Power Distribution System Grounding and Transients

  • Overview
  • Course Content
  • Requirements & Materials
Overview

Power Distribution System Grounding and Transients

Course Description

In the Power Distribution System Grounding and Transients course, you will explore the theory and practice of modern power distribution system grounding, transients, protection, and operation. Gain a comprehensive overview of the fundamental principles of distribution grounding, analysis tools for distribution system performance assessment, and analysis as it pertains to grounding and transients. You will review industry practices in grounding, protection, and operation of distribution systems, as well as examine substation grounding. You will review examples using a powerful analysis and visualization program capable of modeling and analyzing numerous phenomena related to distribution system performance.

Course Content

BASIC CONCEPTS

  • Purpose of grounding
  • Basic safety concepts
  • Basic EMC concepts
  • Terms and definitions
  • Accidental ground circuit
  • Soil characteristics
  • Stray currents
  • Distribution of fault currents
  • Transient ground currents

GROUNDING PRACTICES

  • Standards (National/Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers/International Electrotechnical Commission)
  • Grounded versus ungrounded
  • Single, multi-grounded
  • Distribution grounding electrodes
  • Electric railways
  • Other connected grounds
  • Grounding of remote terminal units (RTUs) and other electronic equipment

GROUND POTENTIAL RISE CALCULATIONS

  • Fault current distribution
  • Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) characteristics
  • Transferred voltages
  • Modeling/analysis requirements
  • Thevenin equivalent at neutral
  • Factors affecting ground potential rise
  • Transmission and distribution system interaction
  • Electromagnetic induction
  • High impedance faults

SAFETY STANDARDS

  • Permissible body currents
  • Permissible touch and step voltages
  • Design considerations
  • Conductor size and joint selection
  • Special points of concern

COMPUTER BASED DESIGN

  • Analysis procedure
  • Ground system design
  • Control of touch and step voltages
  • Computation of body currents
  • Stray currents/control
  • Nearby metallic pipes, tel circuits, cable TV
  • Cost/benefit analysis of design options

SOIL MODELING

  • Soil structure
  • Soil measurement techniques
  • Soil resistivity models
  • Measurement interpretation
  • Criteria for uniform soil
  • Corrosion - mechanism/control

GROUND MEASUREMENTS

  • Fall of potential method
  • The smart ground multimeter
  • Ground integrity tests
  • Transferred and induced voltage measurements
  • Measurement models and interpretation
  • Example field data review

DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM TRANSIENTS

  • Fault transients
  • Lightning
  • Switching
  • Ferroresonance
  • Inrush currents
  • Impact of grounds - voltage sags/swells
  • Impact on power quality

PROPAGATION OF TRANSIENTS THROUGH GROUNDS

  • Analysis methods
  • Soil ionization
  • Ground impulse impedance
  • Lightning overvoltages
  • Mechanisms of lightning
  • Lightning characteristics
  • Lightning, grounding and shielding
  • Insulation coordination
  • Risk assessment
  • Overvoltage protection
  • Protection of RTUs

FAULT DETECTION AND ISOLATION

  • Low impedance faults
  • High impedance faults
  • Faulted circuit indicators
  • Fault distance indicators
  • Underground residential distribution fault locating
Requirements & Materials
Prerequisites

Recommended

  • Electrical engineering degree or equivalent experience
Materials

Provided

  • "Lightning and Overvoltage Protection", Section 27 from the Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers by A. P. Sakis Meliopoulos, 15th edition (McGraw Hill, June 2007)

Recommended

  • Power System Grounding and Transients by A. P. "Sakis" Meliopoulos, second printing (Marcel Dekker Inc., 1988) - Purchase during online registration
  • EPRI Publication TR-106661-V1, Distribution Grounding, Volume 1: Handbook, 1996 - Purchase directly from EPRI

Session Details

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for electric power utility engineers, system designers involved in design of power distribution installations and operations, consulting and manufacturing engineers, engineers with equipment supply companies for industrial systems, university power system educators, and graduate students.

Working professional attending an engineering course

What You Will Learn

  • Grounding and safety concepts
  • Distribution grounding practices
  • Ground potential rise calculations
  • Safety standards
  • Computer-based design
  • Soil modeling
  • Ground measurements
  • Distribution systems transients
  • Propagation of transients through grounds
  • Fault detection and isolation
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How You Will Benefit

  • Explore the theory and practice of modern power distribution system grounding, transients, protection, and operation.
  • Learn from examples using a powerful analysis and visualization program.
  • Analyze distribution system performance, including stray voltage and currents in unbalanced distribution systems, lightning overvoltages, influence on nearby metallic pipes, safety assessment using IEEE Std. 80, and interpretation of soil resistivity measurements.
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    Taught by Experts in the Field
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The course schedule was well-structured with a mix of lectures, class discussions, and hands-on exercises led by knowledgeable and engaging instructors.

- Abe Kani
President

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