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Introduction
Theearthingsysteminaplant/facilityisveryimportantforafewreasons,allofwhicharerelatedtoeithertheprotectionofpeopleandequipment
and/ortheoptimaloperationoftheelectricalsystem.Theseinclude:
Equipotentialbondingofconductiveobjects(e.g.metallicequipment,buildings,pipingetc)totheearthingsystempreventthepresenceof
dangerousvoltagesbetweenobjects(andearth).
Theearthingsystemprovidesalowresistancereturnpathforearthfaultswithintheplant,whichprotectsbothpersonnelandequipment
Forearthfaultswithreturnpathstooffsitegenerationsources,alowresistanceearthinggridrelativetoremoteearthpreventsdangerous
groundpotentialrises(touchandsteppotentials)
Theearthingsystemprovidesalowresistancepath(relativetoremoteearth)forvoltagetransientssuchaslightningandsurges/
overvoltages
Equipotentialbondinghelpspreventelectrostaticbuildupanddischarge,whichcancausesparkswithenoughenergytoigniteflammable
atmospheres
Theearthingsystemprovidesareferencepotentialforelectroniccircuitsandhelpsreduceelectricalnoiseforelectronic,instrumentationand
communicationsystems
ThiscalculationisbasedprimarilyontheguidelinesprovidedbyIEEEStd80(2000) ,"GuideforsafetyinACsubstationgrounding".Lightning
protectionisexcludedfromthescopeofthiscalculation(refertothespecificlightningprotectioncalculationformoredetails).

Whydothecalculation?
Theearthingcalculationaidsintheproperdesignoftheearthingsystem.Usingtheresultsofthiscalculation,youcan:
Determinetheminimumsizeoftheearthingconductorsrequiredforthemainearthgrid
Ensurethattheearthingdesignisappropriatetopreventdangerousstepandtouchpotentials(ifthisisnecessary)

Whentodothecalculation?
Thiscalculationshouldbeperformedwhentheearthingsystemisbeingdesigned.Itcouldalsobedoneafterthepreliminarydesignhasbeen
completedtoconfirmthattheearthingsystemisadequate,orhighlighttheneedforimprovement/redesign.Ideally,soilresistivitytestresults
fromthesitewillbeavailableforuseintouchandsteppotentialcalculations(ifnecessary).

Whenisthecalculationunnecessary?
Thesizingofearthingconductorsshouldalwaysbeperformed,buttouchandsteppotentialcalculations(perIEEEStd80forearthfaultswitha
returnpaththroughremoteearth)arenotalwaysnecessary.
Forexample,whenallelectricityisgeneratedonsiteandtheHV/MV/LVearthingsystemsareinterconnected,thenthereisnoneedtodoatouch
andsteppotentialcalculation.Insuchacase,allearthfaultswouldreturntothesourceviatheearthingsystem(notwithstandingsomesmall
leakagethroughearth).
However,wheretherearedecouplednetworks(e.g.longtransmissionlinestoremoteareasoftheplant),thentouchandsteppotentialcalculations
shouldbeperformedfortheremoteareaonly.

CalculationMethodology
ThiscalculationisbasedonIEEEStd80(2000),"GuideforsafetyinACsubstationgrounding".Therearetwomainpartstothiscalculation:
Earthinggridconductorsizing
Touchandsteppotentialcalculations
IEEEStd80isquitedescriptive,detailedandeasytofollow,soonlyanoverviewwillbepresentedhereandIEEEStd80shouldbeconsultedfor
furtherdetails(althoughreferenceswillbegivenherein).

Prerequisites
Thefollowinginformationisrequired/desirablebeforestartingthecalculation:
Alayoutofthesite
Maximumearthfaultcurrentintotheearthinggrid
Maximumfaultclearingtime
Ambient(orsoil)temperatureatthesite
Soilresistivitymeasurementsatthesite(fortouchandsteponly)
Resistivityofanysurfacelayersintendedtobelaid(fortouchandsteponly)

EarthingGridConductorSizing
Determiningtheminimumsizeoftheearthinggridconductorsisnecessarytoensurethattheearthinggridwillbeabletowithstandthemaximum
earthfaultcurrent.Likeanormalpowercableunderfault,theearthinggridconductorsexperienceanadiabaticshortcircuittemperaturerise.
Howeverunlikeafaultonanormalcable,wherethelimitingtemperatureisthatwhichwouldcausepermanentdamagetothecable'sinsulation,the
temperaturelimitforearthinggridconductorsisthemeltingpointoftheconductor.Inotherwords,duringtheworstcaseearthfault,wedon'twant
theearthinggridconductorstostartmelting!
TheminimumconductorsizecapableofwithstandingtheadiabatictemperatureriseassociatedwithanearthfaultisgivenbyrearrangingIEEEStd
80Equation37:

Where

istheminimumcrosssectionalareaoftheearthinggridconductor(mm2)

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istheenergyofthemaximumearthfault(A2s)
isthemaximumallowable(fusing)temperature(C)

istheambienttemperature(C)
isthethermalcoefficientofresistivity(C1)
istheresistivityoftheearthingconductor(.cm)
is
isthethermalcapacityoftheconductorperunitvolume(Jcm3C1)
ThematerialconstantsTm,r,randTCAPforcommonconductormaterialscanbefoundinIEEEStd80Table1.Forexample.commercialhard
drawncopperhasmaterialconstants:
Tm=1084C
r=0.00381C1
r=1.78.cm
TCAP=3.42Jcm3C1.
AsdescribedinIEEEStd80Section11.3.1.1,therearealternativemethodstoformulatethisequation,allofwhichcanalsobederivedfromfirst
principles).
Therearealsoadditionalfactorsthatshouldbeconsidered(e.g.takingintoaccountfuturegrowthinfaultlevels),asdiscussedinIEEEStd80
Section11.3.3.

TouchandStepPotentialCalculations
Whenelectricityisgeneratedremotelyandtherearenoreturnpathsforearthfaultsotherthantheearthitself,thenthereisariskthatearthfaults
cancausedangerousvoltagegradientsintheeartharoundthesiteofthefault(calledgroundpotentialrises).Thismeansthatsomeonestanding
nearthefaultcanreceiveadangerouselectricalshockdueto:
Touchvoltagesthereisadangerouspotentialdifferencebetweentheearthandametallicobjectthatapersonistouching
Stepvoltagesthereisadangerousvoltagegradientbetweenthefeetofapersonstandingonearth
Theearthinggridcanbeusedtodissipatefaultcurrentstoremoteearthandreducethevoltagegradientsintheearth.Thetouchandsteppotential
calculationsareperformedinordertoassesswhethertheearthinggridcandissipatethefaultcurrentssothatdangeroustouchandstepvoltages
cannotexist.

Step1:SoilResistivity
Theresistivitypropertiesofthesoilwheretheearthinggridwillbelaidisanimportantfactorindeterminingtheearthinggrid'sresistancewith
respecttoremoteearth.Soilswithlowerresistivityleadtoloweroverallgridresistancesandpotentiallysmallerearthinggridconfigurationscanbe
designed(i.e.thatcomplywithsafestepandtouchpotentials).
Itisgoodpracticetoperformsoilresistivitytestsonthesite.Thereareafewstandardmethodsformeasuringsoilresistivity(e.g.Wennerfourpin
method).AgooddiscussionontheinterpretationofsoilresistivitytestmeasurementsisfoundinIEEEStd80Section13.4.
Sometimesitisn'tpossibletoconductsoilresistivitytestsandanestimatemustsuffice.Whenestimatingsoilresistivity,itgoeswithoutsayingthat
oneshoulderronthesideofcautionandselectahigherresistivity.IEEEStd80Table8givessomeguidanceonrangeofsoilresistivitiesbasedon
thegeneralcharacteristicsofthesoil(i.e.wetorganicsoil=10.m,moistsoil=100.m,drysoil=1,000.mandbedrock=10,000.m).

Step2:SurfaceLayerMaterials
Applyingathinlayer(0.08m0.15m)ofhighresistivitymaterial(suchasgravel,bluemetal,crushedrock,etc)overthesurfaceofthegroundis
commonlyusedtohelpprotectagainstdangeroustouchandstepvoltages.Thisisbecausethesurfacelayermaterialincreasesthecontact
resistancebetweenthesoil(i.e.earth)andthefeetofapersonstandingonit,therebyloweringthecurrentflowingthroughthepersonintheevent
ofafault.
IEEEStd80Table7givestypicalvaluesforsurfacelayermaterialresistivityindryandwetconditions(e.g.40mmcrushedgranite=4,000.m
(dry)and1,200.m(wet)).
Theeffectiveresistanceofaperson'sfeet(withrespecttoearth)whenstandingonasurfacelayerisnotthesameasthesurfacelayerresistance
becausethelayerisnotthickenoughtohaveuniformresistivityinalldirections.Asurfacelayerderatingfactorneedstobeappliedinorderto
computetheeffectivefootresistance(withrespecttoearth)inthepresenceofafinitethicknessofsurfacelayermaterial.Thisderatingfactorcan
beapproximatedbyanempiricalformulaasperIEEEStd80Equation27:

Where

isthesurfacelayerderatingfactor
isthesoilresistivity(.m)
istheresistivityofthesurfacelayermaterial(.m)
isthethicknessofthesurfacelayer(m)

ThisderatingfactorwillbeusedlaterinStep5whencalculatingthemaximumallowabletouchandstepvoltages.

Step3:EarthingGridResistance
Agoodearthinggridhaslowresistance(withrespecttoremoteearth)tominimisegroundpotentialrise(GPR)andconsequentlyavoiddangerous
touchandstepvoltages.Calculatingtheearthinggridresistanceusuallygoeshandinhandwithearthinggriddesignthatis,youdesignthe
earthinggridtominimisegridresistance.Theearthinggridresistancemainlydependsontheareatakenupbytheearthinggrid,thetotallengthof
buriedearthingconductorsandthenumberofearthingrods/electrodes.

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IEEEStd80offerstwoalternativeoptionsforcalculatingtheearthinggridresistance(withrespecttoremoteearth)1)thesimplifiedmethod
(Section14.2)and2)theSchwarzequations(Section14.3),bothofwhichareoutlinedbrieflybelow.IEEEStd80alsoincludesmethodsfor
reducingsoilresistivity(inSection14.5)andatreatmentforconcreteencasedearthingelectrodes(inSection14.6).
SimplifiedMethod
IEEEStd80Equation52givesthesimplifiedmethodasmodifiedbySveraktoincludetheeffectofearthinggriddepth:

Where

istheearthinggridresistancewithrespecttoremoteearth()
isthesoilresistivitiy(.m)
isthetotallengthofburiedconductors(m)
isthetotalareaoccupiedbytheearthinggrid(m2)
isthedepthoftheearthinggrid(m)

SchwarzEquations
TheSchwarzequationsareaseriesofequationsthataremoreaccurateinmodellingtheeffectofearthingrods/electrodes.Theequationsare
foundinIEEEStd80Equations53,54,55(footnote)and56,asfollows:

Where

istheearthinggridresistancewithrespecttoremoteearth()
istheearthresistanceofthegridconductors()
istheearthresistanceoftheearthingelectrodes()
isthemutualearthresistancebetweenthegridconductorsandearthingelectrodes()

Andthegrid,earthingelectrodeandmutualearthresistancesare:

Where

isthesoilresistivity(.m)
isthetotallengthofburiedgridconductors(m)
is

forconductorsburiedatdepth

metresandwithcrosssectionalradius

metres,orsimply

forgridconductorsonthe

surface
isthetotalareacoveredbythegridconductors(m2)
isthelengthofeachearthingelectrode(m)
isnumberofearthingelectrodesinarea
isthecrosssectionalradiusofanearthingelectrode(m)
and
Thecoefficient

areconstantcoefficientsdependingonthegeometryofthegrid
canbeapproximatedbythefollowing:

(1)Fordepth

(2)Fordepth

(3)Fordepth
Thecoefficient

canbeapproximatedbythefollowing:

(1)Fordepth
(2)Fordepth
(3)Fordepth
Whereinbothcases,

:
:
:
isthelengthtowidthratiooftheearthinggrid.

Step4:MaximumGridCurrent
Themaximumgridcurrentistheworstcaseearthfaultcurrentthatwouldflowviatheearthinggridbacktoremoteearth.Tocalculatethemaximum
gridcurrent,youfirstlyneedtocalculatetheworstcasesymmetricalearthfaultcurrentatthefacilitythatwouldhaveareturnpaththroughremote
earth(callthis

).Thiscanbefoundfromthepowersystemsstudiesorfrommanualcalculation.Generallyspeaking,thehighestrelevantearth

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faultlevelwillbeontheprimarysideofthelargestdistributiontransformer(i.e.eithertheterminalsorthedeltawindings).
CurrentDivisionFactor
Notalloftheearthfaultcurrentwillflowbackthroughremoteearth.Aportionoftheearthfaultcurrentmayhavelocalreturnpaths(e.g.local
generation)ortherecouldbealternativereturnpathsotherthanremoteearth(e.g.overheadearthreturncables,buriedpipesandcables,etc).
Thereforeacurrentdivisionfactor

mustbeappliedtoaccountfortheproportionofthefaultcurrentflowingbackthroughremoteearth.

Computingthecurrentdivisionfactorisataskthatisspecifictoeachprojectandthefaultlocationanditmayincorporatesomesubjectivity(i.e.
"engineeingjudgement").Inanycase,IEEEStd80Section15.9hasagooddiscussiononcalculatingthecurrentdivisionfactor.Inthemost
conservativecase,acurrentdivisionfactorof
Thesymmetricalgridcurrent

canbeapplied,meaningthat100%ofearthfaultcurrentflowsbackthroughremoteearth.

iscalculatedby:

DecrementFactor
Thesymmetricalgridcurrentisnotthemaximumgridcurrentbecauseofasymmetryinshortcircuits,namelyadccurrentoffset.Thisiscapturedby
thedecrementfactor,whichcanbecalculatedfromIEEEStd80Equation79:

Where

isthedecrementfactor
isthedurationofthefault(s)
isthedctimeoffsetconstant(seebelow)

ThedctimeoffsetconstantisderivedfromIEEEStd80Equation74:

Where

istheX/Rratioatthefaultlocation
isthesystemfrequency(Hz)

Themaximumgridcurrent

islastlycalculatedby:

Step5:TouchandStepPotentialCriteria
Oneofthegoalsofasafeearthinggridistoprotectpeopleagainstlethalelectricshocksintheeventofanearthfault.Themagnitudeofacelectric
current(at50Hzor60Hz)thatahumanbodycanwithstandistypicallyintherangeof60to100mA,whenventricularfibrillationandheartstoppage
canoccur.Thedurationofanelectricshockalsocontributestotheriskofmortality,sothespeedatwhichfaultsareclearedisalsovital.Giventhis,
weneedtoprescribemaximumtolerablelimitsfortouchandstepvoltagesthatdonotleadtolethalshocks.
ThemaximumtolerablevoltagesforstepandtouchscenarioscanbecalculatedempiricallyfromIEEEStdSection8.3forbodyweightsof50kgand
70kg:
Touchvoltagelimitthemaximumpotentialdifferencebetweenthesurfacepotentialandthepotentialofanearthedconductingstructureduringa
fault(duetogroundpotentialrise):
50kgperson:

70kgperson:
Stepvoltagelimitisthemaximumdifferenceinsurfacepotentialexperiencebyapersonbridgingadistanceof1mwiththefeetwithoutcontactto
anyearthedobject:
50kgperson:

70kgperson:
Where

isthetouchvoltagelimit(V)
isthestepvoltagelimit(V)
isthesurfacelayerderatingfactor(ascalculatedinStep2)
isthesoilresistivity(.m)
isthemaximumfaultclearingtime(s)

Thechoiceofbodyweight(50kgor70kg)dependsontheexpectedweightofthepersonnelatthesite.Typically,wherewomenareexpectedtobe
onsite,theconservativeoptionistochoose50kg.

Step6:GroundPotentialRise(GPR)
Normally,thepotentialdifferencebetweenthelocaleartharoundthesiteandremoteearthisconsideredtobezero(i.e.theyareatthesame
potential).Howeveranearthfault(wherethefaultcurrentflowsbackthroughremoteearth),theflowofcurrentthroughtheearthcauseslocal
potentialgradientsinandaroundthesite.Themaximumpotentialdifferencebetweenthesiteandremoteearthisknownasthegroundpotential
rise(GPR).Itisimportanttonotethatthisisamaximumpotentialpotentialdifferenceandthatearthpotentialsaroundthesitewillvaryrelativeto

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thepointoffault.
ThemaximumGPRiscalculatedby:

Where

isthemaximumgroundpotentialrise(V)
isthemaximumgridcurrentfoundearlierinStep4(A)
istheearthinggridresistancefoundearlierinStep3()

Step7:EarthingGridDesignVerification
Nowwejustneedtoverifythattheearthinggriddesignissafefortouchandsteppotential.IfthemaximumGPRcalculatedabovedoesnotexceed
eitherofthetouchandstepvoltagelimits(fromStep5),thenthegriddesignissafe.
Howeverifitdoesexceedthetouchandstepvoltagelimits,thensomefurtheranalysisisrequiredtoverifythedesign,namelythecalculationof
themaximummeshandstepvoltagesasperIEEEStd80Section16.5.
MeshVoltageCalculation
ThemeshvoltageisthemaximumtouchvoltagewithinameshofanearthinggridandisderivedfromIEEEStd80Equation80:

Where::

isthesoilresistivity(.m)
isthemaximumgridcurrentfoundearlierinStep4(A)
isthegeometricspacingfactor(seebelow)
istheirregularityfactor(seebelow)
istheeffectiveburiedlengthofthegrid(seebelow)

GeometricSpacingFactorKm

Thegeometricspacingfactor

Where

iscalculatedfromIEEEStd80Equation81:

isthespacingbetweenparallelgridconductors(m)
isthedepthofburiedgridconductors(m)
isthecrosssectionaldiameterofagridconductor(m)
isaweightingfactorfordepthofburial=
isaweightingfactorforearthelectrodes/rodsonthecornermesh
forgridswithearthelectrodesalongthegridperimeterorcorners
forgridswithnoearthelectrodesonthecornersorontheperimeter
isageometricfactor(seebelow)

GeometricFactorn

Thegeometricfactor

iscalculatedfromIEEEStd80Equation85:

With

forsquaregrids,orotherwise

forsquareandrectangulargrids,orotherwise

forsquare,rectangularandLshapedgrids,orotherwise
Where

isthetotallengthofhorizontalgridconductors(m)
isthelengthofgridconductorsontheperimeter(m)
isthetotalareaofthegrid(m2)
and

arethemaximumlengthofthegridsinthexandydirections(m)

isthemaximumdistancebetweenanytwopointsonthegrid(m)
IrregularityFactorKi

Theirregularityfactor

Where

iscalculatedfromIEEEStd80Equation89:

isthegeometricfactorderivedabove

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EffectiveBuriedLengthLM

Theeffectiveburiedlength

isfoundasfollows:

Forgridswithfewornoearthingelectrodes(andnoneoncornersoralongtheperimeter):

Where

isthetotallengthofhorizontalgridconductors(m)
isthetotallengthofearthingelectrodes/rods(m)

Forgridswithearthingelectrodesonthecornersandalongtheperimeter:

Where

isthetotallengthofhorizontalgridconductors(m)
isthetotallengthofearthingelectrodes/rods(m)
isthelengthofeachearthingelectrode/rod(m)
and

arethemaximumlengthofthegridsinthexandydirections(m)

StepVoltageCalculation
ThemaximumallowablestepvoltageiscalculatedfromIEEEStd80Equation92:

Where::

isthesoilresistivity(.m)
isthemaximumgridcurrentfoundearlierinStep4(A)
isthegeometricspacingfactor(seebelow)
istheirregularityfactor(asderivedaboveinthemeshvoltagecalculation)
istheeffectiveburiedlengthofthegrid(seebelow)

GeometricSpacingFactorKs

Thegeometricspacingfactor

Where

basedonIEEEStd80Equation81isapplicableforburialdepthsbetween0.25mand2.5m:

isthespacingbetweenparallelgridconductors(m)
isthedepthofburiedgridconductors(m)
isageometricfactor(asderivedaboveinthemeshvoltagecalculation)

EffectiveBuriedLengthLS

Theeffectiveburiedlength

Where

forallcasescanbecalculatedbyIEEEStd80Equation93:

isthetotallengthofhorizontalgridconductors(m)
isthetotallengthofearthingelectrodes/rods(m)

WhatNow?
Nowthatthemeshandstepvoltagesarecalculated,comparethemtothemaximumtolerabletouchandstepvoltagesrespectively.If:
,and

thentheearthinggriddesignissafe.
Ifnot,however,thenfurtherworkneedstobedone.Someofthethingsthatcanbedonetomaketheearthinggriddesignsafe:
Redesigntheearthinggridtolowerthegridresistance(e.g.moregridconductors,moreearthingelectrodes,increasingcrosssectionalarea
ofconductors,etc).Oncethisisdone,recomputetheearthinggridresistance(seeStep3)andredothetouchandsteppotential
calculations.
Limitthetotalearthfaultcurrentorcreatealternativeearthfaultreturnpaths
Considersoiltreatmentstolowertheresistivityofthesoil
Greateruseofhighresistivitysurfacelayermaterials

WorkedExample
Inthisexample,thetouchandsteppotentialcalculationsforanearthinggriddesignwillbeperformed.Theproposedsiteisasmallindustrialfacility
withanetworkconnectionviaatransmissionlineandadeltawyeconnectedtransformer.

Step1:SoilResistivity
ThesoilresistivityaroundthesitewasmeasuredwithaWennerfourpinprobeandfoundtobeapproximately300.m.

Step2:SurfaceLayerMaterials
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Athin100mmlayerofbluemetal(3,000.m)isproposedtobeinstalledonthesite.Thesurfacelayerderatingfactoris:

Step3:EarthingGridResistance
Arectangularearthinggrid(seethefigureright)withthefollowingparametersisproposed:
Lengthof90mandawidthof50m
6parallelrowsand7parallelcolumns
Gridconductorswillbe120mm2andburiedatadepthof600mm
22earthingrodswillbeinstalledonthecornersandperimeterofthegrid
Eachearthingrodwillbe3mlong
Usingthesimplifiedequation,theresistanceoftheearthinggridwithrespecttoremoteearthis:

Figure1.Proposedrectangularearthinggrid

Step4:MaximumGridCurrent
SupposethatthemaximumsinglephasetoearthfaultattheHVwindingofthetransformeris3.1kAandthatthecurrentdivisionfactoris1(allthe
faultcurrentflowsbacktoremoteearth).
TheX/Rratioatthefaultisapproximately15,themaximumfaultduration150msandthesystemnominalfrequencyis50Hz.TheDCtimeoffsetis
therefore:

Thedecrementfactoristhen:

Fianlly,themaximumgridcurrentis:

kA

Step5:TouchandStepPotentialCriteria
Basedontheaverageweightoftheworkersonthesite,abodyweightof70kgisassumedforthemaximumtouchandsteppotential.Amaximum
faultclearingtimeof150msisalsoassumed.
Themaximumallowabletouchpotentialis:

V
Themaximumallowablesteppotentialis:

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Step6:GroundPotentialRise(GPR)
Themaximumgroundpotentialriseis:

V
TheGPRfarexceedsthemaximumallowabletouchandsteppotentials,andfurtheranalysisofmeshandstepvoltagesneedtobeperformed.

Step7:EarthingGridDesignVerification
MeshVoltageCalculation
Thecomponentsofthegeometricfactor

Thereforethegeometricfactor

and

is:

Theaveragespacingbetweenparallelgridconductors

where

fortherectangulargridare:

is:

and

arethewidthandlengthofthegridrespectively(e.g.50mand90m)

and

isthenumberofparallelrowsandcolumnsrespectively(e.g.6and7)

Thegeometricspacingfactor

Theirregularityfactor

is:

is:

Theeffectiveburiedlength

is:

m
Finally,themaximummeshvoltageis:

V
Themaximumallowabletouchpotentialis1,720V,whichexceedsthemeshvoltagecalculatedaboveandtheearthingsystempassesthetouch
potentialcriteria(althoughitisquitemarginal).

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StepVoltageCalculation
Thegeometricspacingfactor

Theeffectiveburiedlength

is:

is:

m
Finally,themaximumallowablestepvoltageis:

V
Themaximumallowablesteppotentialis5,664V,whichexceedsthestepvoltagecalculatedaboveandtheearthingsystempassesthestep
potentialcriteria.Havingpassedbothtouchandsteppotentialcriteria,wecanconcludethattheearthingsystemissafe.

ComputerBasedTools
Ascanbeseenfromabove,touchandsteppotentialcalculationscanbequiteatediousand
laborioustask,andonethatcouldconceivablybedonemuchquickerbyacomputer.EvenIEEE
Std80recommendstheuseofcomputersoftwaretocalculategridresistances,andmeshand
stepvoltages,andalsotocreatepotentialgradientvisualisationsofthesite.
Computersoftwarepackagescanbeusedtoassistinearthinggriddesignbymodelingand
simulationofdifferentearthinggridconfigurations.Thetoolseithercomeasstandalonepackages
orpluginmodulestopowersystemanalysissoftware(suchasPTW'sGroundMat or
ETAP'sGroundGridDesignAssessment .ExamplesofstandalonepackagesincludeSES
Autogrid andSafeGrid .

Whatnext?
Theminimumsizefortheearthinggridconductorscanbeusedtospecifytheearthinggrid
conductorsizesinthematerialtakeoffsandearthingdrawings.Thetouchandsteppotential
calculations(wherenecessary)verifythattheearthinggriddesignissafefortheworstearth
faultstoremoteearth.Theearthingdrawingscanthereforebeapprovedforthenextstageof
reviews.
Figure2.PTWGroundMatsoftwareoutput
(courtesyofSKMSystemsAnalysisInc)

Category:Calculations

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