Subject: Design and use parameters of earthing electrodes To begin with I am giving you the basic parameters to calculate

the fault current in an installation and thereby decide the size of the earthing electrode 1. The total connected load in kva are the capacity of the installed transformer, 2. The full load per kva=1.4mps and if your transformer installed is 500kva for the project the full load current therefore will be 1.4X500=700amps 3. The expected level of impendence of the good quality of transformers is during 4.8% to 5.2% we can assume safely an average value of 5% for impendence 4. The fault will happen in 2 categories. a) Phase-to-phase i.e. 415 volts b) Phase-to-neutral i.e. 220 volts 5. The worst scenario of the fault will be phase-to-phase where the fault current will be 20 times of the full load current and in th present example of 500kva installation the fault current will be 20X700=14000mps. 6. The amount of fault current will flow in the surface for 3-6milliseconds before the ACB trips and protects the installation. 7. During this duration of tripping time the following types of stresses will take place in installation: a) Thermal stresses which are proportional to I2Rt which will be equivalent to about 1300oc and you can imagine the thermal stresses developed at this point of juncture. b) Mechanical stress will be generated due to linear expansion of the metals due to heat generated at the time of fault c) The electrical stress will be generated due to induction and capacitance effect because of high current flowing at the time of fault. From the above you can conclude that a good earthing system should be designed to withstand all the parameters given above The various types of electrodes manufactured in the country are as under

1) The flat strip in a pipe 2) The pipe in pipe 3) Dimension of the pipe i.e. 50mm dia or 60mm dia or 80mm dia with different length of pipe of either 2 meter or 3 meter length 4) These parameters are decided on the basis of the level of fault current expected and by the individual engineers outlook to the safety of the installation and his perception of various aspects of electrical safety considerations. 5) What we manufacture?

Our range is 4 different models as under: a) 48MM X 2000MM suitable for load upto 150kva with flat strip of 30mm X 6mm b) 48MM X 3000MM suitable for load upto 350kva with flat strip of 30mm X 6mm c) 76MM X 2000MM suitable for load upto 650kva with flat strip of 40mm X 6mm d) 76MM X 3000MM suitable for load upto 1250kva with flat strip of 40mm X 6mm e) Note: all above models are of Gi strip The construction details of our electrodes are as under: a) The pipe containing the flat strip in all the 4 models is packed with graphite of superior quality and sealed from both the ends. Graphite is a semi-metal and therefore the pipe filled with graphite becomes almost a solid pipe to bear with the mechanical stresses develop during the fault. b) The surface area for dissipation of heat generated is very large as compared to the plate earthing. The surface area in all the electrodes is the heat is dissipated from the total surface of the electrode, c) The size of the flat strip is calculated on the basis of current density calculated on the basis of current density of the metal to carry the current without damage to the electrode. d) The electrode is dug into ground in a bore of 250mm dia of appropriate length of 2 meters or 3 meters e) The bore is filled up with a thick slurry of aluminum silicate and the entire electrode is surrounded by this slurry f) The property of aluminum silicate is to absorb water 15times its weight and it has a peculiar property of not dissolving in the water unlike sail.

g) Since it doesnt dissolve in the water and dries up, it therefore maintains the moisture for very long time and even a small rainfall of 2.5cm per year in an area is sufficient to maintain the moisture level for the satisfactory operation of the earthing system. h) The parameters of the good earthing are met as under: a) The graphite replaces the charcoal in the conventional earthing system. Charcoal burn into ash at 600oc whereas graphite has a burning temperature of 2500oc. the utility of graphite is therefore clear and it is the modern concept of chemical earthing to withstand the high level of heat generated b) The fault currents are therefore taken care by the appropriate design of the pipe and the flat and these are known parameters in engineering methodology c) The moisture level is maintained by the use of aluminum silicate which replaces the common salt which is a low grade of hygroscopic material as it dissolve in the water and dries up gradually therefore leaving no utility after sometime

Calculation of capacity of Cu strip in the electrodes supplied to cairn We have supplied in Cairn energy earthing electrode of 88mm dia of Gi pipe with a length of 3ooomm .the electrode was supplied with tinned Cu strip of 40mmx6mm fixed inside the Gi pipe . Calculation of full load current ant fault current. o o The area of cross section of strip is 40x6= 240 square mm. Current density of Cu is 4 A per square mm

Full load capacity of the strip is 4x240=960A The conductor used is bare conductor i.e. No insulating material on the conductor. The bare conductor can carry 30 times the full load capacity of current for a short duration of 1 sec.

Since the duration is very short the electrical, thermal and mechanical stresses developed will be negligible in that period of 1 sec. Further more the protective devices like ACBs used in the circuit will be around 2000 A approx. The current passing through the circuit will be 30x960 A=28800A This current will pass through through the ACB of 2000 A rated current and this current of 28800A will pass through ACB wilt be approximately will be 14.4 times the capacity of ACBs. All the ACBs and protective devices are designed for fast tripping on the basis of inverse time characteristics i.e. Higher the current faster is the tripping. In this particular case of 14 times of current passing through the tripping device (ACB) will make a trip less than 50milliseconds. The earthing electrode manufactured by us tested by CPRI for 7000A for 1 sec. i.e. (1000 milli sec. ) Before the fault current reaches the peak value of 28000A ACB will trip when this current rises up to 7000 A which is 3.5 times the rated capacity of ACB. In any case you will observe that the protective device (ACB) will cut off the supply before any damage is done to the installation ie. Property &equipment. It is further noted that duration of the fault current is very short around 50 milli sec approx. &therefore the Cu electrode used there in above electrode will remain safe without any thermal &mechanical stresses being developed in the system.

The chemical earthing popularly known as maintenance free earthing and it is really so. The electricians in the projects should upkeep the electrical joint system in the connecting strips and make very strong mechanical joints with stainless steel nuts and bolts, spring washers and other such hardwares which should not be subject to atmospheric corrosion and mechanical loosening of the joints in the course of its operations Gobind Ajwani Manager Engineering +91-8800797772 ALFREDKIM SYSTEMS AND SOLUTIONS PVT LTD | 14/3 Bolton Compound ,Mathura Road Faridabad -121003(Haryana) India