DefinePK

Abstract

Equipment damages cause by electrical surges can be attributed to ineffective grounding system which by right should provide protection to equipment and personnel safety. The grounding system ineffectiveness to surge protection is due to the remoteness of earth terminal or ground system entry points from the lightning surge occurrence. Despite all considerations taken such as maintaining low resistivity soil, multiple grounding terminal rods, mesh ground system still the problems remain unsolved. The underlying reason is that the connection between the earth terminal to the lightning induced surges occurrence points are as such, creating potential rises at points of unmatched surge impedance junctions thus effecting equipment reliability. The rise in ground potential magnitudes to remote earth at equipment proximity should be eliminated. This work has shown that by employing test-model grounding electrodes that used certain materials that have low thermal transfer impedance, acts like a kind of a portable earth to absorb lightning surge current energy, can be used for grounding system enhancement by connecting the tested ground.