GROUND POTENTIAL RISE, STEP AND TOUCH POTENTIAL

Ground Potential Rise [GPR]

Ground potential Rise (GPR) per IEEE Std 80 is defined as “The maximum electrical potential that a
substation grounding grid may attain relative to a distant grounding point assumed to be at the potential
of remote earth. This voltage known as GPR is equal to the maximum grid current times the grid
resistance”.

Figure 1: Example of Ground Potential Rise plot

Under normal circumstances the potential of a grounded object will be same as the potential of remote earth (0V).
When fault current flows in to ground or flows from ground to object, local ground potential gets elevated. This is
because local ground (or earth) has a finite resistance. The flow of ground current into this resistance creates a
potential rise relative to a distant point on earth. Ground potential rise simulation graph is shown in figure 1. It
can be seen for this example that local ground potential is raised to 75V relative to distant earth.
GPR studies are often carried out to find out the voltage potential gradients around the affected equipment. These
equipment could be cellular towers, power substations, transmission towers etc. During a power system fault
involving ground (earth), local ground potential relative to remote earth can be elevated significantly (thousands of
volts). All the grounded equipment in that location (metallic objects, communication grounds etc.) will also be
elevated to this high voltage. A communication cable that runs from this point to a remote location (at 0V) can
experience significant current flow due to this potential difference and will often get damaged unless precautions
are taken.

Consider the case of a ground electrode (earth rod) driven 10ft in to ground with a soil resistivity of 25.25 Ωm.

Figure 2: Ground Electrode

Using the Earth Resistance Calculator, we can calculate that the expected earth resistance for this installation is
8.16Ω. Assume 100A of current is injected in to ground through the ground electrode. The expected GPR in this
case will be 100A*8.16Ω=816V.

Earth Resistance Calculator

Figure 3: Ground Potential Rise

In the figure above the dotted red line indicates the profile of GPR from earth electrode to distant ‘remote earth’
which is assumed to be at zero volts. Note that GPR profile is very steep close to the electrode and gradually
‘flattens’ out as it reaches remote earth.

Two terms related to GPR are Step Potential and Touch Potential. Note that both step and touch potentials are
direct result of ground potential rise.
Step Potential

Step potential is defined as “The difference in surface potential experienced by a person bridging a distance of
1m with the feet without contacting any grounded object” according to IEEE-Std 80.

Figure 4: Step Potential Gradient

Notice the two imaginary points identified in figure 3 above as P1 and P2. Voltage of P1 relative to remote earth is
V1 and that of P2 is V2. If the distance between P1 and P2 is 1m and a person put one foot at P1 and another at P2
then he will experience a step voltage of (V2-V1).

For an example of a ground electrode (earth rod) driven 10ft in to ground with a soil resistivity of 25.25 Ωm, step
potential can be plotted as shown in figure 4. Note that as a person steps from one zone to another he will
experience a difference of potential and hence shock. Step potential will result in current passing from foot to
foot. Center of the figure is the location of earth electrode. It can be seen that step voltage is not a constant and
would vary with distance from the center of electrode. Closer the person is to the electrode, steeper or worse the
step potential is going to be.

Figure 5: #57 Granite Stone

Step potentials need to be controlled in a substation to allow personnel safety. Typically, this is done by performing
ground engineering analysis. Common practice is to ‘force’ ground current to flow below the surface either by
burying deep ground conductors or having a layer of substation grade high resistivity crushed rock (#57 Granite
or equal) on the surface.

Read: Role of Crushed Rock in Substation Grounding

Touch Potential

Touch potential is defined as “The potential difference between ground potential rise [GPR] and the surface
potential at the point where a person is standing while at the same time having a hand in contact with a grounded
structure.” according to IEEE-Std 80.

When a fault occurs in a substation and ground current flows into the buried ground grid, potential of ground grid
in the substation is elevated to value equal to GPR. Since all the metallic objects in the substation are bonded to the
same ground grid, all metallic objects (steel beams, transformers enclosures etc) also attain GPR voltage. Now,
surface potential (potential where a person is standing) can have another potential depending on the GPR profile
(shape of GPR curve from point of fault to remote earth location). Depending on GPR profile there could be
difference in potential (voltage) between metallic object that person is touching and surface potential where he is
standing. This voltage difference is known as touch potential or touch voltage.

Figure 6: Step and Touch Potential Illustrated

Touch potential will result in current passing from hand to foot. Touch potential need to be minimized in a
substation for personnel safety. This is accomplished by making sure surface potentials within substation are kept
the same. Adding a layer of crushed high resistivity rock has been shown to minimize touch potentials.
How to reduce magnitude of Ground Potential Rise (GPR)?

GPR can be minimized by controlling following variables:

*Decrease ground grid resistance: Most effective way to decrease ground grid resistance is by increasing the area
of the grid, driving deep ground rods, chemical treatment or any other suitable methods.
*Control Path of Fault Current: If substantial amount of fault current can be diverted away from the affected
ground rod, then GPR can be controlled. An example of this would be a multi grounded utility distribution system
where neutral is grounded at each individual pole. This way the GPR of any single pole is reduced as fault current
can have multiple parallel paths.
*Control Magnitude of Fault Current: By controlling the magnitude of fault current the GPR can be kept below
the desired limits. An example of this would be to insert resistance or reactance at the neutral-ground connection of
distribution transformers. Ground fault current is then limited usually to less than 400A (typically) which will
minimize GPR on the distribution sections for a phase to ground fault.

Minimizing equipment damage due to Ground Potential Rise (GPR)

Some ideas to prevent costly communication equipment damage in substation due to GPR are provided below:

*Use optical isolator or copper to fiber converter to break the ground connection from point A to point B.

*Use fiber optic communication channel when communication channel is required from substation to a distant
location that could be at different ground potential.
*Investigate if ground loop isolator is practical for your application.

*Design ground grid systems such that all locations of interest are at same potential.

*Within a substation all metallic objects, power and communication grounds need to be bonded to a common
ground grid. Grounding (earthing) them separately (as in communication ground, power ground) is not
recommended.
SUBSTATION GROUNDING: ROLE OF CRUSHED ROCK
Ever wondered why crushed rock is spread over the surface of an electric substation? This article goes through the
reasons behind this practice.

When current is injected in to substation ground during a fault, it tends to divide and flow depending on the
resistivity of various soil layers. Flow of ground current over substation ground elevates its electric potential
relative to distant grounding point assumed to be potential of remote earth. This is known as Ground Potential
Rise (GPR) which is directly tied to two parameters: Step Voltage and Touch Voltage. Application of crushed
rock is a means of controlling step voltage and touch voltage.

Step Voltage: During a fault condition, a person walking on the surface of substation can experience a voltage
potential between his two feet (typically assumed to be 3.3ft or 1m apart). This causes a current to flow from one
feet-through his body- to other feet. This voltage is known as step voltage or step potential. IEEE Std 80 defines
step voltage as “The difference in surface potential experienced by a person bridging a distance of 1m with the feet
without contacting any grounded object”.

Touch Voltage: The potential difference between the ground potential rise (GPR) and the surface potential at the
point where a person is standing while at the same time having a hand in contact with a grounded structure [1].
Under a fault condition, surface potential of substation is raised relative to remote earth (0V). A person standing on
the substation surface will also attain this elevated potential. When this person touches a perfectly grounded object
(at 0V) a shock hazard exists. This voltage is known as touch voltage.
Step and Touch Voltage in Electric Substation
Body current when exposed to touch voltage is given by:

IEEE Std 80 defines the following conservative formulas for ZTH:

Looking at equation [a] the only parameter we can control is ZTH which is directly related to foot resistance RF.
Anything we can do to increase RF will decrease body current Ib and hence improve personnel safety. It is here
that crushed stone comes in to play.
#57 Granite Stone

If we spread a thin layer of crushed stone (gravel) which typically has higher resistivity than most surface
soil it will help increase contact resistance (RF) between surface soil and a person’s feet. Since the crushed stone
has higher resistivity than surface soil, most of the ground current remains confined in the surface soil below the
crushed stone. Since there is very little current in the layer with crushed rock, the surface voltage (step, touch
potential) will be negligible. This is the basic idea behind using crushed rock in electric substations. A
common surface material is the #57 crushed granite which has stones mostly in sizes from 3/4 inch to 1 inch is
shown in the picture.

Another advantage of having a layer of crushed rock as surface material is that spacing of ground grid conductors
(buried beneath the soil) can possibly be increased (saving copper) to meet the same step and touch voltage criteria.
Surface materials also retard evaporation of moisture from the top soil layer.
Adding Surface Material in Electric Substation

Resistivity value of crushed rock depends on many factors such as type of locally available material, size of
stone, washed vs un-washed stone (to remove fine material), moisture content, atmospheric contamination, type of
water that can make the rocks wet (rain water vs sea water spray) etc. Rock resistivity needs be analyzed prior to
application. Typical values of surface material resistivity of washed granite is 1.5*106Ω when dry and 5000Ω when
wet. IEEE standard 80 provides typical resistivity values for different types of surface materials in different regions
of United States.

Resistivity of surface soil and resistivity of surface material (crushed rock) needs to be evaluated prior to
application. In most cases, surface soil resistivity will be lower than the crushed stone and everything will work as
intended. But if opposite is the case then ground current will flow in the surface material layer and defeat the
purpose. This ground current on the surface material layer will alter the surface potential substantially compared to
the case without surface material. This is because the current now is confined to the small thickness of the surface
material (crushed rock) instead of flowing through the entire cross section of top soil layer. Thus, any change to
the surface material should not be done without taking in to account this possibility. Multi-layer soil analysis
is recommended to evaluate resistivity of various soil layers.

Taking care of surface material layer: The layer of crushed rocks needs to be maintained periodically to avoid
weed and plants from growing.
Weeds in Electric Substation

Weeds and plants growing in substation yard indicates that surface material (crushed rock) thickness is very less in
that spot. This means step and touch potential in that area could be higher than originally designed. Care should be
used when using commercial weed killing chemicals in substations as these chemicals can possibly corrode buried
copper conductors.

Over time voids between rocks can become filled by fine soil beneath it or by excavations or by settlement of
airborne dust. Additional layer of rocks may be added to mitigate natural settlement.

Summary:
By using high resistivity crushed rock in substations, exposure current to workers during fault conditions can be
reduced.

Crushed rock is useful in reducing step and touch potentials.

Resistivity value of crushed rock depends on many factors such as type of locally available material, size of stone,
washed vs un-washed stone etc.

Washed rocks have less dust and has more resistivity compared to un-washed ones. Removing dust also aids in
faster drying time after a rain.

Resistivity of crushed rock is highly affected by the moisture content. Rock that is wet has lower resistivity and is
less effective.

Among washed rocks, rocks with larger diameter typically has higher resistivity compared to smaller size
counterparts. Practically rocks cannot be too large due to concerns with walking on the rocks and aesthetics.

Weeds if growing between rocks indicate the thickness of the surface material is reduced and needs additional
layer.

Airborne dust, salt spray or other atmospheric contamination can degrade surface material effectiveness over time.

Care should be used while spraying weed killer in substation as chemicals may corrode the sub surface buried
copper conductors.