Experimentation with Novel Factors Affecting Earth Resistance Using Taguchi Method

Earthing is a low-resistance bypass mechanism used to protect personnel and equipment. The earth electrode, soil resistivity, and electrode-to-soil contact resistance are the main determinants of earth resistance. There are both controllable and uncontrollable subfactors for each of these major components. In the presence of some uncontrollable elements, it is imperative to reduce earth resistance by combining controllable factors. This paper examines the effects of simple and underutilized but effective factors like charcoal size, length/diameter ratio of cone type electrodes, and metal scrap addition on earth resistance. Method of design of experiments, Taguchi is a method for estimating effect. The Taguchi approach examines the impact of various degrees of variables on earth resistivity. The most crucial factor to consider is the cone's length to diameter ratio. Following that is the particle size of the charcoal utilized in the earthing pit. Metal scrap had the smallest impact of all the variables.