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Principlesandtestingmethodsofearthground
resistance
Poorgroundingcontributestodowntimebutalackofgoodgroundingisalsodangerousandincreasestherisk
ofequipmentfailure.

Overtime,corrosivesoilswithhighmoistureandsaltcontentandhightemperaturescandegradegroundrodsandtheir
connections.So,althoughthegroundsystemhadlowearthgroundresistancevalueswheninitiallyinstalled,the
resistanceofthegroundingsystemcanincreaseifthegroundrodsarecorroded.

Groundingtestersareindispensabletroubleshootingtoolstohelpyoumaintainuptime.Itisrecommendedthatall
groundsandgroundconnectionsbecheckedatleastannuallyasapartofyournormalpredictivemaintenanceplan.
Shouldanincreaseinresistanceofmorethan20%bemeasuredduringtheseperiodicchecks,thetechnicianshould
investigatethesourceoftheproblemandmakethecorrectiontolowertheresistancebyreplacingoraddinggroundrods
tothegroundsystem.

Whatisaground?

TheUSNationalElectricalCode(NEC)Article100definesagroundas:aconductingconnection,whetherintentionalor
accidental,betweenanelectricalcircuitorequipmentandtheearth,ortosomeconductingbodythatservesinplaceof
theearth.

Groundingactuallyencompassestwodifferentsubjects:earthgroundingandequipmentgrounding.Earthgroundingisan
intentionalconnectionfromacircuitconductor,usuallytheneutral,toagroundelectrodeplacedintheearth.Equipment
groundingensuresthatoperatingequipmentwithinastructureisgroundedproperly.

Thesetwogroundingsystemsmustbekeptseparateexceptforconnectionsbetweenthetwosystems.Thisprevents
differencesinvoltagepotentialfromapossibleflashoverfromlightningstrikes.Thepurposeofagroundistoprovidea
safepathforthedissipationoffaultcurrents,lightningstrikes,staticdischarges,EMIandRFIsignalsandinterference.

TheUSNationalFireProtectionAgency(NFPA)andInstituteofElectricalandElectronicsEngineers(IEEE)recommend
agroundresistancevalueof5orless.Thegoalingroundresistanceistoachievethelowestgroundresistancevalue
possiblethatmakessenseeconomicallyandphysically.

Whataffectsthegroundingresistance?

Fourvariablesaffectthegroundresistanceofagroundsystem:lengthordepthofthegroundelectrodethediameterof
thegroundelectrodethenumberofgroundelectrodesandgroundsystemdesign.

Length/depthofthegroundelectrode

Drivinggroundelectrodesdeeperisaveryeffectivewaytolowergroundresistance.Soilisnotconsistentinits
resistivityandcanbeunpredictable.Theresistancelevelcangenerallybereducedbyanadditional40%bydoublingthe
lengthofthegroundelectrode.Itissometimesimpossibletodrivegroundrodsdeeperinareascomposedofrock,for
instance.Inthesecases,alternativemethodsincludinggroundingcementareviable.

Diameterofthegroundelectrode

Increasingthediameterofthegroundelectrodehasverylittleeffectinloweringtheresistance.Forexample,youcould
doublethediameterofagroundelectrodeandyourresistancewouldonlydecreaseby10%.

Numberofgroundelectrodes

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Usingmultiplegroundelectrodesprovidesanotherwaytolowergroundresistance.Morethanoneelectrodeisdriveninto
thegroundandconnectedinparalleltolowertheresistance.Foradditionalelectrodestobeeffective,thespacingof
additionalrodsmustbeatleastequaltothedepthofthedrivenrod.

Thegroundelectrodesspheresofinfluencewillintersectandtheresistancewillnotbeloweredwithoutproperspacing.
Table1providesvariousgroundresistanceswhichcanbeusedasaruleofthumb.

Table1:Groundresistancesforuseasaruleofthumb.

Soil Earthingresistance
resistivity
Typeofsoil RE Groundelectrodedepth(metre) Earthingstrip(metre)

M 3 6 10 5 10 20

Verymoistsoil,
30 10 5 3 12 6 3
swamplike

Farmingsoilloamy
100 33 17 10 40 20 10
andclaysoils

Sandyclaysoil 150 50 25 15 60 30 15

Moistsandysoil 300 66 33 20 80 40 20

Concrete1:5 400 160 80 40

Moistgravel 500 160 80 48 200 100 50

Drysandysoil 1000 330 165 100 400 200 100

Drygravel 1000 330 165 100 400 200 100

Stoneysoil 30000 1000 500 300 1200 600 300

Rock 107

Groundsystemdesign

Simplegroundingsystemsconsistofasinglegroundelectrodedrivenintotheground.Theuseofasingleground
electrodeisthemostcommonformofgrounding.Complexgroundingsystemsconsistofmultiplegroundrods,
connected,meshorgridnetworks,groundplates,andgroundloops.

Thesesystemsaretypicallyinstalledatpowergeneratingsubstations,centraloffices,andcellphonetowersites.
Complexnetworksdramaticallyincreasetheamountofcontactwiththesurroundingearthandlowergroundresistances.

Soilresistivitymeasurement

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Soilresistivityisnecessarywhendeterminingthedesignofthegroundingsystemfornewinstallations(greenfield
applications)tomeetyourgroundresistancerequirements.Ideally,youwouldfindalocationwiththelowestpossible
resistance.Poorsoilconditionscanbeovercomewithmoreelaborategroundingsystems.Thesoilcomposition,
moisturecontentandtemperatureallimpactsoilresistivity.Soilisrarelyhomogenousanditsresistivitywillvary
geographicallyandatdifferentdepths.Moisturecontentchangesseasonally,variesaccordingtothenatureofthe
sublayersofearthandthedepthofthepermanentwatertable.Itisrecommendedthatthegroundrodsbeplacedas
deepaspossibleintotheearthassoilandwateraregenerallymorestableatdeeperstrata.

Calculatingsoilresistivity

ThemeasuringproceduredescribedhereusestheWennermethodandusestheformula:

=2AR

where:

=theaveragesoilresistivitytodepthAin:ohmcm.

=3,1416.

A=thedistancebetweentheelectrodesincm.

R=themeasuredresistancevalueinohmfromthetestinstrument.

Measuringsoilresistance

Totestsoilresistivity,connectthegroundtesterasshowninFig.1.Fourearthgroundstakesarepositionedinthesoil
inastraightline,equidistantfromoneanother.Thedistancebetweenearthgroundstakesshouldbeatleastthreetimes
greaterthanthestakedepth.TheFluke1625earthgroundtestergeneratesaknowncurrentthroughthetwoouterground
stakesandthedropinvoltagepotentialismeasuredbetweenthetwoinnergroundstakes.Thetesterautomatically
calculatesthesoilresistanceusingOhmsLaw(V=IR).

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(http://www.ee.co.za/wpcontent/uploads/2014/08/fluke271082014fig1.jpg)

Fig.1:Testcurrentpathsinthestakelessmethod.

Additionalmeasurements,wherethestakesaxesareturned90,arealwaysrecommendedbecausemeasurement
resultsareoftendistortedandinvalidatedbyundergroundmetal,undergroundaquifersetc.

Aprofileisproducedthatcandetermineasuitablegroundresistancesystembychangingthedepthanddistanceseveral
times.Soilresistivitymeasurementsareoftencorruptedbytheexistenceofgroundcurrentsandtheirharmonics.

Fallofpotentialmeasurement

Thefallofpotentialtestmethodisusedtomeasuretheabilityofanearthgroundsystemoranindividualelectrodeto
dissipateenergyfromasite.Theearthelectrodeofinterestmustbedisconnected.Thetesteristhenconnectedtothe
earthelectrode.Then,twoearthstakesareplacedinthesoilinadirectlineawayfromtheearthelectrode,forthe3
polefallofpotentialtest.Spacingof20misnormallysufficient.

Placingthestakes

Itisessentialthattheprobebeplacedoutsidethesphereofinfluenceofthegroundelectrodeundertestandthe
auxiliaryearthtoachievethehighestdegreeofaccuracywhenperforminga3polegroundresistancetestorthe
effectiveareasofresistancewilloverlapandinvalidateanymeasurements.

Table2isaguideforsettingtheprobe(innerstake)andauxiliaryground(outerstake).Repositiontheinnerstake(probe)
1mineitherdirectionandtakeafreshmeasurementtotesttheaccuracyoftheresultsandtoensurethattheground
stakesareoutsidethespheresofinfluence.Ifthereisasignificantchangeinthereading(30%),youshouldincreasethe
distancebetweenthegroundrodundertest,theinnerstake(probe)andtheouterstake(auxiliaryground)untilthe
measuredvaluesremainfairlyconstantwhenrepositioningtheinnerstake(probe).
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Stakelessmeasurement

TheFluke1625earthgroundtestercanmeasureearthgroundloopresistancesformultigroundedsystemsusingonly
currentclamps.Thistesttechniqueeliminatesthedangerousstepofdisconnectingparallelgrounds,aswellasthe
processoffindingsuitablelocationsforauxiliarygroundstakes.

Youcanalsoperformearthgroundtestsinplacesyouhavenotconsideredbefore:insidebuildings,onpowerpylonsor
anywhereyoudonthaveaccesstosoil.

Withthistestmethod,twoclampsareplacedaroundtheearthgroundrodortheconnectingcableandeachisconnected
tothetester(seeFig.2).Earthgroundstakesarenotusedatall.Aknownvoltageisinducedbyoneclamp,andthe
currentismeasuredusingthesecondclamp.Thetesterautomaticallydeterminesthegroundloopresistanceatthis
groundrod.Ifthereisonlyonepathtoground,thestakelessmethodwillnotprovideanacceptablevalueandthefallof
potentialtestmethodmustbeused.Theearthgroundtesterworksontheprinciplethatinparallel/multigrounded
systems,thenetresistanceofallgroundpathswillbeextremelylowcomparedtoanysinglepath(theoneundertest).
So,thenetresistanceofalltheparallelreturnpathresistancesiseffectivelyzero.Stakelessmeasurementonly
measuresindividualgroundrodresistancesinparalleltoearthgroundingsystems.Ifthegroundsystemisnotparallelto
earth,youwilleitherhaveanopencircuitorbemeasuringgroundloopresistance.

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Fig.2:Setupforthestakelessmethod.

Groundimpedancemeasurements

Whenattemptingtocalculatepossibleshortcircuitcurrentsinpowerplantsandotherhighvoltage/currentsituations,
determiningthecomplexgroundingimpedanceisimportantsincetheimpedancewillbemadeupofinductiveand
capacitiveelements.Becauseinductivityandresistivityareknowninmostcases,actualimpedancecanbedetermined
usingacomplexcomputation.

Sinceimpedanceisfrequencydependent,theFluke1625usesa55Hzsignalforthiscalculationtobeascloseto
voltageoperatingfrequencyaspossible.Thisensuresthatthemeasurementisclosetothevalueatthetrueoperating
frequency.Powerutilitytechnicianstestinghighvoltagetransmissionlinesareinterestedintwothings.Theground
resistanceincaseofalightningstrikeandtheimpedanceoftheentiresystemincaseofashortcircuitonaspecific
pointintheline.Shortcircuitinthiscasemeansanactivewirebreakslooseandtouchesthemetalgridofatower.

Atcentraloffices

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Whenconductingagroundingauditofacentralofficetherearethreedifferentmeasurementsrequired.

Beforetesting,locatethemastergroundbar(MGB)withinthecentralofficetodeterminethetypeofgroundingsystem.
TheMGBwillhavegroundleadsconnectingtothemultigroundedneutral(MGN)orincomingservice,thegroundfield,
waterpipeandstructuralorbuildingsteel(seeFig.3).

(http://www.ee.co.za/wpcontent/uploads/2014/08/fluke271082014fig3.jpg)

Fig.3:Thelayoutofatypicalcentraloffice.

First,performthestakelesstestonalltheindividualgroundscomingfromtheMGB(seeFig.4).Thepurposeisto
ensurethatallthegroundsareconnected,especiallytheMGN.Itisimportanttonotethatyouarenotmeasuringthe
individualresistance,buttheloopresistanceofwhatyouareclampedaround.Connecttheearthgroundtesterandboth
theinducingandsensingclamps,whichareplacedaroundeachconnectiontomeasuretheloopresistanceoftheMGN,
groundfield,waterpipeandthebuildingsteel.Second,performthe3polefallofpotentialtestoftheentireground
system,connectingtotheMGB(seeFig5).Togettoremoteearth,manyphonecompaniesuseunusedcablepairs
goingoutasmuchasamile.Recordthemeasurementandrepeatthistestatleastannually.

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(http://www.ee.co.za/wpcontent/uploads/2014/08/fluke271082014fig4.jpg)

Fig.4:Stakelesstestingofacentraloffice.

Thirdly,measuretheindividualresistancesofthegroundsystemusingtheselectivetestoftheearthgroundtester(see
Fig.6).Connectthetester.MeasuretheresistanceoftheMGNthevalueistheresistanceofthatparticularlegofthe
MGB.Thenmeasurethegroundfield.Thisreadingistheactualresistancevalueofthecentralofficegroundfield.

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(http://www.ee.co.za/wpcontent/uploads/2014/08/fluke271082014fig5.jpg)

Fig.5:Performthe3polefallofpotentialtestoftheentiregroundsystem.

Nowmoveontothewaterpipeandrepeatfortheresistanceofthebuildingsteel.Youcaneasilyverifytheaccuracyof
thesemeasurementsthroughOhmsLaw.Theresistanceoftheindividuallegs,whencalculated,shouldequalthe
resistanceoftheentiresystemgiven(allowforreasonableerrorsinceallgroundelementsmaynotbemeasured).

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(http://www.ee.co.za/wpcontent/uploads/2014/08/fluke271082014fig6.jpg)

Fig.6:Measuretheindividualresistancesofthegroundsystemusingtheselectivetest.

Thesetestmethodsprovidethemostaccuratemeasureofcentralofficesbecauseitgivesyoutheindividualresistances
andtheiractualbehaviourinagroundsystem.Althoughaccurate,themeasurementswouldnotshowhowthesystem
behavesasanetworkbecause,intheeventofalightningstrikeorfaultcurrent,everythingisconnected.

Additionaltests

First,performthe3polefallofpotentialtestoneachlegofftheMGBandrecordeachmeasurement.UsingOhmsLaw
again,thesemeasurementsshouldbeequaltotheresistanceoftheentiresystem.Fromthecalculationsyouwillsee
thatyouarebetween20and30%offthetotalREvalue.

Table2:Aguidetosettingtheinnerandouterstakes.

Depthoftheground
Distancetotheinnerstake Distancetotheouterstake
electrode

2m 15m 25m

3m 20m 30m

6m 25m 40m

10m 30m 50m

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Finally,measuretheresistancesofthevariouslegsoftheMGBusingtheselectivestakelessmethod.Itworkslikethe
stakelessmethod,butdiffersinthewayweusethetwoseparateclamps.Weplacetheinducingvoltageclamparound
thecablegoingtotheMGBand,sincetheMGBisconnectedtotheincomingpower,whichisparalleltotheearth
system,wehaveachievedthatrequirement.

Placethesensingclamparoundthegroundcableleadingouttothegroundfield.Whenwemeasuretheresistance,this
istheactualresistanceofthegroundfieldplustheparallelpathoftheMGB.Becauseitshouldbeverylowohmically,it
shouldhavenorealeffectonthemeasuredreading.Thisprocesscanberepeatedfortheotherlegsofthegroundbar
suchaswaterpipeandstructuralsteel.TomeasuretheMGBviathestakelessselectivemethod,placetheinducing
voltageclamparoundthelinetothewaterpipe(sincethecopperwaterpipeshouldhaveverylowresistance)andyour
readingwillbetheresistanceforonlytheMGN.

ContactGerritBarnard,Comtest,Tel0116088520,gbarnard@comtest.co.za(mailto:gbarnard@comtest.co.za)

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