Real-time Measurement for Controlling Grounding Resistance

: Grounding is the protection system that is useful for transferring the leakage current from an electrical system to the ground through a grounding electrode buried in the ground. Types of grounding electrodes can be in the form of rod electrodes, plate electrodes, mesh-connected electrodes or other forms. In order for the grounding system to function properly, it must be ensured that the grounding system has very small earth resistance, close to zero. In addition, earth resistance value is influenced by soil resistivity, mineral content, soil moisture and temperature particularly due to weather changes. Indonesia has two seasons, the dry season and the rainy season. During the dry season, soil temperatures increase, causing the soil to dry up and the earth resistance to increase as well. Therefore, to prevent an increase in the value of earth resistance due to weather change, a grounding system that can be monitored and controlled automatically is needed. The proposed grounding resistance monitoring system is developed in LabVIEW environment. The voltage applied to the electrodes will cause current to flow to the ground, so the earth resistance value can be measured. Experimental results show that the earth resistance value can be measured in real-time, and the data obtained can be used as feedback to control the earth resistance value.