Worked Example

In this example, the touch and step potential calculations for an earthing grid design will be
performed. The proposed site is a small industrial facility with a network connection via a
transmission line and a delta-wye connected transformer.

Step 1: Soil Resistivity

The soil resistivity around the site was measured with a Wenner four-pin probe and found to
be approximately 300 Ω.m.

Step 2: Surface Layer Materials

A thin 100mm layer of blue metal (3,000 Ω.m) is proposed to be installed on the site. The
surface layer derating factor (CS) is:

CS = …..

Step 3: Earthing Grid Resistance

A rectangular earthing grid (see the figure right) with the following parameters is proposed:

 Length of 90m and a width of 50m; 6 parallel rows and 7 parallel columns
 Grid conductors will be 120 mm2 and buried at a depth of 600mm
 22 earthing rods will be installed on the corners and perimeter of the grid
 Each earthing rod will be 3m long

Draw the proposed rectangular earthing grid !!!

Using the simplified equation, the resistance of the earthing grid with respect to remote earth
(Rg) is:

Rg = …..

Step 4: Maximum Grid Current

Suppose that the maximum single phase to earth fault at the HV winding of the transformer is
3.1kA and that the current division factor is 1 (all the fault current flows back to remote
earth).

The X/R ratio at the fault is approximately 15, the maximum fault duration 150ms and the
system nominal frequency is 50Hz. The DC time offset (TA) is:

TA = …..

The decrement factor (Df) is then:

Tugas Kelompok Mata Kuliah Sistem Grounding Page 1 of 3

 Df = …..

Finally, the maximum grid current (IG) is:

Df = …..

Step 5: Touch and Step Potential Criteria

Based on the average weight of the workers on the site, a body weight of 70kg is assumed for
the maximum touch and step potential. A maximum fault clearing time of 150ms is also
assumed.

The maximum allowable touch potential is:

Etouch,70 = …..

The maximum allowable step potential is:

Estep,70 = …..

Step 6: Ground Potential Rise (GPR)

The maximum ground potential rise is:

GPR = …..

Step 7: Earthing Grid Design Verification

Mesh Voltage Calculation

The components of the geometric factor , na, nb, nc and nd for the rectangular grid are:

na = …..

nb = …..

nc = …..

nd = …..

Therefore the geometric factor is:

n = …..

Tugas Kelompok Mata Kuliah Sistem Grounding Page 2 of 3

The average spacing between parallel grid conductors is:

D = …..

The geometric spacing factor is:

Km = …..

The irregularity factor is:

Ki = …..

The effective buried length is:

LM = …..

Finally, the maximum mesh voltage (Em) is:

Em = …..

Step Voltage Calculation

The geometric spacing factor is:

Ks = …..

The effective buried length is:

Ls = …..
Finally, the maximum allowable step voltage (Es)is:

Es = …..

Conclusion: Is the earthing system safe? Give the reason!

Tugas Kelompok Mata Kuliah Sistem Grounding Page 3 of 3