Completions Works, Earthing and Lightning Protection Systems

Based on S3.1.4.3, temperature of concrete shall be controlled. The concrete damage due to temperature
shock under fault current discharge condition is highly dependent on the fault duration and on the fault
current.

Both of these parameters shall be firstly determined in the design, in order to evaluate the extent of damage
on the reinforced concrete structure.

Here are some generic indications for your reference:

 Melting of concrete and steel:

o According to literature, melting of concrete or steel may happen under fault currents ranges
from 10-100 A which lasts from minutes to hours.
 Thermal stress:
o Due to low diffusivity of concrete, the thermal shock is localized in short fault discharge
durations.
o In short fault duration, thermal stress is limited to the vicinity of the rebars.
 Material changes due to high temperature exposure:
o Steel: if spalling does not occur, according to Figure 5.1 of EN 1992-1-2:2004, up to 350 °C for
240 minutes, no specific strength loss is expected.
o Concrete: According to section 4.2.4.2 of EN 1992-1-2:2004 at 250°C for 240 minutes:
 For siliceous aggregates 10% reduction in compressive strength
 For calcareous aggregates 5% reduction in compressive strength
 Spalling:
o Spalling as a consequence of the passage of a very high current, which would vaporize the
moisture in the concrete is unlikely to occur when the moisture content of the concrete is less
than 3 % by weight. Although in case of the surge shafts structure, moisture content is
expected to be higher than 3%.
 Galvanic coupling:
o If the connection is not made of copper, as long as the connections are embedded in alkaline
concrete, no galvanic coupling corrosion is expected. More details from design is needed to
precisely addresses this issue though.