2012 International Conference on Lightning Protection (ICLP), Vienna, Austria

How the Frequency Dependence of Soil Parameters

Affects the Lightning Response of
Grounding Electrodes

Rafael Alipio and Silverio Visacro

LRC - Lightning Research Center
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Rafael.alipio@gmail.com; Lrc@cpdee.ufmg.br

Abstract-Quantities related to the response of
electrodes subject to lightning currents are simulated under the
assumption of constant and frequency dependent soil resistivity
and permittivity, considering low- and high-resistivity soils. It
was found that the frequency dependence of soil parameters is
responsible for decreasing the grounding potential
electrodes and, thus, their impulse impedance and their impulse
coefficient. This effect is more pronounced for high-resistivity
soils and typical currents of subsequent strokes.
Keywords- frequency dependence of soil, lightning response of
grounding electrodes, soil permittivity, soil resistivity.
I. INTRODUCTION
The behavior of soil parameters has great influence on the
grounding response to lightning currents. In particular, it is
relevant to take the frequency dependence of soil resistivity and
permittivity into account. Although such frequency dependence
is a well-known effect based on laboratorial experimental
results [1]-[3], it has been neglected in evaluations of the
response of grounding electrodes subjected to lightning
currents. This is probably due to the lack of accurate general
formulations to describe it. According to [4], in general, the
following approach is adopted: soil resistivity is assumed
constant and equal to the value measured by conventional low­
frequency instruments, and its relative permittivity is assumed
between 4 and 80, depending on the water content of soil.
Values of 10 and 20 are very usually employed.
In a recent work, a new experimental methodology to
determine the frequency variation of soil resistivity and
permittivity, based on measurements in field conditions, was
presented [5]. This methodology was validated by comparing
the experimental response of grounding electrodes with the one
simulated considering the parameters determined from the
application of the methodology to the soils where the
electrodes were buried. The obtained results proved the
relevance of the frequency dependence of soil parameters,
denoting that the assumption of constant values for soil
resistivity and permittivity leads to very significant errors on
the lightning response of grounding electrodes [5].
grounding The methodology was systematically applied to a large
number of different soils to determine the frequency
dependence of their resistivity and permittivity in the 100- to
4 . 106-Hz range, as described in a complementary work [6].
Based on the experimental results, simple expressions were
rise of
derived to predict the approximate variation of both soil
resistivity and permittivity in the frequency range of interest for
lightning currents [6].
The present work aims to assess the impact of the
frequency dependence of soil parameters given by the
expressions derived from experimental results on the main
quantities used to characterize the lightning response of
grounding electrodes.
II. FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE OF SOIL PARAMETERS
Formulas (I) and (2) express the soil-parameter variation
mentioned above [6]:
where Po is the soil resistivity at 100 Hz, P and lOr are the soil
resistivity and relative permittivity at frequency f,
respectively. Expression (1) is valid in the 100 Hz to 4 MHz
range while (2) is valid in the 10 kHz to 4 MHz range. Below
10 kHz, using the value of relative permittivity given by (2) at
10 kHz is suggested.
Fig. 3 shows how the relative resistivity and permittivity of
soil varies in the frequency range from 10 2 to 4 . 106 Hz
according to (1) and (2) and considering values of Po equal to
300 and 3000 Om. Such variation of parameters was used in
the evaluations along this work. It is worth clarifying that the
so called relative resistivity Pr is given by the ratio of the soil
resistivity P at a given frequency and the low-frequency
resistivity Po.

The participation of Prof. S. Visacro and PhD student R. Alipio has been
partially supported by grants provided by CNPq - Brazil.

978-1-4673-1897-6/12/$31.00 m012 IEEE

 1.2 400 parameters in the analysis of lightning response of grounding
1.1 = 300 Om electrodes [4], [10], [II].
Po 350
1
0.9 300
0.8 3knm IV. RESULTS
250
0.7
o..� 0.6 .............................. 200 '"
�
A. Harmonic Grounding Impedance
0.5
150 The curves of Fig. 3 shows the impact of the frequency
0.4 •

0.3
r
100 dependence of soil parameters on the magnitude and phase of
0.2 the calculated harmonic impedance of a 30 m long horizontal
50
0.1 electrode buried in soils of low and high resistivity. As
O ����
2 3 4 5 6 �� 0 observed, in the low-frequency range, the grounding
10 10 10 10 10
Frequency (Hz) impedance is basically frequency-independent and equal to the
low-frequency resistance, for both soil assumptions. However,
Figure 1. Frequency dependence of the relative resistivity p, and relative
above a given frequency, the results provided by both
pennittivity c, of soil, according to (I) and (2), for soils with low frequency
resistivity po of 300 and 3000 Qm. Adapted from [6].
assumptions diverge and the frequency dependence of soil
parameters causes a reduction of the harmonic impedance
The curves show that the soil resistivity is strongly along with a capacitive effect. As Po is increased, this
decreased along the considered frequency range and that such frequency is lowered and the capacitive effect is increased [11].
decrease is more significant for the hifh-resistivity soil. Also, it It is worth mentioning that in the range a little below 1
is shown that in the 104_ to 10 -Hz range, the relative MHz, the reduction of the magnitude of grounding impedance
permittivity is much higher than the values usually assumed is due to both the decrease of soil resistivity and to the large
around 10 to 20. It has low values, tending to around 20, only values of permittivity [11]. After this range the effect of the
above I MHz. The use of a constant value of permittivity for resistivity decrease prevails, since the relative permittivity
frequencies below 10 kHz is derived from the difficulty to approaches a value around of 20, which is close to the value
determine £,- in this range and also to the fact that, whatever the assumed under the constant parameter approach.
assumed value, capacitive currents remain negligible.
300
=1 0
-po,Er
III. ANALYSED CASES 250 ......... (m) "im)
p ,
Grounding arrangements composed by horizontal 200 3000 Om

electrodes with lengths ranging from 5 m to 90 m and 7 mm g:

� 150
radius, buried 0.5 m deep in soils of low-frequency resistivity !:i
100
Po of 300 and 3000 Om were considered. The following soil
assumptions were adopted: 1) Constant soil parameters (P=Po 50
300 Om
and £r=10) and 2) Frequency dependent soil parameters
0
according to the formulas of Visacro and Alipio proposed in 102 103 10' 10' 106
[6] and discussed in Section II. Frequency (Hz)
(a)
The typical lightning current waves of first and subsequent 40
strokes shown in Fig. 2 [7], obtained based on the median 30 - po,Er=10
parameters of currents measured in Mount San Salvatore [8], 20
Ui'
QI 10
were employed. E
Cl
35 ���----�
QI 0 ..
l'
····

'tJ
·····
···
·· ·

-; -10
X .....
· ··

_ 30
'" '"
� 25 � -20 ···
c. ··
3000 om ·... I
::-
c:
20 1: -30 ---
E 15 E 6 -40
o
5 10
5
8 4
2 -50
102 103 10' 10' 106
o���----�--�� o �����--�--�
o 5 10 15 20 25 30 o 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Frequency (Hz)
Time (1'5) Time (1'5) (b)
(a) (b)
Figure 3. Magnitude (a) and Phase (b) of harmonic grounding impedance for
Figure 2. Representative lightning current waves of: (a) first stroke and (b) a 30 m long horizontal electrode (radius 7 mm), buried 0.5 m deep in soil
subsequent lightning stroke. Adapted from [6]. along the 102_ to 4.106 -Hz range, under the constant and frequency dependent
soil parameter assumptions.
The following quantities were simulated using the Hybrid
Electromagnetic Model (HEM ) [9]: harmonic grounding
B. Grounding Potential Rise
impedance [Z(ro)], grounding potential rise (GPR), impulse
impedance (Zp ), low-frequency resistance (RLF), impulse The simulated GPR developed under the assumption of
coefficient (Ie ), and effective length (LEF)' These are typical constant and frequency dependent soil parameters by the 30 m
 SO ,----
- ----- -��

\�
SO l
t�
electrode subjected to typical currents of first and subsequent 70
-- 1' 0,", - 10
7o
strokes are show in Fig. 4. £ �g f. .........
p(OJ) ",(OJ) c: 60
50'"
.........
p(OJ), 'iOJ)
R LF
�

� 40 RLF r:t:.'::J 40 "'\' ..

In general, the frequency dependence of soil parameters 0:: ':. ........... ...............................
. 30 30 . ..
O. ....................... O.
•
causes a reduction of the GPR peak that becomes more N 20
••.. .=..
N 20
significant as the low-frequency soil resistivity increases. Also, 10 10
°5� �
10- 1 -�
5-20 - � � - � - � � - �� °5� �
10-1 5 -2�- - � - �- �
the effect is much more pronounced for currents of subsequent 25 30 35 4045 50 55 60 0 25 30 35 40 �
45�5�0�5� 5�
60
strokes due to their higher frequency content, as the resistivity Length (m) Length (m)
decrease and the capacitive effect are both more pronounced at (a)
450 ,--------�----, 450 ,--------�----,
higher frequencies. This reduction is of about 11% and 18% for 400 400
10 10
--PO,Cr= --Po,',=
c: 350 c: 35 0
•••••••••

p(OJ), ",(OJ) ......... p(OJ) "i )

300-Qm soil, and 20% and 44% for 3000-Qm soil, respectively 300 ... 300 , OJ
'J 250 \ 5
_ _

u. 2 0
for currents of first and subsequent strokes. ""'
0:: 200 "'" 0:: 200 '.
.O. 150 ", 0. 150 "'"
It should be mentioned that similar results were found for N 1�g ...
. ......... ........ .... . .. . ......
. ..
N 100
50
.. .
. ........ . ..............................
.
electrodes shorter and longer than 30 m and for other values of
�0 20 30 40 50 60 70 SO 90 �0 20 30 40 50 60 70 SO 90
low-frequency soil resistivity, as considered in [6]. Length (m) Length (m)
0.7 ,----�----:-�---, (b)
10
0.6 --PO
•••••••••
,Cr=

:> 0.5 p«(o), sr(w) Figure 5. Impulse impedance Zp of horizontal electrodes buried 0.5 m deep
� 0.4
(radius 7 mm) and subjected to representative currents of first (left) and
g: 0.3 ,Sr= 10 g: 0.2
subsequent strokes (right) as a function of electrode length. Soil resistivity po
--PO
C) 0.2 C)
•••••••••

p(OJ), ",(OJ)
of (a) 300 Qm and (b) 3000 Qrn.
0.1
0.1
0
5 10 15 20 25 0 2 4 6 S
Time (I's) Time (1'5) D. Impulse Coefficient
(a) Based on the curves of Fig. 5, the impulse coefficient Ie,
6,-----,----�-�-�-_, 2
given by the ratio of the impulse impedance Zp and the low­
5 •
• . •• •

4
. .. .... .....
••••• •••••• .•
:> frequency resistance RLF, is directly derived. Fig. 6 shows how
�
.• .

.
•
• •

� 1.2
3
**.......................................
the frequency dependence affects this coefficient.
"
...
..
,," g: O.S t· ...•
.. .
10 10
--1'0,",=
/ :
--PO,f.r=
C) Under the constant soil parameters assumption, Zp is
•
. 0.4 ••••••••• p«o),I}:ll)

�
..

��
..
..
° o �-�-�--�--
& 0 1�-0-1
�,--- � � 5-2 0 � 25
� �
Time (I's)
(b)
Figure 4. GPR of a 30-m horizontal electrode buried 0.5 m deep (radius 7
mm) subjected to representative currents of first (left) and subsequent strokes
(right) for soil resistivity po of: (a) 300 Qm and (b) 3000 Qm.
C. Impulse Impedance and Effective Length
Results similar to those of Fig. 4 were developed for the
same soils, but considering the electrode length varying from 5
to 90 m. Based on these additional results, the curves of Zp as a
function of the electrode length presented in Fig. 5 were
calculated for both first and subsequent strokes under the
assumptions of constant and frequency dependent soil
parameters. In addition, the curve of the low-frequency
resistance RLF is included in the graphs.
In general, Zp decreases with increasing electrode length
until the effective length LEF is approached. Then, this decrease
is saturated resulting in a constant value for Zp, while the low­
frequency resistance RLF continues to decrease. LEF is shorter
for low-resistivity soils and currents of subsequent strokes.
The results show that the frequency dependence causes a
reduction of Zp all along the range of electrode lengths [11].
Such reduction is more significant for the high-resistivity soil.
Also, the effect is clearly much more pronounced for
subsequent stroke currents, due to its higher frequency content.
Furthermore, though the effective length is basically not
affected for subsequent strokes, they become longer for first
stroke currents [11].
basically equal to RLF for electrodes shorter than the LEF and,
o 2 4 6 S consequently, the impulse coefficient is equal or very close to 1
Time (1'5)
for both first and subsequent strokes. Above the LEF, the value
of Ie rises continuously, since Zp remains constant and RLF
continues to decrease.
In case of frequency dependent soil parameters, though the
general shape of curves is similar to that of constant soil
parameters, in all cases the frequency dependence causes a
reduction of Ie [11]. This reduction rises with increasing
resistivity and is more pronounced for subsequent strokes.
Also, it is important to note that, in contrast with results under
constant parameters assumption, values of Ie below unity are
obtained for electrode lengths shorter than LEF, when the
frequency dependence of soil parameters is taken into account.
Considering the soils with Po of 300 and 3000 Qm, Ie is
decreased to around 0.95 and 0.83, and 0.78 and 0.52,
respectively for typical currents offrrst and subsequent strokes.
Additionally, for subsequent stroke currents, the effective
length is basically not affected and, thus, the bending position
in the curves is preserved. However, for first stroke currents,
the bending position is displaced to the right (increase of LEF)'
This happens because, for first strokes, the frequency
dependence effect causes a reduction of the attenuation of
voltage and current waves propagating along the electrode, as
discussed in [11].
 4 reduction is more pronounced for high-resistivity soils
8,= 10
3.5 __ Po, and subsequent current strokes. In addition, the
••••••••• , pew), 8,{W )
effective length of electrodes is basically not affected
3 for subsequent strokes, but becomes longer for first
2.5
stroke currents.

_u • The shape of curves of impulse coefficient under the

2
frequency dependent and constant soil parameter
1.5 assumptions is similar. However, the frequency
dependence causes a general reduction of the value of
Ie. This reduction rises with increasing resistivity Po
0.5 and is more pronounced for subsequent strokes. In this
O L-�--��--�� case, electrodes shorter than LEF have values of Ie of
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 0.83 and 0.52, respectively for soils of resistivity Po
Length (m)
equal to 300 and 3000 Om.
(a)
In summary, the frequency dependence of soil parameters
2 ,---.----.--,---.---�
has a significant effect in all analyzed parameters. The results
8,= 10
1.8 __ Po, recommend the need to take this effect into account for soils of
1.6 ••••••••• , pew), 8,{W ) high and moderate resistivity and fast currents with short front
1.4 times.
1.2
REFERENCES

0.8 ............................. ................. .

.
:::::: :::: :::" ....,::::::
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.
0.6 .................................... . ......• •
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0.2
Germany, 1987.
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•
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