COMPUTER - AIDED

DESIGN OF
GROUNDING GRIDS

M.M. Babu Narayanan

Additional Director, CPRI
ADVANTAGES OF GRID:

9 MOST PRACTICAL WAY TO CONTROL LOCAL

POTENTIALS

9 IN EHV SYSTEMS, NO SINGLE ELECTRODE IS

ADEQUATE TO PROVIDE CURRENT CARRYING
CAPACITY & CONDUCTIVITY
DESIGN PROCEDURE:

1. INVESTIGATION OF SOIL CHARACTERISTICS.

2. DETERMINATION OF MAXIMUM GROUND

CURRENT.

3. PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF GROUNDING SYSTEM.

4. CALCULATION OF RESISTANCE OF GROUNDING

SYSTEM.

5. CALCULATION OF MAXIMUM GRID POTENTIAL

RISE.

6. CALCULATION OF STEP VOLTAGES AT

PERIPHERY.
DESIGN PROCEDURE. Contd

7. CALCULATION OF INTERNAL STEP AND TOUCH

VOLTAGES

8. INVESTIGATION OF TRANSFERRED
POTENTIALS AND SPECIAL DANGER POINTS

9. CORRECTION OR REFINEMENT OF
PRELIMINARY DESIGN AS INDICATED BY
6,7AND 8

10. CONSTRUCTION OF GROUNDING SYSTEM

DESIGN PROCEDURE. Contd

11. FIELD MEASUREMENT OF RESISTANCE OF

GROUNDING SYSTEM AS CONSTRUCTED, AND
PERHAPS, OF STEP AND TOUCH VOLTAGES

12. REVIEW OF 5,6,7 AND 8 BASED ON ACTUAL

MEASUREMENTS

13. MODIFICATION OF GROUNDING SYSTEM OR

ADDITION OF SCREENS AND BARRIERS, ETC.
IF AND AS INDICATED BY 12.
INVESTIGATION OF SOIL CHARACTERISTICS:

RESISTIVITY FROM FIELD MEASUREMENTS:

UNIFORM SOIL

NON-UNIFORM SOIL (TWO-LAYER MODEL)

DETERMINATION OF MAXIMUM GROUND FAULT
CURRENT:

9 POSSIBLE CASES OF FAULT CURRENTS:

Three line to ground

Two line to ground
Single line to ground

9 CURRENT DIVERSION THROUGH O/H GROUND WIRES

9 CALCULATION OF MAXIMUM GROUND CURRENT:

LIMITING CASE : 16-25% OF IF

PRELIMINARY DESIGN:
A continuous cable to surround the grid
perimeter
Ground connections to Structures or
equipment
PRELIMINARY DESIGN

STRUCTURE

MESH
EVALUATION OF GROUND RESISTANCE:

Uniform Soil: (Laurent and Niemann formula)

R = +
4r L
GROUND CONDUCTOR SIZE:

Resist fusing and deterioration of electric joints

under the most adverse combination of fault
current magnitude and fault duration

Be mechanically rugged to a high degree

Have sufficient conductivity

SHORT TIME RATING OF CONDUCTORS:
I = A ln( Vm , Va , K o ) / t

I r.m.s current in KA
A Conductor cross section in mm2
Vm Maximum allowable temperature in oC
(250 oC)
Va Ambient temperature in oC (50 oC)
Vo Reference temperature for physical
constants in oC (20 oC)
o Thermal co-efficient of resistivity at Vo
oC

Ko 1/o
T Time of current flow, in seconds
TCAP Material constant
o material resistivity at Va in /cm3
 1
= o 10 4
(K o + Vo )TCAP

In(Vm , Va , Ko) = In(1 + ( Vm - Va ) / (Ko + Va)

TCAP = 4.184* Sh*Sw

Sh = Specific heat ; cal/gram/ oC

Sw = Specific weight ; gram/cm3
GROUND CONDUCTOR MATERIAL:

Copper
Copper clad steel
Mild steel
COMPUTATION OF TOUCH/MESH VOLTAGES:

D2
(D + 2h)2
h 1 8
Emesh = Ki ln

+

+ ln
2L 16hd 8Dd 4d 1+ h / ho n(2N 1)

L = Lc + 1.15 Lr
Lc = Total length of horizontal grid
conductors
Lr = Total length for ground rods
Ki = Current irregularity factor
D = Distance between parallel conductors
d = Diameter of grid conductor
h= Depth of Burial of Grid
CONDUCTOR LENGTH REQUIRED FOR GRADIENT
CONTROL:

t D2

(D + 2h )
2
h
+
1 8

L = K i I n + n
2 (155 + 0 .2325 s ) 16 hd 8 Dd 4d 1 + h ho n ( 2 N 1)

EFFECT OF IRREGULARITIES- THE NON--

UNIFORMITY FACTOR (KI)
Limiting value
Ki = 0.172 N + 0.656
COMPUTATION OF STEP VOLTAGE:

1 N2
IK i 1 1 1
E step = + + 1 volts
L
2 h D + h D 2

SCHWARTZS FORMULA FOR RESISTANCE:

2
R 1 . R 2 R 12
R =
R 1 + R 2 2 R 12

R1 : resistance of grid conductors

R2 : resistance of all ground rods
R12 : mutual resistance.
TWO-LAYER SOIL:

1 2 l1 l1
R 1
= ln 2 + K 1
K 2
l1 h 1 A

a 2 l1 l1
R 2 = ln
2 +
K 1 A K 2 + 1
2n l 2 l 2

1:soil resistivity encountered by grid

conductors buried at depth h, ohm-meters
a :apparent soil resistivity
2 :soil resistivity from depth d downward,
ohm-meters
l1 :length of grid conductors in meters
l2 :length of a ground rod, in meters
h :depth of grid burial in meters

h1 = d 1h
for conductors buried at depth r,
or
= 0.5d for conductors at h=0 (on earths surface)
A :covered by a grid of dimensions
n :number of ground rods placed in area A
K1, K2 :constants related to the geometry of the
system.
d1 :diameter of grid conductor, in meters
d2 :diameter of ground rods, in meters
 KERCEKS COEFFICIENTS

K1 =
ab 1 a + a 2 + b2 1 b + a 2 + b2
(1.84) ln + ln +
a
+
b

a 2 + b2( ) 2
a +b

2
2 a b 2 2 3 a 2 b2
b a 3b 3a

2 b b 2
a + 2 + b
+ a +
2
a
4 (a + b ) (a + b ) 2 2 2
K 2 = ln + 2 K1 ln 1 2 ln
b ab b 2 2
b b

+ a2 +
2 2
MAXIMUM GRID POTENTIAL RISE:

GPR= Ig * Rg

REASONS FOR LIMITING GPR:

INSULATION CO-ORDINATION OF COMMUNICATION

CIRCUITS

MINIMIZATION OF RISKOF ACCIDENTS TO PUBLIC

SAFETY AGAINST TRANSFERRED VOLTAGES ON

L.T CIRCUITS LEAVING S/S
9 NO GPR LIMITS SPECIFIED IN I.S - 3043.

GPR LIMITS SPECIFIED BY CBI&P:

9 TOUCH VOLTAGES OUTSIDE FENCE SHOULD NOT

EXCEED 650 VOLTS

9 TRANSFERRED VOLTAGE BETWEEN SHEATH

AND CONDUCTORS IN CABLES TO BE LIMITED TO
60% OF P.F. TEST VOLTAGE

9 TRANSFERRED VOLTAGE BETWEEN O/H

GROUND WIRE AND CONDUCTOR TO BE LIMITED
TO 60% OF P.F. TEST VOLTAGE OF LINE
INSULATORS
CORRECTION / REFINEMENT OF PRELIMINARY
DESIGN

DECREASE GRID RESISTANCE

DEEP DRIVEN RODS
INCREASE IN AREA

IMPROVEMENT IN GRADIENT CONTROL

CLOSER MESH SPACINGS

GRID PERIMETER CONDUCTORS
USE OF CRUSHED ROCK/GRAVEL:

INCREASE IN CONTACT RESISTANCE

OPTIMIZATION OF LAYER THICKNESS

CURRENT DIVERSION:

OVER HEAD GROUND WIRES

LIMITING SHORT CIRCUIT CURRENTS

LIMITED ACCESS:
FLOW CHART
FOR DESIGN