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Electrical Earthing System Design & Soil Resistivity Testing

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Soil Resistivity Testing

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What Exactly is a Soil Resistivity Desktop Study?

Before installing an electrical earthing system design, there are a couple of other essential tasks to tackle. One of these tasks is the ‘Soil Resistivity Desktop Study.’ This study illustrated in the Soil Resistivity Table below.

Historically installation companies may have offered to drive a single earth rod into the ground and take a range of readings from it at various depths as it is driven deeper. This approach is now considered totally unacceptable for anything other than the most basic of designs, e.g. a generator earth. [Read more…] about What Exactly is a Soil Resistivity Desktop Study?

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Soil Resistivity Testing in the Wet – Ninja Tricks to Help You Spot the Enemy

Soil Resistivity Testing in the wet particularly saturated ground. Has the potential for many problems.

Here are some ninja tricks to help you spot the enemy lurking in the damp…

Soil Resistivity Testing is the absolute starting point for pretty much everything to do with design for Earthing, grounding and lightning protection. (click link to flow chart) This is chiefly because all these type of systems are connected to earth and rely on the quality of this interface.  Therefore, understanding the soil resistivity and what the representative ‘Soil Model’ will look like is without doubt the single most important foundation to all subsequent safety calculations. [Read more…] about Soil Resistivity Testing in the Wet – Ninja Tricks to Help You Spot the Enemy

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What is Soil Resistivity Testing & Why is it Important to Safe Electrical Earthing Design

What is Soil Resistivity?

Soil resistivity is a measure of how much the soil resists the flow of electricity. Soil Resistivity Testing is determining that measure. Therefore, is a critical factor in the design of systems that rely on passing current through the Earth’s surface. An understanding of the soil resistivity and how it varies with depth in the soil is necessary to design the electrical earthing systems. In an electrical substation, or for lightning conductors. Also for the design of earthing electrodes for substations and high-voltage direct current transmission systems needs this measurement. Because most substations, use the earth to conduct all or, a significant portion of fault current when there are earthing faults on the system.

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Soil Resistivity Testing Erratic Readings

This is a series of short posts on Soil Resistivity Testing. And the common mistakes encountered, with practical advice on how to avoid common mistakes. Part 10 –  Soil Resistivity Testing Erratic Readings.

So, when carrying out soil resistivity testing. Erratic readings can occur due to poor connections. Also, through high contact resistance. And background noise at a frequency similar to that used by the measurement equipment. Nearby buried metallic structures, equipment failure, operator error, and other factors.

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Soil Resistivity Testing Background Noise

Soil Resistivity Testing 10 Common Mistakes

This is a series of short posts on Soil Resistivity Testing and the common mistakes encountered, with practical advice on how to avoid Soil Resistivity Testing 10 Common Mistakes.

Soil Resistivity Testing Background Noise – Due to nearby sources of 50 Hz (or 60 Hz) current and its harmonics, electrical noise at these frequencies is expected in the measurements, particularly for the larger electrode spacings. [Read more…] about Soil Resistivity Testing Background Noise