Grounding enhancement material from industrial by-product

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of additive material to improve the grounding performance. The material selection is based on industrial waste, where that can be obtain from Palm Oil Milling Factory and Coal-Fired Power Plant. The moisture content of these materials and their combination were studied and the effectiveness were highlighted. The ability of these materials to absorbed moisture can directly influence an effect reducing the grounding electrode resistance value. Grounding Enhancement Material (GEM) were developed and studied for their performance to improve soil resistivity. GEM was used as an additive material for ground resistance value reduction of a mock-up grid system. As a result, it was discovered that by using GEM the grounding resistance of the mock-up grid reduced. From three type of GEM developed during the study, Empty Fruit Bunch Ash based GEM provide better improvement to soil resistivity value and thus reducing the ground resistance value of the test scaled-down grounding system.