Author(s)

Nadheer A. Shalash, Ahmed M. A. Haidar, Kousay Abdul Sattar

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Grounding Points (GPs) are installed in electrical power system to drive protective devices and accomplish the person nel safety. The general grounding problem is to find the optimal locations of these points so that the security and reli ability of power system can be improved. This paper presents a practical approach to find the optimal location of GPs based on the ratios of zero sequence reactance with positive sequence reactance (X0/X1), zero sequence resistance with positive sequence reactance (R0/X1) and Ground Fault Factor (GFF). The optimal values of these indicators were deter-mined by considering several scenarios of fault disturbances such as single line to ground on a selected area of the Iraqi National Grid (132 KV) taking into account the statue of GPs for transformers in the other substations. From the presented results in this paper, it is noted that GFF calculated for some substations could be used to measure the effectiveness of GPs. However, the operated time of relay can be taken as a criterion of this measurement for selecting the best location of GPs.

Grounding Point; Fault Factor; National Grid; Optimal Location; Operating Time; Fault Calculation

N. Shalash, A. Haidar and K. Sattar, "Grounding Locations Assessment of Practical Power System," Energy and Power Engineering, Vol. 4 No. 1, 2012, pp. 19-27. doi: 10.4236/epe.2012.41003.