Grounding of a 230 kV Transmission line over a Limestone Ridge : A case study in Lao P.D.R

This thesis is a case study of a 230 kV transmission line in Lao P.D.R. Grounding of electrical systems is essential for safety and reliability of the system. Several standards are developed for designing a grounding system when building new facilities but it is harder to find references when it is an expansion of an old system or when the area for grounding is inferior. The transmission line is routed over a high resistive limestone ridge, where the requirements from the design standard can not be fulfilled. During normal conditions, each tower can be properly grounded to earth with ground electrodes, but in this case the resistivity of the solid rock is too high. By studying different shield wires of different materials and improve the down lead conductor in each side of the mountain, a suitable solution can be found. The importance of grounding, general description of grounding techniques and the risks for human and equipment due to an electrical fault is also presented in this thesis