Evaluation of Wood Ash and Sodium Chloride Mixtures as Alternatives Grounding Enhancement Material for Grounding Systems

A grounding system is crucial for safeguarding electrical systems, ensuring they function effectively under both normal and fault conditions. This research investigates the effectiveness of enhancement materials, specifically wood ash and sodium chloride (NaCl), compared to conventional bentonite using fall-of-potrnial method. The study evaluates the suitability, advantages, and limitations of these materials. Experiments involved filling holes with 10 kg of bentonite, wood ash, and various mixtures of wood ash and NaCl (7 kg wood ash + 3 kg NaCl, 8 kg wood ash + 2 kg NaCl, 9 kg wood ash + 1 kg NaCl), using a reference hole without enhancement material. Copper earth rods was employed over 12 weeks. Results showed that the 7 kg wood ash + 3 kg NaCl mixture performed similarly to 10 kg of bentonite, achieving a 62% and 62.7% reduction in ground resistance, respectively. This indicates that a carefully mixed combination of NaCl and wood ash can be a viable alternative to bentonite. The data indicates that resistance generally decreases with higher rainfall and is lower for systems using NaCl mixtures, particularly the one with the highest NaCl content.