What is a resistance grounding?

Resistance grounding in an electrical system is defined as the use of a resistor as a

grounding path between the neutral point of transformer or generator and the earth
ground. There are two methods to accomplish this system of grounding, namely the low
resistance grounding and high resistance grounding.
IEEE Standard 142-1991 states that the reasons for limiting the current by resistance
grounding may be one or more of the following:
1.
To reduce the burning and melting effects in faulted electrical equipment such as switch
gears, transformers, cables and rotating machines.
2.
To reduce the mechanical stress in circuits and apparatus carrying fault currents.
3.
To reduce electrical shock hazards to personnel caused by stray ground fault currents in
the ground return path.
4.
To reduce arc blast or flash hazard to personnel who may have accidentally caused or
who happen to be close proximity to the ground fault.
5.
To reduce the momentary line voltage dip occasioned by the occurrence and clearing of
a ground fault.
6.
To secure control of the transient over voltages while the same time avoiding the
shutdown of a facility circuit on the occurrence of the first ground fault (high resistance
grounding).

Low Resistance Grounding

Low resistance grounding limits the ground fault current to a minimum value of 50
amperes. The reason for having this value is to quickly clear the fault (usually within a
few seconds).
Purpose:

Limit the damage to the equipment

Prevent additional faults from occurring
Provides safety to personnel
Localizes the fault

Characteristics:
Limits phase to ground currents to 50 ampere to 400 ampere.

Reduces arcing current and eliminates arc flash hazards associated with phase to
ground arcing current conditions.
Limit the mechanical damage and thermal damage to shorted transformer and rotating
machinery windings.
Does not prevent operation of over current devices.
Does not require a ground fault detection system.
Conductor insulation and surge arresters must be rated based on the line-to-line voltage.
Phase to neutral loads must be served through an isolation transformer.
High Resistance Grounding

IEEE Standard 142-1991 defines High Resistance Grounded System as follows:

A grounded system with a purposely inserted resistance that limits ground fault current can
flow for an extended period without exacerbating damage. This level of current is commonly
thought to be a 10 A or less. High resistance grounded systems are designed to meet the
criteria R0 < = Xco to limit the transient over-current voltages due to arcing ground faults. Ro
is the per phase zero sequence resistance of the system and Xco is the distributed per phase
capacitive reactance-to-ground of the system.
Purpose:
High resistance grounding solves the problem of transient over-voltages, thereby
reducing equipment damage. This is to industrial plants where the connected loads are
very sensitive.
Characteristics:

Limit phase to ground currents to 5-10 ampere.

Reduces arcing current and eliminates arc flash hazards associated with phase to
ground arcing current conditions.
Eliminate the mechanical damage and may limit thermal damage to shorted
transformer and rotating machinery windings.
Prevents operation and over current devices until the fault can be located.
Requires a ground fault detection system to notify the facility engineer that a ground fault
condition has occurred.
Conductor insulation and surge arresters must be rated based on the line-to-line voltage.
Phase to neutral loads must be served through an isolation transformer.

Sizing the grounding resistor

Ohms law (R = V / I) state that if we know the phase to ground voltage and the desired
current we can directly compute for the grounding resistance. But in case of grounding
resistance we need to consider the line to ground capacitance that the system has. This
capacitance determines the magnitude of zero sequence charging current. Therefore
we need to know first the charging current of the capacitance developed between phase
to ground and we will determine the resistor calculation thereafter.
Determining the capacitive charging current

Schematic and Phasor Diagram of Capacitance Charging Current

As describe in the above diagram, while there is no physical capacitance present in the
circuit however there is a large value of current that is being expected during the fault
condition, that is why we will not disregard the same. For convenience we will use the
typical charging current table, viz:

Typical Charging Current

With the resistance set for the maximum, the current should be limited to the half the
estimated charging current.
Three Phase Formula: Rmax = 2VL / [ sqrt(3) x 3 Ico]

Example:
An electrical system with installed capacity of 5 MVA has a system voltage of 13, 800
Volts. Determine the maximum value of grounding resistor?
Solution:
Referring to the table above @ 13,800 Volts and 5 MVA (5,000 KVA), 3 Ico = 50 Amps
Therefore:
Rmax = 2VL / [ sqrt(3) x 3 Ico]
R max = 2 x (13,800) / (1.73 x 50)

R max = 319 ohms

Summary:
1.
Resistance Grounding Systems have many advantages over solidly grounded systems
including arc-flash hazard reduction, limiting mechanical and thermal damage associated with
faults, and controlling transient over voltages.
2.
High resistance grounding systems may also be employed to maintain service continuity
and assist with locating the source of a fault.
3.
When designing a system with resistors, the design/consulting engineer must consider
the specific requirements for conductor insulation ratings, surge arrestor ratings, breaker singlepole duty ratings, and method of serving phase-to-neutral loads.