Earth Rod Electrode Resistance

by:VerPangoniloPEERPEQMIEAust
1.1

SINGLE EARTH ROD ELECTRODE

The resistance of a single earth can be calculated if the soil resistivity is known. An earth electrode drivenvertically,theelectroderesistancecanbecalculatedusingtheequation

R=
where:

8L ln 1 2L d

R=electroderesistance,

=Soilresistivity,m(uniformsoil1)
L=Lengthofelectrodeburiedinsoil,m d=Outerdiameterofearthrod,m Note: In Australia the minimum depth of vertical type earth electrode is 1.2 m [Clause 5.3.6.3, AS/NZS 30002007] The soil resistivity at the location of the earth electrode needs to be investigated. The resistivity of soils varieswith 1. thedepthfromthesurface, 2. thetypeandconcentrationofsolublechemicalsinthesoil, 3. themoisturecontent,and 4. thesoiltemperature. In other words, the soil resistivity is dependent on the electrolyte in the soil. The presence of surface waterdoesnotnecessarilyindicatelowresistivity. In the absence of soil investigative data, typical resistivity of various soil types is given in the following table.

Table1Typicalsoilresistivity(Source:IEEE142/BS7430) SoilType
Wellgradedgravel Poorlygradedgravel Clayeygravel Siltysand Clayeysands

AverageResistivity(m)
6001000 10002500 200400 100800 50200

Uniformsoilmeansthatthesoiltypeisthesameforthewholelengthoftheearthelectrode

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SoilType
Siltyorclayeysandwithslightplasticity Finesandysoil Gravellyclays Inorganicclaysofhighplasticity SurfaceSoils Clay Sandyclay Moistgravel Drygravel Limestone Porouslimestone Quartz,crystallinelimestone Sandstone Granites Concrete

AverageResistivity(m)
3080 80300 2060 1055 150 2100 100150 50700 7001200 510000 30100 1001000 202000 9001100 300500

Example: Soilresistivity=180m Earthrod=19x1.8m Solution: Assumingthattheearthelectrodeisfullydrivenintotheuniformsoil,theresistancewillbe

R=

8L ln 1 2L d
180 8(1.8) ln 1 2 (1.8) (19 / 1000)

R=

R = 89.6

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1.2

MULTIPLE EARTH ROD ELECTRODES

In the event that the desired soil resistivity is not achievable using a single earth electrode, multiple electrodescouldbeused. Thecombinedresistanceofrodelectrodesinparallelcanbeobtainedfromthefollowingequation:

1 + a Rn = R n
Inwhich

a=

2Rs

Where R=singlerodresistanceinisolation, S=rodspacing,m

=Soilresistivity,m =multiplyingfactor(seeTable2orTable3)
n=numberofelectrodes(seeTable2orTable3) The above equations assume that rod electrodes can be represented approximately by hemispherical electrodes, having the same earth resistance. This assumption is satisfactory provided that the spacing betweentherodsislessthantheirlength.

Table2Factorsforparallelelectrodesinline(BS7430) Numberofelectrodes(n)
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Factor()
1.00 1.66 2.15 2.54 2.87 3.15 3.39 3.61 3.81

For electrodes equally spaced around a hollow square, e.g. around the perimeter of a building, the equationsgivenaboveareusedwithavalueoftakenfromTable3. For three rods placed in an equilateral triangle, or in an L formation, a value of = 1.66 may be assumed.

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Table3Factorsforelectrodesinahollowsquare(BS7430) Numberofelectrodes(n)
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 14 16 18 20

Factor()
2.71 4.51 5.48 6.13 6.63 7.03 7.36 7.65 7.90 8.32 8.67 8.96 9.22 9.44

Note:Thetotalnumberofelectrodesaroundthesquareis4(n1). Thereductionincombinedearthresistanceprovidedbyadditionalelectrodesinsidethesquareissmall, butsuchelectrodeswillreducethepotentialgradientoverthesoilsurfaceinsidethesquare.Apractical exampleofthisistheuseofstripelectrodesforminganearthgridwithinthesquare. Table 3 may also be used for electrodes arranged in a rectangle, where n is given by (total number of electrodes/4) + 1. Provided that the length to width ratio of the rectangle does not exceed 2, the error willbelessthan6%. EXAMPLE From the previous example, let us calculate the earth resistance if we use 10 rod electrodes in line arrangement. R=89.6 =180m L=1.8m Thespacingshouldbelessthantherodlength(s<L).Assumes=1.5m. a =

180 = = 0.2132 2Rs 2 (89.6)(1.5)

1 + a Rn = R n

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Assume10electrodes.FromTable2,=3.81.

1 + 3.81 0.2132 Rn = 89.6 = 16.23 10

Ifwechangethearrangementtoahollowsquarearrangement,10electrodesinTable3,=7.90.

1 + 7.90 0.2132 Rn = 89.6 = 24.05 10

1.3 APPARENT SOIL RESISTIVITY FOR TWO-LAYER SOIL

In locations where the soil type is not homogeneous, the resulting resistivity for a twolayer soil can be calculatedusingtheformula

Kn Kn (a ) = 1 1 + 4 2 2 n =1 h h + n n 1 2 4 2 + a a
where:

K=

2 1 2 + 1

1 : Toplayersoilresistivity
2 : Deeplayersoilresistivity
h
: Depthoftoplayersoil : Depthoftoplayersoil : Earthelectrodespacing : Numberofearthelectrodes

a n

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1.4

FORMULAE FOR CALCULATION OF EARTH RESISTANCES

Source : Table 4-5 IEEE 142 - 2007 References 1. IEEE142(GreenBook)2007IEEERecommendedPracticeforGroundingofIndustrialand CommercialPowerSystems 2. IEEE811983IEEEGuideforMeasuringEarthResistivity,GroundImpedance,andEarthSurface PotentialsofaGroundSystem 3. BS74301998CodeofpracticeforEarthing 4. PracticalGrounding,Bonding,ShieldingandSurgeProtection G.Vijayaraghavan,MarkBrown,MalcolmBarnes Newnes2004IDCTechnologies 5. AS/NZS30002007WiringRules

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