Design, Modeling, and Analysis of IEEE Std 80 Earth Grid Design Refinement Methods Using ETAP
The design of a compliant, safe, and reliable substation earth grid is not a straightforward process; in most cases, it requires some additional measures to be taken due to various constraints that differ from environment to environment, such as soil resistivity, a high fault level, a limited surfac...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/13/7491 |
| _version_ | 1797592126786109440 |
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| author | Vuyani Michael Nicholas Dladla Agha Francis Nnachi Rembuluwani Philip Tshubwana |
| author_facet | Vuyani Michael Nicholas Dladla Agha Francis Nnachi Rembuluwani Philip Tshubwana |
| author_sort | Vuyani Michael Nicholas Dladla |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The design of a compliant, safe, and reliable substation earth grid is not a straightforward process; in most cases, it requires some additional measures to be taken due to various constraints that differ from environment to environment, such as soil resistivity, a high fault level, a limited surface area, construction budget, etc. The IEEE Std 80-2013 proposes various refinement methods that can be applied to address different situations. For this study, the current limiting method, current diversion method, and touch and step voltage increment method were applied using the Electrical Transient Analysis Program (ETAP). A power system was designed, where a fault current generated by the supply transformers and back-fed by the power system’s motors was exported to the earth grid. Using this fault current, various simulations were conducted to assess the performance of the earth grid. The analysis results show that the application of the current limiting method using neutral earthing resistors has a great impact on the design of the earth grid as this method significantly reduces the fault current injected into the earth grid. Furthermore, by applying the current diversion method, the amount of fault current injected into the earth grid is reduced by a fair amount, which improves the performance of the earth grid. Lastly, increasing the tolerable limits of touch and step voltages by reducing the fault clearance times significantly improves the compliance of the earth grid as the clearance time is reduced. From this study, it is therefore concluded that, by implementing the refinement methods depending on the design requirements and feasibility of the application, one can improve the compliance state of an earth grid. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:48:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-56b90ac56e0f4580b595c3da22627b5f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:48:01Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-56b90ac56e0f4580b595c3da22627b5f2023-11-18T16:07:09ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-06-011313749110.3390/app13137491Design, Modeling, and Analysis of IEEE Std 80 Earth Grid Design Refinement Methods Using ETAPVuyani Michael Nicholas Dladla0Agha Francis Nnachi1Rembuluwani Philip Tshubwana2Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Pretoria Campus, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0183, South AfricaDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Pretoria Campus, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0183, South AfricaDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Pretoria Campus, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0183, South AfricaThe design of a compliant, safe, and reliable substation earth grid is not a straightforward process; in most cases, it requires some additional measures to be taken due to various constraints that differ from environment to environment, such as soil resistivity, a high fault level, a limited surface area, construction budget, etc. The IEEE Std 80-2013 proposes various refinement methods that can be applied to address different situations. For this study, the current limiting method, current diversion method, and touch and step voltage increment method were applied using the Electrical Transient Analysis Program (ETAP). A power system was designed, where a fault current generated by the supply transformers and back-fed by the power system’s motors was exported to the earth grid. Using this fault current, various simulations were conducted to assess the performance of the earth grid. The analysis results show that the application of the current limiting method using neutral earthing resistors has a great impact on the design of the earth grid as this method significantly reduces the fault current injected into the earth grid. Furthermore, by applying the current diversion method, the amount of fault current injected into the earth grid is reduced by a fair amount, which improves the performance of the earth grid. Lastly, increasing the tolerable limits of touch and step voltages by reducing the fault clearance times significantly improves the compliance of the earth grid as the clearance time is reduced. From this study, it is therefore concluded that, by implementing the refinement methods depending on the design requirements and feasibility of the application, one can improve the compliance state of an earth grid.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/13/7491substation earth gridIEEE Std 80-2013 refinement methodstouch voltagestep voltageground potential rise |
| spellingShingle | Vuyani Michael Nicholas Dladla Agha Francis Nnachi Rembuluwani Philip Tshubwana Design, Modeling, and Analysis of IEEE Std 80 Earth Grid Design Refinement Methods Using ETAP Applied Sciences substation earth grid IEEE Std 80-2013 refinement methods touch voltage step voltage ground potential rise |
| title | Design, Modeling, and Analysis of IEEE Std 80 Earth Grid Design Refinement Methods Using ETAP |
| title_full | Design, Modeling, and Analysis of IEEE Std 80 Earth Grid Design Refinement Methods Using ETAP |
| title_fullStr | Design, Modeling, and Analysis of IEEE Std 80 Earth Grid Design Refinement Methods Using ETAP |
| title_full_unstemmed | Design, Modeling, and Analysis of IEEE Std 80 Earth Grid Design Refinement Methods Using ETAP |
| title_short | Design, Modeling, and Analysis of IEEE Std 80 Earth Grid Design Refinement Methods Using ETAP |
| title_sort | design modeling and analysis of ieee std 80 earth grid design refinement methods using etap |
| topic | substation earth grid IEEE Std 80-2013 refinement methods touch voltage step voltage ground potential rise |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/13/7491 |
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