LE

GROUNDING AUGMENTATION FILL

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A Low-Resistance Fill for High-Resistance

Soil Sites

Facilitates a low-resistance grounding interface in highresistance soil

Resistivity of 0.5 ohm-meters
Lowest resistance fill available
One-third the resistivity of bentonite
Can be mixed with local soil

FEATURES
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High electrical conductivity

Retains more moisture, longer
Stable long-term resistivity
Low freezing point
Low expansion factor

APPLICATIONS
Grounding rod backfill
Substation ground mat fill
Buried ground wire backfill
PACKAGING
GAF comes in standard 50 lb.
heavy duty bags. Larger packaging
containers are available on request.
VOLUME PRICING

GAF 50 lb.(22.6 kg) bag

1.5 cubic feet

Call LEC for special pricing on your volume requirements

REDUCING GROUND RESISTANCE WITH GAF

Grounding is the process of making electrical contact with earth. This process involves the insertion
of some form of electrode into the local soil. The resistivity of the soil determines the effectiveness
of the electrode. Ninety-five percent of the resistance of a grounding electrode is established by
the soil within close proximity to the electrode; i.e. the soil within a hemisphere whose radius is 1.1
times the length of the rod (electrode), called the interfacing hemisphere. Replacing all or part of
the soil with highly conductive backfill will facilitate the achievement of a low-resistance ground
connection. The greater the percentage of soil replaced, the lower the ultimate grounding
resistance.
EXAMPLES
THE INTERFACING HEMISPHERE
GROUND ROD OR CHEM-ROD

1.
2.
3.
4.

D=6
D=12
D=24
D=36

TO BE TREATED BY GAF

(1) For a rod in a 6 diameter hole backfilled with

GAF, resistance is reduced by 34%. 2 bags of GAF
required.
(2) For a rod in a 12 diameter hole backfilled with
GAF, resistance is reduced by 45%. 6 bags of GAF
required.
(3) For a rod in a 24 diameter hole backfilled with
GAF, resistance is reduced by 56%. 23 bags of
GAF required.
(4) For a rod in a 36 diameter hole backfilled with
GAF, resistance is reduced by 63%. 50 bags of
GAF required.
Above based on 3/4 by 10 conventional rod or
Chem-Rod.

REDUCING STEP & TOUCH WITH GAF

An electrical Substation Grounding Mat is usually designed to limit the Step & Touch potentials.
These potentials are dependent on the resistance between two points within the substation. With a
given mat spacing, the resistance of the soil around and under the mat will establish these
potentials. The lower the soil resistance, the lower these potentials will be. Using GAF around the
wire matrix will reduce these potentials to safe limits even in worst-case soil.

L
LEEC
C

Your Local LEC Representative

Products
Group

LEC also manufactures

the Chem-Rod , the
most cost-effective
g r o u n d i n g
s y s t e m m a d e. O n e
Chem-Rod can be used
in place of up to 20
conventional rods
resulting in significant
installation labor savings
and reduced land mass
requirements .

LEC, Inc., 6687 Arapahoe Road, Boulder Colorado, 80303-1453 USA

Phone 303-447-2828 Fax 303-447-8122 http://www.lightningeliminators.com e-mail marketng@lightningeliminators.com
GAF-2 Rev 10/98

1997 LEC, Inc.