Analysis on Topology of Grounding System Using Bentonite and Coconut Husk as Additive Material

Electrical grounding is a system to remove undesired electrical charge to the ground via grounding mass. The unwanted electrical charged maybe created due to grounding fault of electrical apparatus and transient. Without proper grounding system, any structure will have exposed to the risk that caused by fault current and lightning. This situation will contribute to the loss of life and damaging the equipment. The purpose of this research is to investigate the behavior of bentonite and coconut husk as additive material to improve the performance grounding system by reducing grounding resistance value. At the same time, the proposed grounding system is also installed in two different topologies which are the single driven rod as the first topology and the radial multiple driven rod as the second topology instead of the conventional method that installing multiple rod in straight line. After the installation process is completed, the measurement of grounding resistance work was conducted using fall of potential method and recorded within 64 days. The data gained then was compared and analyzed to identify the best material to be used as the grounding enhancement or additive material. The results obtained show that the Bentonite has better performance than coconut husk in reducing grounding resistance. This research also found that the new configuration of multiple driven rod topology was able to reduce grounding resistance compared to the single driven rod.