Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2,April 1990
613
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
88 WM 108-3
A paper recommended and approved
by the IEEE Substations Committee of the IEEE
Power Engineering Society for presentation at the
IEEE/PES 1988 Winter Meeting, New York, New York,
.January 3 1 - February 5, 1988. Yanuscript
submitted August 26, 1987; made available for
printing December 7, 1987.
R. S. Baishiki
Senior Member, IEEE
Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
77 Beale Street
San Francisco, CA 94106
practical exampl es .
realistic
in
distribution
networks
614
with gloves.
BACKGROUND
I
Grounding System
i
"
"
-
Remo,eSoil
10 Volt Reference)
Ifault
Etouch
Coupling
Effects
R1 .
RO
is
fault current enter ng the
human/gFk system
R1tRo
is the resistance
electrode system
Rbody
of
the
ground
615
Rf
Rbody
Several problems arise from this definition of
Etouch[7] :
Rf
earth
Rbody
Rf'2
Rbody
Ibody
Rf
R1 +Ro
3.
where:
Ifault
I
-
the
resistance
of the ground
Rg
Rm
Ra = RL(N)
% = RT(N)
(3-1)
(3-2)
R,= R R ( N )
(3-3)
where
Second Model
and
1
h(i) =
(1-E)
(3-7)
_
k(i)
_
(1 - E )
+ 3k (i- 1)
(1-E)
r = - Rg
g
Figure 3.2
(3-9)
+ &)
(3-10)
r = - Rf
2N
(3-11)
r, = n R m
(3-12)
rm
rm + r f + rg
(3-13)
and where
Rg is the grid resistance
*The accuracy of this program has been verified by
extensive computer modeling and field testing: it has
been in use by a growing number of major North
American utilities for several years. Furthermore,
MALZ results in this study have been confirmed by
MALT[3],
another program which is based on a
different algorithm and which has been verified for
real world situations and on scale models since the
1970s.
Rf
,R
617
Earth Surface
... ........
rTermin
Two. Port
Network
Rhdy
-Terminal
Oveq
TWO- Port
618
= 'opencircuit
e'4
(4-1)
(4-2)
'short circuit
R =
eq
o' pen
circuit
(4-3)
'short circuit
(4-5)
where
Rf/2
ib-IEEE
Rq
(4-6)
Rf
__
= 2ap
(4-7)
Rq = PP
(4-8)
PP + Rb
Ratio = ____
aP + Rb
1E8
(4-9)
619
system f o r
Ifault=O
and corresponding Thevenin
e q u i v a l e n t c i r c u i t are drawn i n F i g u r e 4.3.
P-low
p-hi
Rb
R
RF72
Terminal 1
'b-IEEE
r--1
I
R +R
L
Rf!2 + R,
--
0.91
I
Terminal 1
Thevcnin Equivalent
P-low
P-hi
Rb
= 500 ohm-meters
= 10000 ohm-meters
= 500 ohms
$2
-'b-IEEE
-
t
I
Groundins Grid
1
t
h
'
R +Rb
eq
._---
= Om8'
Rf/2+Rb
T h i s i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e t r u e body c u r r e n t i s
about 123% o f t h a t p r e d i c t e d by ANSI/IEEE
Standard 80 formula.
Feet
0.5m
'b-me
Earth Surface
Terminal 2
---
L---_I
b-true
O T t - - f ) R b d y
= 160.09
= 265.13
__
Grid
= 1000
ohm-meters
ohm-meters
ohms
= 100
= 10000
- K= 0.95
---- K- 0.82
(100nmI 2,000s"
(100nm/ 1,000nm)
500nm)
K= 0.33 (100s" 200nm)
"small
K- 0.67 (1000ml
-__-
On t h e o t h e r hand, a second s o i l l a y e r w i t h a h i g h
r e s i s t i v i t y l i e s below t h e f i r s t . l a y e r , n o t v e r y f a r
below t h e grounding g r i d . T h i s s o i l l a y e r increases
t h e ground r e s i s t a n c e o f t h e f e e t much more t h a n t h e
mutual r e s i s t a n c e between t h e f e e t and t h e g r i d .
The p l o t i n F i g u r e 4.5 shows t h e worse case r a t i o o f
I E E E body c u r r e n t / t r u e body c u r r e n t ( w i t h Rbody=O) .as
a f u n c t i o n o f t h e depth o f t h e low/high r e s i s t i v i t y
s o i l i n t e r f a c e f o r several p o s s i b l e combinations o f
s o i l r e s i s t i v i t i e s . I n t h i s example, t h i s r a t i o
reaches
a minimum o f 60% f o r a high/low s o i l
r e s i s t i v i t y r a t i o o f 100 and 72% f o r a r e s i s t i v i t y
r a t i o o f 20. T h i s means t h a t t h e t r u e c u r r e n t s
passing through a body i n such s i t u a t i o n s can reach
167% and 139%, r e s p e c t i v e l y , o f those p r e d i c t e d u s i n g
t h e formula suggested i n t h e ANSI/IEEE 80 standard,
for
minimum body
r e s i s t a n c e and maximum s o i l
",
0.51
'2
5
3
201 O.b2
0.05 0:l
0:2
0:5
1.0
2.b
5.b
Figure 4.5 Plot of the worst case ratio of IEEE body current/
true body current for different top soil layer
thicknesses
T h i s example showed how Re c o u l d be made t o be much
Anoaher t h r e e more examples
s m a l l e r than Rf/2.
f o l l o w which d e s c r i b e t y p i c a l grounding s i t u a t i o n s
and i n d i c a t e t h e value o f t h e Re /(R /2) r a t i o f o r
each case. A l l examples use t h e s a l e foot/grounding
g r i d c o n f i g u r a t i o n described i n t h e Appendix A.
The examples g i v e n i n t h e f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n s are n o t
n e c e s s a r i l y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f a l l s i t u a t i o n s , b u t are
c i t e d r a t h e r t o e s t a b l i s h a data p o i n t f o r elach s o i l
configuration.
These
examples
have
nolt
been
c o n t r i v e d t o r e p r e s e n t e i t h e r worst cases o r b e s t
cases from a s a f e t y p o i n t o f view.
620
CONCLUSION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
"General Fundamentals of
Electrical Grounding Techniques", Le Bulletin de la
Societe Francaise des Electriciens, July 1951.
- User's
development
Figure A . l
shows the grid equivalent foot
configuration. Note that the configuration and size
of the electrode representing the feet were chosen so
that the ground resistance of the feet is about 3 p S .
Other sizes and shapes of the electrode would lead to
similar results and conclusions. Figure A.,? (parts
a, b, c, and d, respectively) shows the soil
structures which were studied.
-----_-
/m
Ptop
Cl0WF-f
G
di:
Soil Interface
Grid
P botlom
(high)
/2000nm
1OOnm
nterface
a) Horizontal %Layers
Side View
b) Vertical 2-Layers
Top View
Earth Surface
100rlm
lOOOnm
Soil
C)
Vertical Multi-Layer
Top View
Soil Interface 2
2000nm
Earth Surface
T
t
200nm
d) Horizontal Multi-Layer
Side View
622
Discussion
A. P. Sakis Meliopoulos, (School of Electrical Engineering Georgia
Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia 30332): The subject of this paper
is very important in safety assessment of grounding systems and the authors
should be commented for opening the discussion on this matter.
The purpose of this discussion is twofold: (a) the authors are asked to
clarify the interpretation of Figure 2.4 and (b) to present the basis of the
IEEE Std 80 on the subject of body current calculations.
In my opinion, Figure 2.4 of the paper represents a misinterpretation of
the ANSIlIEEE Std 80. For comparison purposes, Figure 6 of the guide is
repeated here. Note that the touch voltage is shown to be not across the
human body resistance but across the series combination of Rf/2 and Rb. In
other words, the Std 80 states that the touch voltage is the Thevenin
equivalent voltage and Rf/2 is the Thevenin equivalent resistance of the soil
at the points of contact. A tutorial explanation of Figure 6 of the Std 80 was
given in the EPRI report EL-2682 and it is repeated here for convenience.
The computational procedure for body currents consists of computing a
Thevenin equivalent circuit connected to the points of contact of the human
body with the ground field (i.e., points A and B in Fig. lb). The Thevenin
voltage source, and (b) the equivalent resistance. The voltage source equals
the open-circuit voltage, meaning in this case the voltage at the points of
contact when the human being is not touching. This voltage will be the
touch voltage. The equivalent internal resistance between the points of
contact can be accurately computed with numerical techniques (1).
For fast but approximate computations, the human foot can be modeled
as a plate touching the surface of the earth. The resistance of the plate to
remote earth is approximately
where p is the resistivity of the earth and b is the radius of the plate. The
human foot definitely is not a circular plate. However, it has been observed
with scale models and numerical studies that the area of the foot in touch
with the earth is the determining variable. For this reason, b can be
approximated with
b=d:
(b)
Fig. 1. Definition of equivalent circuit for the computation of body currents due
to a touch voltage.
where A is the area of the foot in touch with the earth. For an adult with
large feet, the area A of the persons feet is approximately 200 cmz. Thus
the value of b is computed to be
A
4
b z 0.08 m
In this case the resistance of one foot touching the earth is
R A = R s + ~ ( R +F RMF)
The equivalent resistance, rq, in Fig. lb, should also take into account the
resistance of the grounding system. However, for practical grounding
systems, this resistance is typically small compared to the resistance 1.5 p ,
and thus omitted. In my opinion, cases in which the effect of the grounding
system resistance can account for more than 5 % are of academic importance
only.
Once the Thevenin equivalent circuit has been computed, the electric
current through the human body, ih, is computed from
ib=Veq
req
+ rb
where rb is the resistance of the human body between the points of contact.
It is this reasoning which leads to the equations in the IEEE Std 80. The
accuracy of the approximate equation for reg has been checked by the
discusser using sophisticated computer models (Reference 1, pages 2-12
through 2-17.) and found acceptable for all practical applications.
flows from the feet to infinity and is governed by pa which is the effective
resistivity from the surface of the earth to infinity. The corresponding foot
resistance Rfmcan be calculated assuming the pattern of the flow of Ibto be
unaffected by the flow of If. If the foot is taken as a circular plate having a
radius r = 0.08 m, then,
Ro
If
Rfm=p,,/4r s 3p,
(1)
. p , / d = 3p,
Rfs=0.5p1/?rr:
(3)
(4)
(5)
= 0.23 m
(8)
(D)
(C )
The 1958 AIEE report and the 1976 edition of the Standard use eqn. (2)
to calculate Rf . This is not appropriate because it corresponds to the case of
transmission towers rather than the case of substations for which the
Standard is intended. The method used in the 1986 edition of the Standard is
also not appropriate since it corresponds to Fig. 1A which is not a touch
voltage situation at all. On the other hand, section 4.2.4 of this paper
correctly identifies the subject resistance as the resistance, through earth,
between the feet and the grid. The numerical examples given in Section
4 . 2 . 5 g i v e G = 160Qforpl = 1 0 0 Q m a n d Q = 784Qforp, = 5 0 0 Q
m. Noting that:
%q = 0.5Rh,
(A)
(2)
where p. is the resistivity of only the surface layer of the earth. Although a
numerical similarity exists between (1) and (2), they are completely
different from each other because each is expressed in terms of a different
resistivity.
Parts E and F of Fig. 1 show the case of a substation. In this case, the
driving voltage is taken as the mesh voltage rather than the voltage
corresponding to 1 m reach which is used in the case of a transmission
tower. Here there is no significant fault current flowing in the layer (usually
0.5 m thick) separating the ground mat from the surface of the earth. The
body current flows from the feet to the ground mat, as shown by the dotted
lines in Fig. 1E. Hence Rk (subscript s denotes the substation) is equivalent
to a parallel plate resistor having a length equal to 0.5 m and an effective
cross section significantly larger than that of the foot. Let this cross section
be a circular plate of radius rl . In the typical case, the 0.5 m burial depth of
the mat consists of two layers: a thin surface layer of resistivity p s (crushed
rock) followed by native soil of variable resistivity p , . If the whole burial
depth is covered by a single material of resistivity p , , then,
(6)
which is physically reasonable. Note that the above numerical values are
based on a ground mat consisting of a single 20 m x 20 m mesh and without
a crushed rock layer. Obviously, this is not a typical design case.
Other comments on the paper and the IEEE Standard follow.
1. Assume the fault current to be flowing and the man to be standing next to
the structure but not yet touching it. This is indicated in Figs. 1D and 1F
by switch S. The touch voltage should be logically defined as the
difference in voltage between the structure and the hand of the man in
the above situation. This is the definition used in both the 1958 AIEE
Report and the 1976 edition of the Standard, as per Fig. 2.3 of the paper.
After the hand contact is established, a fraction of the touch voltage
appears across the mans body, and that portion should be rather called
Rb
0.5 Rfs
623
(GPR -Emesh)
(F)
(E)
CASE OF SUBSTATIONS
i0.5
Rd
(7)
(8)
The 1986 edition of the Standard defines &ouch as given in Fig. 2.4 which
is not appropriate. Having done so, I b should be calculated using the
form of eqn. (8). Instead, the Standard uses a form similar to (7) [eqn.
(25) on p. 461 which is incorrect. This confusion would be cleared up by
using two different terms: Touch Voltage and Body Voltage.
2. When measuring the touch voltage, the mans body is replaced by a high
impedance instrument as shown by the dotted lines in Figs. 1D and 1F.
Since this draws a negligible current, the voltage drop across the
resistance (0.5 Rf) is also negligible. Hence the instrument records the
correct value of the touch voltage without requiring access to point A in
the mound.
3. The ultimate fault current upon which the design of the ground mat of a
HV substation is based, is usually in the range 5-50 kA. For the ground
mat to meet safety requirements, it must limit the body current to a
fraction of an ampere: about 0.2 A for the typical case of a 0.3 second
fault duration. Without restoring to calculations, it is obvious that the
diversion of such a negligible fraction of the total fault current into a
different path (the mans body) cannot change the voltage distribution in
the ground. With Etouchproperly defined as in Fig. 2.3, the assumption
that the touch voltage is practically the same regardless of the existence
of the man at the site must be valid. Of course, preliminary design
work may include grounding configurations which turn out to be
inadequate and hence are dropped. For some of those preliminary design
cases, the body current may be excessive enough to invalidate the above
Y
624
625
M r . Mousa e t a l . :
We n o t e t h a t t h i s d i s c u s s i o n u n d e r l i n e s o u r p r i n c i p a l
a s s e r t i o n : t h a t t h e ANSI/IEEE Standard 80 equation
can o n l y be made accurate i f f o o t r e s i s t a n c e i s
d e f i n e d as " r e s i s t a n c e , through e a r t h , between t h e
f e e t and g r i d " , r a t h e r t h a n t h e p r e s e n t i m p l i c i t
d e f i n i t i o n which i s " t h e r e s i s t a n c e through e f r t h ,
between t h e f e e t and i n f i n i t y (remote e a r t h ) .
In
o t h e r words, t h e p r e s e n t standard n e g l e c t s
the
f o o t - g r i d p r o x i m i t y e f f e c t when c a l c u l a t i n g t h e f o o t
r e s i s t a n c e v a l u e t o use i n t h e body c u r r e n t equation.
The d i s c u s s e r s have under1 i n e d t h a t t h e examples we
have presented do n o t r e p r e s e n t t y p i c a l design cases.
We must emphasize t h a t , i n e x p l o r i n g t h e e f f e c t s o f
v a r i o u s parameters on t h e importance o f t h e g r i d - f o o t
p r o x i m i t y e f f e c t , we have chosen designs which a r e
not
often
encountered
i n t y p i c a l transmission
substations i n order t o obtain s i g n i f i c a n t r e s u l t s .
I n so doing, we have u n d e r l i n e d t h e s i g n i f i c a n t
parameters, c l e a r l y
i l l u s t r a t e d t h e i r . possible
e f f e c t s i n a conceptual and q u a n t i t a t i v e manner, and
shown t h a t i n "normal"
transmission
substation
grounding
situations,
p r o x i m i t y e f f e c t s can be
neglected.
The d i s c u s s e r s p o i n t o u t t h a t no case has been
examined i n which, as i s t y p i c a l l y t h e case f o r
t r a n s m i s s i o n s u b s t a t i o n s , a l a y e r o f crushed r o c k
covers t h e e a r t h ' s surface.
The e f f e c t o f such a
l a y e r , assuming t h a t i t s r e s i s t i v i t y i s g r e a t e r t h a n
t h a t o f t h e s o i l below, w i l l be t o d i m i n i s h t h e
importance o f t h e g r i d - f o o t p r o x i m i t y e f f e c t . To see
t h i s , remember t h a t t h e g r i d - f o o t p r o x i m i t y e f f e c t i s
g r e a t e s t when t h e r e s i s t a n c e through e a r t h between
t h e f e e t and t h e g r i d i s small compared t o t h e
r e s i s t a n c e through e a r t h between t h e
feet
and
i n f i n i t y (remote ground).
A crushed r o c k l a y e r
diminishes t h i s d i f f e r e n c e , and hence d i m i n i s h e s
f u r t h e r t h e p o s s i b l e i n a c c u r a c i e s generated by t h e
present ANSI/IEEE method. I t i s , however, i m p o r t a n t
t o n o t e here, t h a t t h e s u r f a c e c o v e r i n g m a t e r i a l
i n t r o d u c e s o t h e r d i f f i c u l t i e s , which a r e n o t r e l a t e d
t o t h e problem discussed i n t h i s paper; t h i s s u b j e c t
i s p r e s e n t l y under i n v e s t i g a t i o n and research r e s u l t s
w i l l be communicated as soon as t h e y
become
available.
I n d e s c r i b i n g t h e c u r r e n t conduction mechanism i n t h e
s o i l , t h e d i s c u s s e r s have r e s o r t e d t o d e s c r i b i n g
v a r i o u s types o f p a r a l l e l p l a t e r e s i s t o r s , imaginary
l i n e s o f c u r r e n t , and an a r i b i t r a r y depth d e l t a H
which i s r e m i n i s c e n t o f t h e 1958 AIEE Committee
Report
pictorial
definition
o f touch v o l t a g e .
S t r i c t l y speaking, we cannot agree w i t h
these
e x p l a n a t i o n s which a r t i f i c a l l y c o n f i n e t h e f o o t
r e s i s t a n c e t o c y l i n d r i c a l clumps o f e a r t h below t h e
feet,
and c o n f i n e c u r r e n t f l o w t o imaginary l i n e s of
c u r r e n t . One statement i n p a r t i c u l a r , " t h e bofy
c u r r e n t f l o w s from t h e f e e t t o t h e ground mat ,
r e q u i r e s c o r r e c t i o n : body c u r r e n t f l o w s from t h e
f e e t t o remote ground ( o r t h e remote g e n e r a t i n g
ground) a l o n g every p o s s i b l e path, b u t tends t o a v o i d
t h e ground mat; t h i s l a t t e r behaves as a competing
e l e c t r o d e which a l s o i n j e c t s c u r r e n t i n t o t h e ground.
Also, f o o t r e s i s t a n c e i s t h e r e s i s t a n c e o f t h e mass
o f e a r t h s e p a r a t i n g t h e f e e t from t h e grounding g r i d ,
and n o t
any k i n d o f c y l i n d e r .
The p i c t o r i a l
d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e d i s c u s s e r s i s u s e f u l t o some
e x t e n t because i t h e l p s i n v i s u a l i z i n g t h e problem on
an i n t u i t i v e l e v e l .
We must i n s i s t t h a t t h e v o l t a g e d i s t r i b u t i o n a t t h e
e a r t h ' s s u r f a c e near t h e f e e t o f t h e human s u b j e c t i s
d i s t u r b e d as soon as t h e s u b j e c t i s connected t o
r e c e i v e an e l e c t r i c shock, however small, and t h a t
t h e change i n t h e p o t e n t i a l a t t h e f o o t c o n t a c t
p o i n t , when t h e shock begins, i s independent o f t h e
magnitude o f t h e ( p o s s i b l y v e r y s m a l l )
current
passing through t h e body, f o r a g i v e n p r e - e x i s t i n g
touch voltage: i t i s a f u n c t i o n o f
the
body
resistance
and
foot-to-grid
resistance
(and
p r e - e x i s t i n g touch v o l t a g e ) o n l y .
Admittedly, t h e
extent
of
t h e e a r t h mass which experiences a
s i g n i f i c a n t change i n v o l t a g e due t o t h e connection
o f t h e human i n t h e c i r c u i t can be v e r y small, and
decreases w i t h decreasing body c u r r e n t ; b u t Mousa e t
a l ' s Body Voltage t o Touch Voltage r a t i o o f 0.2
confirms t h e c o n c l u s i o n s (about v o l t a g e d i s t r i b u t i o n
near t h e f e e t ) d e r i v e d from o u r s t u d i e s .
I f tough v o l t a g e i s d e f i n e d as t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n
p o t e n t i a l between a p o s s i b l e ( o r a c t u a l ) hand c o n t a c t
p o i n t and a p o s s i b l e ( o r a c t u a l ) f o o t c o n t a c t p o i n t
on t h e e a r t h ' s surface, and i f t h e f o o t - t o - g r i d
r e s i s t a n c e i s a s i g n i f i c a n t f r a c t i o n o f t h e body
r e s i s t a n c e , t h e n c l e a r l y , t h e touch v o l t a g e w i l l
change s i g n i f i c a n t l y from t h e case i n which no human
i s p r e s e n t t o t h e case where t h e human i s present,
even i f t h e body c u r r e n t i s 0.2 A o n l y .
i s f a r as F i g u r e 4 . 5 i s concerned, we l a b e l l e d i t
w o r s t case r a t i o o f I E E E body c u r r e n t / t r u e body
current" i n order t o underline i t s t r u e s i g n i f i c a n c e
and t h u s a v o i d m i s l e a d i n g anybody; we c l e a r l y p o i n t
o u t i n S e c t i o n 4 . 2 . 5 and on t h e p l o t i t s e l f , t h a t
t h i s r a t i o a p p l i e s f o r Rbody = 0 ( o r h i g h s o i l
resistivities).
We f u r t h e r presented 2 examples t o
i l l u s t r a t e t h e r e s u l t s when t h e c o r r e c t approach i s
a p p l i e d t o t y p i c a l cases, and t o show t h a t these
r e s u l t s d i f f e r from t h o s e o b t a i n e d from t h e w o r s t
case scenario.
I n conclusion, t h i s whole i s s u e b o i l s down t o one
question: p r e s e n t l y ANSI/IEEE Standard 80 performs
body c u r r e n t c a l c u l a t i o n s u s i n g a f o o t r e s i s t a n c e
which assumes a t r a n s f e r r e d p o t e n t i a l s i t u a t i o n as
i l l u s t r a t e d by F i g u r e 1 A o f Mousa e t a l ; i . e . , t h e
e f f e c t o f mutual c o u p l i n g between a s u b j e c t ' s f e e t
and
a nearby g r i d i s completely ignored.
Our
q u e s t i o n was: how much d i f f e r e n c e does t h i s make - i n
any s i t u a t i o n : w i t h o r w i t h o u t g r a v e l , f o r v a r i o u s
1 i k e l y and u n l i k e l y body r e s i s t a n c e s , f o r v a r i o u s
s o i l structures?
Our research i n d i c a t e s t h a t , i n
general, p r o x i m i t y e f f e c t s a r e minimal f o r t y p i c a l
We
t r a n s m i s s i o n s u b s t a t i o n grounding s i t u a t i o n s .
have described, however, circumstances under which
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