Range of tolerable current:

Current of 1 mA is generally recognized as the threshold of perception; that

is, the current magnitude at which a person is just able to detect a slight
tingling sensation in his hands or fingertips caused by the passing current.

Currents of 16 mA, often termed let-go currents, though unpleasant to

sustain, generally do not impair the ability of a person holding an energized
object to control his muscles and release it.

An average let-go current of 10.5 mA for women and 16 mA for men, and 6
mA and 9 mA as the respective threshold values.

In the 925 mA range, currents may be painful and can make it difficult or
impossible to release energized objects grasped by the hand. For still higher
currents muscular contractions could make breathing difficult.

It is not until current magnitudes in the range of 60100 mA are reached that
ventricular fibrillation, stoppage of the heart, or inhibition of respiration
might occur and cause injury or death.
 The object of an earthing system is to provide as
nearly as possible a surface under and around a
station a uniform potential and as nearly zero or
absolute earth potential as possible.

The purpose of this is to ensure that, in general,

all parts of apparatus other than live parts, shall
be at earth potential, as well as to ensure that
operators and attendants shall be at earth
potential at all times.
 Providing adequate Earthing in a substation is
an important safety measure.
Earthing means connecting the electrical
equipment to the general mass of earth of low
resistance.
Objective is to provide under and around the
substation a surface of uniform potential
-- At near zero or absolute earth potential

4
 System earthing

Equipment earthing
Ground electrode:
A conductor imbedded in the earth and used for collecting ground current from or
dissipating ground current into the earth.
Earthing Conductor - A protective conductor connecting the main earthing terminal
to an earth electrode or to other means of earthing.
Protective Conductor -A conductor used as a measure of protection against electric
shock and intended for connecting any of the following parts:
a) Exposed conductive parts,
b) Extraneous conductive parts,
c) Main earthing terminal, and
d) Earthed point of the source or an artificial neutral
Grounding grid:
A system of horizontal ground electrodes that consists of a number of
interconnected, bare conductors buried in the earth, providing a common ground for
electrical devices or metallic structures, usually in one specific location.
 Step potential - Difference in surface potentials experienced by a
man bridging a distance of 1 M with his feet, with out touching
any other grounded object.

Touch potential- Potential difference between the earth potential

raise and the surface potential at the point where a person is
standing touching an earthed structure.

Tolerable touch potential of human body is less than tolerable step

potential.

7
Mesh voltage:
The maximum touch voltage within a mesh of a ground grid.

Transferred voltage:
A special case of the touch voltage where a voltage is transferred
into or out of the substation from or to a remote point external
to the substation site.

Metal-to-metal touch voltage:

The difference in potential between metallic objects or structures
within the substation site that may be bridged by direct hand-to-
hand or hand-to-feet contact.
1. Objective:
The touch and step potential shall be within limits
under all conditions including fault condition
Grounding resistance shall be lower.
Effective earthing system shall aim at providing
protection to life and property against dangerous
potentials under fault conditions

12
 Functioning of earthing in a substation

It shall be capable of passing maximum earth fault current

The passage of fault current does not result in any thermal or
mechanical damage to the insulation of connected plant /
equipment
Every exposed conductor part and extraneous conductive part
may be connected to the earth.
There is no danger to the personnel
Ensure equi-potential bonding within the power system
No dangerous potential gradients (step or touch or transfer
potentials) shall occur under normal or abnormal operating
conditions
To minimize electromagnetic interference between power and
control/ communication system

13
 Points to be earthed in a substation
The neutral point of each separate system should have an
independent earth, in turn interconnected with the station
grounding mat.
Equipment frame work and other non-current parts (two
connections)
All extraneous metallic frame works not associated with
equipment ( two connections)
Lightning arrestors should have independent earths, in turn
connected to the station grounding grid.

14
 Over head lightning screen shall also be connected to main
ground mat.

Operating handles of Isolators with a auxiliary earth mat

underneath, if necessary.

Peripheral fencing

Buildings inside the switch yard.

Transformer Neutrals shall be connected directly to the

earth electrode by two independent GI strips

15
 Current flows through a series of hemi-spherical shells of earth
of continuously increasing cross sections.
Almost 95% of final resistance is contributed by soil within
5mts of the electrode.
Concept of treating the soil around electrode of an earth pit is
to reduce the resistance.

16
Design depends upon the following parameters

Durational and magnitude of the fault current

Resistivity of the surface layer of the soil
Resistivity of the soil
Magnitude of current that the human body can safely carry
Permissible earth potential raise that may take place due to the
fault conditions
Shock duration
Material of Earth- mat conductor.
Earth- mat geometry

17
 Parameters for the calculation of Maximum permissible step and
touch potential

Fault duration :- Fault clearing time of back up protection is

adopted
Modern protection systems provides for fast acting back up
protection
Considerable saving can be made by optimizing the size of the
conductor of earthing grid by considering lesser fault
duration.
These will change the earth potential raise due to which Step
and Touch potentials arise.

18
 Maximum safe current a person can tolerate and still release grip
of an energised object, using muscles affected by the current

The magnitude of let go current adopted in calculating maximum

permissible step and touch potentials (As per IEEE 80)

for man 9 milli amps

for woman 6milli amps

19

Magnitude of power frequency alternating current (mA) that
a human body of average weight( 50kgs to 70 kgs) can with
stand without ventricular fibrillation,

I =0.116 for a body of 50kgs wt.

t

I =0.157 for a body of 70kgs wt.

t
Av. Value of human body resistance (dry) 8 to 9 K-ohms
Adopted value for designing Earthing system 1Kohms

20
 During a line to earth or double line earth fault current
through earthing system causes
a) Heating of earthing conductor
b) Potential gradients in the soil

For earthing design single line to ground fault is considered as

Most of the faults are of this type
Current through earth in case of L-L-L-G fault is higher

21
 For determining maximum permissible step and touch potentials

Fault duration corresponding to maximum fault clearing time of

back up protection relays are considered

Normally in modern sub station clearance time of primary

protection is 0.2 sec, ie., 200 milli sec and clearance time for back
up protection is 0.5 sec, ie., 500 milli sec

A fault duration time of 0.5 sec (500 mill sec) is adopted for
design

22
 To design most economically and technically sound earthing
system accurate data of soil resistivity and its variation with in
substation soil is essential.

Resistivity of soil in many substations has been found varying -at

times between 1 and 10,000 ohm meters.

Variation in soil Resistivity with depth is more predominant as

compared to variation in horizontal distances.

23
A good grounding system provides a low resistance to
remote earth in order to minimize the GPR.

For most transmission and other large substations, the

ground resistance is usually about 1 or less.

In smaller distribution substations, the usually

acceptable range is from 1 to 5 , depending on the
local conditions.
 The common practice, however, is to limit the ground fault
current to only half the rated current of the system, or the circuit
that is being protected.

Grounding protection will depend upon the measurement of the

residual quantities (Vo or Io,) that will appear across the ground
circuit in the event of a ground fault.
 In any switch yard, chances of exposure to Touch potential is
higher than that to step potential.

Resistance offered by the feet of a person against Touch

potential is much less compared to that against Step potential.

Hence Touch potential is more critical for design while Step

potential is usually academic.

26
 Step potential is independent of the diameter ( cross- section) of
the earthing conductor.

For 400% increase in diameter, reduction in Touch potential is

only 35%.

Thus cross- section has minor influence on Touch and Step

potentials.

Length of earthing conductor has significant effect on Touch and

Step potentials.

27
Tolerable Step and touch potentials

E step = 0.116 (1000+1.5Cs X s) (volts)

t
E touch = 0.116 (1000+ 6Cs. X s) (volts)
t
Where Cs=Reduction factor for de-rating normal
value of surface layer resisvity, a function of K.
s is resistivities of surface layer respectively.
t = Duration of shock current flow in secs.

28
 Determination of size of conductor for earth mat.
- Based on thermal stability determined by an approximate
formula of IEEE - 80-1986

29
Welded surfaces to be painted with red lead and aluminium paint
and then with bitumen.

Joints to be attached shall be bolted and joint faces tinned.

All exposed steel earthing conductors should be protected with

bituminous paint

All joints in steel earthing system shall be welded except joints to be

removed for testing shall be bolted.

30
 In places where soil resistivity is high steps to be taken to
reduce earth impedance by one or combination of following:-
Connection of substation grid with a remote ground grid and
adjacent grounding facilities.
Use of deep driven ground rods or longer ground rods or
maximum number of ground rods along the perimeter of the
earth grid.
Use of foundation rods as auxiliary grids where feasible
Formation of auxiliary grids if soil of low earth resistivity is
available close by
Max. touch potential occurs in the corner of mesh of the grid.
No equipment are to be kept in such areas. higher values of
touch potential than the tolerable limit can be accepted if step
potential are within permissible limits
If equipment is to be kept at corners of the mesh. Auxiliary
grids are to be created at those corner to limit touch potential.
31
TN system

TT system

IT system
 TN system - has one or more points of the
source of energy directly earthed, and the
exposed and extraneous conductive parts of the
installation are connected by means of
protective conductors to the earthed point(s) of
the source, that is, there is a metallic path for
earth fault currents to flow from the installation
to the earthed point(s) of the source.
 TT system - has one or more points of the
source of energy directly earthed and the
exposed and extraneous conductive parts of the
installation are connected to a local earth
electrode or electrodes are electrically
independent of the source earth(s).
 IT system - has the source either unearthed or
earthed through high impedance and the
exposed conductive parts of the installation are
connected to electrically independent earth
electrodes.
 Copper should be avoided, wherever possible, not
only for its increased drain but also for its ability to
become cathodic to the protected structure.

Magnesium or zinc electrodes have been used

successfully, but are anodic to the protected
structure and thus sacrificial in action.

Copper earth strip supported from or in contact

with galvanized steel should be tinned to prevent
electrolytic action.
 An earth electrode with a galvanic potential nearer to
the protected structure .
Buriedbare copper or steel conductors forming part of
the earthing system should be at about 600 mm deep
which, in addition to giving protection to the conductor
and connections, should ensure that it will normally be
below frost line
Aluminium should only be used for above ground
connections. Aluminium can be used below ground
only if efficiently protected or sheathed against contact
with soil and moisture
 Pipes or rods
Plate electrodes
Strip or conductor elctrodes