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In this example, the touch and step potential calculations for an earthing grid design will be
performed. The proposed site is a small industrial facility with a network connection via a
transmission line and a delta-wye connected transformer.
22 earthing rods will be installed on the corners and perimeter of the grid
Each earthing rod will be 3m long
Using the simplified equation, the resistance of the earthing grid with respect to remote earth is:
kA
Based on the average weight of the workers on the site, a body weight of 70kg is assumed for the
maximum touch and step potential. A maximum fault clearing time of 150ms is also assumed.
The maximum allowable touch potential is:
V
The maximum allowable step potential is:
V
The GPR far exceeds the maximum allowable touch and step potentials, and further analysis of
mesh and step voltages need to be performed.
and
is:
where
is:
and
are the width and length of the grid respectively (e.g. 50m and 90m)
and
is:
is:
is:
m
Finally, the maximum mesh voltage is:
V
The maximum allowable touch potential is 1,720V, which exceeds the mesh voltage calculated
above and the earthing system passes the touch potential criteria (although it is quite marginal).
Step Voltage Calculation
The geometric spacing factor
is:
is:
m
Finally, the maximum allowable step voltage is:
The maximum allowable step potential is 5,664V, which exceeds the step voltage calculated
above and the earthing system passes the step potential criteria. Having passed both touch and
step potential criteria, we can conclude that the earthing system is safe.