2019 6th International Conference on Information Science and Control Engineering (ICISCE)
The engineering practice and case analysis of
substation grounding grid design
Li Guanhua,Zhao Dan,Han Honggang,Wei Defu,Song Yundong,Sui Dongpeng
State Grid Liaoning Electric Power Co., Ltd. Electric Power Research Institute, No.39, Siping Street, Heping District, Shenyang, China,
Abstract—To meet the requirement of developing electric
power grid, safety performance of substation grounding grid
becomes one of the most common focused issue of substation
grounding grid design. Characteristic parameters is the key to
achieve an accurate evaluation for substation grounding grid.
Several measures such as formula calculation, simulation, and
actual test were utilized to compare the accuracy in grounding
grid characteristic parameters evaluating, taking one typical
500kV substation with high soil resistivity for instance.
Analysis of problem existing and factor contributing is also
involved in this article. The analysis results show that the depth
of the grounding grid soil resistivity is not enough and the
influence of the fault current provided by the substation lines
on the shunt coefficient is not the main factor of the accuracy
of the grounding grid design. In the substation grounding
project design stage, test the depth of the soil resistivity of at
least 2/3 diagonal substation system, maximum operating mode
and through the scheduling of parts of the single phase
grounding short circuit current grounding shunt coefficient
calculation, can significantly improve the accuracy of design
parameters of grounding grid.
Keywords—grounding grid characteristic parameters, soil
model, current divider coeffcient, grounding resistance
I. INTRODUCTION
The design of the grounding grid is the primary link of
the substation grounding project. The accuracy of the design
link determines the important factors for the successful
construction of the grounding grid project. At present, there
are many problems in the design stage of grounding
engineering, which leads to the design of grounding
engineering is not strict enough. In addition, the proportion
of grounding engineering in the project budget is very low,
and the design and construction department has not paid
enough attention to the design of the grounding grid. The
delay in the construction period has even become a
bottleneck in the substation production. At present, the
problems existing in the design of the grounding grid are
prominently reflected in [1~5].
1.Insufficient control of the soil environment. The
location of substations is becoming more and more difficult,
which seriously restricts the construction of substation
projects. It is subject to the complex topography and
geomorphology of the site sites, the soil stratification
structure is obvious, and the soil resistivity of different
stratifications is quite different. The correct design of the
ground network is based on the correct measurement of the
soil at the substation site and the correct establishment of the
layered structure model. Many substation design departments
do not have basic work in this area, only simple short-
distance measurements, or no measurements at all.
According to experience estimates, the design of the
grounding grid is very blind.
978-1-7281-5712-2/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE
DOI 10.1109/ICISCE48695.2019.00190
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2.The concept of the current into the ground is not
allowed. At present, the design department still uses fault
current to calculate the grounding grid characteristic
parameters, and the fault current will shunt the fault current
through the transformer neutral point return, along the
overhead lightning line (OPGW fiber ground wire) and the
double-ended grounded cable outer sheath. Or the calculation
process does not take into account the impact of the short-
circuit current provided by each line on the system shunt.
The analysis shows that the current flowing into the earth
through the grounding grid is often less than 30% of the fault
current [6]. Since the calculation of the maximum ground
fault current is the basis of the grounding design of power
plants and substations, it is directly related to the safety
performance of power plants and substations. The maximum
ground current will produce the most serious ground
potential rise, step voltage and contact voltage, so the
accuracy of the calculation of the shunt coefficient
determines that the ground network can meet the safe
operation requirements.
From the perspective of ground network design, taking a
typical 500kV substation in China as an example, using the
calculation software CDEGS, the influence of soil resistivity
exploration depth and layered structure on the grounding
impedance of the grounding grid is analyzed and the formula
calculation method is applied to the grounding grid
engineering design. The error brought by the analysis; the
problems existing in the current calculation method of the
shunt coefficient are analyzed; finally, the simulation
analysis and comparison show the influence of the soil
structure and the shunt coefficient on the design of the
grounding grid.
II. BASIC SITUATION
The substation is a new 500kV project. In this issue, two
1000MVA single-phase autotransformers will be used in the
long-term. In this issue, the 500kV outlet has 4 rounds and 3
complete strings; the forward line is 4 times and 4 complete
strings. In this issue, the 220kV outlet will be 7 times, and
the long-term outgoing line will be 16 times. The geological
area within 5km of the substation site area is mainly silty
clay and granite, and the soil conditions at the site are poor.
The main grounding grid is 185mm2, the conductivity is
30% copper-plated steel stranded wire (the thickness of the
copper layer is not less than 0.25mm), the buried depth is
0.8m, and the vertical grounding pole is made of copper-
plated steel rod with a diameter of 䌙 17.2mm, the depth is
2440mm, and the equipment is grounded. A 50 × 5 mm
copper row is used. The main grounding grid has a size of
194.5 × 164m. The main grounding network topology is
shown in Figure 1. The grounding impedance design value is
0.75Ω.
According to the Vision Year (2020) system calculation,
the maximum voltage level of the single-phase fault short-
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circuit current of the substation is 220kV single-phase short- pole are reversely arranged to eliminate the influence of
circuit current, and the single-phase short-circuit current is mutual inductance. The measurement voltage is 400V, the
30.25kA. current is measured at 5A, and the measurement result is
1.62 Ω [3]. The test selection is performed before the
overhead ground wire is connected to the main ground
network, which can effectively eliminate the influence of the
test current shunt on the test results. And use the reverse far-
reaching method to eliminate the influence of voltage zero
offset and test line mutual inductance on the test results, and
obtain the true grounding impedance value of the pure
ground net to the utmost extent.
(a)Top view (b)45°angle top view
Fig.1 Schematic diagram of topological structure of substation Using the formula to calculate the difference between the
grounding grid measured value and the measured value are respectively
5.3.7%, 23.5%, and 15.4%, and the error value is far from
III. DESIGN EVALUATION the engineering requirement.
A. Influence of soil survey depth on grounding impedance Based on the professional simulation calculation software
design CDEGS through the numerical analysis of the site hierarchy
[7~8]
Based on the Winner quadrupole method, three sets of , the curve of soil resistivity with the measured pole
soil resistivity basic data were obtained. The distance spacing is obtained. Through optimization analysis, the three
between each set of test poles was 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, sets of sites are obtained by multi-layer soil structure. The
50m, ... until the maximum test was reached. The electrodes equivalent electrical model is shown in Figure 2. The
were tested at 80m, 120m, and 200m using the alternating grounding network is modeled by SESCAD of the
DC method to avoid errors caused by the mutual inductance calculation software, and three sets of grounding impedances
error caused by the alternating current method and the soil are calculated based on the above three sets of soil models.
polarization caused by the direct current method. The calculated grounding impedance level increases with the
soil resistivity test depth (soil model 1 to model 3). It is close
Using the three sets of soil resistivity data obtained above, to the measured value on site, as shown in Table 1. When the
the grounding impedance values were calculated using the soil resistivity test depth reaches 2/3 of the maximum
calculation formula and simulation software, respectively, diagonal of the ground grid, the error is only 2.5%, which
and compared with the measured values. meets the engineering requirements.
According to the test depth of different soil resistivity,
use GB/T 50065-2011 <AC Design Specifications for AC
Electrical Installations> Appendix A Calculation formula of
artificial grounding power frequency grounding resistance in
soil [2]:
U
R 0 .5 (1)
S
The grounding resistance of the grounding grid is
calculated to be 0.75 Ω , 1.24 Ω , and 1.37 Ω , respectively.
See Table 1. It can be seen that the grounding resistance
value is determined by the soil resistivity and the grounding
area. Different soil resistivity has a great influence on the
grounding impedance calculation result. If the soil resistivity
test is not accurate, the grounding impedance will be doubled.
TABLE I. THE SOIL STRATIFICATION STRUCTURE AND THE
CALCULATION, SIMULATION AND MEASURED VALUE OF GROUNDING
IMPEDANCE Fig.2 The soil layered structure calculation model of Shen Nan 500kV
substation site
Soil Simulat Measure
Test
Thickness/ resistivity/ Calcula
ion d Because the soil plays a decisive role in the grounding
m ted/Ω resistance, especially the soil structure that is twice the
（Ω·m） value/Ω value/Ω
1 3 89.1 0.75 0.81
diagonal depth of the grounding grid, it can often dissipate
f 164.5 more than 90% of the fault current[9~11]. The depth of the
5 92.9
2 20 218.9 1.24 1.29 soil resistivity is not enough to cause grounding. There is a
f 576.7 1.62 large deviation between the design value of the grounding
10 128.4 impedance of the network and the measured value. It is not
3 80 173.3 1.37 1.66 possible to accurately design the grounding network at one
100 496
f 899.1 time, resulting in many secondary and tertiary
transformations of the substation grounding device, or
The ground impedance is measured in the field. The changes to the design to make the grounding impedance
length of the current line is about 1400m (about 5 times the meet the design requirements.
diagonal length of the field). The discharge length of the
voltage line is about 1100m. The current pole and the voltage Although the size of the grounding resistance is not
emphasized one-sidedly, the grounding grid is systematically

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evaluated from the characteristics of the grounding grid,
namely, the potential of the meter, the potential difference in
the grid, the contact and the step voltage, and the size of the
investment budget. However, the increase of the grounding
resistance will put forward higher requirements for the
equalization of the grounding grid and the operation and
maintenance of the grounding grid. However, due to the
characteristics of the grounding network concealed
engineering and the lack of an effective technical means for
detecting the grounding corrosion, the high The grounding
resistance will still bring hidden safety hazards to the damage
of the primary and secondary equipment of the substation.
B. Influence of calculation method of shunt coefficient on
grounding design
According to the Vision Year (2020) system calculation, the
maximum voltage level of single-phase fault short-circuit
current of the 500kV substation is 220kV single-phase
short-circuit current, single-phase short-circuit current is
30.25kA, and the main transformer neutral current is single-
phase short-circuit. 8.54kA.
The external short-circuit of the substation has little effect
on the safety of the substation grounding grid. In fact, the
equipment in the substation is the main form of single-phase
short-circuit grounding due to the fault of external insulation
or internal insulation. It is equivalent to the three-phase
short-circuit current level. Therefore, in the design and
safety evaluation of the grounding grid, only the maximum
grounding current generated by the short-circuit fault in the
station is considered. In this paper, only the shunt
coefficient of the short-circuit in the station is calculated.
When the 500kV and 220kV busbars in the substation are
short-circuited, the short-circuit currents of the neutral lines
of the various lines and transformers are expressed in vector
form. As shown in Table 2, when the I500kV is 500kV
busbar short-circuit in the table, the short-circuit of each line
and transformer neutral point flows. Current, I220kV is the
short-circuit current flowing through the neutral point of
each line and transformer when the 220kV bus is short-
circuited. Table 2 also shows the parameters of each line
and the grounding resistance value of the opposite
substation connected to it.

TABLE II. CALCULATION RESULTS OF EACH OUTLET LINES, GROUND PARAMETERS AND SINGLE PHASE SHORT-CIRCUIT OF THE SUBSTATION

Average Terminal Wire Ground wire Symmetrical I500kV I220kV

Line name length tower specificatio station ground
range(m) specification （kA） （kA）
model n impedance
1# 52.8 370 4×LGJ- LGJ- 0.468 3.19∠62.11。 5.86∠65.14。
500kV 2# 41.7 370 JD11-27 630/45 120/55,OPG 0.572 5.96∠64.09
。
8.75∠63.22
。

outlet 3# 33.9 360 LBGJ-120- W-151 0.486 2.53∠55.26。 6.64∠61.61。

4# 30.5 360 40AC 0.613 3.92∠62.27
。
7.22∠66.88
。

Total fault current provided by 500kV line 15.72∠63.52。 28.65∠65.39。

1# 40.5 360 2×LGJ- XLXGJ- 0.422 0.36∠20.78
。
0.34∠39.46
。

2# 40.5 360 LGJ-630/45 0.318 0.36∠20.78。 0.34∠39.46。

3# 6.98 350 0.578 0.32∠43.23
。
0.21∠27.03
。

220kV GJS402- LGJ-

4# 6.98 350 0.479 0.32∠43.23。 0.21∠27.03。
outlet 630/26.5 2×LGJX- 150/35,OPG
5# 17.5 320 0.411 0.24∠42.97
。
0.26∠34.12
。

400/35 W
6# 17.5 320 0.537 0.24∠42.97。 0.26∠34.12。
7# 30.9 330 0.409 0.35∠24.90
。
0.37∠23.76
。

Total fault current provided by 220kV line 2.27∠27.83。 2.17∠26.45。

Main transformers No. 1 and No. 2 provide single-phase fault current 16.25∠56.23
。
8.052∠42.49
。

Fig.3 Distribution diagram of fault current along the outlet tower of the
The shunting of the 500kV and 220kV busbars is calculated output FCDIST module
by the FCDIST module of CDEGS, and the single-phase According to Appendix B of GB/T 50065-2011 <Code for
grounding short-circuit grounding fault occurs on the Grounding Design of AC Electrical Installations>, the shunt
500kV busbar side. The calculated splitting coefficient of coefficient of short circuit in station can be calculated
the OPGW fiber grounding wire and the overhead according to formula (2), and the shunt coefficient is
grounding wire is 62.3%; 220kV busbar side When a calculated to be 53.5%.
single-phase grounding short-circuit ground fault occurs, ª Zm Zm º
the calculated split coefficient of the OPGW fiber ground S f1 1  «e  E ˜ (1  ) (2)
¬ Zs Zs »¼
wire and the overhead ground wire is 70.12%.
Comprehensive analysis of the shunt coefficient of 70% Zs—the ground impedance per unit length (Ω/km);
when the 500kV substation bus single-phase grounding Zm — The mutual impedance (Ω /km) between the phase
short circuit. Figure 3 shows the current divided by the fault line of the unit length and the ground.
current along the two ground return lines. The grounding network is tested for shunting. The test
principle is shown in Figure 4.

Fig.4 Shunting vector test of substation grounding grid

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The shunt test should be a vector test, because the inter-
frequency alternating current flows in the tower in a
complicated direction, the phases are different everywhere,
and some directions are completely opposite. If only the
inter-frequency shunt size is measured and then added, a
larger error will result. Sometimes the total test current is
exceeded and the result is not available. The current
amplitude of each tower foot and its phase angle with
respect to the test current I should be tested, and all the
shunts should be vectorized to obtain the shunt coefficient
of the ground grid [15-17]. The vector of the split andI∑∠
θ ∑ =I1 ∠ θ 1+I2 ∠ θ 2+ … +In ∠ θ n, the vector of the
actual ground flow IG∠θG=I∠0˚+I∑∠θ∑, the ground
network shunt coefficient:
IG
K ×100%
I
In the test, 5A, 53Hz inter-frequency current was injected
into the ground network, and the tower shunt vector was
tested by Rogowski coil, and 47 shunt points such as each
tower foot and cable outer sheath of the outlet frame were
tested and tested. Perform vector operations, see Table 3.
TABLE III. CALCULATION VALUE OF SHUNT VECTOR FOR EACH
OUTLET OF THE SUBSTATION
Instrument output 5000mA 0 voltage of the field is 203V, and the maximum step voltage
test current
Diversion Vector
2103.4mA -172.8
sum I∑∠ ∠θ∑
Earthnet actual
scattered vector 3084.6mA -4.52
IG∠∠θG
Ground network
shunt coefficient K 68.2%
It can be seen from the substation shunt measurement that
there is a current of 3084 mA flowing through the outer
sheath of the cable and the overhead ground connected to
the grounding grid. The test shunt coefficient is 68.2%,
which is less than 2% from the simulated calculation value.
The software calculation is based on the calculation of the
asymmetric fault fault current in the maximum operating
mode provided by the provincial adjustment. It is different
from the load current of each line in the actual test. In fact,
when the substation suffers from a short-circuit fault, each
line The fault current and current distribution is closer to the
calculation report provided by the provincial adjustment.
After the simulation calculation and the test comparison
analysis, it is reasonable to assume that it is more
appropriate to calculate the maximum ground fault current
by using the calculated flow coefficient.
The formula (1) calculates the difference between the
calculated value of the shunt coefficient and the measured
value by 14.7%, which is 16.62% different from the
simulation result. This is because the shunt coefficient is
from the substation grounding impedance, the tower
grounding impedance, the grounding line self-impedance
and the phase line. The mutual impedance of the impedance,
ground and phase lines and the equivalent impedance of the
system from the busbar are determined. The formula does
not take into account the influence of the current
distribution on the fault current shunt in the system, and the
default line parameters of each outlet are not.
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IV. SECURITY CHECK
Based on the topology structure of the grounding grid,
the soil structure of the site is calculated and the short-circuit
current value of the grounding grid is calculated, and the
characteristic parameters and distribution of the stepping
voltage and contact voltage of the grounding grid field are
calculated when the single-phase grounding short-circuit
fault occurs in the substation. Analyze the influence of soil
structure and split coefficient on characteristic parameters.
According to article 4.2.2 of GB/T 50065-2011 <Code
for Grounding Design of AC Electrical Installations>, the
safety limit of the characteristic parameters of the grounding
grid of the effective grounding system shall be accounted for,
and the surface soil resistance shall be considered according
to the harsh conditions such as rain and snow. The rate rs
(3) takes 300W, and the ground fault current duration t takes
0.7s. When a single-phase ground fault occurs in the 220kV
field, the ground grid contact voltage and step voltage safety
limits are 245V and 479V. According to the shunt
coefficient of 70%, the actual fault current of the earth into
the ground IG is 12.41kV, which compares the calculation
results of the whole field distribution of the stride voltage
and the contact voltage under the two soil models, as shown
in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. It can be seen that the ground network is
calculated under the soil model 1 and the maximum contact
of the field is 312V, which satisfies the personal safety
requirements. Under the soil model 3, the contact voltage is
239V and the step voltage is 457V, which is very close to or
exceeds the safety limit requirement. Since the soil
resistivity test depth is not enough to reflect the actual
condition of the site soil under soil model 1, the contact
voltage and stride voltage of the ground net are not in
conformity with the design value during the acceptance test,
if the operational requirements are not met. The ground
network is put into operation, which is likely to cause
personal injury or death.
If the shunt coefficient is not taken into account, the
contact voltage and step voltage of the ground grid will be
amplified by 3.3 times. The contact voltage is calculated to
be 669V and the step voltage is 1029V in soil model 1. The
contact voltage is calculated to be 788V under soil model 3.
The step voltage is 1343V, which has greatly exceeded the
safety limit requirements. This will cause the construction
unit to blindly reduce the resistance to the ground network
and the pressure equalization transformation will not only
waste a lot of manpower and material resources, but also the
effect will not achieve the expected effect and affect the
substation operation.
(a)Contact voltage (b)Step voltage
Fig.5 The step voltage and contact voltage distribution in the whole
grounding grid area under the single phase grounding fault under the soil
model 1
951

(a)Contact voltage (b)Step voltage
Fig.6 The step voltage and contact voltage distribution in the whole
grounding grid area under the single phase grounding fault under the soil
model 3
It can be seen that the soil model not only determines the
grounding impedance of the grounding network, but also
affects the characteristic parameters of the grounding voltage
such as the contact voltage and the step voltage. In fact, as
the grounding impedance increases, the ground potential
flows through the grounding network under the same fault
current. The liter (GPR) will also increase, so that the
potential difference, contact voltage, and step voltage in the
network will increase and there is a danger of exceeding the
safety limit. In addition, in the safety check of the
characteristic parameters, if the shunting effect is not
considered, it is the most severe situation, but engineering
practice shows that there will be more than 70% of the fault
current from the open space connected to the main ground
network. The outer sheath of the wire and cable is separated.
If the influence of the split is not considered, the project
budget overrun due to blind expansion and drag reduction
will be caused, and the actual effect will not reach the
project expectation.
V. CONCLUSION
(1)In the design of new substation engineering, the
topography, soil type and stratification of the project site
should be mastered, and the test depth of soil resistivity
should be improved. As the depth of soil resistivity test
increases, the equivalent stratified soil model of the true
soil condition of the site can be better degraded. When
using the Wenner quadrupole method, the distance
between the test electrodes is generally not less than the
proposed grounding. The maximum diagonal of the
device should be at least two-thirds of the maximum
diagonal when the test conditions are not met. Especially
for the deep soil layer resistivity and surface soil
resistivity changes in the deep site, the exploration of
deep soil will often determine the success or failure of the
ground net design.
(2)The method of calculating grounding impedance
based on the formula of uniform soil resistivity can not
meet the engineering requirements. The numerical
calculation method should be used to invert the soil
stratification and calculate the grounding impedance, so
that the measured value can be maximized and the
grounding can be avoided. The impedance does not reach
the design value and affects the engineering operation.
(3)When designing the grounding grid, the influence
of the shunt coefficient should be considered, and the rms
value of the maximum ground fault asymmetrical current
flowing through the grounding conductor (line) of the
equipment casing and the grounding grid into the ground
should be calculated. After comparative analysis, it is
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known that the distribution data of the fault current when
the system has the largest asymmetry fault is used, and
the ground network shunt coefficient is calculated by
simulation calculation, which is the closest to the
measured value. The error of the shunt coefficient
calculated by the formula method is large, and the project
has reached 14.7%.
Strict control of the design quality of the grounding
grid is the key to the smooth acceptance of the grounding
network. Once the control is not strict in the design stage,
the problem will be brought to the project acceptance
process, and the increase in resistance and pressure
equalization measures will often not be achieved. It is
expected that the project will be more effective and will
seriously affect the project. Because of the characteristics
of concealed works, the grounding grid can be regarded
as a semi-maintenance-free equipment. Therefore,
technical supervision should be extended to the design
and acceptance stage, and the equipment should be
strictly put into the gateway. Therefore, how to design the
ground network according to local conditions should
attract the attention of the design department. In
accordance with the design rules and design and
implementation of the State Grid's anti-measurement
requirements, the use of numerical calculation software as
an auxiliary method for ground network design will
effectively improve the design quality of the grounding
grid.
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