1) Earthing connects non-current carrying parts to ground for human safety, while grounding connects current carrying parts like the power system neutral to ground for equipment safety.
2) Ungrounded systems have low fault currents but risks of overvoltage, while grounded systems have higher fault currents but limit overvoltage. Common grounding methods include solid grounding, resistance grounding, and reactance grounding.
3) Proper earthing and grounding is critical for safety, with factors like soil resistivity, moisture, salt, and temperature affecting earth resistance. Standards specify maximum safe touch currents for humans depending on body weight and time of contact.
1) Earthing connects non-current carrying parts to ground for human safety, while grounding connects current carrying parts like the power system neutral to ground for equipment safety.
2) Ungrounded systems have low fault currents but risks of overvoltage, while grounded systems have higher fault currents but limit overvoltage. Common grounding methods include solid grounding, resistance grounding, and reactance grounding.
3) Proper earthing and grounding is critical for safety, with factors like soil resistivity, moisture, salt, and temperature affecting earth resistance. Standards specify maximum safe touch currents for humans depending on body weight and time of contact.
1) Earthing connects non-current carrying parts to ground for human safety, while grounding connects current carrying parts like the power system neutral to ground for equipment safety.
2) Ungrounded systems have low fault currents but risks of overvoltage, while grounded systems have higher fault currents but limit overvoltage. Common grounding methods include solid grounding, resistance grounding, and reactance grounding.
3) Proper earthing and grounding is critical for safety, with factors like soil resistivity, moisture, salt, and temperature affecting earth resistance. Standards specify maximum safe touch currents for humans depending on body weight and time of contact.
1) Earthing connects non-current carrying parts to ground for human safety, while grounding connects current carrying parts like the power system neutral to ground for equipment safety.
2) Ungrounded systems have low fault currents but risks of overvoltage, while grounded systems have higher fault currents but limit overvoltage. Common grounding methods include solid grounding, resistance grounding, and reactance grounding.
3) Proper earthing and grounding is critical for safety, with factors like soil resistivity, moisture, salt, and temperature affecting earth resistance. Standards specify maximum safe touch currents for humans depending on body weight and time of contact.
HUMAN SAFETY AND GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
1 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY
Difference between Earthing and Grounding:
•Earthing of Electrical system means connection of non-
current carrying parts to ground, i.e. equipment grounding Earthing is done for Human safety.
•Grounding of Electrical system means connection of
current carrying parts to ground, i.e. connection of power system neutral to ground. Grounding is done for equipment safety.
2 GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
•Grounding of Electrical system means connection of
current carrying parts to ground, i.e. connection of power system neutral to ground. Grounding is done for equipment safety.
In ungrounded system there is an overvoltage
problem while in Grounded system there is an overcurrent problem.
3 GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
UNGROUNDED SYSTEMS:
In Ungrounded system, there is no intentional connection to
ground.
70% of faults are L-G faults.
No return path for earth fault.
Fault current is practically very low, theoretically zero.
4 GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
ADVANTAGES OF UNGROUNDED SYSTEMS:
Advantage is that services are not interrupted. Fault location
and rectification is at a leisure.
Current at fault point is very low(<10A).
Core or iron damage is minimum.
Service continuity is possible even with (L-G) fault handing.
Zero sequence current circulation is very low
Interference with communication circuit is minimum.
5 GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
UNGROUNDED SYSTEMS:
DISADVANTAGES OF UNGROUNDED SYSTEMS:
¾Multiple faults to ground resulting into tripping of feeders, i.e.
in case of R phase fault on feeder 1 & Y phase fault on feeder 2, both feeders need to be tripped.
¾Overvoltage can occur on healthy phases(√3 Vph) during faults.
¾Fault detection is possible but fault location is difficult.
¾Arcing faults, restriking voltage resulting into insulation failure.
6 GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
REASONS FOR GROUNDING:
1. To provide sufficient current when fault occurs, so that fault
detection is easier and faulted section gets isolated.
2. To limit over voltages appearing on the system during
abnormal conditions such as a fault.
3. To minimize the shift of neutral from ground potential during
abnormal conditions like fautl.
7 GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
GROUNDED SYSTEMS:
DIFFERENT GROUNDING MEHTODS:
The classification is based on the nature of external circuit from Neutral to Ground. The different grounding methods are:
1. SOLID GROUNDING: Grounded through solid conductor.
No resistance or reactance incorporated
2. RESISTANCE GROUNDING: (a) Low Resistance Grounding (b) High Resistance Grounding (c’) Very High Resistance Grounding
3. REACTANCE GROUNDING: 8 GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
GROUNDED SYSTEMS:
GROUNDING LOCATIONS: Neutral of Star Connected Generator Neutral of Star wound transformer. For Bus fed from ungrounded source has a special arrangement of ZIGZAG transformer for grounding.
Zigzag connection offers very high impedance to flow of positive
sequence current. Zero sequence currents are equal in phase & magnitude in all the three phases thus, impedance offered is conventional zero sequence leakage impedance. This facilitates zero sequence current and provides grounding in ungrounded systems.
9 GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
MEASURE OF GROUNDING EFFECTIVENESS:
For an effectively grounded system, factor KF > 0.6
Where, KF = Ground fault current / 3Φ fault current
In effectively grounded system, transient over voltages are
minimum.
Effectively grounded system is not mandatory. Non effectively
grounded system is also acceptable if,
¾All system components are selected properly.
¾Insulation co-ordination is proper. 10
EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY AND GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
Source neutral must be connected to two different earth pits.
Two distinct earthing electrodes must be provided for each neutral.
When multiple transformers exist then one electrode must be
independent and other can be shared.
11 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY
SOIL RESISTIVITY:
RESISTIVITY (ρ) OF ELEMENT:
R= ρL/A → ρ = RA/L → Ω M² / M = Ω M Soil resistivity is value of resistance in Ω of 1 M cube
Earth is not a good equipment grounding conductor.
In fact it is one of the worst equipment grounding con- ductors. Ρ of earth is about 100ΩM while for GI it is 10-7 Ω M and For copper it is 1.7 X 10-8 ΩM
12 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY
EFFECT OF MOISTURE ON SOIL RESISTIVITY:
Soil resistivity ρ rapidly increases for moisture content less Than 10% of soil weight. There is marginal decrease in soil Resistivity for moisture content exceeding 25% of soil weight.
EFFECT OF SALT ON SOIL RESISTIVITY:
Small amount of salt causes sharp decrease in soil resistivity, Provided there is moisture content of say 10%. Salt when Added to dry soil gives hardly any improvement in resistivity Value.
13 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY
EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON SOIL RESISTIVITY:
Soil resistivity decreases with increase in temperature. In
Summer ρ is less and in winter it is more.
It is preferable to place electrodes well below ground level.
Surface temperature may be freezing but below 1M, soil
Temperature will be higher.
14 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY
Electric shock possible when human body bridges two objects of
Unequal potential. Current kills and not the voltage. If current through human body Exceeds 116mA for more than 1 sec, almost certain death. Maximum tolerable current varies as per human body weight. IB<=0.116/√Ts, for a body weight of 50Kg or more. IB<=0.157/√Ts, for a body weight of 70Kg or more. As per IS:IEEE:80, Ts IB(50Kg) IB(70Kg) 0.2s 250mA 351mA 0.5s 164mA 222mA 1.0s 116mA 157mA Average Human body resistance is 8000 to 9000Ω under dry Conditons. For standard purposes, Human body resistance is 1000Ω(IEEE-80). 15 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY
EARTHING IN LV AND MV SYSTEMS:
SOURCE GROUNDED / EQUIPMENT UNGROUNDED
Under normal conditions insulation
resistance of equipment is very high. Even if a person touches the V body, very little current flows thro’ him. Under condition of insulation failure of equipment, insulation resistance of equipment reduces to zero. Current thro’ body is IH = V / (RH + RE1) = 240 / (2000+1) = 120mA. RH = resistance of person=2000Ω & RE1=earthing resi. of source.
This current is small and not sufficient to blow the fuse, but it can be dangerous to a person(IEEE Std. – 116mA for 1sec) 16 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY
EARTHING IN LV AND MV SYSTEMS:
SOURCE GROUNDED / EQUIPMENT GROUNDED – with Bonding
Bonding conductor, which is the
physical connection between the equipment casing & source, is also V called “Earth continuity conductor” Bonding conductor resistance is very small. Assume = 0.01Ω. Fault current, IF=240/0.01=24kA. Fault current high enough to cause instantaneous fuse blowing. Thus Human safety is inherently achieved. Hence, it is not reliable to depend solely on earth for return of fault current. Physical bonding conductor is the most reliable conductor for 17 return of earth fault current. EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY
11KV
415V
N E PCC EARTH CONTINUITY CONDUCTOR (BONDING CONDUCTOR) N E MCC
M 18 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY
CORRECT METHOD OF ELECTRONIC EARTHING
N N
G G
19 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY
¾For any system, except source, its no where that neutral and earth conductor to be connected together.
¾Neutral is used to carry back the unbalance current.
¾Fault current is carried back through Earth continuity conductor.
¾Earth conductor must run all over the plant and must carry return current back to NGR.
¾Even for ungrounded system, earth continuity conductor is recom-
mended to be provided.
20 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY AND GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
CFL lamps are widely used for energy saving purpose but they generate third harmonics resulting into unbalance in voltage.
Third harmonics are also generated in Variable Speed Drives and
for that reason, transformer supplying to variable speed drives has its neutral floating.
Frames of all electrical equipments must be earthed by two
Separate earth electrodes.
21 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY AND GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
Earth connections must be periodically and physically
checked for its healthiness annually.
Bonding conductor must be checked annually physically.
22 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY AND GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
The chasis of all instrument / device mounted in control
panels, instrument racks and control cabinets shall be connected to the earth busbars provided in these panels.
The earth busbars shall in turn be connected to main earthing
grid by two independent earthing conductors.
All junction boxes, control valves etc. shall be connected to
main earthing grid by single earthing conductor.
23 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY AND GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY CURRENT VALUES THRO’ EFFECT BODY TRUNK <= 1 mA Causes no sensation
1-8 mA Sensation of shock,not painful
8-15 mA Painful shock
15-20 mA Muscular control lost
20-50 mA Severe muscular contraction,
breathing difficult
100-200 mA Ventricullar fibrilation resulting into
death 24 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY AND GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY ELCB:
Earth leakage currents are in milli amperes. Fuses for short circuit And MCB are meant to protect the circuits from overloads and Short circuits. They cannot detect earth leakage current and Provide protection for earth leakage currents.
ELCB provides protection against earth leakage currents by
Automatic disconnection of supply and protect against electric Shocks. ELCB interrupts the circuit within 40 msec.
ELCB also provides a high degree of protection against earth
Faults and all resulting after effects
25 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY AND GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
LIGHTNING PROTECTION SCHEME:
The lightning protection system is a system of conductors used to
protect a structure from the effects of lightning.
Structures with inherent explosives risks; for example explosive
factories, stores and dumps and fuel tanks usually need the highest possible class of lightning protective system.
26 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY AND GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
ZONE OF PROTECTION:
Zone of protection is the volume within which a lightning conductor
gives the protection against a direct lightning stroke by directing the stroke to itself. For a conductor rising from ground level the zone has been defined as a cone with its apex at the tip of conductor and its base on the ground.
For providing acceptable degree of protection the acceptable
protective angle of sigle conductor termination is 45º. For structures requiring higher degree of protection the protective angle will be reduced to 30º.
27 EARTHING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN SAFETY AND GROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT SAFETY
