Journal of Electrical and Control Engineering

(JECE)

Effect of Compression Ratio on Ground Grid Design

in MEAs Power Distribution System
A. Phayomhom 1, S. Sirisumrannukul 2, T. Kasirawat 3, A. Puttarach 4
1

Power System Planning Department, Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA), Bangkok, Thailand
Electrical Engineering Department, King Mongkuts University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB)
Bangkok, Thailand
3
Operation Network Department, Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), Northern Region1, Chiangmai, Thailand
4
Electrical Engineering Department, Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna (RMUTL), Chiangmai, Thailand
1
att_powermea@hotmail.com; 2 spss@kmutnb.ac.th; 3 tirapong.kas@pea.co.th; 4 a.puttarach@gmail.com
2

Abstract- The study provides comparison of grounding

performance between square and rectangle ground grid, when
given the same size of area of coverage. The result shows that
the rectangle ground grid possesses better grounding
performance than the square one. The study also finds the
optimum compression ratio (OCR) of both grounding
configuration. The OCR of square and rectangle are found to
be at 0.4 and 0.3 respectively. Modeling and simulation is
carried out on the Current Distribution Electromagnetic
interference Grounding and Soil structure (CDEGS) program.
The simulation results support the fact that unequal span
ground grid is more superior to the equal span type, the finding
could be used as a guide line in grounding grid design.

put little emphasis on alternative design options based on

unequal conductor spacing. The most likely reason should
blame the lack of adequate information concerning the most
promising, efficient grounding system configuration as a
starter to avoid lengthy trials in the ground grid design
process. In others words, there is a need of suitable reference
containing necessary guidelines so that a grounding system
designer can focus quickly on the most efficient design. This
is exactly the main purpose of this paper [4].

Keywords- Apparent Resistivity; Ground Potential Rise;

Optimum Compression Ratio; Step Voltage; Touch Voltage

According to [4], the following definitions for the

voltage considered in this paper are given.

I.

II. DEFINITION OF TOLERABLE VOLTAGE

A. Ground Potential Rise (GPR)

INTRODUCTION

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
GPR is equal to the maximum grid current times the grid
resistance.

Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) is an electric

utility that is responsible for power distribution covering an
area of 3,192 square kilometers in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, and
Samutprakarn provinces of Thailand. MEA serves
approximately 32.10 % of the whole country power demand
in 2012. MEAs networks consist of transmission,
subtransmission and distribution systems. The transmission
line voltage is 230 kV, while the 69 and 115kV used in
subtransmission systems and 12 and 24 kV in the distribution
feeders.

GPR = I G Rg
where

GPR
IG
Rg

Based on MEAs experience, one of the main causes of a

sustainable fault is the short circuit fault right at the
substation itself. The short circuit generates large amount of
currents that flow in the aboveground structures to the
grounding system and finally dissipate in the soil. The high
currents may cause damage to equipment and may be
dangerous to personnel working nearby. It is therefore
important for the substation designer to take into account the
safety issue pertaining to step and touch voltage limit that
may exceed the safety criteria. [1, 2]

(1)

is ground potential rise (V)

is maximum grid current (A)
is resistance of grounding system ( )

In the process of designing the ground grid system,

safety criteria is firstly calculated to specify a safety level,
then the maximum touch and step voltage are calculated to
compare with the safety criteria to define whether it is safe
to work on the area of substation. This part will show a
calculation of safety criteria, touch and step voltage.
B. Touch Voltage
Touch voltage is the potential difference between the
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.

Talking about the grounding system design, people tend

to familiar with ground grid that its conductors are laid
equally apart, while pay little attention to the one with
unequal separation. One of the reasons for this may be owing
to the fact that many grounding system standards focus on
ground grid designs with regularly spaced conductors [3] and

The tolerable touch voltage in volts is defined as [4]

JECE Vol. 3 Vol. 2, 2013 PP. 6-11 2013 American V-King Scientific Publishing
6

Journal of Electrical and Control Engineering

E touch = I B R + 1.5
B

(JECE)

buried conductor length, Ls , is

(2)

Ls

where Etouch is tolerable touch voltage for human (A)

RB

is resistance of the human body ()

is surface layer resistivity ( m)

IB =
where

where

= 0.75 LC + 0.85 LR
+ L R for step

Ls

is effective length of LC

LC

voltage (m)
is total length of grid conductor (m)

is total length of ground rods (m)

LR
The step voltage is determined from

(3)
s

K s Ki IG

is current through the body (A)

IB

(6)

Es

is 0.116 for 50 kg body weight

is 0.157 for 70 kg body weight
t s is duration of current expose (s)
The safety of a person depends on preventing the critical
amount of shock energy from being absorbed before the
fault is cleared and the system de-energised. To ensure
safety, the magnitude and duration of the current conducted
through a human body should be less than the value that can
cause ventricular fibrillation of the heart. Fibrillation current
is assumed to be a function of individual body weight. The
tolerable body current limits for body weights 50kg and
70kg are: [4].

where

Es

= a

(7)

Ls

is step voltage (V)

Ks

is mesh factor defined for n parallel

conductors
To calculate both maximum touch and step voltage,
apparent resistivity factor is required and it can be obtained
by applying wenner arrangement method.
A resistivity of soil characterized with two layers shown
in Fig. 1 can be determined from the wenner method. In this
method, the apparent resistivity is calculated using Equation.
(8) [4], [5-7]:

C. Step Voltage
a

Step voltage is the difference in surface potential

experienced by a person bridging a distance of 1 m with the
feet without contacting any other grounded object.
The tolerable step voltage in volts is defined as

E step = I B R + 6
B

2 Deep layer
Fig. 1 Two layer earth model

(4)

n
n

K
K
a = 1 1 + 4

2
2
i =1

h
h
1 + 2n
4 + 2n

a
a

where E step is tolerable step voltage for human (V)

D. Maximum of Mesh and Step Voltage
The maximum touch voltage within a mesh of a ground
grid [4] is calculated by

Em
where

Km Ki IG
a

is mesh voltage (V)

is apparent resistivity of soil (-m)

Km
Ki
IG
Lm

(5)

2 1
2 + 1

(8)

(9)

where a is apparent resistivity of the soil in ( m )

Lm

Em

1 Top layer

[4]

h is first layer height ( m )

K is reflection factor
1 is first layer resistivity ( m)

2 is deep layer resistivity ( m)

A measurement of apparent resistivity of soil within the
substation area is applied with the wenner arrangement
method for a purpose of calculating apparent resistivity
shown in Equation (8). After apparent resistivity is obtained,
maximum touch and step voltage then can be determined.
Below is an explanation of the wenner arrangement
approach to obtain apparent resistivity.

is mesh factor defined for n parallel

conductors
is corrective factor for current
irregularity
is maximum rms current flowing
between ground grid and earth (A)
is effective length of LC + L R for mesh

voltage (m)
For grids with or without ground rods, the effective

The four point method shown in Fig. 2 is one of the most

accurate methods in practice for measuring the average

JECE Vol. 3 Vol. 2, 2013 PP. 6-11 2013 American V-King Scientific Publishing
7

Journal of Electrical and Control Engineering

(JECE)

th
c i is the i compression ratios

resistivity large volumes of undisturbed earth. In the figure,

four electrodes are buried in equally-spaced small holes at
points C1, C2, P1 and P2. The soil resistance R in ohm is
calculated from the ration of V/I, where I is an injected
current between the two outer electrodes and V is the
measured voltage between the two inner electrodes
[4], [5-6]
.
Four Terminal
Test Set

Where C is the compression ratio, whose value ranges

from zero to 1 (0 C 1), if C = 1, then the grounding grid is
of equal conductor span design. Let N denotes the number of
(perpendicular) conductors to the side of interest of the
grounding grid, if N is an even number; m = N/2-1; if N is an
odd number; then m = (N-1)/2-1. The 1 th conductor span was
counted from the center of the grounding grid, not from the
edge.

C1 P 1 P 2 C2

C1

V
a

P1

P2

C2

i=0
...

Current
Probe

Potential
Probe

dmax
i=0

Current
Probe

di
1

2 m

Fig. 3 Grounding grid scheme arranged with exponent rule

Fig. 2 Wenner arrangement

The conductors are perpendicular to the side, then the

central span(s) is defined by equation either (13) or (14).

With this arrangement, the resistivity a expressed in

the terms of the length units is

a =
1+

where R
a
b

d max =

4aR
2a

(10)

2
2
2
2
a + 4b
a +b
is measured resistance ()
is distance between adjacent electrodes ( m )
is depth of the electrodes ( m )

1 + C 2C

where N

( N / 2)

, N is even (13)

L (1 C )

d max =

2(1 C

( N 1) / 2

, N is odd (14)

is the number of conductor perpendicular to the

side of grounding grid

When b is small compared to a , Equation (10) becomes

a = 2aR
(11)

is the length of the side ( m)

IV. CASE STUDY

III. OPTIMUM COMPRESSION RATIO

The parameter of interest in the simulation is the chosen

of proper compression ratio for the same area but different
dimension of ground grid. The ground grid system of the
distribution substation is modeled using the CDEGS program.
The soil layer characteristics of the substation are analyzed
by a built-in module in the CDEGS program called Rural
Electric Safety Accreditation Program module (RESAP).

The proper design of grounding system can ensure the

personnel safety in the substation while maintain reliable
operation of the power system. This calls for the optimum
compression ratio (OCR) be applied in the design together
with the target to keep the touch voltage its minimum value
[8]
.
Fig. 3 shows the configuration of a ground grid the
grounding conductors of which are of exponent regularity
arrangement. This arrangement cannot only decrease the
potential gradient of the ground surface, but also regarded as
a safe and economic design model. The problem is how this
exponent regularity be defined. As one can notice, the
grounding conductors arranged according to an exponent
regularity, its conductor span decreases exponentially from its
center to the edge of the grounding grid. The i th conductor
span from the center is given in (12) [4, 9].

If N is an odd number, the ground grid will have 2

symmetrical patterns: left and right, divided by the center
conductor shown in Fig. 4. But if N is an even number, the
ground grid pattern is as shown in Fig. 3. There are 2 types of
ground grids classified by its shape: square and rectangle. For
rectangle ground grid, the number of conductors (N) and
compression ratio (C) may be different in its width and length,
for example, N is 4 in its width while N is 7 in its length. The
same idea can be applied to the compression ratio, If a
compression ratio is selected, only a fixed grounding grid
structure can be determined. For the square grounding grid,
only single conductor number and single compression ratio
should be used, for convenience and ease in operation
reasons.

i
C , (i = 0 to m)
(12)
max
is the i th conductor span from the center (m)
di = d

where d i

L (1 C )

d max is maximum conductor span (m)

JECE Vol. 3 Vol. 2, 2013 PP. 6-11 2013 American V-King Scientific Publishing
8

Journal of Electrical and Control Engineering

(JECE)

MEAs permanent distribution substations ground grid is

approximately 40 m x 40 m. This paper then studies the 40 m
x 40 m (1,600 m2) square ground grid while varying the
compression ratio from 0 to 1.0 as shown in Fig. 4. All
ground grid conductors are 95 mm2 (0.54979 cm. in radius)
and buried at a depth of 0.5 m. The soil is uniform resistivity,
10 m throughout.
C=0.0
[

C=0.1

C=0.3

C=0.0

C=0.1

C=0.2

C=0.3

C=0.4

C=0.5

C=0.6

C=0.7

C=0.8

C=0.9

C=1.0

C=0.2

C=0.4

C=0.6

If we compare the resulted GPR of the square ground grid

with a rectangle one 20 m x 80 m (1,600 m2) ground grid.
The resulted GPR is as shown in Fig. 6.

C=0.5

C=0.7

C=0.8
Fig. 6 Grounding grids with various conductor compression ratios with 20
m x 80 m dimension
3,100.00

C=0.9

C=1.0

3,000.00

GPR(V)

2,900.00

Fig. 4 Grounding grids with various conductor compression ratios with 40

m x 40 m dimension

2,700.00

The result of the simulation, using low frequency

grounding module of the CDEGS software package to find
the relationship between compression ratio and GPR, is
shown in Fig. 5. The minimum value of GPR happens to be
2,817.6 V when compression ratio is set at 0.6.

2,600.00
2,500.00
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0

Compression Ratio

When we vary the compression ratio from 0 to 1.0 and

observe the resulted GPR, the GPR between ground grid
conductors is sagged, and spiky at the conductors. The
number of spikes is corresponding to the number of
conductors. It is interesting to note that, when compression
ratio is 0.0, GPR equal to 3,461.5 V and when compression
ratio is 1.0, GPR equal to 2,840.6 V. Compression ratio 0.6
gives the lowest GPR 2,817.6 V.

Fig. 7 GPR of conductor compression ratios with 20 m x 80 m

It can be seen from Fig. 7 that the sag and spike

characteristic is the same as that of the square ground grid.
When compression ratio is 0.0, GPR is equal to 3,006.7 V
and when compression ratio is 1.0, GPR equal to 2,657.1 V.
Compression ratio 0.4 gives the lowest GPR 2,631.8 V. The
single profile of each grid type is shown in Fig. 8.

3,500.00

The compression ratios of square and rectangle ground

grid that give lowest GPR are 0.6 and 0.4 respectively, and
the lowest GPR are 2,817.6 and 2,631.8 respectively. Two
compression ratios for each grid type are selected, i.e. 0.5
and 0.6 for square ground grid and 0.4 and 0.5 for rectangle
grid. We can conclude the study that square grid can
minimize the GPR when compression ratio equals 0.6 and
for rectangular grid at 0.4.

3,400.00
3,300.00

GPR(V)

2,800.00

3,200.00
3,100.00
3,000.00
2,900.00

The study of the relation between compression ratio of

each ground grid and the minimum GPR it produces does
not mean this is the appropriate value for particular type of
ground grid, In fact, the optimum compression ratio is the
one that produces minimum touch voltage.

2,800.00
0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

Compression Ratio

Fig. 3 GPR of conductor compression ratios with 40 m x 40 m

JECE Vol. 3 Vol. 2, 2013 PP. 6-11 2013 American V-King Scientific Publishing
9

Journal of Electrical and Control Engineering

(JECE)

2,700.00

For 20 m x 80 m rectangle ground grid with 0.3 OCR, its

3-dimensional GPR and touch voltage are shown in Figs 10
and 11 respectively. Normally, the touch voltage is higher
than the step voltage in value, but according to the margin of
safety as defined by IEEE Std. 80-2000, the calculated limit
of the touch voltage is smaller than that of the step voltage.
When a material (a high resistivity one) layer is exposed on
the ground surface of the distribution substation, the
maximum step voltage on that ground surface is not allowed
to be more than the limit. So, if the touch voltage is in the
safety region, then the step voltage is, by far, in the safe
region too. So the step voltage is not the deciding factor to
determine the OCR.

2,500.00

GPR(V)

2,300.00

2,100.00
C=0.4 Rectangle
C=0.5 Rectangle

1,900.00

C=0.5 Square
C=0.6 Square

1,700.00
0

20

60

40

80

The touch voltage is usually difficult to conform with its

safety limit, so the touch voltage is the deciding factor to be
used in the grounding design to optimize its safety
requirement. [4]

Distance from Origin of Profile(m)

Fig. 8 Compare the compression ratio between square and rectangle for
1,600 m2

Table 1 shows the details of deeper study for each type of

grid. We now know that 0.4 compression ratio of square
ground grid produces 1,168.1V which is the minimum touch
voltage, then 0.4 is the optimum compression ratio. For
rectangle ground grid, OCR is 0.3 which produces 1,143.82
V minimum touch voltage. Likewise, the compression ratio
that produces minimum step voltage for square and rectangle
ground grid are 0.7(317.86 V) and 0.6 (317.13 V)
respectively. Fig. 9 shows the relationship between
compression ratio and the touch voltage it produces.
TABLE I TYPE OF VOLTAGE ON DIFFERENCE DIMENSIONS
Square 40x40(m2)

Rectangle 20x80(m2)

0.0

Type of Voltage
GPR
Touch
Step
(V)
(V)
(V)
3,461.50 1,778.70 509.39

Type of Voltage
GPR
Touch
Step
(V)
(V)
(V)
3,006.70 1,519.80
453.72

0.1

3,006.50

1,297.88

431.27

2,704.90 1,188.00

416.30

0.2

2,902.20

1,212.28

414.20

2,656.80 1,150.69

383.62

0.3

2,853.90

1,178.57

393.48

2,638.70 1,143.82

357.26

0.4

2,830.00

1,168.10

374.77

2,631.80 1,148.28

330.57

0.5

2,818.30

1,168.21

357.77

2,633.30 1,160.53

323.50

0.6

2,817.60

1,177.61

341.36

2,635.80 1,172.76

317.13

0.7

2,821.90

1,190.49

317.86

2,638.30 1,182.18

328.94

0.8

2,828.60

1,204.58

318.33

2,642.80 1,193.68

317.79

0.9

2,831.20

1,214.52

322.08

2,647.40 1,203.50

319.10

1.0

2,840.60

1,229.16

322.35

2,657.10 1,211.49

338.52

Fig. 10 Ground potential rise for 20 m x 80 m of OCR 0.3

Fig. 11 Touch voltage for 20 m x 80 m of OCR 0.3

IV CONCLUSION
The study of the shape of the ground grid shape (square or
rectangle) and its compression ratio have an effect on GPR,
maximum touch voltage and minimum step voltage of ground
grid system which can be concluded as follows.

Maximum Touch Voltage(V)

1,900.00
1,800.00

Touch 40mx40m

1,700.00

Touch 20mx80m

1,600.00
1,500.00
1,400.00

1. For 40 m x 40 m square ground grid, the compression

ratios that minimize GPR is 0.6 while its OCR is 0.4. The
maximum touch voltage at 0.4 and 0.6 compression ratio is
1,168.1 V and 1,177.61 V respectively. Its difference is 9.51
V or 0.81% taking 0.6 compression ratio as base.

1,300.00
1,200.00
1,100.00
1,000.00
0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

Compression Ratio

For 20 m x 80 m rectangle ground grid, the compression

ratios that minimize GPR is 0.4 while its OCR is 0.3. The

Fig. 9 Effect of the compression ratio on the touch voltage with difference
dimensions

JECE Vol. 3 Vol. 2, 2013 PP. 6-11 2013 American V-King Scientific Publishing
10

Journal of Electrical and Control Engineering

(JECE)

maximum touch voltage at 0.3 and 0.4 compression ratio are

1,143.82 V and 1,148.28 V respectively. Its difference is 4.46
V or 0.39% taking 0.4 compression ratio as base.

[9] H. Lee, J. Kim, F.P. Dawalibi and J. Ma, Efficient grounding

grid designs in layer soils, IEEE Trans. Power Apparatus and
Systems, vol. 13, pp. 745751, July. 1998.

In general practice, 40 m x 40 m square ground grid with

0.6 as its compression ratio; 20 m x 80 m rectangular ground
grid with 0.4 as its compression ratio; can be used in the
design instead of its OCR. However maximum touch and step
voltage must fall in the safety criteria so that to safeguard
the personnel working in the substation.

Att Phayomhom received Ph.D. degree in

the Electrical Engineering Department from
the King Mongkuts University of
Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB),
Thailand in 2010. He has worked for Power
System
Planning
Department
of
Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA)
Thailand since 1996. He is responsible for
power system planning. His main research
interests are power system planning, safety
design of ground grid in substation and lightning performance.

2. We find that laying conductors to from as many as

small rectangles (small rectangle in large rectangle) helps
reduce the maximum touch voltage. This is how to reduce the
touch voltage in the case of square ground grid with 1.0
compression ratio. This is evident, when the 40 m x 40 m or
1,600 m2 ground grid with 0.2 to 0.9 its compression ratio,
causes the maximum touch voltage lower than that of 1.0
compression ratio. The same for 20 m x 80 m or 1,600 m2
ground grid with 0.1 to 0.9 its compression ratio, maximum
touch voltage is also lower than at of 1.0 compression ratio.

Somporn Sirisumrannukul is an associate

professor at the Department of Electrical
Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King
Mongkuts University of Technology North
Bangkok (KMUTNB), Bangkok, Thailand.
His main research interests are power system
operation and optimization, reliability and
renewable energy.

3. Given the same compression ratio, the rectangle

ground grid is superior to the square ground grid. This is due
to the total resistance of electrode system of ground grid of
rectangle grid is lower.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Tirapong Kasirawat was born in Karbi,

Thailand 1963. He received B.Eng
(Electrical Engineering) M.Eng (Electrical
Engineering) from Chiang Mai University,
Thailand, in 1987 and 1995 respectively.
Currently, He works with Provincial
Electricity Authority, Thailand (PEA North1)
and special lecturer of department of
Electrical
Engineering
Chiang
Mai
University. His research interest includes
high-voltage engineering, power quality, and information
technology in power system.

The first author would like to express his deepest

gratitude to late Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jamnarn Hokierti, Kasertsart
University, and PEA for CDEGS program. High appreciation
is given to Dr. Farid Paul Dawalibi, SES Technologies,
Canada, for his constructive comments. The author is deeply
indebted to Power System Planning Department, MEA, for
research time and strong support in this work.
REFERENCES

[1] J. He, et al, Optimal design of grounding system considering

the influence of seasonal frozen soil layer, IEEE Trans.
Power Delivery, vol. 20, pp. 107-155, Jan. 2005.
[2] A. Phayomhom, S. Sirisumrannukul, T. Kasirawatand and A.
Puttarach, Safety design planning of ground grid for outdoor
substations in MEAs power distribution system, ECTI Trans.
Electrical Eng., Electronics, and Communications, vol. 9, pp.
102-112, Feb. 2011.
[3] Y. Li, F. Dawalibi, J. Ma, and Y. Yang, Analysis of a steel
grounding system: a practical case study, in Proc. CEPSI,
2004, pp.1-8.
[4] IEEE Guide for Safety in AC Substation Grounding, IEEE std
80-2000, Jan. 2000.
[5] A. Puttarach, N. Chakpitak, T. Kasirawat and C. Pongsriwat,
Substation grounding grid analysis with the variation of soil
layer depth, in Proc. Powertech, 2007, pp. 1181-1186.
[6] IEEE Guide for Measuring Earth Resistivity, Ground
Impedance, and Earth Surface Potentials of a Ground System,
ANSI/IEEE Std 81-1983, 1983.
[7] F.P. Dawalibi, C.J. Blattner, Earth resistivity measurement
interpretation techniques, IEEE Transactions on Power
Apparatus and systems, vol. 103, pp. 374-382, February. 1994.
[8] W. Sun, et al, Optimal design analysis of grounding grids for
substations built in nonuniform soil, in Proc. PowerCon,
2000, pp. 14551460.

Arwut Puttarach was born in Chiang Rai.

He received his B.Eng (Electrical
Engineering) from Rajamangala Institute of
Technology Chiang Mai Campus, Thailand,
in 2003. He received his M.Eng (Electrical
Engineering) Chiang Mai University in
2006. His currently interests in power
system grounding. He also worked as a
lecturer in Department of Electrical
Engineering, Rajamangala University of
Technology Lanna (RMUTL), Chiangmai, Thailand.

JECE Vol. 3 Vol. 2, 2013 PP. 6-11 2013 American V-King Scientific Publishing
11