Hydro Sherbrooke retained CIMA+ to produce a grounding (GND) grid analysis to ensure the safety of staff, citizens and equipment, as part of the new Gaston-Massé substation expansion. The GND analysis was carried out using CDEGS software, as well as the RESAP (Soil Resistivity Analysis), SoilModelManager software tool, MALZ (Frequency Domain Grounding/Earthing Analysis) and FCDIST (Fault Current Distribution Calculation). These technologies allowed CIMA+ to model the GND grid of the substation in 3D to obtain more accurate results, which subsequently allowed for the necessary changes to be made in order to ensure the safety of people and equipment. The results confirmed that the design of the GND grid was safe.
At the end of the project, a grid impedance measurement confirmed that the simulations and study were valid.
For more information on CIMA+’s contribution to the Gaston-Massé substation, click here.