April 7, 2011

Evaluating and Maintaining Existing Substation Grounding Systems

by Rob Schaerer, P.E.

Outline of Topics
Why grounding is important
What are we looking at Basic grounding system design process

Considerations for existing substations

Previous analysis Verification of previous study and data Mitigation Testing Maintenance Plans

Personnel Protection Voltages

Touch/step voltages
Touch voltage
Voltage difference between equipment being touched and the ground at your feet Typically limited to a reach distance of three feet (or one meter)

Step voltage
Voltage difference in ground between your feet as you are standing or walking Typically limited to a stride of three feet (or one meter)

Personnel Protection Voltages

Touch Voltage Scenario Step Voltage Scenario

SLG Fault

SLG Fault

200 Volts
Equipment Voltage 1000 V Voltage at Foot 800 V Grid 1000 V

100 Volts

Voltage at Foot 900 V

Voltage at Foot 800 V Grid 1000 V

Behavior of Substation Under Fault Conditions

Ground Potential Rise
V=I*R
Fault current into the grounding system times resistance to remote earth

Voltage magnitude determines grounding system performance

Primarily used for personnel compliance Can also damage equipment

Basis for determining touch and step voltages

Behavior of Substation Under Fault Conditions

Ground Potential Rise (GPR) = I * R
Transmission Line
SLG Fault (I)

Source Substation

Resistance to Remote Earth (R)

Process of Designing a Grounding System

Gather and analyze soil data Obtain fault data Develop preliminary grounding system design Analyze design for touch and step voltage performance, plus impedance and GPR Perform mitigation until touch and step voltage compliance are met Add additional equipment specific grounding Test the installed grounding system to verify performance Reexamine the grounding system in the future

Considerations for Existing Substations

Considerations for Existing Substations

Was an analysis ever preformed?
Many older substations were built on rules of thumb If not, most practical approach is to analyze before acting

Is the previous analysis still valid?

Has the system changed? Did the study use accurate data?

Testing to validate performance Maintenance plans

Examining Previous Analysis - Fault

Fault currents
Maximum single-line-to-ground fault Often increases with time as the system strengthens As fault current increases, touch and step voltages increase proportionally

Clearing time (backup)

Protection failure Breaker failure Consider worst case scenario (longest clearing delay time) and use for grounding analysis

Examining Previous Analysis - Soil

Soil information has large impact on overall result, but is typically the most inaccurate or incomplete data
Soil data often collected by geotechnical or other firms that have limited understanding of how data is used for grounding analysis
Measurements are often insignificant (not enough data measured)

Data collection process often produces errors that may not be expected by experienced engineers or testers
Examining the raw data can help validate the measurements

Analysis of soil data measurements is both an art and a science

Older techniques often involved a uniform soil approximation, or sometimes a two layer model that may be insufficient

Soil Resistivity Tests

Characterize soil by the electrical resistivity
Soil resistivity data is the key factor in designing a grounding system for a specific performance objective Some soils have good electrical conductivity (low resistivity) while the majority has poor electrical conductivity Varies widely throughout the country and world Can changes dramatically within small areas

Soil resistivity is mainly influenced by:

The type of soil (clay, sand, rock, etc.) Moisture content and temperature Amount of electrolytes (minerals and dissolved salt)

Soil Testing Resistivity Test Set

Wenner Resistivity Test Set-Up

Source

V a a a a a a

Black lines are current injected Red lines are voltages measured As the probes are spread out further, the deeper the measurements will go

Why Soil Data Is So Important

Example Full Data
Substation Size is 300 by 300

Why Soil Data Is So Important (cont.)

Soil model with all data:
LEGEND

10

Measured Data Computed Results Curve Soil Model

Apparent Resistivity (Ohm-meters)

102

Measurement Method..: RMS error...........: Layer Resistivity Number (Ohm-m) ====== ============== Air Infinite 2 227.3146 3 39.58773 4 515.6556

Wenner 10.46% Thickness (Feet ) ============== Infinite 16.94758 31.73768 infinite

101
10-1

Inter-Electrode Spacing (feet)

100

101

102

103

Grounding System Impedance is 1.07 ohms

Why Soil Data Is So Important (cont.)

Soil model with only the first 50 of measurements:
LEGEND

10

Apparent Resistivity (Ohm-meters)

Measured Data Computed Results Curve Soil Model

102

Measurement Method..: RMS error...........: Layer Resistivity Number (Ohm-m) ====== ============== Air Infinite 2 209.4786 3 15.40446

Wenner 8.26% Thickness (Feet ) ============== Infinite 25.52040 infinite

101
10-1 100 101 102

Inter-Electrode Spacing (feet)

Grounding Impedance is 0.28 ohms (~1/4 of actual)

Examining Previous Analysis - Conductor

Conductor size and ampacity
For a given fault duration and X/R ratio, grounding conductor can only carry a given amount of fault current without fusing Older substations may have used small conductor (such as #1/0 AWG) Largest concern is the equipment leads (stingers)
One may carry full fault current Once the current is in the main grid, the current splits in multiple directions

Examining Previous Analysis - Conductor

From IEEE Standard 80-2000

Examining Previous Analysis - Surfacing

Crushed rock surfacing
Adds additional impedance to current flowing through body
Increases allowable touch and step voltages

SLG Fault

Examining Previous Analysis - Surfacing

Crushed rock surfacing, cont.
Also provides clean surface for preventing vegetation, etc. Washing the material of fines improves performance Typically a crushed rock or gravel (3/4 2) Thickness of 3-6 inches is typical Should extend beyond the substation fence and gate swings Must be maintained over time to keep free of contamination (soil) and vegetation, as well as thickness and coverage

Mitigation of Non Compliant Designs

Mitigation of Non Compliant Designs

Basic design approaches Check fault current distribution Optimal selection of mitigation approaches
Horizontal ground conductors Ground rods Ground wells Surfacing improvements

Considerations for Existing Substations

Considerations for Existing Substations

Was an analysis ever preformed?
Many older substations were built on rules of thumb If not, most practical approach is to analyze before acting

Is the previous analysis still valid?

Has the system changed? Did the study use accurate data?

Testing to validate performance Maintenance plans

Grounding Design Basics

Grounding layout basics
Entire substation area should be encompassed
Minimize resistance of system (proportional to area of grounding system)

Layout should extend 3 feet beyond substation fence, including outward swing of gates

Grounding Design Basics (cont.)

Conductor Spacing/Layout
Typically laid out in a square grid covering station
Typical spacings vary from 10 to 50 Depends on soil, fault current, station size Large areas without equipment can be left uncovered if there are no step voltage issues A denser grid towards outside of substation is more effective Worst case touch voltages occur at the corners of the grid (when uniform spacing)

Grounding Design Basics (cont.)

Fault Current Distribution (FCD)

Most conservative case is to assume all current returns to source through grounding system
Not a practical representation in many cases Fault current will take any path available
Transmission line shield wires Distribution neutrals Other metallic paths tied to grounding system

These other paths are in parallel with the ground

Effectively reduces return path impedance In turn, lowers the substation GPR

Effects are most significant where poor soil exists at the substation (resulting in a high grounding system impedance)

Fault Current Distribution Example

Fault current returns through all lines with shield wires Both directly on shield wires and through tower grounds
Transmission Lines with Shield Wire Faulted Substation

Returns to source substation(s)

Source Substation

Optimal Mitigation Selection

Ground rods vs. grid vs. ground wells
Primary goal is low impedance, therefore mitigation should target the lower resistivity soil Horizontal ground grid
Works well when lower layers are higher resistivity Install most copper in upper, low resistivity, layer Keeps surface closer to equipotential Trenching around existing equipment difficult at times

Existing Yard Installation

Optimal Mitigation Selection(cont.)

Ground rods vs. grid vs. ground wells
(cont.)

Ground rods
Most effective when top layer is higher resistivity and fairly lower resistivity layers are below Can be useful where water table is < 20 deep Can also extend effective size of substation and pull touch voltages down Typically should not be placed closer together than length of rod as effectiveness decreases Also can be difficult to install around existing equipment

Optimal Mitigation Selection(cont.)

Ground rods vs. grid vs. ground wells (cont.)
Ground wells
Most expensive option Involves drilling a hole (typically 6) to a significant depth (can vary from 50-500+ feet) Goal is to reach a deeper lower resistivity layer (or water table) May use a steel casing or be free standing (in stable/firm soils) Typically backfilled with low resistivity material (bentonite, carbon, concrete/bentonite slurry) Typically installed near the edges of the substation, away from equipment

Optimal Mitigation Selection - Surfacing

Crushed rock can be added if not already present Existing rock can be washed or thickness increased Asphalt is occasionally used
Provides much better electrical performance Makes future improvements more difficult

Testing

Testing
Fall-of-Potential (FOP)
Measures grounding system impedance

Touch and Step Voltage Checks

Verify touch and step voltages

Point-to-Point Resistance Tests

Check continuity of conductors

Soil Resistivity Measurements

Validate data if in question

Testing - Grounding System Impedance

Fall-of-Potential (FOP)
Measures resistance of grounding system after installation
Inject a current into grid and collect in remote current return probe placed at 3-6.5x the system diagonal (6.5x preferred) Voltage probe distance varied from 10% - 100% of current probe distance Resistance (V/I) of each point plotted versus distance Curve flattens around 61.8% (demonstrating grounding system resistance) with a 0 degree test
Point varies based on soil structure (Standard 81-1983)

Fall-of-Potential Test Set-Up

Substation Grounding System Impedance

6

RESISTANCE (OHMS)

0 0 500 1000 1500 2000 PROBE SPACING 2500 3000 3500 4000

Testing Touch and Step Voltages

Touch and step voltage check
Performed rarely, generally requires injection of significant test current to provide reasonable voltage levels Can be done in conjunction with FOP test
Inject a current similar to the FOP test For touch voltages, measure voltage between any equipment of concern and a test probe placed just into the soil surface 3 feet from the equipment For step voltages, measure the voltage between any two points in the substation with probes placed just into the soil, separated by three feet

Testing Connectivity
Point-to-point resistance check
Used to verify that all equipment is attached solidly to the main grounding system Select a reference point (often a piece of equipment with multiple grounds) and measure resistance between all grounded objects and the reference Since resistance is primarily of the lead, value should be very low (less than one ohm) If resistance is very high, a second equipment connection can be added to the main grid, or the existing can be replaced.

Maintenance of Existing Grounding

Maintenance of grounding systems after installation is often overlooked In 2005, a IEEE PES task force surveyed utilities about maintenance of substation grounding systems
Key Findings/Recommendations
~80% evaluate the grounding systems after they are installed
Most of this examination only occurs after a problem happens, or when expanding the substation By proactively examining the grounding system (which very few do), many of these problems could be prevented in the first place

Recommends a review of the grounding system regularly

Those who have a plan perform it every five to ten years, and more often should there be concerns Interval of testing affected by age of the grounding system and characteristics of the soil (for example very low resistivity soils can be corrosive and degrade buried conductors over time)

Maintenance Plan
Typical plan involves:
Visual inspection of all above grade connections Point-to-point resistance test Fall-of-potential grounding system impedance test Surface layer visual inspection
Thickness and cleanliness (resistivity test if needed)

Reanalysis of design when significant system changes occur

Example Unique Substation

Example Unique Substation

Example Soil Resistivity Test

Example Point-to-Point Test

Example Point-to-Point Test

39 34 33 35 37 38 36 GROUND SYSTEM LAYOUT 49 40 42 44 45 47 41 43 46 48 56 51 52 53 54 55 57 58 59 60

50

30 32 31 25 27 26 28 12 11 10 9 13 ,R 3 14

22 24 23

18 19 20 21

15 16 17

29

8, R2 5

7 4

6 3 2 1, R1

Conclusions
Substation grounding is critical for protection of personnel and equipment Some older substations were built with little analysis and/or data Grounding can degrade over time Systems (fault current) change over time Periodic maintenance and testing is required to ensure the grounding system continues to serve its purpose

Questions/Comments

Rob Schaerer, P.E. POWER Engineers, Inc. (858) 503-5975 ext. 2237 robert.schaerer@powereng.com