Course Name: Ground Design for Safety and Influence Mitigation: Principles and Practice
Course Dates: Fall, 2025
Course Objective
The objective of this training session is to provide comprehensive coverage of grounding design principles, lightning shielding systems, insulation coordination studies, interactions of power system grounding with other utility systems such as pipelines, cathodic protection systems, and many other electromagnetic compatibility studies. The required procedures for evaluation of industry and specific utility standards will be discussed. The training will also cover testing procedures to verify designs after the grounding system has been installed, or existing substation grounding system to assess whether they meet industry standards, via a ground audit procedure.
Industry standards such as the IEEE Std 80, the IEC 60471, the IEEE Std 998, the IEEE Std 81 and others will be covered. The use of computer programs to implement the design procedures will also be presented with many examples from the WinIGS program. Numerous examples will be worked in class using the program WinIGS, which is a software package to model the relevant systems and perform the above referenced investigations. Participants will receive a temporary one-month license of the program WinIGS to continue exercises.
Course Instructors
A.P. Meliopoulos, Ph.D.
George Cokkinides, Ph.D.
Scope
Power systems keep on increasing in size with commensurate increases of fault currents. High fault currents generate concerns for the safety of personnel as well as concerns about damage vulnerability of the systems. In addition, power systems are exposed to weather phenomena such as lightning and must be protected against the lightning overvoltages and designed to withstand these voltages. They are also in the vicinity of other systems, such as communication systems, pipeline systems, railroads, cathodic protection systems, metallic fences and other man-made systems. Power systems must be grounded for safety, provide reference for protection and communications and protection against lightning. They must also mitigate influence on other systems, such as pipelines, cathodic protection systems, metallic fences, railroads, etc. Because these systems are geographically extensive, their design presents challenges in meeting standards at reasonable costs.
This course will comprehensively cover grounding system design procedures for safety and lightning shielding as well as insulation coordination protection for electrical power installations, such as substations, generating plants, renewables and other systems. It will start with a coverage of the basic principles in grounding design and follow with a step-by-step design procedure. It will explore soil characterization, modeling requirements, and data preparation and model development procedures for substations, generating plants, renewables, lightning shielding systems, and other systems in the vicinity such as pipelines, railroads, cathodic protection systems, communication circuits and other. Once the model is constructed, many problems and design issues can be investigated with ease. You will have the opportunity to discuss practical examples and see demonstrations of design procedures. Furthermore, options will be discussed for controlling ground potential rise, touch, and step voltages, as well as quantify the influence of grounding systems on nearby pipes, fences, and buildings with the use of the WinIGS program. By the end of the course, you will be able to perform the above reference studies with the use of the program WinIGS.
The course is taught by the developers of the program WinIGS.
Course Instructors
Who Should Attend
This course is designed for electric power utility engineers involved in the design of substations and electrical installations. It is also intended for consulting and manufacturing engineers and engineers with substation equipment supply companies. University power system educators and graduate students will also benefit from exposure to these important topics.
Prerequisites
Participants should have an engineering degree (electrical, mechanical, or civil), or equivalent experience.
Course Materials
The following material will be used during the short course presentations:
- Extensive class notes.
- Meliopoulos, WinIGS Training Guide, September 2024.
- Meliopoulos, WinIGS Manual, September 2024, electronic copy.
A copy of the class notes and the training guide will be given to all participants. The WinIGS manual will be provided in electronic form within the WinIGS program.
Professional Development Hours
Participants who successfully complete this program will earn 16 Professional Development Hours (PDHs). An official transcript of PDHs earned will be provided within 45 days of the completion of the course.
Course Topics
Grounding System Design Principles
- Basic Concepts
- Accidental Electrocution Circuit Parameters
- Safety Criteria
- IEEE Std 80 – 2013 Edition
- Lightning and EMC
- Integrated 3-D Design Procedures
Grounding System Performance
- Ground Potential Rise
- Fault Current Distribution
- Transferred Voltages
- Touch and Step Voltages
- Influence on Comm/Control Circuits
- Influence on Pipelines
- Influence on corrosion systems
- Influence on railroads
- Influence on metallic fences
- Analysis Methods
Ground Construction & Design Procedures
- Conductor and Joint Selection
- Recommended Design Procedures
- Special Points of Danger
- Comparison of IEEE Std 80 and IEC-60479-1
System Modeling for Grounding Design
- General Principles
- Modeling Requirements for GPR
- Design Options for GPR Reduction
- Modeling Requirements for Shielding Analysis
- Workshop
Ground Mat Design for Safety
- Touch/Mesh/Step Voltages
- Metal to Metal Touch Voltages
- Design Options for Touch Voltage Control
- Safety Assessment
Integrated Grounding System Design
- Integrated Design Evaluation
- Transfer Voltages (Pipelines, Buildings, etc.)
- Electric Railroads – Influence evaluation and mitigation
- Pipelines – Influence evaluation and mitigation
- Cathodic Protection Systems: Influence evaluation and mitigation
- Control Cable Shielding and Grounding
- Wind Farm Grounding
- PV Plant Grounding
- Cost/Benefit Analysis & Design Optimization
Substation Lightning Shielding
- Basic Principles
- Shielding Angle
- The Rolling Sphere Method
- The EGM Method
- Risk Assessment
- Design Procedures
Ground Design for Lightning
- Ground Surge Impedance
- Lightning Points of Entry
- Lightning Overvoltage and Propagation
- Transfer Voltages to Control Circuits
- Wind Turbine Protection
- Mitigation Methods
Insulation Coordination
- Basic Principles
- Insulation Coordination Against Lightning
- Probability of Flashovers
- Risk Assessment by Monte Carlo Simulation
- Mitigation Methods
- Computer Example
Integrated 3-D Substation Design
- Assessment of Clearances
- Bus Design Evaluation
- EMF Computations
Soil Characterization
- Soil Structures
- Basic Characteristics
Soil Resistivity Measurements
- Measurement Techniques
- (Samples, Wenner, Three Pin, …)
- Measurement Interpretation – Multi-Layered Soils
- Theory and Limitations
Ground Impedance Measurements
- Fall of Potential Method
- Theory and Limitations
- Factors Affecting Test Accuracy
Ground System Testing (SGM Method)
- Ground Impedance Measurements
- Ground Mat Measurements
- Soil Resistivity Measurements
- Tower Ground Resistance Measurements
- Point to Point Ground Impedance Measurement
- Ground Integrity Tests
- Touch and Step Voltage Measurements
- Transfer Voltage Measurement
- Probe Calibration
- Measurement Confidence Level
Ground System Audit
- Verify Design
- Verify Construction
- Verify Model
- Safety Assessment
Demonstration and Workshop
- Demonstration of: Ground Impedance, Soil Resistivity, and Tower Ground Measurements
Course Fee & Registration
After September 01, 2025, registration cost is $1,950.00.
Training, course materials and a one-month software license of WinIGS-SDA are included in the course fee.
Registration Form
After we have received your registration, we will send you a confirmation and provide payment options.
Alternate ways to register
CALL (512) 636-1448 between 8:00AM – 5PM, Eastern Time
EMAIL your registration information to courses@ap-concepts.com
MAIL registration request and payments to:
Advanced Power Concepts
P. O. Box 49116
Atlanta, Georgia 30359
Please be prepared to provide your name, address, company/affiliation, email and
phone contact information and your desired method of payment.