High Frequency Grounding Impedances of Vertically-Driven Ground Rods

Grounding impedance depends on the frequency of current flowing into a grounding system lightning in particular has a broad frequency spectrum from some tens of Hz to a few MHz. So the grounding impedance related to transient currents such as lightning should be measured. In this paper, the grounding impedances of vertically-driven ground rods of 10, 30 and 48[m] long are measured and analyzed as functions of the frequency of injected current and the feeding point. As a result, the longer the ground rod is, the lower the steady-state ground resistance is. However the grounding impedance of a vertically-driven ground rod at a high frequency is significantly increased. It is not always true that low grounding impedance follows from a low steady-state ground resistance. It is important to evaluate the high frequency performance of grounding systems for protection against lightning.