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Tools/Earthing Design
IEEE Std 80-2013Protection

Earthing Grid Design

Design substation earthing grids to IEEE Std 80-2013. Size conductors, calculate grid resistance and GPR, then verify mesh and step voltages against tolerable limits. Generate a full printable design report.

Conductor sizing (Eq. 37)Grid resistance (Eq. 57)Touch & step voltageSurface layer (Cs)Two-layer soilPrintable report

Project Details

Project Name
Reference
Engineer
Date

System Parameters

Fault Current
A
X/R Ratio
Fault Duration
s
Split Factor Sf
Frequency

Soil Model

Soil Model
Resistivity ρ₁
Ω·m

Grid Geometry

Grid Length Lx
m
Grid Width Ly
m
Burial Depth h
m
Spacing X (Dx)
m
Spacing Y (Dy)
m

Grid: 60 × 40m  |  Area: 2,400m²  | 5 × 7 conductors, 580 m total

Ground Rods

Number of Rods
Rod Length
m
Rod Diameter
mm

Conductor

Material
Cross-Section (override)
mm²
Auto-Sized Result
95 mm² — ∅11.0 mm

Surface Layer

Surface Resistivity ρs
Ω·m
Surface Depth hs
m
Reduction Factor Cs
Cs = 0.700

Safety Criteria

Body Weight
Shock Duration ts
s
Design Fails

One or more voltage limits exceeded — see details below.

Key Results

Grid Resistance Rg
1.209Ω
Ground Potential Rise
25,306V
Decrement Factor Df
1.047
Max Grid Current Ig
20,933A

Touch Voltage

FAIL
Mesh voltage Em
5,466V
Tolerable Etouch
921V
Utilisation
593.2%

Step Voltage

PASS
Step voltage Es
2,115V
Tolerable Estep
3,020V
Utilisation
70.0%

Geometric Factors

n effective
5.86
Km (mesh factor)
1.1058
Ks (step factor)
0.3249
Ki (irregularity)
1.511
Cs (surface layer)
0.700

Notes & Warnings

  • Mesh voltage Em (5466 V) exceeds tolerable touch voltage (921 V). Redesign required.

IEEE Std 80-2013 · Uniform soil model (see warnings for two-layer) · All results are guidance only — verify with a chartered engineer.

Calculations based on IEEE Std 80-2013 — Guide for Safety in AC Substation Grounding. Uniform soil model; two-layer soil computations use ρ₁ for simplification.

This tool provides design guidance only. Results should be verified by a chartered engineer and checked against site-specific geotechnical data and applicable regulations. Complex sites may require specialist software (CDEGS, ETAP).

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