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=

8L
ln 1

2L d

where:
R=electroderesistance,

=Soilresistivity,m(uniformsoil1)
L=Lengthofelectrodeburiedinsoil,m
d=Outerdiameterofearthrod,m
Note:InAustraliatheminimumdepthofverticaltypeearthelectrodeis1.2m[Clause5.3.6.3,AS/NZS
30002007]
Thesoilresistivityatthelocationoftheearthelectrodeneedstobeinvestigated.Theresistivityofsoils
varieswith
1. thedepthfromthesurface,
2. thetypeandconcentrationofsolublechemicalsinthesoil,
3. themoisturecontent,and
4. thesoiltemperature.
Inotherwords,thesoilresistivityisdependentonthe electrolyteinthesoil.Thepresenceofsurface
waterdoesnotnecessarilyindicatelowresistivity.
Intheabsenceofsoilinvestigativedata,typicalresistivityofvarioussoiltypesisgiveninthefollowing
table.

Table1Typicalsoilresistivity(Source:IEEE142/BS7430)
AverageResistivity(m)

SoilType

Wellgradedgravel

6001000

Poorlygradedgravel

10002500

Clayeygravel

200400

Siltysand

100800

Clayeysands

50200

Uniformsoilmeansthatthesoiltypeisthesameforthewholelengthoftheearthelectrode

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AverageResistivity(m)

SoilType
Siltyorclayeysandwithslightplasticity

3080

Finesandysoil

80300

Gravellyclays

2060

Inorganicclaysofhighplasticity

1055

SurfaceSoils

150

Clay

2100

Sandyclay

100150

Moistgravel

50700

Drygravel

7001200

Limestone

510000

Porouslimestone

30100

Quartz,crystallinelimestone

1001000

Sandstone

202000

Granites

9001100

Concrete

300500

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

R=

8L
ln 1
2L d

R=

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

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,havingthesameearthresistance.Thisassumptionissatisfactoryprovidedthatthespacing
betweentherodsislessthantheirlength.

Table2Factorsforparallelelectrodesinline(BS7430)
Numberofelectrodes(n)

Factor()

1.00

1.66

2.15

2.54

2.87

3.15

3.39

3.61

10

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)

Factor()

2.71

4.51

5.48

6.13

6.63

7.03

7.36

7.65

10

7.90

12

8.32

14

8.67

16

8.96

18

9.22

20

9.44

Note:Thetotalnumberofelectrodesaroundthesquareis4(n1).
Thereductionincombinedearthresistanceprovidedbyadditionalelectrodesinsidethesquareissmall,
butsuchelectrodeswillreducethepotentialgradientoverthesoilsurfaceinsidethesquare.Apractical
exampleofthisistheuseofstripelectrodesforminganearthgridwithinthesquare.
Table3mayalsobeusedforelectrodesarrangedinarectangle,wherenisgivenby(totalnumberof
electrodes/4)+1.Providedthatthelengthtowidthratiooftherectangledoesnotexceed2,theerror
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

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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

Inlocationswherethesoiltypeisnothomogeneous,theresultingresistivityforatwolayersoilcanbe
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

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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

Page6of6

ERRATA
1. The paragraph in Clause 1.2
In the event that the desired soil resistivity is not achievable using a single earth electrode, multiple
electrodes could be used.
should read
In the event that the desired electrode resistance is not achievable using a single earth electrode,
multiple earth electrodes could be used.
2. The paragraph in Clause 1.2
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 between the rods is less than their length.
should be changed to
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
electrodes are evenly spaced and spacing between electrodes is not less than two-thirds of the
1
electrode length.

BS 7430:2011 p.54