Description

Testing of the power transmission towers grounding (G) quality poses a serious problem as they are all electrically interconnected by means of Ground Wires which act as lightning rods, protecting the lines from atmospheric discharges.

Due to the existence of this connection, any attempt to measure a tower grounding (G) resistance using a conventional earth meter leads to wrong results as what is really being measured is all the shunt towers grounding (G) resistance (or, more precisely, its impedance at low frequency). Trying to disconnect the ground wire from an energized line is a risky operation due to the need for climbing to the tower highest part as well as for the proximity to the high-voltage conductors.

To make this kind of test feasible, which is of vital importance to ensure the transmission of the electrical power without interruptions, TENTECH TM25R grounding resistance meter for high frequency has been developed. This is the appropriate tool for a fast, safe and reliable grounding resistance measurement in each tower of a working line transmission, without disconnecting the ground wire.

Its operation is based on the use of a high-frequency measurement current (25 kHz), for which ground wire inductive impedance - taking into account a typical length span is reasonably high, making it possible to reduce the effect of the adjacent towers under measurement. The equipment only measures the ground resistance of the surveyed tower, including its base. The extensive G systems, such as meshes, buried wires, metal pipes, etc, are measured only considering the closest section to the connection point, so that the measured value represents the performance, against a pulse signal similar to an atmospheric discharge.

Thus, values that better represent the system capacity to ground lightning currents than the ones obtained with low frequency conventional equipment, even when disconnecting the ground wire, are obtained.

The test is performed by making the known-value current flow through the earth diffusion resistance and an auxiliary electrode, called the current electrode, and by measuring the voltage produced between grounding and another auxiliary electrode, thrust into the ground in the area of the potential created by flowing current (Potential Plateau).

The current injected by the earth meter is automatically adjusted to the predetermined value and the equipment and it directly indicates the resistance value on its ohms-grades scale.

The TM25R has a Bluetooth interface that allows remote control of it through a tablet with TENTECH's app. With it you can save the photos of the towers and the GPS coordinates of each. It also allows you to record voice comments for each measurement. This equipment is poewred with its universal charger, from a built-in rechargeable battery. It is a strong equipment, easy to carry, resistant to the hard weather and geographical features of the tropical and high-mountain regions, that is why it is described as an excellent product for field works under the most severe environmental conditions.

Technical specifications