Therefore, it can be quite time consuming. The time devoted to designing a safe and cost-effective grounding grid is minimized by the use of these automation techniques and appropriate databases.Ī grounding system design requires several iterations before obtaining a safe configuration. A strategy has been devised to quickly identify an appropriate grid, while at the same time minimizing the size of the database. These steps are described in greater detail below.Įxtensive collections of pre-defined grids have been analyzed and constructed. Next, the initial design is refined recursively using rule-based techniques and algorithms to improve its performance and to satisfy safety constraints, while reducing the overall cost of the grid. From these results, a preliminary design is then selected based on the SES reference database, other intelligent rules, or as specified manually by the user. If yes, a grounding system consisting of a minimum number of conductors is computed. Then the automated design process begins, starting with a grid consisting of a buried metallic plate (which provides the lowest resistance, touch and step voltages) to determine if required safety limits are achievable.
The only fully automated software tool capable of analyzing and designing grounding systems with no user intervention between design phases, AutoGroundDesign’s powerful and intelligent functions help electrical engineers to safely and efficiently design horizontal, arbitrarily shaped grounding installations.Ī multiple-step approach is used for the system design, beginning with the manual specification of parameters related to the grounding system, soil and fault current data, and safety criteria. The AutoGroundDesign package performs automated analyses of grounding (earthing) systems of any arbitrary perimeter and identifies an economical grid configuration complying with user defined safety criteria that can be used as the design for grounding grids that are electrically small enough to be considered equipotential. Simplified Fault Current Distribution Analysis Line and Cable Constants (Parameters) & Induction Analysisĭetailed Fault Current Distribution and EMI AnalysisĪutomated Fast Fourier Transform Analysis Low Frequency Grounding / Earthing Analysisįrequency Domain Grounding / Earthing Analysis
Integrated and Specialized Software Packages