International Conference on Large High Voltage Electric Systems 112, boulevard Haussmann ~ 75008 Paris 1978 Session — August 30 - September 7 36-02 ° EARTHING IMPEDANCE MEASUREMENTS OF SUBSTATIONS ca M. KUUSSAARI and A. J. PESONEN Imatran Voima (Finiana SUMMARY ‘The only reliable method of determining the earthing impedance of a large substation, with possible dange- rous voltages in and near it, is an experimental one, with application of the current injection method, Owing to the large dimensions of the circuits involved, along with interference from external sources and interaction between dif ferent parts of the test circuit, the measurement may be affected by many kinds of error and flaw. This Paper presents, in conjunction with wellknown facts on substation earthing impedance and earthing voltage determination, various sources of error which may influence the accuracy of the measurements, and different methods of obtaining reliable results. Finally, safety aspects of measurements are discussed. Earth potential, Earthing impedance, Interferencs, Screening factor, Substation, REPORT 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1, Background of the problems — Knowledge of the substation earthing voltage is needed for assessment of the pos- sible danger to which people and equipment inside and outside the substation may be exposed, and for a decision on the protective measures for necessary safety requirements to be met. The requirements applied in various countries are specified by national or international standards or safety codes, and are usually defined in the form of construc- tional dimensions and electrical limit values; examples of the latter are the station earthing voltage and the touch voltage. A decision on whether the requirements are met or not presupposes that the values concerned are determined to a reasonably high degree of accuracy With regard to the factors which determine the station earthing voltage, asa rule the earth-fault current is deter- mined by a computer or a model network, while the earthing impedance is derived by experimental means. The screening factors associated with power lines feeding earth-fault current are normally calculated, although in some cases it may be advisable to determine them experimentally, The accuracy of the results calculated is impaired by simplifications in system presentation, and inaccuracy or lack of the necessary parameters. On the other hand, measu- rements are affected by interference, nonlinearities measurement errors, and practical obstacles. A discussion follows below on the main causes of errors which affect determination of the substation earthing voltage and dangerous voltages in its vicinity, along with a presentation of methods of overcoming the difficulties involved and the attainment of greater accuracy.1.2, Farthing conditions in Finland — On the average, the effective soil resistivity in Finland is some thousands ohm- metres, corresponding to an equivalent depth of the earth-etum current of about $ km at 50 Hz. In general, the ‘surface soil possesses somewhat better conductivity, which makes the necessary earthings practicable, but still difft- cult to effect. The values and graphs presented in this Paper are calculated for these conditions, and are intended to serve as an example rather than for reference purposes. 2. FACTORS AFFECTING THE EARTHING VOLTAGE AND THE EARTH POTENTIAL DISTRIBUTION OF A SUBSTATION 2.1. Substation earthing voltage — The station potential rise, ic. the earthing voltage, in the event of an earth fault at a substation with several entering power lines is Zz, % til w in which Z, is the earthing impedance (including the effect of neighbouring towers, etc.) of the substation, and 1, the screening factor associated with the line which feeds the earth-fault current Igy If the carth-fault current fed by the substation concerned is of the same order, or higher than that coming from all other stations, an earth fault at a certain distance from the station along the Line with the highest sereening factor may be decisive with regard to the earthing voltage of the station. In this case, differences in the sereening factors also cause a corresponding part of the earth-fault current coming from behind the stationto flow through the station carthing impedance, The latter phenomenon may be critical, even when there is no “own” feed, if the screening fac~ tors are widely different. 2.2. Substation earthing impedance — As a rule, a substation earthing consists of an earthing grid, together with addi- tional electrodes used for reduction of the impedance (such as vertical driven rods, or horizontal buried conductors extending from the station or other metal structures with which the earthing grid is interconnected). One important example of the latter is found in the tower footings connected to the station earthing grid through shield wires. ‘The impedance of a homogeneous shield-wire and tower-footing chain, as seen from the station, is Zen = 005 (Z + VE GR, + ZI) ~ 2/2 +V RZ Q) in which Z, is the earth-retum impedance of the shield wires per span, and R, the tower footing resistance (the tower footing resistances are assumed to be mutually independent). Table I provides examples of chain impedances. If Z, and R, are different but known, the chain impedance is easy to calculate. However, in practice there may exist consi- derable overlapping of station and tower earth potentials, with consequent impairment of the earthing contribution of towers, particularly near the station, AAs the shield wires often constitute a decisive proportion of the station earthing admittance, it is a general practice in Finland to employ ACSR (ie. Al/Fe) shield wites, at least for some kilometres near substations (Fig. 1a), ‘and in particular where the station earthing has to be improved subsequently. Figure 1b gives examples of chain impedances for different lengths of ACSR shield wires. 2.3. Screening factor of overhead lines — The screening factor of an overhead line indicates the share of the earth- fault current which flows through the station earthing impedance. Table | provides examples of screening factors due to continuous shield wires of a single line. Moreover, the calculated screening factor r,,= 0.39{=15° of one TIOKY line with two ACSR shield wires is for instance reduced to r.,~ 0.25/=18° if two such lines are running close to each other (Four ACSR shield wires). Long conductors (buried counterpoises, metal pipes, etc.) running near 1 power line also exercice a screening effect. Even the phase conductors of a parallel power line belonging to another system may have a screening effect ifthe neutral ofthis system is earthed atthe substation concerned. Figure 1c gives examples of screening factors when there are ACSR shield wires only near the station. It has been assumed that the tower footing resistances are independent of each other. Curves of similar type are derived if there is a neighbouring line with ACSR shield wires running parallel for some distance, and then diverging. In this case the best screening is obtained for earth faults occurring either in the station, or along the line, if the footings of the adjacent towers ofthe lines ar interconnected.3. 36-02 ‘Table 1 Calculated shield-wire impedances, sereening factors and chain impedances (50 Hz, 2300 8m, portal towers) Nominal | Type of | Shield |] Screening | Span Tower Chain line shield wire factor Tength footing | impedance voltage wires | impedance resistance Uy Ay 2 Ie a Rx Zen kV | mm? Atjre | Q/km m a 2 . 10 31 io | 2x @/3s) | 33ue% | 9st 230 a o1ae 2 . 10 14229 110 | 2x (42/25) | 0.79/55 | 0.59/~25: 230 ico 4aBe ° 2 10 13239 110 | 2x(106/25)] o.66y74? | 039/15 230 4 Aone : . "i 10 1342 110 | 2x(242/39)| 0.64/80" | 0.3/6 230 0 Perr ° e 10 3.0/1 400 | 2% (0/70) | 1.8133° | 0.8a/10' 380 00 aE 2 ° 10 1.736 400] 2x 90°, according to the Biot-Savart law, there still exists some flux flowing around the voltage measurement conductor, with the implication of (negative) mutual inductance. 18 Ba 10 os 00 ° 5 10 kn « Figure 4 — Coloulated components of mutual impedance Figure 5 — Qualitative presentation of the effect of induced between a power line, and a conductor oblique to it (50 Hz, o,f. upon the voltage measurement. The mutual impedances 2300 Am), Zt and Ziq2 should be understood with a view to the cor- Fesponding shield-wire currents decreasing tower by tower 1) Simplified scheme ilustrating the injection line, shield wires, and voltage measurement cireuits. 6) Current phasors. ©) As sumed correct voltage. d) Prosontation of error induced by. the injection circuit, e) Presentation of error caused by the shield wires ofa line other than the injection line Figure 4 illustrates examples of mutual impedance between a power line and a straight oblique conductor; it is assumed that the power line is infinite in both directions. These curves were derived by application of the methodsof calculation given in CCITT Directives for mutual impedance between a power line and a telecommunication line, However, in the case of earthing impedance measurement of a substation the corresponding mutual impedance is in practice smaller, owing to the “end effects” (ie. the inducing current in the line section beyond the station is absent, the earth-return current near the station has not reached its final depth, the current distributes along the shield wires, and so on). When consideration is also extended to the uncertainties and variations in effective soil resistivity, curves such as those in Figure 4 are unapplicable for the correction of test results, but do no more than provide a rough esti- mation of possible errors. Figure 5 indicates the nature of induced voltages in different cases. In the case of a >90", the error is here assumed to be zero. According to Figure 5d, a sharp angle in relation to the injection line results in a positive error in impedance measurement. If, however, the voltage measurement conductor forms an angle « < 90° with another line, which by virtue of its shield wires and towers contributes essentially to the station earthing, the shield-wire cur- rent may induce a voltage which causes # negative error. Other extensive metal parts, such as long buried conductors, cable sheaths, metal pipes or rails, connected to the earthing system may also exercise such an effect. Similar conse- ‘quences may arise in the case of non-homogeneous soil. If there is a live (or earthed) line or circuit running parallel with the current injection line, and the neutral of the system (or the line-end) is earthed tt the substation concemed, the emf. induced in that line may produce ‘an extra current through the earthing impedance, This implies an irrelevant screening effect if the lines or circuits belong to the same system. However, at the same time the screening from the shield wites is impaired to some extent, For rough estimation, it might be advisable to measure the magnitude and phase angle of the “extra” current con- ‘cerned simultaneously with the injection-line current. 3.4, Measurement of transferred potentials, earth potentials and potential differences in the vicinity of a substation — Frequently, it becomes necessary to determine the potential transferred into a metal part, such as the neutral conduc- tor of a low-voltage system, the sheath of a telecommunication cable or metal piping, located in the neighbourhood of the station, as well as earth surface potentials and touch voltages in its surroundings. These measurements may be ‘made in conjunction with the earthing impedance measurement. The only difference to the latter is that instead of the station earthing, the potential of the part or point concerned is measured. Since the earthing impedance of the earthing grid itself is almost resistive, while the impedance of shield-wire towerfooting chains often contains a considerable inductive component, the phase angle of the earth potential is dependent upon the location. Attention should accordingly be paid to errors that may arise if the station grid is used as the reference instead of a remote earth. 4, ELIMINATION OF INTERFERENCE, ‘The large dimensions of the test circuits in the current injection method make them prone to the influence of interfering earth potential differences end magnetic fields. There may exist currents other than that injected, which flow through the station earthing impedance (but not necessarily through the amperemeter), thereby giving rise to a corresponding earthing voltage. Such currents include those induced in the shield wires of loaded power lines, residual currents attributable to differences in the magnetization currents of individual phases of a transformer, third-harmonic zerosequence currents arising from powerline corona or transformer-core saturation, and solar-induced direct cur- rents. Moreover, currents of external live circuits may directly induce an interfering e.m.f. in a test circuit. It is recommended that an adequate test current, preferably of the order of 100 A, be used, so that the interfe- rence level is exceeded and a good basis is provided for the elimination of interference. The opportunities available for the elimination of any significant interference are dependent upon its nature. If an earthing impedance is determined by the employment of an earth-fault test (Fig. 6a), with a current of the order of 1000 A or more, interference seldom has any significance. For minimization of the danger to people and ‘equipment, it is advisable that two circuit-breakers be connected in series, thus enabling a duration of about 50 msec, which is sufficiently long for graphical elimination of the d.c. component. 4.1. Flimination of power-frequency interference ~ In the well-known polarity reversal method, the current is injec- ted by means of a transformer. The injected current and the station potential (I,, Ip» Ug» U,) are measured by the-1- 36.02 TT | Mn bo) ) LA Ne tet Figure 6 — a) Oscillogram depicting current and voltage in an Figure 7 ~ a) Testtransformer connections ia the polarity rever- carth-fault test. b) Oscilogram illustrating a noticeable thied sal method. ) Phasor dlagrams associated with the polarity harmonic voltage in conjunction with the curtent injection reversal method, and geometrical evaluation of U,,, ¢) Principle method. of the compensation method ; Z, < Zy use of two opposite polarities of a constant voltage, and additionally the interference curent and potential (Ip, Up), with the primary of the test transformer short-circuited (Fig. 7a). (Theoretically, instead of the short-circuit, an impe- dance equal to the internal impedance of the supply network should be connected between the primary terminals of ‘the test transformer during the measurement of Ip and U,,) The current and the corresponding station earthing voltage are obtained from equations (5) and (6), which are based upon the phasor diagram of Figure 7b B+R me [Sten 6) UR © The polarity reversal method presupposes a steady interference level. As a consequence, if accurate results are to be obtained, the magnitude of quantities , and Um, should far exceed the interference level. Moreover, it isadvisable that the steadiness of interference be checked by repetition of the “O" measurement after the “a” and “b" measure. ‘ments, and further that the entire procedure “0.a-b-0” be repeated to check the consistency. If three-phase transformer with a solidly earthed neutral is used, an analogous method may be applied by making three measurements with 120° phase shifts, and amending equations (5) and (6) correspondingly. ‘The bear-frequency method applied in some countries employs an a.c. generator with a frequency which deviates by approximately 0.5 Hz from the network frequency. The injected current, and the required earthing voltage, are derived as the mean of the maximum and minimum instrument readings, provided that the injected current and the corresponding earthing voltage exceed the interference level. Ifthe interference exceeds Ty and Up respectively, the Values requited are obtained as one half of the difference of the maximum and minimum readings" In both cases, at. tention should be paid to the capability of the meters to follow the beat frequency. If the instrument employed is too slow, less interference than the quantity to be measured causes a postive error; in the opposite case, the error is negative. ‘The advantage of the beat-frequency method is that it provides results with little calculation. This is appreciated ‘when, in conjunction with an earthing impedance measurement, a large number of touch or other voltages or earth potentials are measured, many of them at some distance from the station,In the interference compensation method, which was developed some years ago in Finland, the power-frequency ‘voltage is compensated to zero when the injection circuit is open. The principle is illustrated in Figure 7c. After the compensation, a test current is injected by means of a transformer, and the voltmeter measures only the potential required. Two independently adjustable, perpendicular voltages (utilizing voltages available in a three-phase low. voltage system) can be used for the compensation, or a voltage separately adjustable by magnitude and phase angle. If, for supply of the compensation circuit, the same low-voltage system is used as that for current injection, note must be made of the possible error caused by voltage drop and phase shift due to the injection load. As a special application, this method may (or must) in some cases be applicd by inducing the injected current by means of a live line parallel to the injection (vi2. no test transformer is used). The impedance phase angle is most convenient: ly determined by the application of the compensation method. Since the compensation method also presumes a steady interference level, the result should be checked by repetition of the interference voltage measurement after the current injection, and then the whole procedure. ‘An alternative way of applying a method which comprises current injection with only one polarity is to be found in measurement of the magnitude and phase angle of the voltage with the injection circuit open and with the injec- tion current being carried. The interference is then eliminated mathematically by the subtraction of the phasors (ie. Um = Us ~ Ue). 42. Blimination of other interference ~ Interference from solarinduced and other direct currents and voltages that nay arise can be avoided if the measuring instruments employed are sensitive to a.c. alone. The saturating effect of dc. on the test transformer can be prevented by the use ofa series capacitor inthe injection circuit ‘A usual type of interference arises from harmonics. Current measurement is much less affected by them than is voltage measurement (Fig. 6b). The third harmonic voltage seems to be the most important. If an instrument measuring the true r.m.. of voltage (ie, U= /U; + 2U2) is used, a distortion of say 30 percent results in an error of +44 percent in the reading, regardless of the frequency of the harmonies. When the polarity reversal method is being applied, the effect of harmonics is eliminated by equations (5) and (6), provided that true r.m.s. meters are employed, and that the harmonics are steady. If the common type of universal meter is used, which senses the rectified average of the ac. signal, but which is calibrated for the rms. of a sine-form quantity, in the case of one harmonic of U, < U; /n, the error is within the range of —U,/n...+U,jn (eg. 10... +10 percent in the case of U, =03xU,) dependent upon the phase angle of the harmonic. For larger amplitudes of harmonies (viz. U,, >U, /n) the error tends to move in the positive direction, by reason of the probability of increase in the extra zeros of wave. In conjunction with the polarity reversal method, this error is eliminated only in part. ‘One method for elimination of the effects of harmonics applicable in all cases involves the use of meters with fa filter which passes only the test frequency. The use of an oscilloscope to check the wave forms is recommended (Fig. 6b). 5. DEPENDENCE OF EARTHING IMPEDANCE UPON VOLTAGE Gonerally speaking, a station earthing system consists of sevoral electrodes. The earthing impedance of an electrode can be regarded as being independant of voltage at normal earthing voltages, since the nonlinearity of soil resistivity due to partial discharges does-not begin until at peak gradients of about 2 kV/cm, finishing in a puncture at about 5... 10 kVjem. Some companies have the practice of insulating the overhead shield wires from the towers, or of isolating the towers from the copper earth electrodes by means of spark gaps. During a station earth fault, the insulators or spark: gaps at the neighbouring towers may spark over but the effect of the towers beyond the point at which the voltage is below the sparkover level is lacking, As a conventional earthing impedance measurement hardly causes any spark- ‘over at any tower, only the earthing of the station grid proper and other electrodes which are reliably connected to it are involved. Ferromagnetic paths (such as steel shield wires, sheaths of armoured cables, stecl pipes and rails) if they make an essential contribution to the station earthing, may also introduce nonlinearity. Further to this, the resistance of 'ACSR shield wires (particularly those of single aluminium layer type) is slightly current-dependent ; however, this exerts more effect upon the screening factor than upon the earthing impedance,36-02 In Finland, the practice has been that of using a shield-wire suspension as illustrated in Figure 8a, It is found that the oxidation of hot-zinced steel surfaces causes contact resistances whichamount to some thousands of ohms over such mechanical joints at very low voltages. A puncture causes the joint to become conducting. Examples of ‘measured puncture voltage aro presented in Figure 8b, The recovery of the insulating function of the joint after a puncture, followed by a short-duration current of the order of 100 A, is often a matter ofa brief period. The punc- ture voltage and the recovery of the contact resistance are also dependent upon the moisture and the movement attributable to wind. A high contact resistance in series with the tower footing resistance impairs its effect at the voltages, generally quite low, normally applied for the measurements. One solution of avoiding this error is a reliable bonding of the shield wires to the towers. Figure 9 illustrates examples of station earthing impedances, including the effect of the screening factor of the injection line measured at different voltages, The lower test voltages were obtained by application of the conventional current injection method, with currents of 10, . 50 A. The test voltages in excess of 100 V were obtained by earth- fault tests in the 110 kV system, resulting in currents of 300.... 1300 A. (The test currents were limited well below the normal fault level by the use of a suitable network arrangement.) The results indicate that, in some cases, rlati- vely high levels of current are needed to obtain the real earthing impedance which corresponds to an earth-faultsituae tion. 7 ree 18 15 la) or Ms = | co os 1 3 1 3100-200 KODY Um | S10 20 50VUp oi a2 0s 1 2 Figure 9 — Dependence of the product of earthing impe- ance and sereening factor upon increasing test voltage. The igure 8 — a) Shield-wire suspension including two mechanical joints. b) Measured puncture voltages of the above-type joints of old 110 kV porta-tower lines arranged by magnitude (12 towers with two shield wites; the higher and lower voltages at each tower are indicated separately). value of 1 pu corresponds to the rosult at the highest test, voltage. Curves 1, 2 and 3 refer to 110 KV substations, and curve 4 to a 110 KV tower with two 35 mm? stool shield wires. ‘Curve 1a was determined after two earth-fault tests, The shield ‘wires were not bonded to the towers, but to the terminal portal, See also Table I 6. UNCERTAINTIES IN THE SCREENING FACTOR In the ease of overhead lines with homogeneous continuous shield wires, there is only little uncertainty in regard to the screening factor, since as a rule the parameters which determine its magnitude are known to a reasonable degree of accuracy. Nevertheless, the dependence of resistance upon the current of shield wires of certain types may result in an error. In the case of h.v, cables with ferromagnetic armouring, the soreening factor may be highly current- dependent, and the screening factor must be known from factory tests for the currents in question ifa cable is used as the current injection line.36-02 —10- ‘At normal test voltages, the screening effect of the shield wires may be markedly affected if there exists a longi- tudinal contact resistance, for instance between the shield wire and the station earthing, or along the line near the station. Even an extra resistance which is comparatively low, but not negligible with respect to the resistance of the shield -vires (in the case of ACSR shield wires, this is of the order of 0.1. . .0.3 2/km) may exercise a marked effect. ‘As a consequence, an electrically reliable longitudinal bonding is unavoidable if acceptable results are to be obtained. Measurements indicate that a correctly-made bonding to a structure presents a contact resistance of less than 10 m& under conditions which correspond to those usual for current injection measurements. In the case of a complex arrangement of shield wires (for example, changes of conductor type, or relatively short stretches of parallel lines with ACSR shield wires near the station), the screening factor associated with the ine concerned appears to be dependent upon the tower footing resistances, as stated in Item 2.3.Possible non linear ‘contact resistances between the shield wires and the towers may then also make the screening factor dependent upon voltage within the range of normal test voltages. For experimental determination of the screening factor of overhead tines with mixed type shield wires, some substation earthing impedances were measured, also with the employment of a line without shield wires for eurrent injection for comparative purposes. It became apparent that the screening factors deviated, at times considerably, from those calculated ; the latter were smaller. The screening factors calculated were based upon knowledge of the shield-wire impedances and the individual tower footing resistances. These discrepancies may have arisen not only from contact resistances, but possibly also from overlapping of earth potentials of neighbouring towers or the station, resulting in impairment in the effect of individual earthings. For sereening-factor studies, itis useful to measure the magnitude and the phase angle of shield-wire currents ‘by means of clip-on current transformers. It should be borne in mind that the shield-wire currents of the injection line contain both an induced current (ie. a current corresponding to the screening effect), and a current distributing to tho neighbouring towers. It is in some cases worth while to measure likewise the current of long buried electrodes extending outside the station, also for the detection of changes originating from failures. Of course, the most correct procedure for current injection would be that of using in turn all of the lines feeding cearth-fault current (equation (1)) ; this is not always practicable, however. In some cases the determination of earthing voltage of a station may require a number of measurements, with different lines entering the station used for eurrent injection. In preference, for current injection use should be made of the ine (or lines) whose screening factor is known with certainty, or which feeds a major share of the total earth-fault current. 7. CURRENT FEEDING EQUIPMENT 7.1. Earthing resistance bridge — A typical bridge is powered by a built-in battery, or hand-driven a.c. generator. As 4 rule, its operating frequency is 70.... 100 Hz, the open-circuit voltage about 50 V, and the short-ireuit impedance of the order of 1000 , depending on the range of measurement of the instrument, Thus the maximum current it is capable of injecting amounts to some tens of milliamperes. It is intended for measurements of earth electrodes of small dimensions In conjunction with the earth-fault tests described in Item 5, some bridge measurements were made for compa- tative purposes. The results obtained are presented in Table II. These results, combined with our previous experience, indicate that a bridge is unsuitable for measurement of the earthing impedance of large substations by reason of its low signal level, and inability to balance if the impedance phase angle deviates from zero, along with the frequency- dependence of the earthing impedance and screening factor. Moreover, the conventional conductor lengths used with 4 bridge fall within the potential rise area of the station (Fig. 2).-u- 36-02 Table I Comparison of bridge measurement results with those obtained by earth-fault tests (Fig. 9). E earth-fault test, BI bridge measurement using the same injection line and voltage probe conductor as in measurement E, 'B2 bridge measurement with the voltage probe between the current probe and station using a field cable as the injection line, b before and a after the earth-fault test. If no inflexion point ‘was found, ly = 0.62 x I, was used, Casein Calculated Test Injection Test Remarks Figure 9 50 Hz ‘method line result screening length factor of injection Ly Tine 2 oss E >a 16 09s BI/b 41 24 7 oss Bifa 4 30 1.00 Bala 04 40 No inflexion point 095 E Daa 033 E 095 Biba a 20 1.00 Ba 10 042 1.00 Boa 02 50 No inflexion point 027 E >26 022 0.27 BI/b 26 034 . 1.00 B2/b 10 =} | Thebridge couta 1.00 Bafo 03 = 5 | note balanced 0.95 E >10 ir 0.95 Bifb 10 130 4 095 Bia 10 56 1.00 Bf 10 93 1.00 B2pb 03 104 7.2, Transformer — The most flexible transformer for the purpose is a special single-phase type equipped with secon- dary tappings up to say $00 V, and supplied from the 400 V system of the substation, To ensure the portability of the test equipement, the transformer should have a builtin winding temperature monitor, which renders possible an ample overloading for brief periods. Attention should be paid also to the short-circuit impedance of the test transfor- A series capacitor would reduce or eliminate the need to supply reactive power through the test transformer and so help to decrease the transformer size. Moreover, a series capacitor lessens the loading of the supply network and its fuses. A test transformer can be so constructed that it weighs less than 100 ke, but is capable of feeding cur- rents of the order of 100 A, if a capacitor of about half the weight of the transformer is employed, and if each ‘measurement is limited to some tens of seconds. Another possibility is that of using a station-service transformer. If, however, the neutral of this must remain solidly earthed, only the phase voltages are available and the polarity reversal is impracticable. 7.3. Ac. generator ~ The beat-frequency method requires a voltage source which is asynchronous with the network. A substation stand-by, or transportable diesel generator or a waterwheel generator can be used for the purpose, but may often prove to be expensive or inconvenient in use,8, CHECKING THE SOUNDNESS OF EQUIPMENT-EARTHING CONDUCTORS Normally, the substation earthing impedance is_measured from only one point (as rule, the main stel struc- ture). As a consequence, the condition of a negligible impedance between this reference point and each individual earthing of equipment must be tested by measurement, unless the connection is fully visible. ‘The soundness of equipment-earthing conductors may be checked by the injection of a direct current (of the order of 10 A) between each of the conductors concerned and the reference point, and by measuring the corres- ponding voltage drop. A defect is indicated by any considerable deviation from the average small voltage. 9. SAFETY ASPECTS DURING TESTS From the standpoint of safety rules, a test which applies the current injection method should be considered as corresponding to a prolonged earth fault, and an earth-fault test to a fast-tripped carth fault. Thus the test currents should be so fitted in that the rules with regard to the touch-voltage, transferred-potential and induced-e.mf limits for earth faults are respected. Of course, a current injection h.v. line must be earthed at both ends when the test is under preparation, The injection end cannot be earthed during the actual measurement, but a safety spark gap with a sparkover voltage of some kilovolts might be advisable at the line entrance, in view of e.g. atmospheric overvoltages and inadvertent ener- zing of the line. Moreover, the circuit should not be touched after removal of the temporary earthing, and the instruments should be connected through instrument transformers. Ifa series capacitor is employed, it should be loca- ted at the line entrance. ‘The probability of the occurrence of an earth fault in or near the substation during the measurement nevertheless, the voltage probe conductor should be sufficiently insulated within the station and its close neighbour- hood, and the connection to the voltmeter should not be made until the measurements are commenced. A field cable should also be well insulated with respect to its reel, or in preference an insulating reel should be used. Safety can be heightened by the use of disconnectors to connect the injection line to earth and to isolate the voltage probe circuit when no measurement is being made. Extrait de la Conférence Internation ale des Grands Réseau Electriques Session de 1978