Experimental Study on the Ground Resistance Reduction Based on Different Types of Grounding Rod

Grounding of electrical installation is primarily concerned with ensuring safety. The main purpose of grounding is to channel the fault current straightly to the earth. To produce a good grounding system, the value of earth resistance must be reduced as low as possible. Otherwise, current may flows through to those who touch the damage electrical equipment instead of flowing through grounding system. In this project, a 3 meter length of copper, galvanized iron and pure steel rod were installed in formatting of grounding system. The installation of the grounding rods was based on the fall of potential method. Both single rod testing and parallel rod testing were performed in this project. A comparison on grounding resistance value for copper rod, steel rod and galvanized iron rod was examined and the selection of the best grounding rod was determined from the experimental data. Result shows that different types of rod will produce different value of resistivity in which depend on installation technique and soil condition.