Ground Mat Tutorial

Grounding Design and Analysis Software for Windows

Copyright 2009, SKM Systems Analysis, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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SKM Ground Mat

Ground Mat
V 2.0.0.3

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1 - GROUNDING DESIGN AND ANALYSIS PRINCIPLES ................. 3 PART 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 3 Objectives ........................................................................................................... 3 Basic Concepts .................................................................................................... 3 Standards ............................................................................................................. 4 Definitions........................................................................................................... 4 PART 2: SAFETY CRITERIA ............................................................................................... 5 Body Tolerable Current ...................................................................................... 5 Human Body Resistance ..................................................................................... 6 Foot Resistance ................................................................................................... 6 Touch and Step Voltage Limit ............................................................................ 7 PART 3: GROUND GRID .................................................................................................... 8 Ground Potential Rise ......................................................................................... 8 Ground Grid ........................................................................................................ 8 Ground Rod ......................................................................................................... 8 PART 4: SOIL MEASUREMENT AND MODELING ................................................................ 9 Soil Measurement ............................................................................................... 9 Soil Model ......................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2 - GROUND MAT .................................................................................... 11 PART 1: IMPORTANT CONCEPTS .............................................................................. 11 Interface ............................................................................................................ 11 Project Tree View ............................................................................................. 11 Graphic View .................................................................................................... 11 Spreadsheet View.............................................................................................. 11 Project Management ......................................................................................... 12 Solution Algorithms .......................................................................................... 12 SKM Ground Mat 1

PART 2: SETTING UP A GROUND MAT STUDY.......................................................... 13 Create a New Project ........................................................................................ 13 Create a New Study .......................................................................................... 13 Earth View ........................................................................................................ 14 Soil Measurement Library ................................................................................ 15 Surface Material ................................................................................................ 17 Grid View.......................................................................................................... 17 2D CAD ............................................................................................................ 18 2D Grid Setup ................................................................................................... 19 Drawing Toolbar ............................................................................................... 21 Navigation Toolbar ........................................................................................... 25 Grid Spreadsheet ............................................................................................... 27 Conductor Size .................................................................................................. 28 Conductor Material ........................................................................................... 29 Site Area............................................................................................................ 30 PART 3: RUNNING GROUND MAT ANALYSIS ........................................................... 32 Analyze Multiple Studies .................................................................................. 32 Study Options.................................................................................................... 33 Safety Criteria ................................................................................................... 33 Study Setup ....................................................................................................... 35 Report Setup...................................................................................................... 36 Fault Current ..................................................................................................... 37 PART 4: ANALYZE STUDY OUTPUT RESULTS .......................................................... 39 Study Progress Dialog....................................................................................... 39 Output Results in the Text Report .................................................................... 39 Output Results in the Graphic Plots .................................................................. 42 Graphical Results Earth Potential Plot ........................................................... 42 Graphical Results Touch Voltage Plot ........................................................... 43 Graphical Results Step Voltage Plot .............................................................. 44 Graphical Results Graphic Properties ............................................................ 45 PART 5: GROUND MAT SAMPLE PROJECT...50

SKM Ground Mat

Chapter 1 - Grounding Design and Analysis Principles

Part 1: Introduction
This chapter is focused on the Basic Concepts, Safety Criteria and related methodology and standards to give an introduction to application of the SKM Ground Mat.

Objectives
In principle a safe grounding design has the following objectives: 1. Provide appropriate path to carry electric currents into the earth in case of normal and fault conditions without exceeding the operating and equipment limits or adversely affecting the continuity of the service. 2. Assure that any person in vicinity of grounded facilities is not exposed to the danger of electric shock.

Basic Concepts
When there is a ground fault, part of this current is injected into the grounding system and leaks from the metallic conductors buried in the soil to the surrounding earth. The combination of the Ground Grid and the earth characteristics may represent a resistance along the injected current path known as the Grid or Ground Resistance and will lead to a potential rise in the grid known as the Ground Potential Rise or GPR. The injection of the current into the Ground Grid induces potential on the nearby soil having the superimposed effect. This will lead to a potential rise on the surface of the earth and at the point of contact with the human body that is called the Earth Potential. The electric potential difference between the Human Body points of contacts with the Earth Surface and grounded metallic structures within the substation area should be limited based on the Fault Clearing Time. The maximum body contact voltage should be limited not to exceed the Body Tolerable Current known as the Fibrillation current within the fault clearing time. Such electric potential difference is normally defined for two types of body contacts called Touch Voltage and Step Voltage. Therefore the main objective in designing a grounding system is to limit the Touch and Step Voltage within the tolerable margin across the respective area while having an acceptable GPR.

SKM Ground Mat

Standards
The referenced standards in Substation Grounding and Ground Mat are: IEEE Std. 80-2000: IEEE Guide for Safety in AC Substation Grounding. ANSI/IEEE Std. 81-1986: ANSI/IEEE Guide for Measuring Earth Resistivity, Ground Impedance, and Earth Surface Potentials of a Ground System. IEC Std. 60479-1: Effects of current on human beings and livestock, Part 1General aspects. While IEEE 80 standard gives detailed guidelines for design and testing a grounding system and presents simplified approach, the IEC 60479-1 standard covers only Effects of current passing through human body and does not address most of the computational issues. The Ground Mat user is assumed to be familiar with the applicable standards.

Definitions
Each standard has a section for the definitions and it is assumed that the Ground Mat user is familiar with the IEEE Std. 80. The most used definitions are repeated here for reference. Ground Potential Rise (GPR): 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 voltage, GPR, is equal to the maximum grid current times the grid resistance. Touch Voltage: The potential difference between the ground potential rise (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. Step Voltage: The difference in surface potential experienced by a person bridging a distance of 1 m with the feet without contacting any grounded object.

SKM Ground Mat

Part 2: Safety Criteria

Body Tolerable Current
Effect of the frequency, magnitude and duration of electric currents has been studied on human body and can be summarized as follows: Currents at 50/60 Hz frequencies and about 0.1 A magnitude can be lethal for human body. Human Body can sustain higher DC currents (about five times) and AC currents with 3-10kHz frequencies. The current magnitudes in the range of 60100 mA are causing heart muscle fibrillation and may lead to death depending on passage duration. IEEE Std 80 concludes that the nonfibrillating AC current of magnitude IB at durations ranging from 0.033.0 seconds can be related to the body absorbed energy as described by the following equation:
IB = SB ts = k ts
(1)

Where
IB ts SB K

is the rms magnitude of the current through the body in A is the duration of the current exposure in seconds is the empirical constant related to the electric shock energy tolerated by a certain percent of a given population is empirical constant equal to root square of SB. The shock energy that can be survived by 99.5% of persons weighing approximately 50 kg (110 lb) equals to SB of 0.0135. Thus, k50 = 0.116 and the (1) formula for the allowable body current becomes: 0.116 ts

IB =

(2)

The k70 or constant for persons weighing approximately 70 kg (154 lb) equals to 0.157. IEC 60479-1 represents the permissible body current versus electric shock duration in form of zones (AC-1 to AC-4). Zone AC-4 that is representative of probability fibrillation current based on the shock duration time is split into three sub-zones (AC4.1, AC-4.2 and AC-4.3) through curves (C1, C2 and C3) for three grades of ventricular fibrillation probability. SKM Ground Mat 5

Human Body Resistance

The total body resistance consists of Resistance for Skin, Internal Body, Point of Contact and additional body protection like the shoes and the gloves. IEEE Std. 80 recommends a total value of 1000 Ohms for the Skin and Internal Body Resistance. This value represents the resistance of human body from hand-to-feet and also from hand-to-hand, or from one foot to the other foot. RB =1000 Ohms (3)

The IEC 479-1 asserts that body resistance is a function of the contact voltage and may lead to less than the fixed value of 1000 Ohms recommended by IEEE Std. 80.

Foot Resistance
The ground resistance of one foot (with presence of the substation grounding system ignored) is represented in IEEE Std 80 as Rf in through the following equation:

Rf =

s
4b

Cs

(4)

Where Cs

s
b

is the surface layer derating factor is the surface material resistivity in m is the radius of the circular metallic disc representing the foot in m, normally equal to 0.08 m

If the b is substituted with the generally accepted value of 0.08 m, then the (4) equation can be represented as:
R f = 3 sCs (5)

If there is extra resistance (Rfe in ) assumed as contact resistance for each foot then this resistance would be added to the (5) equation resulting in: R f = 3 s C s + R fe

(6)

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The following empirical equation can be used for calculation of the Cs:

FCs (1 Cs = 1 Where
hs

1 ) s

2hs + FCs

(7)

1
FCs

is the surface material height in m is the upper layer of the soil resistivity in m is a factor defined in the IEEE 80 Standard. This factor was introduced as 0.106 in 1986 revision of this standard but it has changed to 0.09 in year 2000.

From equation (7) it can be seen that the Resistivity of surface layer material can have a considerable impact on the Foot Resistance and is used as a measure to increase the Foot Resistance together with the Step and Touch Voltage limit.

Touch and Step Voltage Limit

Considering the nonfibrillating AC current passing through the body and total foot resistance we can calculate the maximum tolerable Touch and Step Voltages using the Ohms Law. It should be noticed that for the derived Touch Voltage the parallel of Each Foot Resistance is assumed in series with the Body Resistance. For the Step Voltage, Each Foot Resistance is assumed in series with the Body Resistance. Therefore we would have:

ETouch = ( RB +

Rf 2

).I B

(8) (9)

EStep = ( RB + 2 R f ).I B

SKM Ground Mat

Part 3: Ground Grid

Ground Potential Rise
The GPR of the grounding system depends on the magnitude of the injected current to the grid and the Ground Grid Resistance.
GPR = I g .Rg
GPR is the Ground Potential Rise in V Ig is the injected current to the ground in A
Rg

(10)

is the Grid Resistance in

The GPR is normally set to less than 5000V to be compatible with communication withstand voltage. The reduction of GPR will also reduce the requirement for equipment neural insulation voltage. As mentioned before, the difference between the earth (surface) potential and GPR will determine the Touch Voltage so the general objective is to reduce the GPR. The most influential and cost effective approach for reduction of the GPR is to reduce the injected current in the first place. Note that reduction in Grid Resistance may lead to increase of the Injected Current due to higher Split Factor and therefore may not conclude to overall expected decrease in GPR.

Ground Grid
Ground grid is consisting of horizontal and vertical conductors connected together and buried at shallow level under the ground to create a conductive mesh. The grid area is the predominant factor in reducing the Grid Resistance and increasing the number of conductors has relatively smaller impact though it leads to more uniform earth potential. Increasing the size of conductor and depth of the burial has effective impact on the grounding system up to certain extents.

Ground Rod
Among the grid conductors, the vertical electrodes called Ground Rods are of significant importance. Sufficiently long Ground Rods that can penetrate lower soil layer (s) are of specific value in design of the grounding system because: They will reduce the influence of the weather on Grounding System. They are much more effective in dissipating of the fault currents into the lower layers with lower Resistivity. They will reduce the earth potential steep when properly installed at the perimeter of the grid.

SKM Ground Mat

Part 4: Soil Measurement and Modeling

Soil Measurement
The first step in designing a grounding system is to determine the soil model in vicinity of the substation. The soil model is established through the field tests and the Wenner four-pin Method (Fig. 1) is the most popular and widely used method for Soil Resistivity measurement. This is the method supported in SKM Ground Mat and detailed explanation can be found in IEEE Std. 81-1983 and IEEE Std. 80-2000. This technique is based on driving of four pins into the earth along a straight line with equal spacing. The voltage of the two inner (Potential) electrodes is measured and divided by the current between the two outer (Current) electrodes to give the resistance.

Fig. 1 Wenner 4-Pin Method The resistivity of the soil is then calculated through the following equation:

a =

4aR 1+ 2a a 2 + 4b 2 a a2 + b2

(11)

Where

a is the apparent resistivity of the soil in m

R is the measured resistance in a is the distance between adjacent electrodes in m b is the depth of the electrodes in m

SKM Ground Mat

Since the depth of the electrode is normally small in compare with the spacing between them (b<=0.1a) then the equation (11) can be simplified as:

a = 2aR

(12)

Typically the soil is consisting of multiple layers and variation of the soil Resistivity is vertical and lateral. The selection of spacing between the pins in Wenner technique depends on the depth of such variation and as a common practice the range of probe spacing is increased to obtain the deeper layers Resistivity. Therefore it is generally assumed that the (12) equation represents the Resistivity at the soil depth equal to spacing.

Soil Model
The next step is to convert the field measurements into a proper soil model. The TwoLayer model is the most commonly used model for soil and is also adopted by SKM Ground Mat. This model consists of two layers of uniform horizontal soil to simulate the earth. In reality, the soil under the substation may be different than the uniform layer model we use, but as long as the soil model and reality produce the same earth potential rise in response to the same fault current, we can use the model to represent the earth. This model is a good approximation of soil structures in most of the cases though multilayer model may need to be used if the plot curve for the apparent Resistivity versus spacing has minimum and maximum. SKM Ground Mat uses the Sunde Graphical method (clause 13.4.2.2 of IEEE Std. 802000) and Least Squares method (EPRI Report-EL 2699, 1984) for conversion of multilayer non-uniform soil measurements to Two-Layer model. The Tow-Layer model consists of an upper layer with finite depth above a lower layer with infinite depth. The Resistivity change at boundary of these two layers is described through the Reflection Factor defined as:

K=

1 2 1 + 2

Where

1 is the upper layer soil resistivity, in m 2 is the lower layer soil resistivity, in m

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Chapter 2 - Ground Mat

Part 1: Important Concepts
Interface
Ground Mat interface consists menus and display areas. The menus are in the form of drop-down menus, toolbar icons and buttons. The display area is split into 3 portions: Project Tree View This portion at the left side of the screen is used for selection of the input/output data to be displayed on the right side for each study in a project. Graphic View The right side of the screen is split in two parts for the input data in form of Graphic and spreadsheet format. The Graphic View displays the results of the modeled input data. The results of the study in part are also displayed in this view. The toolbar icons and Graphic menu items (pull-down or right-click) for manipulations of the views that display graphics follow.

Spreadsheet View The text input data for Earth, Grid and Site is displayed in this view in the form of Spreadsheet. The related toolbar icons and menu items will be explained in respective sections.

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Project Tree View

Project Management
All project related information and study input/output data are stored in a separate folder for each project. The project folder is created automatically when you start a new project in Ground Mat. Each Project may contain multiple Studies. Each study contains 3 categories of input data for Earth, Grid and Site Area. The Output contains the results for Earth Potential, Touch Voltage and Step Voltage in graphical format and Report as a text file. Study setup options are also kept with each study. A study can be copied and pasted to another and modified to create a different scenario for easy evaluation of alternatives to establish an optimal design.

Solution Algorithms
The Ground Mat program follows IEEE 80 / IEC 490-1 standards, uses finite element analysis of multiple connected or unconnected grids and rods, and uses matrix analysis for conductor current displacement. The Ground Mat program supports Wenner 4-Pin Method for soil Resistivity measurement and converts them to a Two-Layer earth model for analysis. The impedance of the conductors and rods are not accounted for in Ground Mat. Therefore it is assumed that all of the conductors have zero impedance and buried in soil.

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Part 2: Setting up a Ground Mat Study

Create a New Project
To create a new project, select New under the Project menu. Enter the new project name in the Create New Project dialog and press OK.

Create a New Study

The following New Study dialog will prompt you for a new study name, enter a name that describes the scenario you are trying to simulate and press OK.

You will then be prompted to select the study unit. Select Metric to display all length related data in meters and millimeters. Select English to display length related data in feet and inches.

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Here are the study related toolbar icons and menu items:

Earth View
Click Earth under the selected study and the earth library selection dialog appears. You can use existing earth models or enter a new earth model. To use an existing model, select one from the list and press OK. To create your own earth model from soil resistivity measurement data, press the Library Edit button. If you want to enter the earth model data directly and not save it in the library, press Cancel to enter the data directly in the earth view.

After the data is entered, click Redraw to see the 3D graphical display of the earth model on the upper right pane of the window. You can skip the height of the last layer since the program assumes it to be infinite. SKM Ground Mat 14

If you have already created a project and are opening it then the Earth Library selection window is not automatically opened and you can press Earth Library button instead.

Soil Measurement Library To create your own earth model from soil measurement data, press the Library Edit button on Earth Library Selection dialog box, select Earth Fitting Model Library from Tools menu, or use the toolbar icon.

Then push the New button to enter the name of the New Library Entry and press OK.

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The results of the soil measurement based on the Wenner 4-Pin Method can be directly entered in the spreadsheet under Measurement Data. In addition to spacing you have the choice of entering the measurement results in form of Resistance or Resistivity. Once the measurement results is entered for either of these options you can switch back and forth between the two and the program will convert the entered results to the other using the equation (12) that is repeated here for convenience:

a = 2aR a
R a is the apparent resistivity of the soil in m is the measured resistance in is the distance between adjacent electrodes in m

As mentioned before SKM Ground Mat uses the Sunde Graphical method (clause 13.4.2.2 of IEEE Std. 80-2000) and Least Squares method (EPRI Report-EL 2699, 1984) for conversion of multi-layer non-uniform soil measurements to Two-Layer model through fitting the results. Sunde Graphical method is recommended for most of the cases and is used as default in the program. After entering the measurement results and selection of the fitting method push the Fit Data button to get the equivalent two-layer model displayed and saved in the library.

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The Fitting Tolerance displays the RMS Error based on the results of the fitting and Allowed gives the user the choice to change the required margin for such error. The scaling type of vertical and horizontal axes for the fitted plot curve of the Measurement Data can be changed between the Log and Linear using the underneath buttons. Surface Material Adding a layer of surface material (usually 0.080.15 m or 36 in) is very useful in maintaining the moisture level of the topsoil layers (where the grid is), so that fault current can be better distributed to the earth. The high resistivity surface material also reduces the current through the human body during the fault. Refer to IEEE Standard 80-2000, clause 12.5, Table 7 for typical resistivity values for different types of surface materials.

Grid View
The Grid View in version 2.0 of Ground Mat has enhanced a lot providing you with the following new features: A powerful graphical interface (2D CAD) for drawing and design of the ground grid in addition to spreadsheet interface. Possibility to have multiple grid views representing multiple layers or portions of the ground grid to be studied in different alternatives.

Click Grids under the selected study and the grid view with graphical window appears if there is no existing grid. Press the 2D CAD button below the graphical window and enter the name for the New Grid then press OK.

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The entered name for the grid will be displayed as a subview under the Grids and the Group type is shown in parenthesis. The 2D CAD window will be opened at the same time.

2D CAD
The 2D CAD window is consisting of multiple sections. The name of the grid is displayed at the top left corner for reference and on the top right you have the typical window icons for Maximize, Minimize, and Close. It is suggested to Maximize the window to have larger available area for working on the grid.

The main graphical 2D CAD window is a horizontal plane that you can have the grid conductors on or it can be used as the stating Depth for insertion of the rods. The (Width) and Y (Height) of each points is referenced in respect to the Origin coordinates (X=0, Y=0) of this plane that is displayed by the intersection of the X (red) and Y (blue) axis line on the 2D graphical window. The Mouse Location section at the bottom left continuously displays the actual coordinates of the mouse for reference.

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2D Grid Setup
Click on the Properties button to have the 2D Grid CAD Properties window displayed for definition of the Viewing Area Boundary.

Either the Width or Height data field in the Viewing Area Size section of this window can be used to adjust the displayed size for working area. The other data field will be automatically calculated based on the aspect ratio of the window.

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After entering either the Width or Height data, the Top, Left, Bottom, and Right boundaries will be showed up on the left that can be further edited to pan or move the working area and origin. The unit length of data fields is also displayed in parenthesis at the top left corner next to Viewing Area Boundary. The Snap Point Intervals is another useful tool for drawing the ground grid. These data fields define the snap points displayed as crossed points on the 2D Grid for alignment of the lines and circles representing the conductors and rods. The working ground grid area would be ready to use after entering the above data and pressing OK. Note that the entered View Boundary and Snap Points Interval are displayed at the bottom left corner for reference.

As the next step, press the Grid Setup button and fill in the required data for ground grid or Platform Depth, Conductor and Rod Radius, and Rod Length. The Group drop-down menu represents different unconnected sub-grids. All grid conductors and rods that belong to group Main are assumed connected and have the same grid potential rise during the fault. Similarly, the segments identified in Group

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Fence1 are all connected together. But conductors in Group Main and the conductors in Group Fence1 have different GPR and the two groups are not connected. Note that the conductor and rod size can also be changed globally using the Conductor Size button under the Grid view.

Note that any of the above settings can be changed at anytime.

Drawing Toolbar
Now the drawing toolbars can be used to design the ground grid as follows.

Draw Line: Draws straight line between two selected points Draw Rectangle: Draws rectangle using the two opposite corners Draw Polygon: Brings up a window to select the Number of Corners for drawing polygons Draw Star: Brings up a window to select the Number of Corners for drawing star

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Both polygon and star toolbars bring up the same window where you can select the number of corners with an option for Initial Angle. Note that you can draw a polygon that is Almost Circle. The Free Change will let you to graphically select the center point, radius, and rotation angle. The Enter By Value option is designed for the cases where the initial rotation angle with the horizontal axis is known therefore only the center point and radius need to be selected. Note that Almost Circle option for Number of Corners can almost represent a circular conductor for Polygon and circular plate for Star.

Draw Grid Net: Brings up the below window to draw rectangular Grid Net. You can choose between the options to draw the grid lines based on Interval Size or Number of Grid Lines for Horizontal and Vertical. When the box for Also create grids for borders is checked a rectangle grid ending at the 4 corners of the mesh will be added on the perimeter.

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Draw Rod: Brings up the below window to verify the Rod Radius and Length then inserts the rod at selected locations.

Draw Rods-In-Line: Brings up the below window to verify the Rod Radius and Length then inserts an array of rods between the two selected points based on the spacing distance entered for one of below options. Note that you can draw almost a vertical plate using the Rod touching each other" option.

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Draw Rods-In-Circle: Brings up the below window to verify the Rod Radius and Length then inserts an array of circular rods based on the Number of Rods, Circle Radius, and Initial Angle selected from below options. In addition to enter a number for the Number of Rods, There are 2 other radio buttons for representation of almost a vertical pipe. The Maximum Number of Rods radio button can be used in most of the cases when slight spacing (less than a rod diameter) between the rods is not an issue. The third radio button can be used if Rods touching each other with slight change in Radius (less than a rod diameter) is preferred. The Circle Radius of the rods array can be either defined initially using the Radius data field or it can be defined on the 2D Grid CAD based on the two picked reference points once the Free Change is selected. The Initial Angle section would provide the option to enter the initial rotation Angle with the horizontal axis if it is known. You can also choose the Free Change option meaning that the selected second will be used as the reference for the Initial angle with horizontal axis as well as the radius.

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Navigation Toolbar
The icons in this toolbar will provide the facility for navigation through 2D Grid CAD as follows:

Zoom in: Any mouse click on the 2D Grid CAD will zoom in and use the clicked point as center. Zoom out: Any mouse click on the 2D Grid CAD will zoom out and use the clicked point as center. Zoom to Fit: Displays the whole drawn grid in the window Move Screen View: Used to move or pan the 2D Grid screen Select: Used for selection of the conductors and rods on the 2D Grid. The selection is by drawing a window around the respective items. Then you can apply the commands from the right-click menu such as Delete, Move, Rotate, Copy, Paste, etc.

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Screen Go To Origin: Moves the origin to the center of screen Rotate Selected Grids: Brings up the below window and rotates the selected grid based on the selected options.

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Grid Spreadsheet
The starting and end point coordinate data of the conductors and rods drawn in the 2D Grid CAD will be generated in a spreadsheet on the bottom-right window when the drawing of ground grid is done in 2D Grid CAD and it is saved. At the same time, the graphical view of the designed ground grid is displayed on the upper-right window.

Grid conductors and ground rods are entered in the exact same format: the starting point x, y, z, and the end point x, y, z. The check box for the Rod column simply indicates that the data entered in the row represents a rod. The data displayed in the spreadsheet is editable so you can modify the content of each cell instead of going to the 2D Grid CAD. Another way to add a piece of grid conductor or a rod is to insert a row to the conductors spreadsheet, select another row that is in parallel with the one you want to add, copy and paste to the inserted row, then modify the data. To insert a row, place the cursor on where you would like it to be inserted and press the right mouse menu to select Insert Row. An empty row will be inserted. To copy a row, select the row header to highlight

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and choose copy from the right mouse menu. To paste data to a row, select the row and choose paste from the right mouse menu.

Note that the Group category of this conductors and rods are displayed in parenthesis next to grid name under the Grid view on the top left window. You can also shift or rotate the entire grid with a given unit in one move. For example, to increase the Y value by 2 ft for the whole grid, select Shifting Y, enter 2, and then press the increase (>) button when the English unit is selected.

Press the Redraw button to update the 3D picture of the grid. Conductor Size The Ground Mat program comes with a conductor size library containing many standard conductor sizes and their radius. You can select conductors from the library to fill in the radius for the grid conductors or rods (you still need to enter the starting point and end point of each conductor).

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To apply the conductor size to a selection of conductors from the spreadsheet, press the Conductor Size button in the grid view, select the conductor from the list then press OK.

You also have the options to apply the selected size to All Grid conductors, All Rods, or both. The content of the conductor library can be edited using the Edit button from Conductor Size selection window or you can use the Grid Conductor Library from Graphics pull-down menu and equivalent toolbar icon.

Conductor Material Since the conductor impedance is not considered in Ground Mat calculation then conductor material has no impact on the study results though it is a useful SKM Ground Mat 29

information for ordering the conductors. So you can press the Conductor Material button and choose the selected material from the available list to have this data includes in the output text Report.

Site Area
Click Site Area under the selected study and the Site Area Generator dialog appears. Enter the margin around the grid to define the rectangular area where the study will be conducted.

You can alternatively enter the multiple corners of the site area in the spreadsheet format directly to create a study area with multiple corner shape.

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Part 3: Running Ground Mat Analysis

After defining the earth model, ground grid and site area, the Ground Mat analysis can be run by any one of the following three actions: selecting Analysis under the Study menu; pressing the toolbar icon; or by using the F5 short cut from your keyboard. The Analysis option will perform the calculations for selected Study in the project folder. The Analyze Multiple Study option will perform the calculations for multiple study folders. (Toolbars icon to run one or multiple studies)

Each time you run a study, the options are displayed so that you can edit them before the analysis. Keeping the study options specific to each study allow you to copy/paste studies, modify the options to create a different scenario, and run multiple studies to compare the results. You can edit the study options without running the study by selecting Study Setup from the Study menu.

Analyze Multiple Studies

Selecting Analyze Multiple Studies from the Study menu will bring up the following dialog. Select the studies you want to run as a batch process and press the OK button.

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Study Options
After using any of the above shortcuts to run the Study Options dialog box appears with multiple tabs (pages). Safety Criteria

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The Safety Criteria page defines the following data: Body Resistance, IEEE /IEC assumes average body resistance as 1000 ohms, select User Defined to enter your preferred value. Foot Resistance (per foot), per foot resistance is calculated using the equation (4) and (7) from Chapter 1 of this manual that is based on IEEE Std. 80-2000. The Fcs factor used in Cs empirical equation is slightly different between the 1986 and 2000 edition of IEEE 80 standard as follows: IEEE STD 80 (2000): Fcs = 0.09 IEEE STD 80 (1986): Fcs = 0.106 Therefore the user has the choice to select the said factor based on the respective standards if desired. The IEEE Std. 80 ignores resistance of shoes and socks. To add extra resistance in addition to the value from the standard, enter a positive value in the Extra Ohms field. To subtract from the standard, enter a negative value. Select User Defined Total if you want to enter your own total foot resistance. Fibrillation Current Limit (IB), the fibrillation threshold at which stoppage of the heart or inhibition of respiration might occur and cause injury or death. There are 5 options as drop-down menu based on the IEEE and IEC standards to choose from, or select User Defined to enter your own fibrillation current limit in Amps. For IEEE standard the magnitude of the fibrillation current is selected based on the weight of the body. To represent the C curves (C1, C2 and C3) as defined in IEC 479-1, 2005 standard (Figure 20), an approximation curve and equation is used instead if t > 0.04 second. The drop-down menu options follow: IEEE Standard 80 50 kg body, IB = 0.116 / sqrt(t) IEEE Standard 80 70 kg body, IB = 0.157 / sqrt(t) IEC Standard C1, t >= 0.04 sec. IB = 0.5 IEC Standard C1, t < 0.04 sec. IB = 0.5 + (0.04-t) * (880-500)/(4.22) IEC Standard C2, t >= 0.04 sec. IB = 1.0 IEC Standard C2, t < 0.04 sec. IB = 1.0 + (0.04-t) * (16501000)/(4.2-2) IEC Standard C3, t >= 0.04 sec. IB = 1.75 IEC Standard C3, t < 0.04 sec. IB= 1.75 + (0.04-t) *(26001600)/(4.2-2) Ib : Fibrillation current limit is amps. t: Clearing time in seconds.

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Fault Clearing Time, the amount of time it takes to clear the fault has very significant impact on the safety of the person working in the substation. The fibrillation current limit depends on the fault clearing time or duration of the current flow. All parameters of the Safety Criteria page affect the maximum allowed touch and step voltage limits.

Study Setup

The Study Setup page defines the following data: Max Number of Iteration: The program will stop accumulating contributions from images of the current sources when the specified maximum number of iterations is reached, even if the study tolerance had not been achieved. Study Tolerance: if the contribution from an image of current source is smaller than this value, it is considered accurate enough and the accumulation of the contribution from the image is terminated. Meters per Sub-Segment Cut: the Ground Mat program divides/cuts the grid conductors and rods into small pieces, the current at each piece is considered evenly distributed. The smaller the cut, the longer calculation time may take,

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and the more accurate the result may be. Earth Potential Calculation Interval defines the resolution of the calculated earth potential. The acceptable range is up to 100 m but the program checks the entered Interval for horizontal (X) and/or vertical (Y) directions of the Site Area and adjusts these values to get the best-fitted amount. The smaller the interval, the longer calculation time may take, the more accurate the result may be. Contour Interval: a contour is a projection of all 3D equal potential points to a 2D plan. The value entered here defines how often/dense you would like to see the equal potential contours been draw on the bottom of the 3D earth potential and touch voltage plots.

Report Setup

The Report Setup page includes the following options: Include Touch Voltage: check this to include the touch voltage report section. Include Step Voltage: check this to include step voltage report section. Include Dangerous Points Only: check this to report only dangerous points that exceed the defined touch and/or step voltage limits. Output File Name: Enter the output report file name to store the results from the study.

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Fault Current

As mentioned before, the Fault Current representing the ground grid current is the most important parameter of the input data. It depends on the substation grounding and the neutral system configuration, impedance, fault location, and how the fault current is distributed into the grid. Refer to chapter 15 of IEEE Std. 80-2000 for methodology or consult the fault analysis engineer on the project to determine this value. There are two choices for entering this value as follows: User Defined: If this box is checked, then the data field for Grid SLG Fault Current (Amps) becomes available for entering the data. Note that if the RMS equivalent of the asymmetrical current wave for a given fault duration needs to be accounted for then the initial symmetrical current should be multiplied by the Decrement Factor as defined in this chapter. For typical values of Decrement Factor you can use the Table 10 of clause 15.10. User Defined: If this box is NOT checked, then the data field for Grid SLG Fault Current (Amps) will be calculated and filled in based on the entered data for Equivalent Power Source Impedance (Ohms), Prefault Voltage (V) and System Frequency. After entering the equivalent R and X for equivalent sequence impedance at the location of the fault, the program would automatically calculate the Grid SLG Fault current after pressing the Calculate button considering the application of Decrement Factor.

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If it is desired to consider the ground grid resistance in such fault calculation then you can enter the already calculated and reported value in the respective data field and calculate the reduced fault current.

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Part 4: Analyze Study Output Results

After the study options are specified, the Run button will start the calculation, generate the report, and store the graphical results.

Study Progress Dialog

The first progress bar identifies the status of the current process. The second progress bar identifies the status of the total study process. The list box identifies errors and other messages during the calculation. The progress window allows you to cancel the study at any time.

Output Results in the Text Report

The Ground Mat analysis program produces a user configurable text report that includes the following parts: Study options and safety requirements; Earth structure; Grid and rod layouts; Grid impedance; Step and touch voltages. Text Report Study Options and Safety Criteria

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Based on the selections from the study options, the report lists all important study parameters and calculates the foot resistance, fibrillation current, reflection and reduction factor, touch and step voltage limits. The total fault current flow into the main grid is also listed here. Text Report Earth Structure Report

Text Report Grid Layout Report

Each unconnected grid has a layout report that lists the conductors and rods that make up the grid. In this example, there are two unconnected grids, named Main, and Fence. Text Report Grid Summary Report

Each unconnected grid has a grid summary report that lists the total length of grid conductors and rods, the total grid current, grid resistance, and grid potential rise. In the case of a Fence (which is not the main grid), you will see the mutual resistance to the Main grid reported as well. If you only have a single grid, the mutual resistance value is not applicable and will not be shown.

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If the conductor materials are defined for the designed grid then the material and total length will be displayed for grid conductors and rods. Text Report Bill of Material Report

In each grid, the total grid current distributed among all conductor and rod segments should be equal to the total fault current flow into the that grid. Since the Main grid is the only one that has fault current flow into it, the total grid current for sub-grids such as a Fence should be zero. Grid resistance for the Main grid is a very important piece of data. In most well designed grounding systems, it should be between 1 and 5 ohms. There will be a potential rise during the fault for conductors and rods in each unconnected grid. Since equipment inside the substation is connected to the grid, when a person touches a piece of equipment, the potential difference between his hand and foot will define the touch voltage. Therefore, it is important to report the grid potential rise. The Ground Mat program assumes all conductors connected together have the same grid potential. Text Report Touch Voltage Report

The Touch Voltage Report lists the potential difference between the grid potential rise (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 ground structure. Any equipment within human reach is assumed to be connected to the grid, and therefore the person touching the equipment will be exposed to the potential difference between the earth and the equipment (grid). The touch voltage is then compared to the safety limit, and marked as Dangerous if the touch voltage is higher than the safety limit. The $ sign reminds you that additional analysis is needed to improve the safety of the site.

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Text Report Step Voltage Report

The step voltage report lists the earth potential difference between two feet. The distance between the two feet is 1 m according to the IEEE Std. 80-2000 (3.24 definition). To speed up the calculation for large areas the distance between two adjacent earth potential points can be increased through the Study Setup page of Study Options menu. The step voltage calculated at each location is then compared with the safety limit to see if it is safely within the limit or not. If at some areas, the step voltage is bigger than the limit, a $Dangerous will show in the remark column. The $ sign reminds you that additional analysis is needed to improve the safety of the site.

Output Results in the Graphic Plots

The Ground Mat analysis program produces 3 Dimensional graphic plots to display study results intuitively. Each study includes a 3D earth potential plot, a 3D touch voltage plot and a 3D and 2D step voltage plot. The 3D and 2D plots are color coded to help you see the problem areas immediately. Graphical Results Earth Potential Plot The following plot illustrates the earth potential distribution for a simple case study from A.P. Sakis book. It is interesting to see that the earth potentials above the energized grid segments are higher than that of the unconnected grid segments.

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Graphical Results Touch Voltage Plot The following plot illustrates the earth potential distribution for the study from A.P. Sakis book. It is interesting to see that the touch voltages above the energized grid segments are lower than that of the unconnected grid segments. The increased earth potential above the grid makes smaller difference between the grid and the earth and therefore leads to safer.

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Graphical Results Step Voltage Plot The flowing plot illustrates the 3D and 2D step voltage distribution for the study from A.P. Sakis book. The 3D view shows the relative height of the step voltage across the site area, while the 2D view shows the step voltage values in each mesh.

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Graphical Results Graphic Properties The Graphic Properties can be accessed either by the Graphic pull-down menu or the right click menu on the Graphic View.

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The Graphic Properties screen contains three setting sections for General Color, Earth Potential/Touch Voltage and Step Voltage. General Color There are three sets of colors for you to change, one for the screen, one for the color printer, and another for the black & white printer. When you preview a plot, the color set for the color printer will be used.

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Earth Potential/Touch Voltage The 3D earth potential and touch voltage plots are configured by the 3D View properties. The check boxes are designed to turn on/off parts of the graphics. For example, if you dont want to show the Grid Pane, uncheck that check box. The Ground Mat program is shipped with a set of default colors to represent safe and unsafe results for the plots, you can select user defined and modify the default colors.

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Step Voltage The Step Area Color defines the 5 level of Step Voltage on the 2D/3D view. The Step Voltage results can also be displayed on the 2D view depending on the selection under Value Number in The Square.

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Part 5: Ground Mat Sample Project

Build System Model
You are now ready to begin the step-by-step tutorial. The following contains the input data information provided for a sample 69 kV substation. It will be studied in Ground Mat to verify the safety of the designed grid with less than 5 Ohms of resistance. The results of the soil measurement using the 4-pin (Wenner) method are reported as follows: Spacing m 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 6.00 9.00 Resistivity m 180.000000 130.000000 110.000000 90.000000 75.000000 65.000000

The initial recommended design and safety criteria for the ground grid: Surface Layer Thickness of Surface Layer Depth of grid burial Grid Area Conductor Spacing Conductor Radius Conductor Material Ground Rod Body weight Contact Resistance Foot resistance derating factor used in IEEE Std. 80 Fault duration Max current injected to the grid s = 1200 m hs = 100 mm (4 in) h = 0.5 m A = 36 m x 42 m 6 m Horizontal (X) 6 m Vertical (Y) 5.28 mm (2/0 AWG) Copper, Soft Drawn N/A 50 kg 0 2000 Edition tf = 0.5 s Ig =1170 A

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Create a new project in Ground Mat and name it GM Sample Project with Metric units.

Start Power*Tools for Windows Ground Mat

1. 2. Go to Start > Programs > Power Tools for Windows Ground Mat and click the Ground Mat icon to start Ground Mat, Create a New project by clicking the Project menu > New command, and name it GM Sample Project, name the new study Initial Design and choose Metric as study units.

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3.

Click on the Earth view to select the Earth Library.

4.

Press Library Edit.

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5.

Click the New button and name it Sample Sub Earth Model. Enter the soil measurement data in Earth Library for the Substation.

6.

Select the Sunde Graphical as the Curve Fitting method and press Fit Data to have the equivalent two layer modeled. Click Exit, save the model, and make sure the new 2-layer earth model is selected for the project in Earth view.

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7. 8.

Enter the data for surface layer Height and Resistivity for Surface Material. Select the Grid view. Click on the 2D CAD button and name the new ground grid as Initial Design.

9.

Extend the window to maximum size, press the Properties button and enter proper Viewing Area Size and Snap points for the project.

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10.

Click the Grid Setup button and enter the required data for burial depth of ground grid, conductors, and rods. Also make sure the Main is selected for the Group.

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11. Click the Draw Grid Net button and enter the Interval Size of the conductors per design. Also check the box to create the grid at the borders and click OK.

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12. Select the 0,0 as the bottom left and 42,36 as the top right points for the Grid Net and click OK to save the existing designed grid.

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13. Click the Conductor Material bottom, choose the required material and apply it to the grid.

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14. Select the Study Area view and enter the required margins per concerned study area.

15. Select Analysis from the Study pull-down menu or hit the F5 key on keyboard to enter the Analysis options.

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16. Enter the data for Safety Criteria.

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17. If needed, make any required modifications in Study and Report Setup.

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18. Enter the maximum current injected to the grid in front of the Grid SLG Fault Current and click Run.

19. Verify the Earth, Touch, and Step Voltage. Any red color represents the respective shock hazard area. As can be seen in the pictures below, the earth and touch voltage is dangerous in areas close to the perimeter of the ground grid but step voltage is safe.

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20. Verify the ground grid resistance in the Report. As seen below, the ground grid resistance is 1.16 Ohms using 582 m of conductor less than 5 Ohms.

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21. Using the same assumptions, create an alternative ground grid design as follows to resolve the hazard areas with earth and touch voltage. Grid Area Conductor Spacing A = 36 m x 42 m 3 m Initial Spacing (X, Y) 6 m Horizontal (X) 6 m Vertical (Y) 5.28 mm (2/0 AWG) Copper, Soft Drawn 7.1 mm 2.4 m Copper Clad Steel

Conductor Radius Conductor Material Ground Rod Radius Ground Rod Length Conductor Material

22. In order to create the above alternative design, Copy and Paste the Initial Design Study by right-clicking on the Initial Design folder and selecting Copy Study. Then right-click on a blank area and click on Paste Study.

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23. Rename the Study to Alternative Design using the right-click menu.

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24. Select the Grids view, highlight and Delete the Initial Design Grid using the right-click menu. Click the 2D CAD button and name the new ground grid as Alternative Design.

25. Extend the window to the maximum size. Click the Properties button and enter the previous Viewing Area Size and Snap points for the project.

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26. Click the Grid Setup button and enter the same data for burial depth of ground grid, conductors, and rods. Also make sure the Main is selected for the Group.

27. Click the Draw Rectangle button and select the 0,0 as the bottom left and 42,36 as the top right points for the Rectangle.

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28. Click the Draw Line button and create the grid below by selecting the conductor starting and end points.

29. Click the Draw Rod button and confirm the Rod Radius and Length. Insert the rods at the 4 corner locations displayed below and then click OK to save the new designed grid. .

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30. Click the Conductor Material button, choose the required materials and apply it for the ground grid conductors and rods.

31. The Study Area and Analysis Options remains the same as the previous study. You can now run the study for alternative grid design

32. Verify the new Earth, Touch Voltage, and Grid Resistance. As seen in the pictures below, the previous dangerous earth and touch voltage areas close to the perimeter are now safe due to modifications of the ground grid. The grid resistance is also within the expected design range.

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