EARTHING (or GROUNDING)

DIFFERENT EARTHING SYSTEMS AND ITS DESIGN

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)

S
System earthing
hi

System earthing is primarily to preserve the security of the system

by maintaining the potential of conductors consistent with the level
of insulation applied.

The system earthing is so designed to ensure efficient and fast

operation
ti off protective
t ti gear during
d i earth th faults.
f lt

Equipment earthing

Equipment earthing is to ensure freedom from dangerous electric

shock voltage exposure to persons in the area.

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 SYSTEM EARTHING
LOW AND MEDIUM VOLTAGE SYSTEMS

BS 7671 and IS 3047 lists five types

yp of earthing g system:
y
the system will either be TN-S, TN-CN-S(PME), TT, TN-
C and IT.
T
T=Earth
Earth (from the French word Terre)
N=neutral
S=separate
C=combined
I=isolated (the source of an IT system is either
connected to Earth through a deliberately introduced
earthing impedance or is isolated from Earth. All
conductive parts of an installation are connected to an
earth electrode.

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 SYSTEM EARTHING
LOW AND MEDIUM VOLTAGE SYSTEMS

TN-SYSTEM has one or more points of the source of energy directly

earthed, and the exposed and extraneous conductive parts of the
installation are connected by means of protective conductors to the
earthed points of the source, that is, there is a metallic path for fault
currents to flow from the installation to the earthed points of the
source.

TT-SYSTEM has one or more points of the source of energy directly

earthed and exposed and extraneous conductive parts of the
installation are connected to a local earth electrode or electrodes
and are electrically independent of the source earth.

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 SYSTEM EARTHING
LOW AND MEDIUM VOLTAGE SYSTEMS

IT
IT-SYSTEM
SYSTEM h has th
the source either
ith unearthed
th d or earthed
th d
through a high impedance and the exposed conductive
parts of the installation are connected to electrically
independent earth electrodes
electrodes.

In our country TN-SYSTEM is used for 240 V single

phase domestic and commercial supply
supply. For 415 V three
phase domestic/commercial supply an independent
earth electrode at the consumers premises is
necessary.

TT-SYSTEM and IT-SYSTEM are very uncommon in our

country
country.

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 EARTHING SYSTEM

TN C S
TN-C-S

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 SYSTEM EARTHING
LOW AND MEDIUM VOLTAGE SYSTEMS
Design considerations

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)

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 LOW AND MEDIUM VOLTAGE SYSTEMS
RESISTANCE OF COMMON STRAIGHT LINE HOLLOW SQUARE
TYPE OF EARTH ELECTRODES n
REF: BS 7340
2 1 2.71
2 71
PLATES
3 1.66 4.51
ROD OR PIPE
4 2 15
2.15 5 48
5.48
5 2.54 6.14
ELECTRODES IN 6 2.87 6.63
PARALLEL
7 3.15 7.03
ELECTRODE 8 3.39 7.31
SURROUNDED
BY BACK FILL 9 3.61 7.65
10 3.81 7.9
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 LOW AND MEDIUM VOLTAGE SYSTEMS

RESISTANCE OF COMMON
TYPE OF EARTH ELECTRODES

HORIZONTAL STRIP
OR ROUND CONDUCTOR
ELECTRODE

STRIPS ROUNDS
L P 2
P=2 -1 -1.3

P=4 0.5 0.9

CO EFFICIENTS P&Q
P=6 1.8 2.2

P=8 3.6 4.1

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM
System earthing

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM
System earthing

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM
System earthing

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM
Sub station earthing
Sub station earth system will have a combination of buried
horizontal conductors in rows and columns and vertical
electrodes.

A single electrode can not be used as the equipment are

spread in the sub station lay out to meet clearance
requirement and to control the potential gradients in the
sub station area.

The entire sub station earth grid behaves as a

hemispherical electrode of radius equal to the maximum
dimension of the grid.
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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM
Sub station earthing
Design of earthing system for an AC sub station has to fulfill
the safety requirements during earth fault conditions in the
electric system.
This involves ;

Determination of the maximum permissible magnitude of

dangerous voltages to which the personnel may be exposed
during earth fault conditions. Selection of material , size, type,
layout depth etc of earth conductors to keep the dangerous
layout,
voltages with in the maximum permissible limits without
adversely affecting safety of equipment and their
performance.
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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM
Sub station earthing
The layout of equipment/structures make it imperative to
provide the earthing system for AC power stations in the form
of a grid earth electrode consisting of linear earth conductors
and rod/pipe/plate electrodes buried close to earth surface and
interconnected with each other.

The earthing system for AC power stations also include earth

electrodes that are provided and connected to stations
earthing system in accordance with specified requirements of ;

System (neutral) earthing

Electronic equipment earthing

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM
Sub station earthing
The design of earthing system for AC power stations requires systematic
analysis of various factors and application of proper methodology and
criteria for determining;

Type of earth conductors and their material and size.

Maximum permissible dangerous (touch and step) potential differences

for human beings in the station area.

Lay out of horizontal grid conductors to keep touch and step potentials
with in permissible limits
limits.

Location of rod/pipe/plate electrodes for control of potential differences to

meet statutory requirement
requirement.

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM
Sub station earthing

Design procedure for a

sub station earthing system

Guidelines are available

in the following;

ANSI / IEEE/ STD-80

Manual on Earthing of AC
Power Systems--CBI&P
Publication No. 302

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM
Sub station earthing
C
Connections
ti tto earth
th iin a sub
b station
t ti

Sub station safety requirements call for the grounding of all exposed
metal p
parts in the sub station including
g instrument transformer
secondary, so that a person touching can not receive a dangerous
shock during fault.

This is satisfied if all metal work is so bonded and grounded that

dangerous potentials can not exist.

This means that each individual p

piece of equipment,
q p each structural
column, etc., must have its own connection to the station grounding
mat.

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
Connections
Co ect o s to ea
earth
t in a sub stat
station
o

Design and installation has to take

into consideration the following;

Surge arrester earth connection

Transformer neutral earth

connection

F
Fence earthing
thi

Switch gear, auxiliaries, control

room,, instrument transformer
secondary, transformer tank and
other metal enclosures, fence, the
entrance gates etc.,

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM

Construction p
practices in the field

The main grid electrode is installed only after it is

ensured by design that the attainable touch and step
voltages are less than the respective permissible values.

The other important factors in construction of earth

system are connection to the transformer neutral,
capaciti e voltage
capacitive oltage transformer
transformer, lightning mast
mast, ssurge
rge
arrester, sub station fence, switch operating handles,
rails, pipe lines and cable sheaths.

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM

Construction practices in the field

The earth mat / earth grid

The efficacy of the earthing system is entirely dependent on the

electrical continuity of the earth mat which in turn depend on proper
welding
elding work.
ork

While installing the earth mat, the conductors are laid in rows and
columns duly interleaving them like an woven mat to obtain better
mechanical strength and electrical continuity.

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM
Construction practices in the field
A station earthing system is typically composed of the five key components;

The soil.

Vertically installed bare metal rods/pipes/plates and horizontally installed

bare conductors buried in soil.

Over head shield wires and lighting masts

A layer of high resistivity gravel on the top of soil.

Conductors which connect various non current carrying parts and in turn
connected to the horizontal buried conductors.

This forms the earth grid system.

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM

Construction p
practices in the field
Power transformer neutral

Two distinct continuous earth conductors are run from

the transformer neutral in opposite directions and are
connected to the vertical electrodes p
provided for the
same and in turn the electrodes are connected to the
buried conductors of the earth mat.

As the fault current either enters or exits through the

neutral this connection is the most important earth
connection.

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM

Construction practices in the field

Switch gear
A separate earth bus is run along the switch gear on the cable entry
side and cable sheath earths and switch gear earth points are
connected to this bus which in turn is connected to the earth mat
through the vertical electrodes.

Control room
All the earth points in the panels within the control room are to be
b
broughtht outt and
d connected
t d tto the
th earth
th matt through
th h vertical
ti l
electrodes.

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM
Construction practices in the field

Lighting mast

A separate earth conductor is run from the top of the

mast and connected to the earth mat.

Non
N currentt carrying
i metal
t l parts
t

All non current carrying metal parts such as transformer

body, circuit breaker body, instrument transformer body,
isolators and structures are connected to the earth mat
with two distinct connections in opposite directions
directions.

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM

Construction p
practices in the field

Power cables (three core)

The sheath of the cables are to be directly connected to

the earth mat at their terminations and joints, i.e., at both
switch gear and terminating pot heads.

Power cables ((single

g core))

Single core cables are to be earthed only at one end

preferably transformer end.

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 EARTHING (or GROUNDING)
EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM
Construction practices in the field

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THANK YOU

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