CONTENTS

❑ Electric Shock
❑ Physiological effect of electric shock
❑ Ventricular fibrillation
❑ Duration of the current
❑ Frequency of Current
❑ Direction of current
❑ Effects of Shock
❑ First aid for electric shock
❑ Safety Precautions
❑ Earthing
❑ Measurement of earth resistivity and earth resistance
 Electric Shock

• A shock is a painful stimulation of sensory nerves caused by a

sudden flow, cessation or variation in the current passing
through the body. It can be caused by poorly designed or
badly serviced electro-medical apparatus.
• Factors upon which electric shock’s severity depends are:
▪ Amplitude of the current.
▪ Frequency of Current.
▪ Duration of the current passing through the body.
▪ Direction of current (path).
 Is it Volts or Amps that kill you?
It's not the volts that kills you, it's the amps." That's true in one way.
But that's not the whole story! We can't have amps without volts and
resistance plays a part too. We need to know: What are volts and amps?
Current is the measure of how much charge of an electron passes per
unit time. It's unit is amps. During electric shock, different amount of
current flows through the body which causes a lot of physiological
effects and even it may lead to death of person. So far, it does look like
the amps that kill you. But the current doesn't move at its own. That's
why the voltage is introduced here. The current needs energy to move
and it is the voltage which supplies that energy. Voltage is defined as
the amount of energy in each unit of charge. A little energy applied to
each charge means lower voltage and a lot of energy applied to each
charge means higher voltage.
Have you ever watched water flowing through a pipe? Sometimes it can
flow quickly. Sometimes it can flow slowly. It depends on the water
pressure.
Imagine that an electric current is a water pipe. The amps would be like
the volume of water. Volts would be like the water pressure. So the amps
measure the amount of electricity in a current. The volts measure that
electricity’s strength.
When travelling through the body, to go through from the heart, most of
the charge passes through the blood vessels. The blood stream is aroused
to be a good electrical conductor. The big barrier is the outer layer of
skin made up of dead skin cells. The skin layer resists the flow of charge.
It plays the part of big resistor in body's electrical circuit.
Does ohm's law be applied in case of human body?
Voltage V
Current = ⇒I=
Resistance R

The amount of current through a body is equal to the amount of

voltage applied between two points on that body, divided by the
electrical resistance offered by the body between those two points.
Obviously, the more voltage available to cause electrons to flow, the
easier they will flow through any given amount of resistance.
Conversely, the more resistance a body offers to current, the slower
electrons will flow for any given amount of voltage. Just how much
voltage is dangerous depends on how much total resistance is in the
circuit to oppose the flow of electrons.
Body resistance is not a fixed quantity. It varies from person to
person and from time to time. Body resistance also varies depending
on how contact is made with the skin: Is it from hand-to-hand, hand-
to-foot, foot-to-foot, hand-to-elbow, etc.?
When the voltage of a current goes up, your skin's resistance goes
down. This lets more current flow through your skin.
In industry, 30 volts is generally considered to be a conservative
threshold value for dangerous voltage. So, any voltage above 30 volts
may be hazardous. Around 450-600V, the skin will breakdown
completely and allow electricity to pass easily. If the level of amps is
high enough, it can do some serious damage to your body tissues. It
could even kill you!
If your skin is wet, the body's overall resistance will drop from 106
ohms to 1000 ohms. When the current flows, the heart easily gets
affected in this situation. Don't forget that how long the current flows
has also an effect.
Note that the body's resistance is non-linear and varies with both
voltage and time.
 Physiological effect of electric shock
• When an electrical current flows through any physical objects,
they absorb the energy and when the amount of this energy
absorbed is sufficiently high, damage occurs.
• In human being, the absorption of energy is a physical process
but the outcome is biological.
• Hence, the outcome of any damage to the organs of human body
is governed by the combination of interrelated physical and
biological phenomena.
• There are conflicting opinion of various researcher that which
organ is affected first but general opinion after many incidents;
respiratory and cardiac organs are affected first.
• The physiological effects of electrical shock are explained in the
table below:
Current Effect
1mA Threshold of feeling,
5mA Slight shock without pain, can let go
6-25mA Painful shocks. Loss of muscle control
(women)
9-30mA Freezing current, cannot let go. Strong involuntary contraction of
(men) muscles that controls the fingers leads to injuries. If extensor muscles
are excited by shock, the person may be thrown away from the power
source.
50-150mA Extreme pain, transient interruption of respiration or respiratory arrest,
severe muscle reactions. Death is possible.
200mA Ventricular fibrillation threshold
1-4.3A Rhythmic pumping action of the heart ceases. Muscular contraction and
nerve damage occur. Death is likely.
6A Sustained myocardial contraction or cardiac arrest, severe burns, death
is probable.
 Ventricular fibrillation
• Ventricular fibrillation is a condition in which there is uncoordinated
contraction of the cardiac muscle of the ventricles(lower chambers)
in the heart, making them quiver rather than contract in proper
synchronized way.
• Ventricular fibrillation is the most commonly identified arrhythmia
in cardiac arrest patients that may result from disorganized electrical
activity of the heart due to electrical exposure.
• It is a function of the electrical current flowing through the heart
muscle and the duration of such flow.
• Simply, it as a cessation of the heart activity resulting in the failure
of pumping blood around the body and finally leading to
instantaneous death due to lack of oxygen in the brain.
 Duration of the current
➢ Duration of less than 10ms does not produce fibrillation whereas
duration of 0.1s or longer does.
➢ It has been found experimentally that the safe value of current in
amperes (rms) which a human body can withstand is given as
0.116
I= for t < 3s
t
Where, t is the time duration in seconds of the flow of current.
➢ The tolerable currents are for power-frequency currents.
➢ For example, For time of 1.5 second, the current which human can
withstand during this time without any damage is 94.71mA.
 Frequency of Current
➢ Either AC or DC currents can cause damage of the heart at high
enough levels.
➢ This typically takes place at 30 mA of AC (rms, 60 Hz) or 300 - 500
mA of DC. This means more DC current is required to produce same
effect as AC.
➢ Low frequency AC is more dangerous than high frequency AC.
➢ DC is more likely to cause extended muscle contraction–"tetanus"
than AC, making DC more likely to freeze a victim in a shock
scenario because DC current flows continuously.
➢ However, AC is more likely to cause a victim's heart to fibrillate
rather than making the heart standstill like DC does which is a more
dangerous condition for the victim after the shocking current has
been halted.
 Direction of current
▪ The factor deciding the effects of the AC
and DC current is the path the current takes
through the body.
➢ Foot to foot
➢ Hand to Hand
➢ Left hand to feet
➢ Right hand to feet

▪ Worst case is hand to hand and left hand to

feet as both of them pass through the heart.
▪ Less severe when nerve centers and vital
organs are not involved.
 Effects of Shock
❖ Direct effects - pain, involuntary muscular contraction, paralysis,
heart fibrillation, or tissue burn.
❖ Indirect effects - confusion, amnesia, headaches, or breathing and
heart irregularities.
❖ Problems may last several days - progress into vision
abnormalities and swelling of affected areas.
❖ Long range effects - speech/writing impairment, loss of taste, and
other disorders.
❖ Internal injuries - internal bleeding, tissue destruction, and nerve
or muscle damage - not immediately apparent - left untreated can
result in death.
 First aid for electric shock
1) Remove the victim from further danger but do not endanger yourself.
This can be achieved by
a) De-energizing the equipment from the supply switch.
b) Cutting cable or wire to a apparatus using wooden-handle
axe and protect your eyes against any flash.
c) Use of a dirty stick, dry rope, blanket or any other electrical
non-conductor to move the victim away from the contact.
2) Ascertain whether the patient is breathing and whether the heart is
beating. If indications are favourable, keep the patient in a reclining
comfortable position and loosen all clothing about the neck.
3) If the patient's condition persists, keep him moving about.
4) Do not give stimulants or opium derivatives and send for medical
assistance at least once.
5) If the victim is not responding and breathing, it becomes necessary to
commence Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation(CPR).
6) If the heart has ceased beating, have a qualified person administer
appropriate first aid immediately.
 Be Attentive!

Safety Precautions
❑ According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International,
more than 30,000 non-fatal shock accidents happen every year.
❑ Electrical shock is relatively easy to prevent if you know what to
look for and what to avoid.
❑ With some basic knowledge and safety training, you can spot
and prevent potential electric shock.
❑ The following things must be considered to avoid electric
shocks:
1) Install Outlet Plug Covers
➢ Outlet plug covers are a great first step to ensuring electrical safety
especially if you have children.
➢ Some newer GFCI outlets will have a feature built in that blocks the
shut off a current from a particular circuit upon the feeling that it is
dangerous.
2) Always Check For Socket Voltage
➢ When replacing light bulbs, it is important to keep track of voltage
and wattage.
➢ A light bulb can short out when inserted into a socket well over its
capacity.

3) Replace Damaged Fixtures

➢ Any electrical fixtures that spark, give out small shocks, frequently
short circuit, or has frayed wires is not safe to use and may need to
be fixed or replaced.

4) Extension and Power Cord Safety

➢ When using extension cords throughout your home, make sure
they are out of the way and do not pose any tripping dangers.
➢ When storing cords, don’t let them twist or get into haphazard
knots or else they may tear.
5) Prevent Outlet Overloading
➢ Try to avoid having too many heavy appliances plugged in and
running from the same outlets or power strips.
➢ This can lead to overheating, a short circuit, or a tripped
breaker.

6) Avoid Electrical Water Damage

➢ Store and use electrical devices away from water.
➢ If an appliance accidentally falls into the water while plugged
in, turn off the power to that circuit before you remove the
object from the water.
➢ Then let the appliance fully dry and ask an electrician if it’s
still acceptable to use.
7) Shut Off Breakers When Remodeling
➢ If you are doing electrical remodeling or working on any
projects that require drilling or cutting into walls, turn off all
appropriate power sources.
➢ If you’re the one doing the work, do not assume that someone
else has turned off the power sources.
➢ Always double check for yourself for your own safety.

8) Professional Electrical Help

➢ Don’t hesitate to call a professional with questions if an
electrical job beyond your scope.
➢ A tiny mistake can lead to serious consequences, so hire a
licensed electrician for any complicated or dangerous jobs.
7) Shut Off Breakers When Remodeling
➢ If you are doing electrical remodeling or working on any
projects that require drilling or cutting into walls, turn off all
appropriate power sources.
➢ If you’re the one doing the work, do not assume that someone
else has turned off the power sources.
➢ Always double check for yourself for your own safety.

8) Professional Electrical Help

➢ Don’t hesitate to call a professional with questions if an
electrical job beyond your scope.
➢ A tiny mistake can lead to serious consequences, so hire a
licensed electrician for any complicated or dangerous jobs.
 Earthing
Earthing means connecting of the non-current carrying parts of the
electrical equipment or neutral point of supply system to the general mass
of the earth in such a manner that all the times an immediate discharge of
the electrical energy takes place without danger.
Earthing can be done by electrically connecting the respective parts in the
installation to some system of electrical conductors or electrodes placed
near the soil or below the ground level.
When the fault occurs in the system, then the potential of the non-current
part of the equipment raises, and when any human or animal touch the
body of the equipment, then they may get shocked.
The earthing discharges the leakage current to the earth and hence avoid
the personnel from the electric shock. It also protects the equipment
from lightning strokes and provides the discharge path for the surge
arrester, gap and other devices.
 Objectives of earthing

❑ Provide an alternative path for the fault current to flow so that it

will not endanger the user.
❑ Ensure that all exposed conductive parts do not reach a dangerous
potential.
❑ Maintain the voltage at any part of an electrical system at a known
value so as to prevent over current or excessive voltage on the
appliances or equipment.
 Types of Earthing
1) System Earthing
In system earthing, the neutral of any electrical equipment and
system is directly connected to earth. The system earthing is also
called the neutral earthing or simply grounding. The grounding
provides the return path for the leakage current and hence protect
the power system equipment from damage. When the fault occurs in
the equipment, the current in all the three phases of the equipment
become unbalance. The grounding discharges the fault current to the
ground and hence makes the system balance. The grounding has
several advantages like it eliminates the surge voltage and also
discharge the over voltage to the ground. The grounding provides the
great safety to the equipment and improves the service reliability.
2) Equipment Earthing

In equipment earthing, the non-current carrying part of the equipment like

their metallic frame which encloses energized conductors or is adjacent
there, is connected to the earth. If any fault occurs in the equipment, the
short-circuit current passes to the earth having zero potential and thus
protects the system from damage and human body from the electrical
shock.

Note:
➢ The grounding is classified into three types: solid grounding, resistance
grounding and reactance grounding. While earthing can be done in five
ways: pipe earthing, plate earthing, rod earthing, earthing through tap
and strip earthing.
➢ For grounding, the black color wire is used, and for earthing the green
color, the wire is used.
 Improper Earthing
Under fault condition, the flow of fault current to the earth through
grounding conductor, will result in potential gradient on the surface of the
earth in the vicinity of the grounding system. Presence of a person to such
a position that his body bridges two points of potential difference, may
cause accidents due to electric shock. Basically, there are two ways by
which a person bridges between two points of high potential difference.
(1) Hand-to-feet contact or touch potential
(2) Foot-to-foot contact or step potential

1. Touch potential
Touch potential is a potential difference between the fingers of a raising
hand touching the faulted structure and the feet of the person standing on
substation floor.
2. Step potential
Step potential is the potential difference between the feet of a person
standing on the floor of the substation, with 0.5 m spacing between the
one step, during the flow of fault current through the ground system.
The resistance of the human body is highly variable, and the current that
may pass through the body depends on the resistance of the body and the
position in which it touches the ground. The resistance of the body is taken
as 1000 ohms.

Let us suppose
R b = body resistance
R f = contact resistance between foot and earth
If = current through the body
Then,
R
Etouch = R b + f If
2
Here, R f = 3ρs Where, ρs = soil resistivity and treating the ground under
foot as a circular plate electrode with a diameter of about 8cm.
0.116 1000+1.5ρs
∴ Etouch = 1000 + 1.5ρs If =
t
Similarly,
Estep = R b + 2R f If
0.116 1000+6ρs
∴ Estep = 1000 + 6ρs If =
t
The situation in step potential is less dangerous than touch potential as the
current flows up one leg and down the other instead of flowing across the
heart, but still it can lead to person falling over and hurting themselves.
 Introduction to Soil Resistivity

➢ Soil resists the flow of electricity and is not an ideal conductor.

➢ There is always resistance between the grounding electrode and the soil.
This resistance cannot be neglected and it depends on the type and size
of the electrode, the depth in the soil and soil resistivity.
➢ Hence, the soil resistivity can affect the overall resistance of the
grounding electrode to which it is driven into.
➢ The structure of the soil can influence the ground potential rise of the
grounding electrodes and directly affect the life span of those electrodes.
➢ This is why soil resistivity measurement is important to ensure a good
grounding system and prevent hazard.
 Why is it necessity to measure
Soil Resistivity?

➢ Affects the design of grounding system: When designing an extensive

grounding system, it should locate the area at lowest soil resistivity in
order to achieve the most economical grounding installation.
➢ Data obtained from measurements are used to make sub-surface
geophysical surveys as an aid in identifying ore locations, depth to
bedrock and other geological phenomena.
➢ Resistivity has direct impact on the degree of corrosion in underground
pipelines. Decrease in resistivity relates to an increase in corrosion
activity so protective treatment can be taken to bring the earth
resistivity to a desirable value.
 Factors affecting the Soil Resistivity
1) Moisture content: Generally, the soil is not homogenous, and their
resistivity varies with the depth. The lower layers of the soil have greater
moisture content and lower soil resistivity. For soil with low moisture
content, air gaps among the soil granules are filled by air rather than
water. Hence, the soil will conduct electricity poorer and results in higher
soil resistivity.
2) Salt content: Moisture alone is not sufficient to achieve low resistivity.
The soil must contain mineral salts in such a way to form an electrolyte
to conduct electricity. The concentration of dissolved salts can vary
naturally due to the effect of rainfall and the chemical elements found in
the upper layers of the soil. When rainwater penetrates the soil, it drags in
new chemical elements or dilutes the concentration of existing ones. The
mineral salts may be natural or may have been introduced artificially in
the soil to improve its conductivity. Mineral salts have the most
significant impact on reducing resistivity.
3) Temperature: When the temperature of the soil is more than 0º, then
its effect on soil resistivity is negligibly small. At less than or 0º the
water in the soil starts freezing and resistivity increases.
4) Magnitude of current: If the magnitude of current dissipated in the
soil is high, it may cause significant drying of soil and increase its
resistivity.
5)Types of soil: Reliable design of a grounding system requires
measurements at the site which includes the type of soil available on
those site because actual resistivity can vary within the maximum and
minimum values for all types of soil.
 Wenner's method for measurement
of Soil Resistivity
➢ The Wenner four-pin method is the most widely used and the most
accurate method of testing soil resistivity.
➢ The resistivity of the soil is usually measured by the four spike
methods.
➢ In this method, the four probes/electrodes arranged in the straight line
are driven into the soil at equal distance.
➢ Two of these electrodes are for current injection and two for voltage
measurement.
➢ The two outer electrodes are current electrode and the two inner
electrodes measure voltage drop due to resistance of soil path when
current is passed between the outer electrodes.
➢ While carrying out this method, a known current is passed between
electrode C1 and C2 and developed potential difference is measured
across P1 and P2.
➢ Wenner derived a general relation for apparent soil resistivity value
which is given by
4πaR
ρ= … … (1)
2a 2a
1+ 2 2
−
a + 4b 4a2 + 4b 2
➢ While performing this test, Wenner take into account the distance
between the earth ground probes to be very large in comparison
with the depth into which the probes were inserted into the soil. If
b is very small compared with a, the equation (1) becomes
ρ = 2πaR … … 2
Voltmeter reading
Where, R =
Ammeter reading
➢ The depth of electrode shall not exceed the value of a/20.
➢ It should be noted that measurement made in this manner indicate
average resistivity over a depth of soil corresponding to the spacing
between adjacent electrode.
➢ The Wenner array is the least efficient from an operational
perspective as it requires the longest cable layout, largest electrode
spreads and for large spacing one person per electrode is necessary
to complete the survey in a reasonable time. Also, because all four
electrodes are moved after each reading the Wenner Array is most
susceptible to lateral variation effects.
➢ However the Wenner array is the most efficient in terms of the ratio
of received voltage per unit of transmitted current.
➢ Where unfavourable conditions such as very dry or frozen soil exist,
considerable time may be spent trying to improve the contact
resistance between the electrode and the soil.
 Fall of potential method for measurement
of Earth Resistance
➢ This method measures grounding electrode resistance based upon the
principle of potential drop across the resistance.
➢ It uses two electrically independent auxiliary electrodes (one current
rod and the other a potential rod) that are placed at a sufficient distance
from the test electrodes.
➢ A current of known magnitude is passed through the electrode under
test and one of the auxiliary electrodes (current rod).
➢ The drop in potential between the electrode under the test and the
second auxiliary electrode (potential rod) is measured.
➢ The ratio of voltage drop (V) to the known current (I) will indicate the
resistance of the grounding circuit. Either a DC or AC voltage source
may be used for conducting this test.
➢ The electrode P is moved from position P1 and P2 respectively so that
the resistance area do not overlap. If the resistance values determined
are of approximately the same in all three cases, the mean of the three
readings can be taken as the earth resistance of the earth electrode.
➢ The auxiliary earth electrode C must be driven in at a point further
away from E and the above test repeated until the group of three
readings obtained are in good agreement.
➢ The alternating current source is used to eliminate the electrolytic
effect.
➢ The earth tester is a special type of Megger, which sends AC through
earth and DC through the measuring instrument. It has got four
terminals. Two terminals are shorted to form a common point which
is connected to the earth electrode under test. The other two terminals
are connected to the auxiliary electrode P and C respectively. The
value of the earth resistance is indicated by the instrument directly
when its handle is turned at a uniform speed.
➢ This is one of the most common methods employed for the
measurement of earth resistance and is best suited to small
systems that don’t cover a wide area. It is simple to carry out and
requires a minimal amount of calculation to obtain a result.
➢ This method is generally not suited to large earthing installations, as
the electrodes separations needed to ensure an accurate measurement
can be excessive, requiring the use of very long test leads.
➢ Normally, the outer test current electrode, is driven into the ground
30 to 50 metres away from the earth system (although this distance
will depend on the size of the system being tested) and the inner test
voltage electrode is then driven into the ground mid-way between the
earth electrode and the current test stake, and in a direct line between
them.
Effect of distance between the electrode
under test and auxiliary electrode

➢ If the current test electrode C is too close, the resistance areas will
overlap and there will be a steep variation in the measured resistance
as the voltage test electrode is moved.
➢ If the current test electrode C is correctly positioned, there will be
a ‘flat’ (or very nearly so) resistance area somewhere in between it
and the earth system, and variations in the position of the voltage test
electrode should only produce very minor changes in the resistance.