwork voltage above earth, the voltage between an operator’s
hand and feet will be negligible since they are virtually connected through a low-
resistance bond. Even this does not always ensure sufficient protection and a
portable steel mat which may be spread on the earth and bonded to the switch
handle may prove to be necessary.
Metallic cable sheaths, unless effectively earthed and bonded, may attain a
dangerous voltage due to sheath to insulation failure, charges due to electrostatic
induction and the flow of sheath current or to the voltage rise, under fault
conditions, of the station earth to which the sheaths are connected. With cables
that are lead-covered and armoured, the armouring must be adequately bonded to
32
the lead sheath at the point where connection to earth is made. The reason is to
ensure that under fault condition there is no voltage difference between armouring
and sheath which would cause arcing and subsequent petting of the lead. At
junction points between lines and cable, the cable sheath or sheaths in, the case of
three cables in trefoil must be bonded together and to the earth of the tower or
pole. The base of the sealing bell, which is bolted directly to the supporting
structure, must be bonded to the gland or plumbed to the lead sheath and
connected to the tower or to the earth wire of the pole. For a pole-mounted
transformer the bonding and earthing of the transformer tank and supporting
structure must be quite separate from the earth of the low- voltage line neutral;
the reason for this has already been shown by Fig. 4. Why this precaution is
necessary with pole transformer and not with other types of substation is the
difficulty of obtaining economically in rural areas a satisfactory low-resistance earth
at all seasons.
Lightning arresters or surge diverters must be provided with as short and direct a
path to earth as is possible by bonding the bases of the three arresters to a
separate earth electrode situated at the base of the supporting structure. This
electrode may however be paralleled with the main substation earth grid where
this is practicable. If the arresters are mounted on a steel structure, this may
provide a lower resistance path than copper strip, in which case the three arresters
and the earth electrode are bonded to it.
The advantage of fitting lightning arresters as close as possible to the equipment to
be protected has led to them being fitted on the top of transformer tanks where an
earth terminal or copper-plated earth pad should be provided for connection to the
arresters, in addition to the normal earth terminal at the base of the tank. This is
an advantage as the transformer tank provides better conductivity than a separate
earth connection.
7. Measurement of earth electrode resistance and earth loop impedance

To assess the safety of electrical installations the measurement of dissipation
resistance of their earthing system is necessary, whether it be a single electrode or
an earth electrode system such as the earthing installation of a substation. In
distribution, the measurement of the earth loop impedance of consumer
installations is called for by the Regulations for the Electrical Equipment of
Buildings of the I.E.E. The three basic methods which are available and with which
more or less sophisticated equipment may be used are:
33
a) the fall of potential method or alternating current injection;

b) the three point or triangulation method;
c) the ratio method.
In the fall of potential or current injection method, which is the most general and
commonly used, a transformer supplies current to the electrode under test and via
the earth to an auxiliary electrode which, as a rough guide, should be at least 50 m
apart (Fig. 19). The current injected is measured, also the fall in potential from the
electrode under test to a third electrode situated roughly midway between the
other two. If a high resistance voltmeter is used, the resistance of the third
electrode is negligible by comparison so a single rod electrode is sufficient. Voltage
Fig 19 Measurement of the dissipation resistance of an earth electrode by the fall of

potential or current injection method
readings should be taken with the potential electrode moved say 5 m nearer and
further away from the test electrode; there should be no appreciable difference in
these readings, but if there is, it is an indication that the auxiliary and test
electrodes are too close together. Accuracy depends on passing a large current so
the auxiliary electrode must be substantial, particularly if the test electrode is a
relatively low resistance substation earth. One power authority specifies 6.5 mm
diameter rods, 75 cm long, which can be driven and withdrawn with hand tools,
used in groups of 10, spaced 1 m apart and connected by a flexible cord. As many
groups as necessary are used to give the required current depending on the soil
resistivity and the dissipation resistance of the electrode under test. Further
precautions which should be taken are to separate or place at right angles the
leads carrying the injected current and those connected to the voltmeter, to
minimize induced voltages. Electrolytic potentials are eliminated by connecting a
blocking capacitor in the potential circuit and, in the case of a station-earth
34
system, the point of connection to the system is changed to check that no

appreciable change in the voltage reading results.
In spite of precautions and the use of a large injected current, inaccuracy in the
potential measurement may occur due to coupling between the current and
potential measuring circuits, electrolytic potentials and potentials due to large stray
currents of fundamental or harmonic frequency. An earth- testing ohm-meter
eliminates some of these errors and has the advantage of being a single easily
portable instrument, independent of external power supply. The instrument
operates on reversed direct current, with commutators on the hand-generator
shaft which reverse the direction of current in both the control coil and the
deflecting coil synchronously. It thus measures resistance only and is less
susceptible to stray earth currents. While the standard earth-testing ohmmeter
suffices for measuring the resistance of less than 0.3 ohm may be expected but a
geophysical earth- testing ohmmeter, which is a modification of the standard
instrument used for geophysical surveying, does have a sufficiently low-reading
range. Several other methods have been devised to minimize errors and to avoid
the expense and inconvenience of a large test current, one of which uses 30Hz
frequency current supplied by a battery-powered motor generator. A valve
voltmeter preceded by an amplifier, tuned to accept the 30 Hz voltage and reject
stray 50 Hz voltages, measures the drop of potential due to electrode resistance.
Another method recognizes that the effect of stray currents is mainly to produce
sinusoidal potentials of fundamental frequency which remain fairly constant in
magnitude and phase and can therefore be measured without the test current
flowing. Figure 20 (a) is a typical phasor diagram for an electrode resistance
measurement, taking the various effects of induction (Vi) and stray potential (Vs)
into account and (b) is the circuit of a simple form of alternating current
potentiometer which may be used. The method is sensitive and accurate in difficult
situations where large stray potentials exist.
The three-point method is suitable for the measurement of higher values of
electrode resistance such as tower footings or single isolated equipment earths.
Fall of potential is measured as before giving three measurements, with the
unknown electrode X and two auxiliary electrodes A and B taken two at a time in
series: If a constant voltage is applied to each pair of electrodes in turn, the three
current readings give three values of resistance, that of each pair of electrodes in
35
series:
V
R1 = = RX + RA
I XA
V
R2 = = R X + RB
I XB
V
R3 = = R X + RC
I XC
Whence
1
RX = ( R1 + R2 + R3 )
2
To obtain reasonable accuracy, it is necessary to use auxiliary electrodes whose
resistance is of the same order of magnitude as that of the unknown. The ratio
method measures the series resistance of the unknown resistance and an auxiliary
electrode by means of a Wheatstone bridge. A slide-wire potentiometer is shunted
across these two electrodes and the galvanometer is connected between the sliding
contact and a second auxiliary electrode.
In this way the ratio of the resistance of the electrode under test, to the total
resistance of the two electrodes in series, is found and the ohmic value obtained by
multiplying this ratio by the value obtained in the first measurement. A portable
self-contained instrument makes use of this method and has the advantage that
only small test currents are used and a single small auxiliary electrode required.
The method is, however, insufficiently accurate to measure the low resistances of
large electrode systems.
The measurement of potential gradient on the earth surface uses the same circuit
as Fig. 19 and requires readings of voltage with distance from the electrode under
test. Using a high-resistance voltmeter, a short probe is sufficient to give good
contact with moist earth but the voltage measured depends on the current flowing.
By measuring this current It and the resistance Rt of the test electrode, the total
voltage to infinity ItRt = E0 is known. This is taken as one per-unit and marked on
the voltage/distance graph of Fig. 16 or 17. For a fault to earth at the test
electrode, one per-unit voltage will be the phase to neutral system voltage so the
voltage scale of the gradient curve is fixed accordingly.
36
FIG. 2.0 Measurement of electrode dissipation resistance by

alternating current potentiometer. (a) is phasor diagram of the
voltages; V, and V.. are voltages measured with the injected earth
current OFF and ON respectively and V, is the required voltage for
estimating the earth resistance. (b) is the measurement circuit
8. Consumer installation earthing and protective multiple earthing

While the responsibility for the earthing of an installation is that the consumer,
supply authorities have generally attempted to ensure safety by providing earthing
facilities which comply with current earthing regulations. The earliest method of
earthing was to connect the consumer’s earth conductivity conductor to an earth
electrode on the consumer’s premises, consisting of a driven rod, buried plate or
metallic water-pipe, most frequently the latter. Such direct earthing may be
entirely unsafe, due to the fact that neither supply authority nor consumer are
obliged to make a periodic check of the electrode, and the use of plastic mains by
water authorities is likely to make it less effective in the future. The fact that the
I.E.E. Regulations for the Electrical Equipment of Buildings (14th ed.) does not
accept the use of water or gas pipes, either jointly or separately, as the sole
37
earthing electrode makes it incumbent on the supply authority to make alternatives

to the direct earthing on the consumer’s premises available; such alternatives are
cable-sheath earthing, continuous earth- wire, earth leakage circuit-breakers and
protective multiple earthing.
Cable-sheath earthing is common in urban areas where the method of distribution
is by underground cable of paper-insulated lead-covered type and where the
service mains and main cable have plumbed joints. The consumer’s continuity
earth is then connected directly to the lead sheath of the cable, providing a low
impedance path back to the supply transformer where the lead sheath is earthed
to the same earth electrode as the system neutral. This method of earthing is
reliable and effective, giving loop impedances as low as 0.5 ohm, so that a
prospective fault current of say 500 A is possible, which ensures speedy operation
of the fuse on the affected circuit in the consumer’s installation. The plumbed joint
is, however, the highest standard of jointing and the most costly so that it has
given way to joint boxes with mechanical clamps which do not provide a
sufficient]y reliable low-resistance contact between different parts of the cable
sheath to permit it to be used as an earth conductor. But where plumbed joints
exist throughout, cable sheath earthing is an economical arrangement since the
Lead sheath serves its primary purpose of preventing the ingress of moisture to
the paper insulation of the cable so that its use as an earth conductor is a bonus.
Continuous earth-wire provision was used extensively in rural areas where earth
electrode resistance is high. A separate continuous earth-wire was run as the
lowest conductor on the poles, below the phase and neutral conductors, and the
consumer continuity earths all connected to it to provide a low impedance path for
earth-fault currents back to the supply transformer. The only risk involved in this
otherwise satisfactory arrangement is the breakage of the earth-wire, which could
possibly remain undetected for some time since there are no monitoring facilities.
This and the extra capital cost of the fifth wire in each distributor limited the
system to short distributors with a high consumer density, if the earthing cost per
consumer were to be economic. Eventually the development of the protective
multiple earthing system made the provision of a separate earth conductor
unnecessary so this system is likely to be obsolescent or used only in cases of
special difficulty. Figure 21 shows the path for earth-fault current; (a) for a single-
phase consumer installation with an earth electrode and (b) for the same
installation with either the cable-sheath or the continuous earth-wire system of
earthing. In the former case the prospective fault current is limited by the
38
impedance of one line plus the earth-electrode resistances of both the consumer
and the substation earths in series, while in the latter no earth-electrode resistance
is involved.
The earth leakage circuit-breaker has the advantage over the more common fuse
link that a return path of low impedance, which is required to carry the heavy fault
current needed to blow a fuse, is not necessary. Instead of fuses in the main and
sub-circuits of the consumer’s installation a miniature circuit-breaker is inserted,
the operating coil of which trips the circuit-breaker when a predetermined level of
earth leakage current is reached. The trip coil is either of high resistance (voltage
operated) or of low resistance (current operated), connected between the frame of
the equipment to be protected and the supply neutral or the consumer’s earth
electrode. This may provide a relatively high resistance earth since a rated tripping
current of 0.5 A is usual and breakers with tripping current down to 25 mA are
available. Against the advantage of operation on a small earth-fault current must
be set the extra cost of the circuit-breaker and the fact that it normally protects
only against an earth fault and that additional overcurrent devices, or a more
costly circuit-breaker with both earth leakage and overcurrent tripping facilities,
are needed to protect against both phase-to-neutral and phase-to-phase faults.
Protective Multiple Earthing (P.M.E.) or M.E.N. (Multiple Earthing of the Neutral)

has been made possible by the relaxation of the restrictions regarding the earthing
of the neutral of a 3-phase, four-wire supply. Originally earthing was permitted at
one point only in the UK and the initial conditions to multiple earthing were too
stringent to encourage the general adoption of the system. However, in 1965
general approval was given and, since then, M.E.N. systems have grown rapidly. In
this system, Fig. 21 (c), where the neutral provides the return path of low
impedance for earth-fault currents, there are two sources of danger, an open-
circuited neutral connection and a rise in voltage of the neutral due to a local phase
to-earth fault. These dangers are mitigated by two requirements, firstly that the
neutral shall be earthed not only at the supply end but also at the far end of the
distributor, and secondly that all metalwork within a consumer’s premises shall be
bonded together and to the neutral. The former requirement ensures that, in the
event of a broken neutral conductor, both parts remain effectively earthed and the
latter that in the event of a voltage rise of the neutral, possible theoretically up to
the phase voltage of the system, all metal in a consumer’s premises is at the same
potential so that it is not possible for a person to make contact both with the
39
neutral and with the whole body of earth. This neglects the apparently dangerous
possibility of contact outside the equipotential cage of metalwork, such as to damp
stone floors, etc., but, although special precautions may need to be taken in
certain industrial and commercial premises, there is no evidence of danger to the
public from the system. It is evident, however, that the neutral bonding in the
consumer’s premises must be thorough, preferably done by the supply authority
although the consumer and not the authority is responsible for the cost.
Fig. 21 Paths of fault current for n earth fault in consumer’s

installation: (a) with earth electrode on consumer’s premises, (b) with,
consumer’s continuity earth connected to supply authorities earth wire
or cable sheath and (c) with protective multiple earthing
40
It is probable that extensive adoption of M.E.N. in distribution results in a lowering

of the overall neutral to earth resistance by interconnection of the neutrals on
previously separate distribution systems, by the fortuitous earth at each
consumer’s premises and by the connection to the neutral of the metalwork of
street-lighting standards. This lowering of the neutral-to- earth resistance leads
directly to a corresponding reduction in the possible voltage rise which might occur
on the metalwork in a consumer’s premises and has apparently made the
theoretical safety hazard negligible.
The advantages of P.M.E. are that it is possible for a supply authority to provide to
all consumers a safe and efficient system of earthing at a lower cost than by any
other means. It also leads to the adoption on underground distribution systems of
new designs of cable which save as much as 20 per cent on the material by
providing three shaped cores in the cable with a concentric neutral conductor
consisting of a wave-wound wire sheath which facilitates jointing. This has resulted
in systems where cable and installation costs have been reduced by a quarter,
giving a future annual saving to electricity supply authorities in the UK of some £2
to £3 million.
9. Substation Earthing
The requirements for substation earthing are to dissipate to the earth a large
amount current, of the order of thousands of amperes, without heating and
consequent drying-out of the earth in the neighborhood of an earth electrode, and
secondly to control the potential gradient over the whole substation area and
beyond so that step-and-touch voltages nowhere exceed a safe value. In a
substation of any size, no single earth electrode will suffice to dissipate the fault
current so several such electrodes spaced over the substation area would be
required, interconnected below the earth surface by horizontal conductors and
connected to switchgear frames, equipment casings, system neutrals and tower
footings. Such an earth grid, as it is in effect, is itself an excellent earthing system
so that a multiple electrode system may prove to be very little better, as regards
earth resistance and current dissipation, than is the buried connecting network
itself. The earth grid or mesh electrode, covering as it does the whole substation
area, provides control of local potentials throughout the area so that dangerous
step-and-touch voltages do not occur. These may be prevented by reducing the
spacing of conductors in the buried grid until a suitable distribution of voltage over
the area is achieved. The mesh electrode is normally constructed of rectangular
41
strip, copper of minimum size 2.5 cm by 3 mm or steel 5 cm by 5 mm, of length

not exceeding 100 m, beyond which consideration of impedance at 50 Hz indicates
that no appreciable reduction is dissipation resistance would occur. Since the
efficient design of earth electrodes requires them to have the largest possible
surface for a given amount of material, the long flat strip is most suitable and is
easily jointed to similar strips at right angles to form a mesh which may vary from
a minimum of two strips and two cross-members around the perimeter of the site
to a theoretical maximum of a solid plate covering the whole area (Fig. 22).
The dissipation resistance or earth resistance (R) of such a mesh electrode buried
in homogeneous soil is given with sufficient accuracy by the Laurent and Niemann
equation,
p p
R= +
4r L
This assumes that the voltage of the mesh electrode above the general body of
pI
earth has two components, due to the mesh regarded as a buried plate
4r
pI
and due to the total length of buried conductor where
L
p = average earth resistivity, -m
r = radius of a circular plate having the same area A as the mesh electrode
= ( A /  )m
L = total length of buried conductor in the mesh excluding cross connectors, m.
Alternatively, it may be considered that the second term recognizes that the
resistance of the mesh is more than that of a solid plate of the same area, the
difference decreasing as the length of conductor increases, becoming zero when L
is infinite and the solid plate condition is reached. In arid regions the subsoil may
have appreciably lower resistivity ps than topsoil at the earth ‘surface pt; in this
case both values of resistivity are used in eqn. , the buried plate term uses ps and
pt is used for the local voltage drop term giving. For large-mesh electrodes, even if
pt rises considerably, say 10 times, due to seasonal drying out of the earth surface,
the total resistance change is not great owing to the large value of L, but for
smaller substations it may be of importance. Where the subsoil resistivity is the
greater, the first term of the equation may become sufficiently large to make the
local voltage drop term negligible. The buried conductors are then likely to saturate
42
the earth surface so that only an increase in the area of the mesh will lead to any
considerable reduction in the dissipation resistance.
A rough calculation of the length of buried conductor in a mesh electrode of given
area may be made by keeping the various voltages at the earth surface within
specified limits. The three voltages are:
Vstep the step voltage over a horizontal distance of one meter,
Vtouch here defined as the voltage between a structure earthed to the mesh and
a point on the earth surface one meter away,
Vmech a special case of touch voltage being the voltage from an earthed structure
to a point on the earth surface at the center of a rectangular formed by the
mesh conductors.
Fig. 22 Values of the product of the coefficient Km and KI for square

mesh electrodes with different meshes
Laurent has given the approximate values for the usual ranges of conductor size,
buried depth and spacing of mesh conductors for French practice as
V step= 0.1-0.15 pi
Vtouch= 0.6-0.8 pi
Vmesh= pi
43
Where i is current flowing to earth, per meter of buried conductor. Touch voltage
rather than step voltage is taken as the basis of calculation since step voltage
involves the resistance to earth of two feet in series, rather than in parallel for
touch voltage, thus limiting the body current for the former. Assuming body
resistance constant, ventricular fibrillation may be prevented by keeping the total
energy (joule) absorbed by the body during a shock to below a given value. Tests
in the time range 0.03s to 3s, by a number of workers in several countries have led
to the conclusions by Daiziel that this threshold of energy, which will only cause
fibrillation in half of I per cent of a large group of normal men is
I2bt= 0.027
where Ib is the current (rms) through the body and t the time (second) or
0.165
Ib =
t
The above expression shows the virtue of fast fault clearance in raising the figure
for safe body current. Taking p as resistivity of earth near the surface, it has been
determined that the resistance of the two feet in series (step contact) is
approximately 6pt ohm and of two feet in parallel (touch contact) approximately
1.5pt ohm. Body and skin resistance varies widely, from 500 to 3000 ohm, but a
value of 1000 ohm is reasonable considering the improbability that all the factors
which contribute to shock severity would have their most adverse values at a
particular instant. Hence
Taking the value of for Emesh in place of Etouch since for most mesh electrodes it is
likely to be the greater
or
44
An estimation of L from this expression assumes idealized conditions such as

uniform soil resistivity, a symmetrical mesh electrode composed of squares of
uniform side and constant current to earth per unit length of mesh conductor. The
latter condition is not fulfilled even with a square mesh since the current which
flows is higher for conductors at the sides than at the center of the mesh electrode
and higher yet at the corners. Since the voltage gradients vary accordingly, any
reasonably accurate estimate of Emesh must take account of the position of a given
rectangle in the mesh as well as the number, spacing, dimensions and depth of
burial of the mesh conductors. This leads to the use of two coefficients in the
expression for Emesh,
Where Km is a coefficient which takes into account the effect of number, n,

spacing, D, diameter, d, and depth of burial, h, of the grid conductors. It is given
by
the number of factors in parentheses in the second term above being two less than
the number of parallel conductors in the mesh, excluding cross- connectors.
Ki is an irregularity correction factor to allow for non-uniformity of the current to
earth from different parts of the mesh. It conforms closely for rectangular
symmetrical mesh electrodes to an empirical relation,
Ki = 0.65 +0.1 72n
Where n is the number of parallel mesh conductors.
Use of the above expression for Emesh permits a closer estimate of L in order to
keep the mesh voltage within safe limits, and a determination of the coefficients for
each rectangle in the mesh will show whether the mesh voltage is likely to be
exceeded at any point.
The value of the Km Ki product as determined experimentally by Koch are shown
by Fig. 22 for rectangular meshes having 2, 3, 5 and 9 parallel conductors in one
direction, but the same tests show that a value as high as 2.25 is possible for the
same rectangle with an irregular spacing of the mesh conductors. However, the
extent to which differences of potential occur between different parts of the mesh
electrode itself, under fault conditions, also depends on the points of connection of
machines equipment and system neutrals, from which an earth fault current may
45
flow to the mesh conductors. As such equipment will normally be earthed in the
central part of the mesh rather than at the periphery, with consequent rise in
voltage at these points, the general tendency for the earth current per meter of
mesh conductor to be greater with the outer conductors will to some extent be
compensated. The area of the substation itself may be made safer by the use of a
surface layer of crushed rock which has a much higher resistivity than soil even
when wet. Special care may be required with perimeter fencing which must be
connected throughout to the mesh electrode and with railway track which, being
earthed within the substation area, may convey the mesh electrode potential to a
distance where it might give a dangerous touch voltage to earth.
46
Appendix
Formulas for Calculation of Resistances to Ground*
(Approximate formulas including effects of images. Dimensions must be in
centimeters when resistivity is in ohm-centimeters.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* H.B. Dwight, Calculation of Resistance to Ground, Electrical Engineering, vol. 55, p. 1319,
December 1936.
47

CHPT 1 PDF

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Titolo originale

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

CHPT 1 PDF

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Power System Grounding SEC

Fig. 2 Schematic Diagram of Earthing on a system from generator to consumers

A general principle of equipment earthing is that the housings of all current-

3.2 Advantages of Earthing the Neutral

3.3 Disadvantages of Earthing the Neutral

Above 33 KV line, the cost of transformer insulation is an important part of the

3.4 Methods of Earthing

3.4.1 Solid Earthing

Considering fault at F in phase B, the current in phase B consists of:

Advantages of Solid Earthing

3.4.2 Resistance Earthing

Where: CR, CY and C8 are the capacities of each phase to earth.

3.4.3 Reactance Earthing

3.4.4 Arc Suppression Coils (Peterson Coil)

An arc suppression coil is constructed like an oil immersed transformer and

3.4 Peterson Coil

Now I F = 3I CBR or 3I CBr  A

4. Earth Resistivity and the Earth Gradient

Type of Soil Resistivity -m

However, decrease in temperature of the same soil to - 5° C shows a very rapid

5. Earth electrodes and networks

VX is in volts for i in A/m2 and p in ohm-m.

Fig. 13 The hemispherical earth electrode

The resistance R at the electrode surface is

Fig. 14 Values of potential E and potential

For a point at the surface of the electrode x becomes rand x’ becomes 2h

Whence the resistance at the electrode surface is increased

Fig. 16 Variation of potential at point P, in Fig. 10.7 due to a spherical electrode.

The method of calculation is however approximate and a more accurate practical

Whether the factor be taken as 4 or 3 is of little significance, as is the shape of the

and the gradient on the earth surface is

where i is current per unit length,

giving a potential at the rod surface of

Fig.17. Variation of potential with

6. Earthling and bonding of equipment and cables

Transformer tank bonding above 500 KVA.

7. Measurement of earth electrode resistance and earth loop impedance

a) the fall of potential method or alternating current injection;

Fig 19 Measurement of the dissipation resistance of an earth electrode by the fall of

system, the point of connection to the system is changed to check that no

FIG. 2.0 Measurement of electrode dissipation resistance by

8. Consumer installation earthing and protective multiple earthing

earthing electrode makes it incumbent on the supply authority to make alternatives

Protective Multiple Earthing (P.M.E.) or M.E.N. (Multiple Earthing of the Neutral)

Fig. 21 Paths of fault current for n earth fault in consumer’s

It is probable that extensive adoption of M.E.N. in distribution results in a lowering

strip, copper of minimum size 2.5 cm by 3 mm or steel 5 cm by 5 mm, of length

Fig. 22 Values of the product of the coefficient Km and KI for square

An estimation of L from this expression assumes idealized conditions such as

Where Km is a coefficient which takes into account the effect of number, n,

Potrebbero piacerti anche