Date: 09.09.2021 Register No.

: 18BME0519

Experiment no. 4
Study of Various Types of Earthing
Name: Jude John Antony Slot: L23+L24 Register No.: 18BME0519

Earthing:
It is the process of transferring the immediate discharge of the electrical energy directly to
the earth by the help of the low resistance wire is known as the electrical earthing. The
electrical earthing is done by connecting the non-current carrying part of the equipment or
neutral of supply system to the ground.
Every building, equipment, power plant, substation facility included in electricity require
earth grounding, either directly or through grounding system. The main objective of doing
earthing in electrical network is safety.But when the neutral for any system is not connected
with the earth then it will be known as electrical system without earthing as depicted below

Mostly, the galvanised iron is used for the earthing. The earthing provides the simple path
to the leakage current and fault current in the system. The short-circuit current of the
equipment passes to the earth which is assumed to have zero potential. Thus, protects the
system equipment and personnel working with these equipments from damage as well as
shock current as shown below
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Major Reference Standards Related to Earthing

Standard and Year Description

IS 3043: 1987- 2018 Code of Practice for Earthing
IEEE 80: 2013 I IEEE Guide for Safety in AC Substation Grounding

IEEE 141: 1993 IEEE Recommended Practice for Electric Power

Distribution for Industrial Plants

Important Indian Electricity (IE) Rules and General Requirement for Earthing

As per Rule No. 61 of IE Rules

• The value of resistance of earth system shall not be more than 5 ohms unless
specifically stated otherwise
• The minimum size of earth lead used in any installation shall have a nominal cross-
section of at least 3 mm2 for copper or 6 mm2 for galvanized iron (GI) or steel
• Earthing shall not be situated within a distance of 1.5 meter from the building whose
installation system is being installed
• The earth wire as well as the earth electrode should be of the same material
• Equipment should be connected with two distinct paths of earthing

Importance or Purpose of Earthing:

• To Protect the workers who regularly come in contact with electrical devices that
might give them a shock.
• To keep the voltage of the device constant in the healthy phase in case of single
of single phase to ground fault.
• A good grounding path which has a low impedance value ensure that faults in the
electrical path are cleared quickly. If the faults stay within the system for a long
time, they can pose a serious threat to the stability of the system.
• Many modern electronic devices generate a form of ‘electrical noise’ that can
cause damage to the device and reduce its efficiency, unless the device is
property grounded.
• Surge protection device function better with the of help of proper grounding.
• Malfunctioning electric devices often leak electricity, which has the potential to
start a fire if not redirected safely.
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Types Of Electrical Earthing:

There are two types of electrical earthing; EQUIPMENT and NEUTRAL. All
electrical systems are composed of two parts that do not carry a current, serving
as the system’s frame.
• Equipment earthing is used for the equipment itself. The frame is affixed to
the earth with a conducting wire which directs currents towards the earth,
away from the system should a fault occur.
• Neutral earthing is used by connecting the earth directly with a code
compliant conductor. This is the type of earthing connection found in
most earthing systems protecting transformers, generators, etc

Factors Influencing Effective Earthing:

1. Soil condition:
The condition of soil plays a key role in determining the efficacy of earthing. The resistance
of the earth, the salt, and the moisture level of the soil tell earthing specialists as to how an
earthing is made. For example, earthing in rocky soil is different from earthing in wet soil.

2. Soil resistivity:
Soil resistivity is another factor that affects earthing installations. Different conditions of soil
provide different kinds of soil resistivity. A majority of soil conditions are not adaptable to
earthing installations. Experts measure soil resistivity in ohm-cm or ohm-meters. Soil having
low resistivity is extremely corrosive. The resistivity value of soil will be extremely high if the
soil is dry and if the soil has high resistivity, then the electrode’s earth resistance will be
high.

3. Dissolved salts:
Pure water is poor conductor of electricity. Resistivity of soil depends on resistivity of water
which in turn depends on the amount and nature of salts dissolved in it. Small quantity of
salts in water reduces soil resistivity by 80%. Common salt is most effective in improving
conductivity of soil. But it corrodes metal and hence discouraged.

4. Moisture in Soil:
Moisture has a great influence on resistivity value of soil. Moisture that exists in the soil is
tested by considering the amount of water contained by the soil & its water resistivity.
Hence, it is very important to provide water in the earth and around it for maintaining
moisture in a dry climate.

5. Location of Earth Pit:

The location also contributes to resistivity to a great extent. In a sloping landscape, or in a
land with made up of soil, or areas which are hilly, rocky or sandy, water runs off and in dry
weather conditions water table goes down very fast. In such situation back fill compound
will not be able to attract moisture, as the soil around the pit would be dry. Though back fill
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compound retains moisture under normal conditions, it gives off moisture during dry
weather to the dry soil around the electrode, and in the process loses moisture over a
period of time. Therefore, choose a site that is naturally not well drained.
6.Climate condition:
The climate condition also affects the earthing process. When the moisture in the soil
increases or decreases, the soil is increased or decreased respectively. So, in a dry climate,
the resistivity is high & in monsoons, the resistivity becomes low.

7.Physical Composition:
A variety of soil compositions offers different resistivity. Clay soil has a 4-150 ohm-meter
resistivity range, whereas the range for gravel or rocky soils may be above than 1000 ohm-
meter.

8.Effect of Grain size and its distribution:

Grain size, its distribution and closeness of packing are also contributory factors, since they
control the manner in which the moisture is held in the soil. Effect of seasonal variation on
soil resistivity: Increase or decrease of moisture content in soil determines decrease or
increase of soil resistivity. Thus in dry weather resistivity will be very high and during rainy
season the resistivity will be low.

9.Effect of current magnitude:

Soil resistivity in the vicinity of ground electrode may be affected by current flowing from
the electrode into the surrounding soil. The thermal characteristics and the moisture
content of the soil will determine if a current of a given magnitude and duration will cause
significant drying and thus increase the effect of soil resistivity.

10. Area Available:

Single electrode rod or strip or plate will not achieve the desired resistance alone.
If a number of electrodes could be installed and interconnected the desired resistance could
be achieved. The distance between the electrodes must be equal to the driven depth to
avoid overlapping of area of influence. Each electrode, therefore, must be outside the
resistance area of the other.
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11. Obstructions:
The soil may look good on the surface, but there may be obstructions below a few feet like
virgin rock. In that event resistivity will be affected. Obstructions like concrete structure
near about the pits will affect resistivity. If the earth pits are close by, the resistance value
will be high.

12. Current magnitude:

A current of significant magnitude and duration will cause significant drying
condition in soil and thus increase the soil resistivity.

Conventional Methods of Earthing

1. Plate Type Earthing

• Generally for plate type earthing normal Practice is to use
• Cast iron plate of size 600 mm x600 mm x12 mm. OR
• Galvanized iron plate of size 600 mm x600 mm x6 mm. OR
• Copper plate of size 600 mm * 600 mm * 3.15 mm
• Plate burred at the depth of 8 feet in the vertical position and GI strip of size 50
mmx6 mm bolted with the plate is brought up to the ground level.
• These types of earth pit are generally filled with alternate layer of charcoal & salt up
to 4 feet from the bottom of the pit.

2. Pipe Type Earthing:

For Pipe type earthing normal practice is to use GI pipe [C-class] of 75 mm diameter, 10 feet
long welded with 75 mm diameter GI flange having 6 numbers of holes for the connection of
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earth wires and inserted in ground by auger method. These types of earth pit are generally
filled with alternate layer of charcoal & salt or earth reactivation compound.

Selection of Earthing System:

The four earthing systems:

➢ TT: The protective earth connection is independent from that of the
➢ installation.
➢ IT: Neutral is isolated to the protective earth or connected by
➢ impedance.
➢ TN-C: Neutral and protective earth are combined.
➢ TN-S: Neutral and protective earth are independent.
➢ TN-C-S: Neutral and protective functions are combined in a single conductor in a part
of the TN-C-S system
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Method for constructing an Earth pit

• Excavation on earth for a normal earth Pit size is 1.5M X 1.5M X 3.0 M.
• Use 500 mm X 500 mm X 10 mm GI Plate or Bigger Size for more Contact of Earth
and reduce Earth Resistance.
• Make a mixture of Wood Coal Powder Salt & Sand all in equal part
• Wood Coal Powder use as good conductor of electricity, anti corrosive, rust proves
for GI Plate for long life.
• The purpose of coal and salt is to keep wet the soil permanently.
• The salt percolates and coal absorbs water keeping the soil wet.
• Care should always be taken by watering the earth pits in summer so that the pit
soil will be wet.
• Coal is made of carbon which is good conductor minimizing the earth resistant.
• Salt use as electrolyte to form conductivity between GI Plate Coal and Earth with
humidity.
• Sand has used to form porosity to cycle water & humidity around the mixture.
• Put GI Plate (EARTH PLATE) of size 500 mm X 500 mm X 10 mm in the mid of
mixture.
• Use Double GI Strip size 30 mm X 10 mm to connect GI Plate to System Earthling.
• It will be better to use GI Pipe of size 2.5″ diameter with a Flange on the top of GI
Pipe to cover GI Strip from EARTH PLATE to Top Flange.
• Cover Top of GI pipe with a T joint to avoid jamming of pipe with dust & mud and
also use water time to time through this pipe to bottom of earth plate.
• Maintain less than one Ohm Resistance from EARTH PIT conductor to a distance of
15 Meters around the EARTH PIT with another conductor dip on the Earth at least
500 mm deep.
• Check Voltage between Earth Pit conductors to Neutral of Mains Supply 220V AC
50 Hz it should be less than 2.0 Volts.
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Resistance of Plate and Pipe Earthing

Calculation of Resistance of Plate Earthing as per IS 3043

Computation of Maximum Allowable Current Density

Experimental work which has been done by experts has been confined to model tests with
spherical electrodes in clay or loam of low resistivity and has led to the following
conclusions:
• Long-duration loading due to normal unbalance of the system will not cause failure
of earth-electrodes provided that the current density at the electrode surface does
not exceed 40A/m2. Limitation to values below this would generally be imposed by
the necessity to secure a low-resistance earth
• Time to failure on short-time overload is inversely proportional to the specific
loading, which is given by i2, where i is the current density at the electrode surface.
For the soils investigated, the maximum permissible current density, i is given by

A. EARTHING RESISTANCE AND NUMBER OF RODS FOR ISOLATED EARTH PIT

The earth resistance of single rod or pipe electrode is calculated as per BS 7430:

Where:
ρ = Resistivity of soil (Ω meter),
L = Length of electrode (meter),
D = Diameter of electrode (meter)

Example:

Calculate isolated earthing rod resistance. The earthing rod is 4 meter long
and having 12.2mm diameter, soil resistivity 500 Ω meter.

R=500/ (2×3.14×4) x (Loge (8×4/0.0125)-1) =156.19 Ω.

The earth resistance of single rod or pipe electrode is calculated as per IS 3040:

R=100xρ/2×3.14xL (loge(4xL/d))
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Where:
ρ = Resistivity of soil (Ω meter),
L = Length of electrode (cm),
D = Diameter of electrode (cm)

B. EARTHING RESISTANCE AND NUMBER OF RODS FOR ISOLATED EARTH PIT

(WITH BURIED EARTHING STRIP)

Example:
Calculate GI strip having width of 12mm , length of 2200 meter buried in ground at
depth of 200mm, soil resistivity is 72.44 Ω-meter.

Resistance of earth strip(Re) = 72.44/2×3.14x2200x(loge (2x2200x2200/.2x.012)) =

0.050 Ω
From above calculation overall resistance of 60 no of earthing pipes (Rp) = 0.133
Ω.
And it connected to bury earthing strip. Here net earthing resistance =
(RpxRe)/(Rp+Re)
Net eatrthing resistance = (0.133×0.05)/(0.133+0.05) = 0.036 Ω

C. TOTAL EARTHING RESISTANCE AND NUMBER OF ELECTRODE FOR GROUP

(PARALLEL)

In cases where a single electrode is not sufficient to provide the desired earth resistance,
more than one electrode shall be used. The separation of the electrodes shall be about 4
m. The combined resistance of parallel electrodes is a complex function of several
factors, such as the number and configuration of electrode the array.

The total resistance of group of electrodes in different configurations as per BS 7430:

Where:
S = Distance between adjustment rod (meter),
λ = Factor given in table below,
n = Number of electrodes,
ρ = Resistivity of soil (Ω meter),
R = Resistance of single rod in isolation (Ω)
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For Hollow square total number of electrodes (N) = (4n-1).

The rule of thumb is that rods in parallel should be spaced at least twice their length to
utilize the full benefit of the additional rods. If the separation of the electrodes is much
larger than their lengths and only a few electrodes are in parallel, then the resultant
earth resistance can be calculated using the ordinary equation for resistances in parallel.

Soil Resistivity Types and Typical Values

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Resistance of Pipe/ Rod Electrode

Sizing of Earth Strip in Earthing Arrangement

Calculation of Minimum Cross-Sectional Area of Earthing Conductor

Cross-sectional area shall be so calculated that the current density value

determined by the following formula is not exceeded (applicable only for
disconnection times not exceeding 5 s).

The k factors for protective conductors of copper, steel and aluminium are
shown in Fig. 17 to Fig. 19 as indicated in IS 3043.
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Calculation of Number of Earthing Rods

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Factors affecting ground Resistance:

The NEC code requires a minimum ground electrode length of 2.5 meters (8.0 feet) to be
in contact with the soil. But, there are some factor that affect the ground resistance of a
ground system:
• Length / Depth of the ground electrode: double the length, reduce ground resistance
by up to 40%.
• Diameter of the ground electrode: double the diameter, lower ground resistance by
only 10%.
• Number of ground electrodes for increased effectiveness, space additional
electrodes at least equal to the depth of the ground electrodes

Measurement of Earth resistance by use of Earth Resistor:

For measuring soil resistivity Earth Tester is used. It is also called the
“MEGGER”.
It has a voltage source, a meter to measure Resistance in ohms, switches to
change instrument range, Wires to connect terminal to Earth Electrode and
Spikes.
• It is measured by using Four Terminal Earth Tester Instrument. The
terminals are connected by wires as in illustration.
• P=Potential Spike and C=Current Spike. The distance between the spikes
may be 1M, 2M, 5M, 10M, 35M, and 50M.
• All spikes are equidistant and in straight line to maintain electrical
continuity. Take measurement in different directions.
• Soil resistivity =2πLR.
• R= Value of Earth resistance in ohm.
• Distance between the spikes in cm.
• π = 3.14
• P = Earth resistivity ohm-cm.
• Earth resistance value is directly proportional to Soil resistivity value

Maximum Allowable Earth Resistance:

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Treatments for minimizing Earth resistance:

• Remove Oxidation on joints and joints should be tightened.
• Poured sufficient water in earth electrode.
• Used bigger size of Earth Electrode.
• Electrodes should be connected in parallel.
• Earth pit of more depth & width- breadth should be made.