476GROUNDING

normal operations, and to limit the voltage when the electri-

cal system comes into contact with a higher-voltage system.
Equipment associated with electrical systems is connected to
the electrical system and to earth to provide a low-impedance
path for a fault current to ow back to the source. This low-
impedance path is important in that it allows sufcient cur-
rent to ow to operate the protective device(s) when a fault to
the electrical equipment enclosure or to earth/ground occurs.
Unless noted otherwise, this article will refer to low-volt- age
systems, dened as those under 600 V.
Abbreviations
AFCI arc-fault circuit interrupters ANSI American
National Standards Institute AWG American Wire
Gauge
CENELEC European Union Standards Organization
CSA Canadian Standards Association
GFCI ground fault circuit interrupter GFP
ground fault protection
IEC International Electrotechnical Commission IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engi- neers
ISO International Standards Organization NIST
National Institute of Standards and Tech- nology
NFPA National Fire Protection Association NEC
National Electrical Code
NESC National Electrical Safety Code OSHA
Occupational Safety and Health Adminis- tration
Denitions
The denitions are predominately those used in the United
States unless otherwise noted.
Bonding.The permanent joining of metallic parts to form
an electrically conductive path that will ensure electri-
cal continuity and the capacity to conduct safely any
current likely to be imposed. Bonding is the electrical
interconnection of conductive parts, designed to main-
tain a common electrical potentia. (1)
Circuit. Dictionary denition: A path or route, the com-
plete traversal of, which without local change of direc-
tion, requires returning to the starting point. b. The act
of following such a path or route. 3. Electronics a. A
closed path, followed or capable of being followed by an
G
Proper grounding strongly affects personnel safety as well as the
safety of equipment, power distribution systems, com- puters,
solid-state devices, lightning, and static protection systems.
Improperly grounded installations can result in fa- talities,
electric shock, equipment damage, and improper operation,
especially of solid-state equipment. Improper grounding can even
affect cows, resulting in reduced milk pro- duction.
Grounding or earthing is applied to electrical systems and to the
associated electrical equipment. Electrical systems are
place of a conductor. (The term is used interchangeably
with ground in the US.)
Electrode. Aconductor through which an electric current
enters or leaves a medium, such as the earth.
Equipment Bonding Conductors. Jumpers of short conduc-
tors used to bridge loose or exible sections of raceway,
ducts, or conduits, or, in the US, to connect service en-
trance parts.
Equipment Grounding. The interconnection of all the non-
current-carrying metal parts of equipment, such as re-
grounded, that is, connected to earth, to provide a degree of ceptacles, motors, electrical equipment housings, metal-
safety for humans and animals, to limit voltages due to light- lic raceways, and other metallic enclosures, to the
ning and line surges, to stabilize the system voltages during ground electrode and/or the system grounded conductor
J. Webster (ed.), Wiley Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Copyright # 1999 John Wiley & Sons, nc.
GROUNDING477
at the service entrance equipment or at the source of a tended conducting body that serves instead of the earth,
separately derived ground. whether the connection is intentional or accidental (3).
Equipment-Grounding Conductor. Aconductor that must
be continuous from the source to the enclosure con- taining
the load.

Ground. Aconducting connection, whether intentional or
accidental, by which an electric circuit or equipment is
connected to the earth or to some conducting body of large
extent that serves in place of the earth (2). (See also
Grounding in this subsection.)

Ground Current. Current that ows on the ground, earth,
equipment ground conductors, and related equipment.
Grounded Conductor. Aconductor that is intentionally
grounded. This can be the neutral or an identied con-
ductor or one of the phase conductors, as in corner-of- the-
delta grounding. This conductor is part of the elec- trical
power distribution system.
Grounded, Effectively. Grounded through a sufciently low
impedance that for all system conditions the ratio of zero-
sequence reactance to positive sequence reactance is
positive and less than 3, and the ratio of zero-se- quence
resistance to positive-sequence reactance
(R
0/X1)
is positive and less than 1 (3). The NEC deni-
The ground current resulting from any phase-conduc- tion is: Intentionally connected to earth through a
tor-to-earth fault should be brief, lasting only until the ground connection or connections of sufciently low
protective device or devices opens. This ow of current pedance and having sufcient current-carrying
is normal. The ground current resulting from a neutral- to prevent the buildup of voltages that may result in
to-ground fault, which is continuous, is objectionable undue hazards to connected equipment or to
and the fault should be removed, corrected, or repaired Grounded, Solidly.Connected directly through an ade-
as soon as possible. If the circuit is protected by a GFCI, quate ground connection in which no impedance has
the ow will be brief, as the device operates between 4
and 6 mA. been intentionally inserted (3).
Ground Electrode. Aconductor buried in the earth and
used for collecting ground current from or dissipating
ground current into the earth.
Ground Fault. See the sub-subsection on Short circuit
versus ground fault under Design fundamentals.
Ground Fault Current. The ground current resulting
from
any phase-conductor-to-earth fault. The ow of ground fault
current should be brief, lasting only until the pro- tective
device opens. This ow of current is considered normal.

Ground Grid. Agrid, used in large substations where
large fault currents can ow over the earth, to equalize and
reduce the voltage gradient when a fault current ows. See
the subsections on Step voltage and Touch voltage under
Personnel safety protection. A system of horizontal
ground electrodes that consist of a number of
interconnected, bare conductors buried in the earth,
providing a common ground for electrical devices or me-
tallic structures, usually in one specic location (2). The
object of installing a ground grid is to reduce the step
voltage, provide a ground plane for connection of computer
grounds, and make a low-resistance connec- tion to earth.

Ground Mat. A solid metallic plate or a system of closely
spaced bare conductors that are connected to and often
placed in shallow depths above a ground grid or else- where
at the earth surface, in order to obtain an extra protective
measure minimizing the danger of the expo- sure to high
step or touch voltages in a critical operating area or places
that are frequently used by people. Grounded metal
gratings placed on or above the soil surface or wire mesh
placed directly under the crushed rock, are common forms
of a ground mat (2). Ground mats are placed where a
person would stand to operate ahigh voltage switch. See
also the subsection Ground- ing grids under Connecting
to earth.

Ground Return Circuit. A circuit in which the earth or
an
equivalent conducting body is utilized to complete the
circuit and allow the current circulation from or to its
Grounding. A permanent and continuous conductive
path
to the earth with sufcient ampacity to carry any fault
current liable to be imposed on it, and of a sufciently low
impedance to limit the voltage rise above ground and to
facilitate the operation of the protective devices in the
circuit (1).
Grounding Conductor. Aconductor used to connect electri-
cal equipment or the grounded circuit of a wiring sys- tem
to a grounding electrode or electrodes. Part of the
equipment grounding system.
Grounding Electrode. Aburied metal water-piping system,
or other metal object or device, buried in or driven into the
ground so as to make intimate contact. The ground- ing
conductor is connected to the grounding electrode.
Grounding Electrode Conductor. The NEC denes the
grounding electrode conductor as The conductor used
to connect the grounding electrode to the equipment
grounding conductor, to the grounded conductor, or to both,
of the circuit at the service equipment or at the source of a
separately derived system. Green or bare copper is used for
identication.
Grounding Grid. Asystem of bare conductors, usually cop-
per, buried in the earth to form an interconnecting grid
forming a ground electrode. See Ground grid in this
subsection.
Noiseless Terminal to Earth (TE). Asupplemental elec-
trode for equipment grounding. IEC terminology, under
debate in the IEC. A terminal for connection to an exter-
nal, noiseless earth, isolated, conductor. In the US the PE
and TE terminals must be electrical and mechanical
continuous. Not recommended for use unless connected
together. See the section Grounding of computer sys-
tems.
Protective External Conductor (PE). IEC terminology.
See
the section Equipment grounding. Terminals for the
protective conductor may be identied by the bicolor
combination green and yellow.
System, Electrical. The portion of the electrical
c
o
n
d
u
c
t
o
r
s
be
tw
ee
n
tr
an
sfo
r
m
er
s,
an
d
ex
te
nd
in
g
fro
m
th
e
las
t
current source (2). Connected to earth or to some ex- transformer.
478GROUNDING
History
Early on, Edison connected one side of his two-wire direct cur- rent
electrical system to earth. The uncontrolled current re- turning over the earth
resulted in the electrical shocking of horses and Edisons employees as they installed
underground electrical equipment. This prompted Edison to devise the three-wire
distribution system with all the current contained within insulated conductors. This
system allowed him to know where the current was at all times.
However, in the 1890s it became clear that on connecting one side of
a two-wire circuit, or the middle, neutral wire of a three-wire circuit, to earth, the
maximum potential would be that of the source, even if the circuit was to come into
contact with one of higher voltage. The TelsaWestinghouse alternat- ing current
(ac) system was connected to earth, according to this principle.
Major debate raged on whether to ground or not to ground an
electrical system. It was not until 1913 that it became le- gally mandatory to ground
one wire of any system of 150 V or more to earth.
Even so, when more than one connection to earth exists on the
same system, current can ow uncontrolled over the earth, ground path, equipment,
etc., resulting in problems even today in the protection of personnel safety, images
on computer screens, etc.
GroundingConcepts
Unfortunately, the terms ground and grounding have
been
corrupted in the United States. The term ground means sev-
eral different things. It is interchangeable with the terms
earthing and bonding. The rest of the world
uses the term
earthing to mean the connection to earth or a path
connecting
to earth.
To understand grounding one must understand several facts. The
rst is that the earth is not a sponge that absorbs electricity. The second is that the
earth is a conductor. The third is that every grounding system, be it used for power
distribution, radio, lightning, or static, consists of a circuit. Understanding the route
the ground current takes to com- plete its circuit is critical to understand grounding
and grounding systems. Completing the ground circuit will resolve most grounding
problems.
Example. Alightning strike is not absorbed in the earth,
but completes the circuit begun by the movement of electrons from
the rain cloud and deposited on the earth by the rain- drops. The bottom of the cloud
becomes negatively charged and the top of the cloud positively charged as the
electrons are wiped away. The negatively charged bottom of the cloud repels the
negative charges on the earth, resulting in a posi-
Table1. ReasonsforGrounding
Protection Required
Reason for Power
Grounding Humans Equipment Structures Systems Lightning
Static
Computers
Communications
Equipment
Power systems
Swimming pools



Designunda!enta"s
The reasons and methods for grounding of electrical equip- ment
may not be the same as for grounding electrical power systems, or for grounding
buildings to divert lightning safely. When one speaks of grounding without setting
dening lim- its, confusion can result.
Table 1 lists the reasons why grounding is used and what is affected
by grounding and/or bonding.
#$ortCircuitversusGroundau"t% One should be exact in
describing circuits. Figure 1 details a typical circuit showing the
secondary side of a transformer. The transformer has a center tap, providing a
neutral connection. No voltage is shown, as it is not relevant for the discussion.
Common types of faults are the following:
Phase-to-Phase Short Circuit. When line 1 at point A is
connected accidentally or purposely to line 2 at point B,
a phase-to-phase, or line-to-line, short circuit
occurs.
Phase-to-Neutral Short Circuit. Should either line 1 at
ponit A or line 2 at point B contact the neutral conduc-
tor at point C, a phase-to-neutral short circuit exists.
Phase-to-Ground Fault. Should either line 1 at point A
or
line 2 at point B contact the earth/ground, a phase-to-
ground fault exists. The protective device (circuit
breaker or fuse) may open, depending on the circuit im-
pedance. The circuit impedance of the earth is depen- dent on the resistivity
of the soil. If point G is a metal surface and the metal has low resistance
(impedance) and is bonded back to the ground electrode, then, pro- vided
enough
curren
t ows,
the
protect
ive
device
should
open.
tive charge seeking the highest point below the cloud. The A
lightning strike allows charges to ow back to the cloud, com- Line 1
pleting the circuit and neutralizing the charges. xo Neutral LoadLoad
C
Electrical drawings often show only the power circuit, ei-
Load
(grounded conductor)
ther all three phases or, for simplicity, only one phase, repre-
senting the three. However, the electrical grounding system
Line
2
has also become complex. Today it is common for a drawing
Load B
to show the grounding system as wellits conductors, con- Grounding electrode conductor
nections, etc. It is recommended that this always be done. Ground Earth/ground
This will allow proper installation and can provide help in
G
determining the source of and the solution to
grounding problems.
electrode
Figure1. Short circuit versus ground fault.
GROUNDING47&
Neutral-to-Ground Fault. When theneutral conductor con- been submitted by the 39 Sections Subcommittees that work
tacts the earth/ground, a neutral-to-ground fault exists.
This fault condition usually is undetected, as there may be
no protective devices to detect it. One study of two 42-pole
lighting panels supplying uorescent xtures
under the jurisdiction of the main Committee.
'uropeanCodes% Prior to the adoption of the European
Common Market, each country had its own codes. With the
found 20% of the circuits had the neutral faulted to the advent of the European Common Market, each country has
equipment ground. Currents, owing uncontrolled over modied its codes to come into close compliance with Cenelec.
the earth, as high as 60 A have been measured on a Not all the differences between countries have been elimi-
1,500 kVA, 120/208 V electrical system. nated. All the standards-developing organizations are trying to
make compromises to bring their standards into harmony.
The continuous ow of current over the equipment ground, Cenelec. The European Common Market directed that
water pipes, metal enclosures, and earth can result in condi- there be one standard for the Common Market. Cenelec is the
tions hazardous to human safety. Uncontrolled current owresult of the Commission of the European Communities in the
has been reported to cause electric shocks in swimming pools, 1970s requiring harmonization of all standards. The resulting
showers, and other wet environments. Cows are very sensi- standards are similar to the IEC standards and are being fol-
tive to voltage due to their step distance. (See the subsections lowed by all of the Western European countries.
Step voltage and Touch voltage under Personnel safetyInternationalElectrotechnicalCommission. The major world-
protection.) The voltage resulting from stray uncontrolled wide standard-developing organization is the International
current is one cause of cows not giving milk. Current ow Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). It was founded in 1906 at
over water pipes has been reported to cause video terminals the Worlds Fair in St. Louis. There are now over 40 member
to utter as a result of the current producing stray magnetic countries headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The IEC is
elds. responsible for the electrical standards.
For additional discussion see Neutral-to-ground fault cur- InternationalStandardsOrganization. The International
rent under Low-voltage circuits under Uncontrolled ow Standards Organization (ISO) was founded in 1947 and is re-
of current over the earth in the section Personnel safety pro- sponsible for mechanical standards. With the advent of the
tection. computer technology explosion, the ISO and the IEC have
See also the subsection Ground fault circuit interrupters joined together to develop computer standards.
under Personnel safety protection.
(e)ico% Mexico has adopted the National Fire Protection
IN#*A++A*ION,RAC*IC'#
Installation practices vary from country to country. Politics
dictate many decisions made concerning electrical and build- ing
codes. Whether to ground an electrical system or not and how to
ground are debatable. The United States uses a solidly grounded
electrical distribution system, while some European and Latin
American countries may ground the distribution system at only
the power source (the transformer), eliminat- ing stray
uncontrolled ground currents. Japan uses resis- tance grounding.
The controlling factors are the codes in each country.
Codes
Associations National Electrical Code.
United#tatesCodes
AmericanNationalStandardsInstitute. The American Na-
tional Standards Institute (ANSI) accredits and coordinates
several hundred United States organizations and committees that
develop standards for approval as American National Standards,
based in part on evidence of due process and con- sensus. ANSI
provides the criteria and procedures for achiev- ing due process
and determining consensus as well as other requirements for the
development, approval, maintenance, and coordination of
American National Standards. These ANSI criteria and
requirements are accepted by each accred- ited standards
developer as a condition of accreditation. ANSI itself does not
generate any standards.
CanadianCodes FactoryMutualResearchCorporation. The Factory Mutual
CanadaStandardsAssociation. The Canada Standards Asso- Research Corporation (FM) develops standards for use in as-
ciation (CSA) is the organization responsible for standards in suring building and factories are acceptable risks for insur-
Canada. CSA coordinated not only the development of the in- ance. Although there are many testing organizations recog-
stallation standard, but the requirements for testing and nized by OSHA, the major two are FM and UL (Underwriters
manufacturing. The Canadian Electrical Code reports to the Laboratories, Inc.).
CSA. NationalElectricalCode. The National Fire Protection As-
CanadianElectricalCode. The CSA is the governing body sociation (NFPA) has been the sponsor of the National Elec-
for the Canadian Electrical Code (CEC). The preliminary trical Code (NEC) since 1911. The NEC was developed in
work in preparing the CEC was begun in 1920 when a special 1897 as the results of losses suffered by insurance companies.
committee, appointed by the main committee of the Canadian Combining with the insurance companies were the electrical
Engineering Standards Association, recommended that action installers, manufacturers, and architectural and other allied
be taken with regards to this undertaking. . . . the revised interests. The purpose of this Code is the practical safe-
draft . . . was formally approved and a resolution was made guarding of persons and property from the hazards arising
that it be printed as Part 1 of the Canadian Electrical Code. from the use of electricity. The NEC governs the installation
The present CSA consists of members from inspection author- of electrical equipment. It is considered the law of the land,
ities, industries, utilities and allied interests. The Subcom- as it has been adopted by the majority of all levels of govern-
mittee meets twice a year and deals with reports that have ing bodies in the United States.
48-GROUNDING
NationalElectricalSafetyCode. The Institute of Electrical Table3. EffectsofCurrentontheHumanBody
and Electronics Engineers is the secretariat for the National
Electrical Safety code (NESC). The standard covers basic provisions for safeguarding
of persons from hazards arising from the installation, operation, or maintenance of 1)
conduc- tors and equipment in electrical supply stations, and 2) over- head lines and
underground electric supply and communica-
60 Hz
Current (mA) Effect 1
Threshold of sensationnot felt. 18
Shock, not painful. Can let go; muscular control
maintained.
tion lines. It also includes work rules for the construction, Unsafe Current Values
maintenance, and operation of electric supply and communi- cation
lines and equipment. The standard is for the utilities
815 Painful. Can let go; muscular control maintained.
and for industrial facilities that have similar installations.
OccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministration. The Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was formed by an
act of the United States Congress in 1971. The act re- quires OSHA to oversee the
practices of industry with respect to safeguarding the health of employees. OSHA
adopted the 1971 NEC. In addition, OSHA has propagated many supple- mental
rules and regulations.
nder!riters"a#oratories$Inc. The Underwriters Labora-
tories (UL) have developed standards to assure the safety of
persons and the prevention of re. The standards dene the construction and
performance of appliances, tools, and other products. These standards are then used
for testing the de- vices.


,'R#ONN'+#A'*.,RO*'C*ION
Voltage alone does not kill. The voltage is the driving force that
determines how much current will ow through the re- sistance of the body. Current
is the important factor. In a human, of the ve layers of skin, almost all of the
resistance is in the rst layer of dead, dry skin. It takes a pressure of over 35 V to
penetrate this rst layer. Table 2 shows resis- tance values for parts of the human
body.
'//ectso/Currentont$eHu!an0ody
The physiological effects of current are described in Table 3. When
an electrical shock happens, the current is the most important factor. Current ow
through the chest cavity should be avoided, as the current can affect the heart. Five
milliamperes has been accepted as the upper limit of safe cur- rent. The muscular
reaction to the electrical shock can be haz- ardous, as one may be knocked from a
ladder, fall, hit ones head, etc.
'"ectrocution% The act of electrocuting a person in the
elec-
tric chair can be considered the ultimate application of cur- rent
and voltage. Three electrodes are used. Conductive jelly is applied before the
electrodes are placed on the shaved head and both ankles. To arrest the heart, 2,000
V is sufcient. However, an additional 400 V is added for hefty persons and



Table2. TypicalResistanceforHumanBody
Path Resistance ( )
Dry skin 100,000600,000 Wet skin 1,000
Hand to foot (internal) 400600 Ear to ear (internal) 100
1520 Painful shock. Cannot let go; muscular control of adjacent
muscles lost.
2050 Painful. Breathing difcult. Severe muscle contrac- tions.
100500 Ventricular brillationheat valves do not operate correctly.
They utter; thus no blood is pumped.
Death results.
200 Severe muscular contractionschest muscles clamp the heart
and stop it as long as the cur-
rent is applied. Severe burns, especially if over 5A.



240 V to compensate for the voltage drop. Thus, 2,640 V and 5A
are used. The body will burn if more than6Ais applied. Two one-minute jolts
are applied. After the rst jolt, the adrenal activity keeps the heart in action. The
second jolt is applied after a 10 second delay. Within 4.16 ms consciousness is lost.
Approximately $0.35 worth of electricity is used. Fred
!. Leutcher Associates, Inc., of Boston, Massachusetts are
considered experts in the eld.
Groundau"tCircuitInterrupters
Ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) are devices that measure
the current owing on a supply line and compare it with the current on the return
line. If there is a difference between 4 and 6 mA, the circuit protective device opens.
UL, aUS testing company, classies such a device as a Class A device. GFCIs
are required on certain types of circuits in the United States, Canada, and other
countries to offer protection for humans. In some European countries, the mains
services have similar devices. See the following subsection Equip- ment ground
fault protection.
GFCI devices usually incorporated in 15 to 30 A circuit breakers.
They are also built into receptacles and extension cords.
If the device is set to operate at a difference of about 20 mA, the UL
classies it as a Class B device. The application of such devices in the US is to
swimming pool lighting in- stalled before 1965.
'1uip!entGroundau"t,rotection
Equipment ground fault protection (GFP) devices also mea- sure
the current owing on the supply line and compare it with the current on the return
line. If there is a sufcient difference between the two, the protective device opens
the circuit. These devices are for the protection of equipment. The common settings
are 30 to 50 mA. Other values are available. One of the uses for GFP devices is the
protection of electric heat tracing lines and devices. The low value of trip current for
a GFCI would result in nuisance tripping if applied to heat
GROUNDING482
tracing circuits. Such circuits can have leakage currents tact with the earth, a voltage is developed across the earth as
greater than 5 mA. long as the current ows.
GFPs are also available for three-wire, single-phase cir- The ow of large fault currents over the resistance of the
cuits. They mesure the ow of current on the two-phase con- earth develops a potential between different points on the
ductors and the neutral. If the sum of the currents does not surface of the earth. The installation of a ground grid reduces
equal zero, and the difference exceeds the trip rating, the GFP
opens the circuit.
GFP devices are usually found in circuit breakers. There are heat
tracing controllers that have GFPs built into them.
Groundau"t#ensing
The application of ground fault sensing is to power distribu- tion
systems to protect against equipment-damaging, continu- ous,
low-current, low-voltage arcing. Solidly grounded wye electrical
systems, where the phase voltage to ground exceeds 150 V, can
develop an arcing fault with insufcient fault cur- rent to operate
the protective device. The NEC requires any service disconnect
rated 1000 A or more to have ground fault protection of
equipment.
Ground fault sensing using induction disk or solid-state re- lays
can detect phase unbalance. Ground fault sensing can be
accomplished in three ways, using relays.
Aground fault relay can be inserted in the neutral conduc- tor of
the wye transformerthe conductor going from the transformers
neutral tap to the grounding electrode. This re- lay will detect any
current ow returning from the earth to the transformer.
Tripping of the protective device can then be set at a safe value.
Another method is to use a zero-sequence or toroidal trans-
former enclosing the phase and neutral conductors. If the sum of
the currents on the conductors does not equal zero within the
transformer, then a current is produced by the zero- sequence or
toroidal transformer. The tripping value can then be set.
The third method is to insert a ground fault relay in the phase
overcurrent relay circuit that will measure the differen- tial
current by the summation of the phase currents.
Arcau"tCircuitInterrupters
The arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) is a solid-state circuit
breaker with software built into the breaker, to detect arcing
within the load wiring. The arcing current is usually inade- quate
to generate sufcient current ow to operate the protec- tive
device. The AFCI will detect the arcing of a damaged extension
cord, or of a cable within the wall that has been damaged by the
accidental driving of a nail through the con- ductors.
At the time of writing (August 1997), an AFCI must clear a5A
arc in no more than 1 s and clear a 30 A arc in no more than
0.11 s. The device must trip in four full cycles. Should the
extension cord be cut, the device may have to open with a100 A
fault in eight half cycles. Because of the arcing, test- ing may be
based on half cycles.
#tep3o"tage
The technical denition of step voltage is the difference in
the potential to acceptable limits.
*ouc$3o"tage
The touch voltage is the potential difference between the ground
potential rise and the surface potential at the point where a
person is standing, while at the same time having his hands in
contact with a grounded structure (2). This is like the step
voltage, except the person is standing on the ground and at the
same time touches a grounded metal object. The potential
difference between the point on the earth where the person is
standing and the point where he touches the metal object is called
the touch voltage, or touch potential. See the subsection
Grounding grid under Connecting to earth.
For example, the installation of ground mats under op- erating
handles of high-voltage switches, and bonded to the metal switch
parts, reduces the potential between the earth where the feet are
and the switch handle where the hands are touching.
Uncontro""ed"o4o/Currentovert$e'art$
It is an unsafe practice to allow current to ow over the earth
continuously, uncontrolled. All continuously owing current must
be contained within insulated electrical conductors. During the
time a phase conductor faults to and contacts earth, it is normal
to have the current ow over the earth until the protective
device(s) operate to clear the circuit and stop the current ow.
The time should be seconds or less. Neutral-to-earth faults allow
the current to ow uncon- trolled over the earth continuously.
This uncontrolled ow of current over the earth can result in
electrical shocks to hu- mans and animals, cause computer
screens to utter, damage electrical equipment, cause res, and
generate magnetic elds.
+o453o"tageCircuits% In some countries the neutral of a
low-voltage system ( 600 V) is connected to earth at the
transformer and again just inside the building being served by
the utility. In Fig. 2 the neutral is grounded at T to TG
(transformer ground), and inside the building at B to BG. For
the time being, ignore the fault at X.Continuous current can
ow over the earth from point BG to TG. Current returning from
the load on the neutral will enter point B. According to
Kirchhoffs and Ohms laws, the current will divide in inverse


Utility
Building Phase conductor
Load Load
B
Neutral Neutral!to!ground
"ault
surface potential experienced by a person bridging a distance
of 1 m with his feet without contacting any other grounded
object (2). The soil has resistance. When a high fault current Current "lo# o$er the earth
ows through the earth due to a conductor coming into con-Figure2. Currentowovertheearthfromaneutral-to-groundfault.
486GROUNDING
ratio to the resistance, and the sum of the currents owing into and out of
the node will be zero.
Example. With a resistance from point B to T of 0.1 and
aresistance from point BG to TG of 25 through the earth, and with a
neutral return current of 100 A, a current of 0.398
%econdary
Pri&aryUtilityBuilding Phase conductor
Load
Neutral PNB %N
Load
Awill be owing over the earth continuously. See the subsec- Neutral!to!ground
tion Effects of current on the human body. With only2Aof
P
G
%G "ault
BG Next 'uilding
return current, 0.00786 A would ow over the earth. Pri&ary neutral N
B
Neutral%to%&roundFaultCurrents. Figure 2 shows a single- grounded "our ti&es Current "lo# o$er the earth
phase circuit. When a fault occurs on the phase conductor, the
fault current ows through the earth, equipment ground
conductors, grounded water piping, etc., back to the earth
connection at either BG or TG, completing the circuit. If the path
has low impedance, sufcient current will ow, resulting in the
protective device(s) opening, stopping the current ow.
When the neutral conductor contacts earth, say point X,
the current can ow from point X to either ground
electrode
at point BG or point TG, in addition to the ow over the neu-
tral from point X to the neutral connection of the
transformer.
Since the load is in the circuit, the resultant current ow will be
controlled by the impedance of the load. The protective de- vice
will have normal current ow and the protective device will not
operate. However, the current ow over the earth will be
uncontrolled. The current can ow anywhere over water piping,
building steel, etc.
If the single transformer serves several buildings or resi- dences,
the normal distribution practice in the US, there will be two
insulated phase conductors, and a bare conductor serv- ing three
functions: the supporting messenger, the neutral, and the ground.
Each building will have its incoming service connected to earth at
the entrance of the building and through the metallic water
piping. Should the supporting combination messenger, neutral,
and ground conductor cor- rode and thus develop a high
resistance, preventing full neu- tral current from returning over
the conductor, the neutral current will ow back to the
transformer over the earth and metallic water piping to the next
house and all the other houses, and through the earth to the
transformer. The cur- rent ow will be uncontrolled. It will be a
function of the com- bined impedances.
As an example, currents of 30 A have been reported ow- ing over
water pipes from an unknown source, not in the house containing
the water pipe. This current ow over the water pipe results in
electric and magnetic elds. The mag- netic elds interfere with
video display computer terminals located near the water pipes.
Current ows have been reported to cause voltage differ- ences
between the oor drain and the water control valve in showers.
Electric shocks occurred when standing in the shower and
touching the water temperature control valve. It was not feasible
to eliminate this voltage difference by bond- ing. The currents
origin was unknown, somewhere in the electrical distribution
system.
DistributionCircuits% In distribution circuits ( 600 V), it is
the practice in some countries to connect the primary neutral to
the secondary neutral, as in Fig. 3. The object is to protect the
secondary from primary-voltage excursions. Also, in the
(er &ile
Figure 3. Current ow over the earth from secondary and
primary
connections.


the return current carried by the neutral conductors of the
primary distribution system and the rest returned over the earth.
This ow of primary return current over the earth is uncontrolled
and unrestrained, and has caused serious prob- lems. Current
ow through swimming pools has shocked swimmers, especially if
they have cuts or have llings in their teeth and open their
mouths. Persons taking showers feel tin- gles when they touch
the water control valve.
Some would claim that bonding will eliminate such prob- lems. In
one case, however, the swimming pool was properly bonded, but
the current owed through the pool as part of a return path to the
source transformer. In other cases, it was not practical to install
bonding between the water piping and the drain piping. The
responsibility for the uncontrolled cur- rent ow remains with the
suppliers of the faulty circuit. The solutions are to (1) have all
conductors insulated from earth except at one location, (2) install
isolation transformers, and (3) install a device that will block the
connection between
the primary and the secondary neutral (a neutral blocker ).
The neutral blocker devices allow fault current to ow but block
any normal current ow.
Hospita"andOperatingRoo!s
See the subsection Isolated power systems or supplies under
Types of low-voltage power system grounding.


'7UI,('N*GROUNDING
The object of grounding the electrical equipment is to:
1. Reduce the potential for electric shock hazards to per-
sonnel.
". Provide a low impedance return path for phase-to-
equipment fault current necessary to operate the pro- tective
device(s).
#. Provide a path with suf?cient current-carrying capac-
ity, in both magnitude and duration, to carry the fault current,
as allowed by the protective devices, for their operation.
,ersonne"#a/ety8'"ectrocution
United States there is a requirement that the primary neu- Grounding electrical equipment can provide a fault current
tral conductor be connected to earth four times per mile. In with a lower-impedance path than the path through a person.
addition, some utilities depend on the earth to carry part of Ohms law states that the magnitudeof the current will be
the return current. It is common to have only 40% to 60% of inversely proportional to the resistance.
GROUNDING489
Example. Assume the copper equipment-grounding con- In a typical industrial facility, constructed of steel, there
ductor has a impedance of 2 .A person, standing on the will be many parallel ground return paths. Because of the
earth with a normal resistance of 25 ,would have a body reactance of the circuit, the return fault current will mainly
resistance from dead, dry skin of hand to foot of 350,000 . ow in the path nearest to the outgoing current path. Given
With a 120 V circuit, a parallel path exists. One path, through the choice of returning over the equipment ground conduc-
the series of the body and the earth, is 350,025 ,while the tor contained within the conduit containing the phase conduc-
equipment grounding conductor path is only 2 . The voltage, tor supplying the fault current, or a parallel path adjacent to
120 V, divided by the resistance, 0.500002857 , allows the conduit, only approximately 10% of the return fault cur-
60.000343 A to ow. With the equipment grounding conductor rent will ow over the adjacent path, and 90% will ow over
carrying 60.0 A, the current through the body is only the conduit, provided the conduit is continuous and has low
0.00034 A. impedance. When a single phase-to-ground fault current ows in a conductor within a conduit, the size of the
conductor has
Conductors
Were one to rely on metallic conduit, locknuts, bushings, etc. as
the equipment grounding path, the probability of preserv- ing a
low-impedance path after exposure to the weather, cor- rosive
atmospheres, or shoddy workmanship would be low. To ensure
safety, an equipment grounding conductor should be contained
within the equipment raceway. There exists a re- port that
purports to show the reliability of metallic conduit. However, this
university-generated report, paid for by a party with an interest
in the outcome, has not undergone peer review.
The importance of an equipment ground conductor is to offer a
low-impedance return fault current path back to the connection to
the ground or the transformer neutral terminal. This path will
permit sufcient current to ow, allowing the protective device to
operate. The equipment grounding con- ductor must be contained
within the raceway for all types of circuits, as this will lead to the
lowest circuit impedance. That includes power circuits, motor and
motor control circuits, lighting and receptacle circuits, and
appliance circuits.
*$er!a"Capacity% The ground circuit conductors must be
capable of carrying all fault current imposed upon them. The
fault current will last until the protective device(s) clear the
phase conductors. The fault carrying capacity includes the ability
to limit the temperature of the grounding circuit con-
very little effect on the impedance of the circuit.
To assure a reliable, continuous, low-impedance ground fault
return circuit, an equipment ground conductor should be
installed within the conduit supplying all circuits. This in- cludes
not only power circuits, but those for lighting, recepta- cles,
appliances, etc.
0ui"dings% Buildings with reinforcing steel bars in the foun-
dation and piers for the steel columns with bolts have been found
to be inherently grounded. One out of four column bolts are
usually in contact with the reinforcing bar in the footer steel
reinforcing bar cage. (See the subsection Concrete-en- cased
electrodesUfer ground under Connecting to earth. Although
the steel has a primer coat of paint, small projecting points on the
surface of the steel puncture the coating and bond to adjacent
steel surfaces. The multitude of parallel elec- trical paths within
a steel building reduces the resistance to alow value.
When the steel columns are less than 7.6 m (25 ft), apart
they form a Faraday cage. Alightning strike to the steel
will
travel down the perimeter of the building steel and will be
dissipated into the earth, provided the building is effectively
grounded. The columns inside the structure will be devoid of
current.
Instru!entation
ductors to their thermal rating. When designing the ground- See the section on Grounding of Computer Systems, espe-
ing circuit, the temperature rise during the time the fault cur-
rent is owing must be considered. Component parts in the
cially the subsection Grounding of Instrumentation Shields.
circuit, such as locknut connections and the thickness of the Groundingo/,o4erConductor#$ie"ds
metal enclosure, must also be considered. All cables at voltages 5 kV and higher should be
In addition, the impedance of the grounding circuit must with a shield. It is not uncommon to install 5 kV cables
be less than that of any other possible parallel ground circuit. out any shielding. Utilities, with their rigid safety work
Fault current ow through other, higher-impedance paths have managed to avoid problems. However, this practice
may result in arcs, sparks, and re, especially where loose should be avoided by all others, as there are reports of
connections occur between sheet metal enclosures, the con- electrical accidents due to touching an unshielded 5 kV
nectors, and locknuts or conduit couplings. The construction of cable for 5 kV and over begins with
a
ConduitandConnectors smooth surface a semiconducting material is extruded over
If one is to rely on the conduit, terminals, connectors, lock- the conductor. A layer of high-voltage insulation is applied, nuts,
etc. as the equipment grounding conductor for the re- and over it another layer of semiconducting material, followed
turn ground current path, good workmanship is a prerequi-by a thin metallic copper cover sheet, which is overlapped to
site. The metallic path must be continuous and have low assure that all the semiconducting surface is covered. A nal
impedance. With iron conduit serving as the ground return outer layer of insulation is then applied.
path, if a fault occurs, there will be a large increase in both It is necessary to have the high-voltage insulation under
the resistance and the reactance of the ground return path equal electrical stress. This is achieved by having, smooth
circuit. In addition, depending on the amount of fault current semiconducting material on both sides of the high-voltage in-
owing, the resistance and reactance will vary over a large sulation, and equal distance maintained between the two
range, depending on the amount of fault current ow. semiconducting surfaces. The metallic shield is connected to
484GROUNDING
earth. This produces an equal and constant voltage stress be- #ubstations
tween the rst layer of semiconducting material at the poten- There are substations for utilities, industrial facilities, and
tial of the conductor and the second layer of semiconducting commercial sites. Utility substation earthing/grounding in-
material at earth potential. volves soil resistivity measurements, step/touch potentials,
The shield must be continuous, extending over splices. The ground grid installations, equipment grounding, and so on.
shield should be connected to earth wherever possible. This is is a complex subject. For detailed information consult Ref.
to allow fault current to enter the earth and follow a parallel
path back to the source. The shield should be selected to be
Co!!ercia"andIndustria"#ubstations%Acommercial or
in-
able to handle any fault current applied to it, and to conduct dustrial substation is dened as one where the utility sup-
the fault current to the nearest connection to earth, where plies power to one or more step-down transformers and a
the resistance (impedance) should be less than the shield im- high-voltage switchyard is lacking. There may be a high-
pedance. age switch or two. The secondary voltage may be as high
The shield ampacity must be adequate to carry the fault 35 kV. The substation may be either outdoors or within an
current. Should the shield burn open in several places and enclosed building housing the switchgear and the
leave sections of the shield ungrounded, damage can occur to ers, which can be either inside or outside.
the high-voltage insulation and the whole cable may have to Ideally, the concrete transformer pads and the
be replaced. for the building, should there be one, would serve as the
earth
connection, using the reinforcing bars. A less effective
+ig$tingi)tures
of connecting to earth is the use of a ground loop encircling
the area and connected to ground wells. The ground loop
In buildings of all types, lighting xtures are installed. The be used to connect the various pieces of electrical
inexpensive method of connecting the lighting xture to together. Each major piece of electrical equipment should
earth/ground is to rely on the racewaythe rigid intermedi- connected to the ground loop from at least two different
ate conduit or electrical metallic tubing (EMT)as the tions. A line-up of switchgear would have each end
ground return fault path. It is not unusual to nd poor work- to the grounding loop.
manship with the installation of the raceway. EMT pulls Step and touch potentials should be considered. It may
apart easily, breaking the ground path. Loose locknuts result necessary to install a ground grid and ground mats under
in poor connections. operating handles of high-voltage switches. The fence
All raceways should have a separate equipment to be connected to earth and the ground grid.
grounding/earthing conductor installed with the phase and
neutral conductors. This will assure a reliable fault return
Distributionand*rans!ission+ines
path of low impedance that will operate the protective de-
vice(s).
Where lightning could result in damage and interruptions,
protection of the distribution and transmission lines
should
be installed. A static wire will divert the majority of
(otors
The inexpensive method of connecting the motor frame to
strikes harmlessly to earth. A static wire is a conductor in-
stalled over the phase conductors and connected to earth
earth/ground is to rely on the raceway (the rigid or intermedi- proximately every 400 m (1,300 ft). In addition to the static
ate conduit or EMT) as the ground return fault path. It is not wire, lightning arresters should be installed periodically.
unusual to nd poor workmanship with the installation of the The major cause of disruptions is tree limbs. They need
raceway. EMT pulls apart easily, breaking the ground path. be kept trimmed.
Loose locknuts result in poor connections.
The practice of using cable-tray cable, with the earthing/
grounding conductor within the tray cable, should be carried
*.,'#O+O:53O+*AG',O:'R#.#*'(GROUNDING
over to the raceway installation. All raceways should have
separate equipment grounding/earthing conductor installed
Various voltages, phases, wires, frequencies, and earthing
re-
with the phase conductors. This will assure a reliable fault quirements for low-voltage ( 600 V) are found in various
return path of low impedance that will operate the protec- countries. In the United States, one will hear of different
tive device(s). ages, such as 110 or 120 V. This confuses many people. The
Most motor manufacturers have installed an equipment standard voltages in different parts of various systems are
grounding screw within the motor cable termination box. The shown in Table 4.
use of this screw to earth the motor frame has proven success- Before 1965, the transformer for an industrial
ful. There are those, however, who feel the need to be able to was usually located in the parking lot. There was a voltage
see the connection to earth and insist on running an earthing drop between the transformer and the main distribution
cable on the outside of the conduit and connecting it to the panel just inside the building, and another voltage drop
exterior of the motor frame. The fault return path must be a the panel to (say) the starter and motor out in the factory.
path that is in very close proximity to the outgoing phase- Before 1965, if one was speaking correctly and mentioned
fault-supplying conductor. An external ground conductor does V, one was referring to the main distribution panel. If one
not meet these criteria and will have higher impedance. mentioned 110 V, one was referring to the motor.
It may be necessary to connect the motor frame to nearby In the early 1960s, transformers were moved indoors,
ungrounded metallic enclosures, bonding the two together. closer to the loads. The motor control was located in a motor
This will prevent touch voltage hazards. control center next to the main distribution panel. The previ-
GROUNDING48;
Table4. StandardVoltageTerminology
Voltage (V)
System
Era (nominal) Transformer Distribution Utilization
Before 1965 120 120 115 110 208/120 208/120 200/115 190/110
240 240 230 220
480 480 460 440
After 1965 120 120 115 115 208/120 208/120 200/115 200/115
240 240 230 230
480 480 460 460
electrical arc is hotter than the surface of the sun. The amount of
burning is a function of the available fault current, the distance
from the arc, and the time of exposure. In evalu- ating the
selection of an electrical system grounding method, consideration
should be given to ash hazard to personnel from accidental line-
to-ground faults.
Ralph H. Lees paper on electric arc burns contains a for- mula
and a chart for calculating the degree of a burn (5). M. Capelli-
Schellpfeffer and R. C. Lees paper on Advances in the evaluation
and treatment of electrical and thermal injury emergencies lists
the necessary actions one must take after someone has been
subjected to electric shock (6). The critical responses are:
1. The injured person should be strapped to a board, as the
shock and the reaction can damage the spine.
ous voltage drops were eliminated, reducing utility costs. It 2. The person should be transported to a burn center.
was then discovered that the voltage being applied to the mo- 3. Someone should immediately record the
tors had increased. Thus, a new standard was developed in of the area, the time and weather conditions, how the
1965. Unfortunately, some still refer to the voltage at xtures accident occurred, etc., and send the information to
as 110 V, instead of the correct 115 V. hospital as soon as possible.
,urposeo/'"ectrica"#yste!Grounding
The following listing will clarify and assist in selecting the
proper electrical earthing/grounding system for the appli-
The purpose of connecting an electrical system to ground is to
protect personnel from serious injuries or fatalities, to im-
prove the system reliability, and for continuity of service. The
cation.
object is to control the voltage to ground, or earth, within pre- Ungrounded#yste!s
dictable limits. Grounding of the electrical system will limit Neither the phase nor the neutral conductors in an un-
voltage stress on cable and equipment. Proper installation grounded electrical system are directly connected to earth.
will facilitate the protective device operation, removing haz- They are connected to earth by the distributed phase-to-
ardous voltages from the ground. Each electrical system ground capacitance of the phase conductors, motor
grounding method has its advantages and disadvantages. etc. The cited advantages are (1) freedom from power inter-
The characteristic features one must evaluate are (4): ruption on the rst phase-to-earth failure and (2) lower ini-
tial costs.
1. Suitability for serving the load With a single-phase fault to earth, a small charging cur-
2. Grounding equipment requirements for the method of rent will ow and the protective devices will not operate.
system grounding selected long as none of the other phases contact earth, operation
can
3. First costs continue. However, when one of the other phases contacts
earth, a phase-to-phase short circuit occurs. The resulting
4. Continuity of service
5. Fault current for a bolted line-to-ground fault
fault current, owing into the phase-to-phase fault, can
result
6. Probable level of sustained single-phase line-to-line and the cessation of operation.
arcing fault level In order to ensure the operation will continue without
in-
7. Shock hazard terruption, a ground detection system should be installed.
a. No ground fault Most installations make the error of placing lamps across
the
b. Ground fault on phase conductor phases to the ground. As long as all phases are isolated
from
8. Advantages
9. Disadvantages
ness. When a single phase faults to earth occurs, the lamp
on
10. Area of applications full voltage. The problem with such lamps is that an
incipient
Asummary of the various grounding systems for low-volt- as they are much more sensitive than trying to determine
age installations is given in Table 5. relative brightness of any lamp.
When the voltmeters indicate a difference in voltage be-
,ersonne"#a/ety8"as$0urns
tween the phases, the weak, high-impedance phase-to-
ground
When a (1) phase-to-phase, a (2) phase-to-neutral short cir- fault or incipient fault should be located. If the phase-to- cuit, or a
(3) phase-to-ground fault on a solidly grounded elec- ground fault is not remedied as soon as possible, a phase-to-
trical system occurs, large fault currents can ow, depending phase fault may develop, resulting in a hazardous condition.
on the electrical system grounding method. Severe burns can An arcing fault can raise the system voltage to levels
occur up to approximately 3 m (10 ft) from the arc, depending where motor windings and cable can be stressed beyond their
on the available fault current and the duration of ow. An limits. If the motor control circuits are at full voltage without















b

















a




h





e





i
g






f








a b c d e f g h i j


486
GROUNDING487
the benet of a control transformer, the extended circuit con- pedance or resistance. The neutral should be connected to
ductors increase the likelihood of an arcing fault. earth at only one place, preferably at the transformer. This
Where continuous operation is a requirement, a high-resis- will reduce uncontrolled circulating currents. (See the section
tance grounded system should be used. Grounding of computer systems.)
For information on how to detect and nd phase-to-ground The solidly grounded neutral system is the most widely
faults see the subsection Resistance-grounded neutral sys- used in the US, not only for residential, but also for
tems, especially the sub-subsection Phase-to-ground faults: cial and industrial service. The solidly grounded neutral
detection and location methods. For detailed information see tem is the most effective for three-phase four-wire low-
Ref. 4. distribution systems.
The solidly grounded neutral system is effective in
Iso"ated,o4er#yste!sor#upp"ies
ling overvoltage conditions and in immediately opening the
protective device when the rst phase-to-neutral fault
Isolated power systems or supplies are used in hospital op- Low-voltage arcing faults do not permit sufcient current
erating rooms using certain anesthetizing chemicals, wet lo- ow to open the protective device(s). The resulting
cations, and life support equipment that must continue to arcing can destroy the electrical equipment. Low-level
operate when one phase-to-ground fault exists, such as inten- ground faults can, however, be detected and the protective
sive care areas, coronary care areas, and open-heart surgery device(s) opened. See the subsection Ground fault
operating rooms. Isolated power systems consist of a motor under Personnel safety protection.
generator set, an isolation transformer or batteries, and a The low cost of the solidly grounded neutral system,
isolation monitor, monitoring ungrounded conductors. For the bined with the features of immediate isolation of the fault,
last thirty years, the components of the isolated power system overvoltage control, and protection against arcing fault
have been packaged together in one assembly referred to as down, account for the use of this system. The benets of
an isolated power package. The package is less costly than tection of faulty equipment and circuits and the ability to
assembling the components. cate the fault are other reasons for its use. To gain the
All of the wiring in the system is monitored for leakage of protection against arcing fault burndown, one has to add
current and voltage differential. The maximum safe current additional equipment at a cost.
leakage limits range from 10 A for catheter electrodes inside One disadvantage of the solidly grounded neutral
the heart to 500 A for appliances, lamps, etc. The maximum is that the rst phase-to-ground fault opens the protective
safe voltge differential is 20 mV.
The advantages, disadvantages, and limitations are differ- vice(s), shutting off the power, lights, control, etc. In an op-
ent for health care facilities than for normal electrical system erating room or a continuous process, the sudden loss of
grounding. For detailed information see Ref. 7. trical power can be catastrophic. Severe ash hazard exists
Generatinga#yste!Neutra"
with a phase-to-ground fault. Severe damage can occur to
electrical equipment because of the high possible fault
There are times when it is desirable to have a system neutral current.
to connect to earth, but none is available. This may occur The immediate removal of the electrical power with the
where the secondary system connection is a delta, either be- rst phase-to-ground fault is considered by some as a
cause an old distribution system is to be upgraded or because detriment, especially when a critical process or service is
adelta secondary is less expensive than a wye-connected volved. To avoid disorderly and abrupt shutdowns when
transformer. rst phase-to-neutral fault happens, one should consider a
Aneutral can be generated by the use of a zigzag, T-con- high-resistance grounded system, which has the
nected, or wyedelta transformer. Usually these transformers of a solidly grounded neutral system and none of the disad-
are rated to carry current for a limited time, typically 10 s or vantages. For additional details, see Ref. 4.
voltage in kilovolts times the neutral current in amperes.
These transformers are much smaller in size than a fully
Corner5o/5t$e5De"taGrounded#yste!
rated transformer. The corner of-the-delta grounded system is one in which
one
The transformer should be connected directly to the bus. corner of the delta, a phase conductor, is intentionally con-
When that is done, the possibility of its being disconnected is nected through a solid connection to earth. The connection
remote. The transformer has to be considered as part of the has no intentionally inserted impedance. The grounded
bus protection. should be identied and marked throughout the system. In
#o"idGroundedNeutra"#yste! the US, the grounded phase conductor must be located at
the
All electrical systems should be grounded by some means.
Nu-
socket.
The ungrounded delta system was used in some
merous advantages result, such as greater personnel safety, turing facilities to allow for continuous operation. When
the elimination of excessive system overvoltages, and easier
detection and location of phase-to-ground faults. asystem is encountered and it has been decided to convert
Asolidly grounded neutral system has the transformer to a solidly grounded system, the corner of-the-delta
neutral point directly connected to earth through an adequate can be and usually has been selected.
and solid ground connection. The connection between the All motor control overload relays and instrumentation
must be connected to the hot phases. The motor control
may
transformer and the earth has no intentionally inserted im- have only two overload relays in the motor circuit. These two
488GROUNDING
relays must be installed on the two ungrounded phases to are controlled. As with all electrical systems, destruction re-
assure proper registration or operation. sults when a phase-to-phase fault occurs. The resistance-
Aground fault on the grounded phase can go undetected, grounded system does, however, limit the amount of fault cur-
resulting in a ow of uncontrolled current over the equipment rent that can ow when a phase-to-earth fault occurs. Other
ground conductors, the earth, metallic piping, etc. advantages are:
nsu"ation% With the corner of the delta grounded, the
other
1
.

A
r
c

b
l
a
s
t

o
r

?
a
s
h

h
a
z
a
r
d

t
o

p
e
r
s
o
n
n
e
l

i
s

r
e
d
u
c
e
d

w
h
e
n

a
these systems are predominately used on system voltages of area of the fault.
600 V or less and 600 V insulation rating is used for the con- 2. Stray continuous phase-to-ground fault currents are
ductors, no problem exists. If the system voltage is 380 V, duced and limited.
then 300 V insulation can be used, as the two phases see a 3. The destructive burning of phase-to-ground fault cur-
stress of 277 V. When 480 V and 120/208 V systems are in- rents is eliminated, reducing the destruction of
stalled in the same building, it is usual for conductor with cal equipment.
600 V rated insulation to be used. However, where costs are 4. Stress is reduced in electrical equipment when a
to be strictly controlled, two different conductor insulations to-ground fault happens.
can be used, 600 V and 300 V. In that case, unless there are
strict safeguards to prevent intermingling of the two kinds of 5. There is no voltage dip such as happens when the
insulation, severe problems may develop over time. The mix- tective device clears a phase-to-ground fault current
ing of insulation on the same project is not recommended.
For detailed information see Ref. 4.
asolidly grounded system.
6. The system allows continuous process operation after
the rst phase-to-ground fault. (A phase-to-phase
(idp$ase5Grounded<Neutra"=#yste!
will develop if either of the other two phases contacts
earth. The fault current from the rst phase-to-
The midphase-grounded (neutral) system is one where the fault will ow through the earth to the point of the
three-phase delta transformer has one side tapped in the mid- ond phase-to-ground fault.)
dle and this tap, the so-called neutral, connected to earth.
This connection came into expanded use in the mid 1940s in
residential neighborhoods where only small corner stores ex- There are two methods to ground an electrical system
isted. The typical service was from a large single-phase,
three-wire, 240/120 V transformer.
resistance grounding. See Fig. 5.
With the advent of air conditioning, the local stores needed Hig$5ResistanceGroundedNeutra"#yste!% When a phase-
three-phase power. It was simple to add a single-phase trans- to-ground fault occurs, little if any damage occurs when the
former with a secondary of 240 V connected to one end of the electrical system is grounded using high-resistance
large single phase, three-wire, 240/120 V transformer in an neutral methods.
open delta conguration. This resulted in single-phase, 240/ Ahigh-resistance grounded system has a resistor
120 V, three-wire service from the single-phase large trans- between the transformer neutral terminal and the earth
former, and three-phase, 240 V, three-wire service from the nection. No phase-to-neutral loads are permitted on any
two transformers. The open delta was limited to 58% of the tance grounded systems. A separate transformer is used to
240 V single-phase transformer rating. By closing the delta generate neutral loads. For instance, on a 480/277 V
with a third single-phase, 240 V transformer, full rating of aseparate transformer with a 480 V delta primary and a
the two single-phase, 240 V transformers could be supplied. 277 V wye secondary would be used for the 277 V lighting
The midpoint on the one phase is often called aneutral. and other loads.
However, since the point is not in the middle of the electrical The resistor in the neutral-to-earth connection prevents
system as a true neutral would be, others refer to the mid- excess fault current from owing. The value of the resistor
point on one side of a delta transformer as theidentied con- selected to limit the fault current to approximately 5 A.
ductor.It will be called a neutral here for simplicity. cause of the capacitance between the earth and the phase
The phase leg opposite the midpoint neutral will have an ductors connected to the loads, a capacitance charging
elevated voltage with respect to earth or neutral. If the three- will ow. The trip value of the detection relay has to allow
phase voltage is 240 V, then the voltage from either phase on the charging current. The charging current can be
either side of the midpoint will be 120 V. The voltage from by methods described in Ref. 8.
the phase leg opposite the midpoint to the neutral or earth, It is important to nd the phase-to-ground fault as soon
since the midpoint is grounded, will be 208 V. Because of this possible. Should either of the two other phases contact
voltage, the phase opposite the midpoint is referred to as the aphase-to-phase fault would occur. This would result in the
high leg, red leg, or bastard leg. See Fig. 4. This hottest operation of the protective device(s) and the cessation of
high leg must be positively identied throughout the electri- ation. When a phase-to-earth fault occurs, the potential to
cal system when carried with the neutral conductor. It should earth on the other two phases rises to the phase-to-phase
be the center leg in any switch, motor control, or three-phase tential. Depending on the conductor insulation, this may
panelboard. It is usually identied by red tape. cause a problem. See the subsubsection Phase-to-ground
For detailed information see Ref. 4. faults: detection and location methods.
The high-resistance grounded system has been tried on
Resistance5GroundedNeutra"#yste!s
high-voltage systems (15 kV) with less than satisfactory
re-
Resistance-grounded neutral systems offer many advantages
over solidly grounded systems. Destructive transient voltages results. For additional details see Refs. 4 and 8.
GROUNDING48&


2)* +
hree!(hase load
Utility ser$ice
entrance
2,) + 2,
) +
Line 1
12) +12) + %ingle!(hase
loads
-
Neutral
Line 2
Ground
2,) +
Earth/ground
electrode Figure4. Open delta one-side midphase-
.(en delta #ith one side center!ta((ed grounded (neutral) system.
Insu"ation% This section applies to all ungrounded and re- transformer neutral over the ground will be an indication of
sistance grounded systems, particularly to high-voltage ca- aphase-to-ground fault, and the relay will operate. See Fig. 6.
bles. When a phase-to-earth fault occurs, the potential to Because of patents on the current-transformer method, an-
earth on the other two phases rises to the phase-to-phase po- other method using the principle of voltage differential was
tential. Depending on the conductor insulation level and on developed. When phase-to-ground fault current ows through
the time that the fault remains, this may cause a problem. the grounding resistor, a voltage will be developed across the
Cables are rated as 100%, 133%, and 173% voltage insula- resistor. A voltage-sensing relay can detect this fault current
tion level. The guidelines for fault duration are: ow and operate the alarm system.
'(()Ca#leInsulation"e*el. If the phase-to-ground fault is High-resistance grounded systems can be provided with a
detected and removed within 1 min, 100% insulation cable square-wave pulsing system. Figure 6 illustrates this. A timer
can be used. operating at a rate of about 20 to 30 equal pulses per minute
'++)Ca#leInsulation"e*el. If the phase-to-ground fault is shorts out part of the high-resistance grounding resistor.
expected to remain on the system for a period not exceeding With part of the resistance removed from the circuit, the ow
1h, 133% cable insulation level should be used. of phase-to-ground fault current will increase. This increase
',+)Ca#leInsulation"e*el. If the phase-to-ground fault in fault current will generate a square wave.
will remain on the system for an indenite time before the To nd the fault, a large-opening clamp-on ammeter is
fault is deenergized, 173% cable insulation level should be used. The phase-to-ground fault current will be owing on the
used. Cable with 173 percent insulation level is recommended phase that is faulted. If the ammeter is placed on the outgo-
to be used on resonant grounded systems in any case. ing raceways, then if the fault current is owing within the raceway being
checked, the ammeter will pulse. The other
,$ase5to5Groundau"ts>Detectionand+ocation(et$ods%
Itis
raceways, without any fault current owing, will not deect
imperative that a phase-to-ground fault on electrical systems, the ammeter.
other than solidly grounded systems, be detected and found
Tracing the fault current to the exact point of the
phase-
and repaired as soon as possible. There are several methods to-ground fault is an art, not a scientic method. A person
available. must observe the extent of deection of the ammeter and rec-
Ungrounded systems can have relays installed that re- ognize the possibility of parallel ground fault return paths. spond to
changes in voltage between phases and ground.
Commercial equipment is available that will place a high-fre-
quency signal on the system. This signal can be used to trace the fault.
Resistance-grounded systems lend themselves to either of two
detection methods. A current relay can be installed around the conductor connected
to the transformer neutral terminal and run through the resistance/impedance
device to the earth connection. Any ow of current returning to the
+o45Resistance5GroundedNeutra"#yste!% The low-resis-
tance-grounded neutral system has a low-value resistor inten-


Phase C
Phase A

Neutral
Grounding
resistor
R
v
Pulsing
contact Phase B
+oltage
relay
R
c
Curren
t
trans"or
%olidly /esistance
/eactance
grounded
&ethod &ethod
grounded grounded
4&-GROUNDING
tionally inserted between the transformer neutral terminal The key to a proper installation is to connect only the
and the grounding electrode. This resistor limits the fault cur- transformers neutral terminal to the grounding electrode.
rent to a value in the range of 25 to 1000 A, a level that The grounding electrode should be in the same area as the
signicantly reduces the fault point damage. It still allows transformer and as near as practical. In order of preference
sufcient current to ow to operate the protective device(s). the connection should be made to (1) the nearest effectively
The fault can be isolated by fault ground detection devices. grounded building steel, (2) the nearest available effectively
This grounding method is usually used on industrial systems grounded metallic water pipe, (3) other electrodes that are
of5to25kV. not isolated from the main electrical system. (See the section
Initially this system was hampered by the lack of sensitive, Grounding of Computer systems.) If necessary, the ground-
low-cost ground fault protective devices for application on ing conductor should be connected back to the system ground
downstream circuits. By now, its application in industrial for the building.
facilities for the powering of large motors and for the distribu-
tion of power in the 5 to 25 kV range has become common- ResonantGrounding<Groundau"tNeutra"i?er=
place. The low-resistance grounded system with sensitive The resonant grounding (ground fault neutralizer) system
ground fault sensing allows the application of 100% level con-
ductor insulation. used primarily on systems above 15 kV used for
For additional details see Ref. 4. and or transmission lines. It consists of a reactor
+o45Reactance5GroundedNeutra"#yste! between the transformer neutral terminal and the
grounding
The low-reactance-grounded neutral system is one where a
to the systems capacitive charging current. The result is
that
low-value reactor is inserted between the transformer neutral sistive, it is in phase with the line-to-neutral voltage, so
terminal and the ground electrode. The reactor limits the the current zero and the voltage zero occur at the same
fault current to a value not less than 25% to 100% of the Abuilt-in feature of this method of grounding is that
three-phase bolted faulted current. This system is not used transmission line insulators experiencing a ashover, the
very often. ashover may be self-extinguishing.
The low-reactance-grounded neutral system effectively For additional details, see Ref. 9.
controls to a safe level the overvoltages generated in the
power system by resonant capacitive induced circuits, restrik-
Groundingo/Uninterruptib"e,o4er#upp"ies
ing of ground faults, and static charges. The system cannot
control overvoltages from contact with a higher-voltage
An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is considered a
sepa-
system. rately derived electrical system. Its separately derived
This method of grounding is used where the capabilities of tral will need to be connected to earth. The grounding elec-
the mechanical or electrical equipment require reducing the trode should be in the same area as the UPS and as near
ground fault current. Its main applications have been to gen- it as practical. In order of preference the connection should
erators below 600 V, to limit the ground fault contribution of made to (1) the nearest effectively grounded building steel,
the generator to a value no greater than the three-phase (2) the nearest available effectively grounded metallic
bolted fault current. pipe, (3) other electrodes that are not isolated from the
This type of grounding system is not practical on systems electrical system. (See the section Grounding of computer
requiring phase-to-neutral loads, as there may not be suf- systems.) If necessary, the grounding conductor can be
cient fault current to operate the protective device(s). nected back to the system ground for the building. Figure
For additional details, see Ref. 4. illustrates the grounding of a separately derived UPS
system.
#eparate"yDerived#yste!s
which converts the ac into dc, which in turn charges
batteries
The NEC denes a separately derived system as a premises
wiring system whose power is derived from a battery, a solar inverter generates a separate and new neutral that is not
photovoltaic system, or from a generator, transformer, or con- connected back to the building neutral. In addition, there
verter windings, and that has no direct electrical connection, usually an alternative power source for the UPS. The UPS
including solidly connected grounded circuit conductor, to can switch from the inverter to the alternative power
supply conductors originating in another system. The major should the inverter fail. This assumes the neutral is not
application of a separately derived system is the installation nected to the UPS load through the alternative power
of a transformer to supply lighting and appliance loads. to the building earthing connection.
An example is where the electric service to the building or If the UPS load neutral is solidly connected to the
facility is 380/220 V, three-phase, and four-wire and a supply tive power supplys neutral, without any switching, then no
at 120 V is needed, perhaps to supply a computer system or connection of the UPS derived neutral should be made to
other special loads. A transformer with a primary of 380 V earth.
(single-phase connected) and a secondary of 240/120 V (single The alternative power supply may have a transformer
phase, three-wire) is supplied. The 240/120 V system has no the line side of the UPS alternative supply. The UPS
connection back to the primary. For safety and code reasons, may be solidly connected to the UPS load-side neutral and
this separately derived electrical system will need to be the alternative transformers neutral. For ease of access
grounded. The most common method is the solidly grounded checking, the UPS neutrals connection to earth should be
neutral system. made within the terminal compartment of the UPS, even if
GROUNDING4&2
Po#er source
01

$ /1
/ecti"ier
Po#er source
02
ow of current over the earth in the section Personnel safety
protection.
In order to supply zero-sequence current, with secondary neutral
connected to earth, the primary neutral of the wye wye
transformer will be required to be connected to the pri- mary
neutral of the primary source. The wyewye trans-
Batteries



2n$erter
1/
%e(arately deri$ed
former will be required to be connected to the primary neutral of
the primary source. The wyewye transformer is not a source of
zero-sequence current, unlike a deltawye connec- tion. On the
other hand, if a delta tertiary winding is added to a wyewye
transformer, it will supply the zero-sequence current.
/eco&&ended
earthing
location
Earthing location
connected to
nearest e""ecti$ely
earthed 'uilding
steel
electrical syste&
%olid neutral
rans"er
s#itch
Alternati$e
earthing
locating
#pecia"App"ications
Both ac and dc separately derived power supplies should
have
one side connected to earth. Should the object containing
the
power supply be a car, a plane, space vehicle, computer,
etc.,
the earth can be the metallic enclosure, the metallic base
Load transformer, be used for the connection to earth.
Figure7. Grounding of a separately derived UPS system. Instru!entation% Adcorac separately derived power
sup-
ply needs to have one side connected to earth. The instrumen-
transformers are associated with the UPS. Only one connec- tion
of the neutral to earth should be made.
Autotrans/or!ers
Autotransformers have the line-side neutral connected solidly to
the load-side neutral. Since the line-side neutral should have
been connected to earth within the originating trans- formers
terminal block, no additional connection to the neu- tral should be
made. Any second connection to the neutral for instance, at the
secondary neutral terminal of the autotransformerwill afford a
parallel path through the earth for uncontrolled current. On any
power system with a neutral, only one connection to earth should
be made.
Groundingo/:ye@:ye*rans/or!ers
Awyewye transformer is one with the primary transformer
winding connected in a four-wire wye conguration and the
tation shielding is discussed in the subsection Grounding of
instrumentation shields under Grounding of computer
systems.
(otorContro"Circuits% All motor control circuits should be
powered by either a common circuit or a separate, individual
control power transformer in each motor circuit. The latter is the
preferred method, as failures on the common circuit will
jeopardize all the motors. A motor control circuit using one phase
of the motor circuit will unnecessarily increase the power circuits
vulnerability to conductor failure. Should the system be
ungrounded, any arcing on the control circuit can raise the
oating midpoint of the ungrounded system to volt- age levels
twice the base voltage or more. This high-voltage excursion,
because of arcing combined with the capacitance of the
conductors to earth, can damage equipment insulation, especially
in motors. In Fig. 8 motor control transformer grounding is
shown.
secondary winding also connected in a wye arrangement, with -otor starter control circuit
onnection is
not
recommend
ed for
commercial
or
industrial
Phase A P
h
a
s
e

C
installations, as currents can circulate between the primary
and secondary circuits, especially if three single transformers 3
1
3
are used. When the wyewye connection is used, the trans-
4iring contained #ithin starter
former needs to be constructed with ve windings to reduce
the ferroresonance. This is an additional cost.
5 Earth one side o"
control trans"or&er
Utility distribution systems that are solidly grounded, re- x1 x2
quiring the primary supply switches to be opened one phase 12) +
at a time, will generate ferroresonance. In addition, to mini- %tart Contractor
mize the neutral-to-earth potential throughout the length of
%to( 5
1 2
coil
the distribution system, the utilities ground the primary neu- tral
point. The connection of the neutral to transformer case
- x
2
and ground minimizes the secondary-neutral-to-ground volt- 6ield #iring
-otor
running
age during a fault between primary and transformer case.
3oldingTypically, the
contactcables in
underground primary
sub-subsection Distribution circuits under Uncontrolled Figure8. Motor control transformer grounding.
4&6GROUNDING
One side of the control transformer should be connected of these shells. As we progress outward from the rod, the area
to the grounded equipment enclosure. There have been many of each shell increases and the resistance decreases inversely.
debates on the advantages and disadvantages of which side Calculations show that 25% of the resistance occurs in the
the pushbuttons should be located on. The agreed-upon stan- rst 0.03 m (0.1 ft) from the rods surface. Thus, the region
dard is that the ungrounded side of the control power trans- next to the rod is the most important in determining the re-
former should be protected by either a fuse or circuit breaker, sistance to earth. At 8 m (25 ft), essentially all of the resis-
and should supply the operating devices in the circuit, such tance is accounted for.
as pushbuttons. The motor running the overload relays Ideally, to reduce the resistance to earth using a second
should go on the grounded side of the control power trans- rod, one would drive this second rod 16 m (50 ft) away. The
former. The other side of that motor should be connected to outer cylinders about the two rods, with8m radius, would
the operating coil of the motor contactor. just touch. The depth of the rod determines the total area. For maximum efciency
and cost effectiveness the distance
'+'C*RICA+,RO,'R*I'#O*H''AR*H
The earth consists of many different materials, each with its own
resistivity. Some materials, rich in loam and containing moisture,
will have a low resistivity, whereas dry sandy mate- rial will have
a high resistivity. In general, the earth is con- sidered and
classied as a conductor. The earth is not a sponge, and it cannot
absorb electrons, but acts like any con- ductor carrying current.
Resistivityo/#oi"s
The resistivity of the soil is a function of:
1. Type of material
". Depth from the surface
#. Moisture content
%. Type of soluble chemicals in the soil
&. Concentration of soluble chemicals in the soil
'. Temperature of the soil
between rods should be Total
distancebetween electrodes
( depth of rst electrode7 depth of second
electrode

(easuringGroundResistance
In order to calculate the spacing necessary for the installation of
a utility substation earth grid, the resistivity of the soil is
needed. Portable instruments are available that will measure the
resistivity of the soil. Four test rods are driven in the area to be
measured and connected to the instrument. A push of a button
(for battery-operated instruments) or the turn of a crank will
result in the value being displayed. The resistivity of the soil can
then be used to calculate the number of conduc- tors or electrodes
necessary.
After the earthing electrode system is installed, it should be
tested and the values of the resistance of the electrodes recorded.
Ideally, the measurement of each electrode should be made
during construction. For instance, if there is any doubt, for rst-
time users of the Ufer electrode, about the re- sistance of
individual footers, the measurements should be
Standing water is not an indication of low resistance. The soil made before any interconnection between footers is made.
itself has to be investigated and the resistivity calculated. There are commercially available instruments that
mea-
Resistanceto'art$
The most common method of connecting to earth is the use of
present, and they will reject spurious voltages found in the
earth. The usual ohmmeter cannot be used to measure
agrounding electrode, the ground rod. Visualize a series of the resistance of the earth or that between earth and elec-
nested cylinders of increasing dimensions surrounding the trodes. There are three methods used for measuring the
rod, capped at the bottom by hemispheres (Fig. 9). As the cur- tance of earth electrodes.
rent ows outwards from the rod, it encounters the resistance
Earthing electrode
%hells o" resistance
1. Thefall-of-potentialmethod (Fig. 10) uses two
auxiliary
892: &%ur"ace
R R conductive objects such as metallic underground pipes
R
R R




Current "lo# through
the resistance shells
and bare wires. The third electrode is placed at the 60%
distance, 18 m (60 ft), from the rst auxiliary electrode, and
the potential is measured. The instrument uses Ohms law
to calculate the resistance of the electrode. This principle is
based on a at knee in the curve gener- ated by taking
multiple measurements between the electrode under test,
the current electrode, and the more distant electrode. This
kness occurs at the 62% point. The auxiliary electrodes
need to be only 0.3 m (1
Figure9. Earth resistance shells. ft) long, and can just be pushed into the earth, as their
GROUNDING4&9
Earth resistance
instru&ent
For each conguration of earthing electrode, there will
be
aformula. The formulas can be found in Ref. 3.
6or one electrode;
C1
C
2
P
1
P
2
distance C1 to C2 is
5)9< & (1)) "t)
Current
CONN'C*ION*O'AR*H8GROUNDING
'+'C*ROD'#.#*'(#
Connections to earth are designed to minimize the voltage
C1 P1 (ro'e differences between conductive metallic objects and
ground.
:2=
P2 C2
Earth
Various methods are used for this purpose.
Grounding or earthing electrodes can be divided into two groups.
One group consists of electrodes specically designed for and used only for the
electrical connection to earth. The
Earthing
other group consists of objects primarily used for functions
Potential
electrode
other than earthing electrodes, such as underground
(ro'e
under test
6all!o"!(otential &ethod





Earth sur"ace (otentials
+arious s(acings o" P2
water piping, well casings, concrete-encased reinforcing bar, and
steel piling.
The type of earthing electrode selected will depend on the soil
resistivity, type of soil or rock, available soil depth, mois- ture content, corrosiveness,
etc. When multiple earthing elec- trodes are installed (Fig. 11), for maximum
effectiveness they should be installed according to the formula
Total distancebetween electrodes
F
i
( depth of rst electrode7 depth of second
electrode
For example, if the rst electrode is driven 3 m deep and the second
electrode 2 m deep, the distance between the two elec-
resistance is canceled. When testing two or more elec- trodes
connected together, as the diagonal distance in- creases, the distance of the
current probe must extend to greater and greater distance. At 3 m (10 ft)
diagonal the current probe must be out at a distance of 49 m (160 ft), with
the potential probe at 30 m (100 ft). With a 61 m(200 ft) diagonal electrode
system, the current probe must be out at 216 m (710 ft) and the potential
probe at 134 m (440 ft).
trodes should be 5 m.
Concrete5'ncased'"ectrodes8U/erGround
). G. Ufer discovered that concrete-encased reinforcing bar
made an excellent connection to earth. Starting in 1942, he studied 24 buildings in
Tucson and Flagstaff, Arizona, with reinforcing rods in the foundations. Arizona is
normally dry, with less than 0.3 m (1.0 ft) of rain per year. He checked the resistance
reading to earth, once every two months, for over
". The direct methodis the easiest way to perform a resis- 16 years. The maximum reading was 4.8 , the minimum was
tance test. The main requirement is there must be an 2.1 , and the average for the 24 buildings was 3.6 .He extensive ground
electrode system whose characteris- presented his ndings in 1961, at an IEEE conference. A tech- tics are known. The electrode under test is connected to
nical paper presented in 1970 by Fagen and Lee (10) also the test instrument, and the other lead is connected to proved the validity of the method. The
NEC adopted the Ufer the known electrode. There are limitations with this grounding method, thus assuring general acceptance.
method: (1) the known electrode must have negligible Concrete above the earth acts as an insulator, whereas
resistance, and (2) the electrode under test must not be concrete below the earth can be treated as a conducting me-
inuenced by underground water or gas piping, bare dium. The resistance to the earth of the concrete-encased elec-
conductors, etc. trode is less than that of an electrode in the average loam
#. Large electrode systems can be measured by the inter-
secting curvesmethod. Thiscomplex methodis described
in the publication Getting Down to Earth, available from /od , & dee( /od 5 & dee(
Biddle Instruments, Blue Bell, PA, USA.
Earthing electrodes each 5 &
(1) "t) long
* &
a(art
Ca"cu"atingt$eResistanceto'art$o/'"ectrodes 5 & (1) "t)
9 &
a(art
+
& a(art
average resistivity. Moisture will have an effect on the resis- tivity of the soil, as will temperature.
The soil resistivity will vary directly with the moisture content and inversely with
# & (1) "t)5 & (1) "t)
the temperature.
The symbol for resistivity, measured in ohm-centimeters, is .
/od < & dee(
2ne""ecti$eE""ecti$e
Figure11. Spacing of multiple earth electrodes.
4&4GROUNDING
type soil, which has a resistivity of approximately 3000 used, provided the overlapping section is bare, or a nonferrous
cm. It has been shown that a footing or foundation has aconduit sleeve. The copper earthing conductor can be con-
lower resistance than a single driven rod of the same depth. nected to the necessary electrical equipment earthing ter-
With the large number of footings on the long length of a minals.
foundation, the total resistive connection to ground is lower The other method of connecting the reinforcing rod to the
than that provided by any other nonchemical electrode. In outside is by overlapping the rods with one of the bolts that
tests made at Las Vegas, NV, the most efcient method of will hold the steel column. Again, the wire ties used to secure
connecting to earth, excluding the chemical earthing elec- the reinforcing rods or plastic wire ties can be used. The top
trodes, was the concrete-encased electrode for all types of lo- of the bolt should be marked by painting or some other means
cations (11). so that the grounding bolt can be identied later.
The key to an efcient connection to earth is to have either Only foundations or footings at the perimeter of the struc-
the reinforcing rod, or a length of bare copper conductor in ture are effective. Interior grounding electrodes are inef-
place of the reinforcing rod, at the bottom of the concrete. The fective.
minimum length of rod or conductor needed is 6.1 m (20 ft), There have been reports of failures of the reinforcing rod
and it must be placed within or near the bottom of the con- method of earthing. This may stem from the IEEE Power En-
crete. The conductor should be surrounded by at least 51 mm gineering Standards on transmission tower foundations and
(2.0 in.) of concrete. The reinforcing bar should be at least 12 the standard on transmission tower construction. Prior to
mm (0.5 in.) in diameter. If bare copper conductor is used, it
should be larger than 20 mm2
199'. neither standard contained any information on ground-
The reinforcing rod or bare copper conductor should be the concrete, the connection of the steel towers to the reinforc-
placed within the bottom of the foundation, column or spread ing rods, or any earthing method for the towers. This over-
footing, or pad. It has been shown that it is not necessary to sight may be the source of reports of problems with lightning
have the pressure and depth of a foundation or footing to be and the cracking of the transmission tower foundations. Steel
effective. A concrete pad poured for a transformer is just as structures used in the chemical industry have been reported
efcient. Figure 12 shows details of reinforcing rod grounds. to withstand direct lightning strikes without any visible signs It
is necessary to make an electrical connection to the rein- of damage to the foundations.
forcing rod and bring the connection out to the ground bus
b GroundRods
the reinforcing rod with approximately 0.5 m (18 in.) of bare
copper conductor. The overlapped bare copper conductor can be
fastened to the reinforcing rod with the same iron wire ties used
to fasten the reinforcing rod together, or with plastic tie wraps. To
eliminate the corrosive action of the copper conduc-
Ground rods can consist of driven pipe, conduit, iron, or stain-
less steel. The outer covering should be galvanized or given some
other protective surface. The normal ground rod is a copper-clad
steel rod 2.44 m (8 ft) or 3.05 m (10 ft) long. When multiple
earthing electrodes are installed, they are usually
tor exiting from the concrete, an insulated conductor can be installed incorrectly. Three rods are usually specied to be


Earthing conductor coiled u( #aiting to 'e
connected to 'uilding steel colu&n
Alternati$e &ethod> Non"errous conduit slee$e
6asten ? 'olt used to anchor to (rotect #ire
steel colu&n to rein"orcing rod@
identi"y 'olt
4ire cage "oundation
"or colu&n




4ire ties or tie #ra(





Not less than
-ust 'e in direct <) && (29) in9)
contact #ith earth 6ooter
.$erla( 'are co((er #ire )9,: & (1* in9)
concrete
Figure 12. Reinforcing rod earthing de- Not less than :91 & (2) "t) 'are or electrically conducti$e
rein"orcing rod not less than 1298 && (1/ 2 in9) in dia&eter
tails. rein"orcing 'ar cage 'e"ore concrete (our
GROUNDING4&;
spaced in a triangle 3.05 m apart and driven 3.05 m deep. bolted to the foundation piers, and the foundations having
The cones of inuence overlap instead of just touching. (Seesteel reinforcing rods. It has been found that in such construc-
the section Electrical properties of the earth.) The third rod tion, the steel columns are inherently connected to earth
becomes ineffective. For maximum effectiveness they should through the column bolts in the footers contacting the steel
be installed according to the formula reinforcing rods. At least one of the four bolts holding the
Total distancebetween electrodes

( depth of rst electrode7 depth of second
electrode
It is not unusual to nd the resistance of a single ground rod
varying, depending on the resistivity of the soil, from the unlikely
value of 25 to 10 times as much.
Unfortunately, most individual houses lack reinforcing rod in the
foundations that could serve as the earth electrode.
s e
i
t
h
e
r

b
y

b
e
i
n
g

w
i
r
e
-
t
i
e
d

t
o

t
h
e

r
e
i
n
f
o
r
c
i
n
g

r
o
d
s
,

o
r

b
y

b
eing placed next to them. A
l
One could have installed a length of bare copper conductor in GroundingGrids
his is rarely done. A ground rod is often installed right
next
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t (ats
rods should be driven, the depth of the rod away from the See the section Personnel safety protection.
foundation, in virgin soil for maximum effectiveness.
:ater,ipe#yste!s
Counterpoise
Acounterpoise is a system of conductors, usually arranged
Before the use of plastics, metallic water piping was installed. beneath the earth and under transmission lines. The
With the water piping in intimate contact with the earth, it poise is connected to the transmission towers to dissipate
was natural to make use of it as a grounding electrode. In lightning strike. A counterpoise conductor system can be
older houses, the soil piping was cast iron with lead joints cated above the ground and placed above buildings,
forming a path to earth. A person in a bathtub, lacking any buildings storing explosives, to intercept any lightning
dead, dry skin, could easily be electrocuted when any current- strikes.
carrying conductor was touched or fell into the tub. By con-
necting one of the two power conductors to the water pipe,
,o"e0uttGrounds
the chances of an accident occurring were reduced by 50%. In One of the methods the utilities use to ground their
addition, the metallic water pipe was an excellent conductor is a (pole) butt ground. Bare copper wire is wound in a
and could serve as a low-resistance (low-impedance) path to fashion and stapled around the bottom of a utility pole.
allow the ow of sufcient fault current to operate the protec- the weight of the pole pressing down on the bare copper
tive device. on the bottom of the pole, the copper wire is placed in inti-
Problems developed with the use of the water pipe as an mate contact with the earth. Tests conducted by the
earthing electrode. Where houses were in close proximity to Nevada Chapter, International Association of Electrical In-
each other, connected by underground metallic water piping, spectors, Las Vegas, indicated that this method of
stray current could ow from one house to another. With sin- to earth was the least effective (11).
gle-phase, three-wire service, the neutral conductor also
serves as the messenger and as the grounding conductor.
Should the messengerneutralgrounding conductor become
IN#*A++A*IONR'CO(('NDA*ION#AND,RAC*IC'#
corroded and develop a high resistance, the return current
would seek a lower resistance path. The current could ow
'"ectrica",o4er#yste!
over the water piping to the adjacent housing, with the neu-
tral return current owing back to the transformer over the The requirement that all continuous owing electrical
neighbors messengerneutralground conductor. Overload- must be contained in conductors is paramount. The
ing of conductors resulted. Electric water heaters sometimes used to earth electrical equipment should be a separate
burned out. Persons taking showers could experience electric ductor, either a bare copper or a green-insulated
shocks. In addition, water meter personnel removing the wa- earthing/grounding conductor. The earthing/grounding
ter meter for inspection and repairs could place themselves in ductor connecting electrical equipment enclosures to earth
the ground current circuit and experience electric shocks. must be contained within the raceway with the phase
conduc- The advent of plastic piping and the installation of GFCIs bond equipment.
has reduced the problems. However, all metallic water and
re piping within a building should still be connected to the
electrical grounding system. 0onding
0ui"ding#tee" Bonding is the connecting together of two electrical
conduct-
For the purposes of this discussion, building steel is a struc-
ture consisting of a steel skeleton, with the steel columns the potential difference drops to zero. For proper bonding the
4&6GROUNDING
conductor cross-section area, the magnitude of the ground usually loose and would be in relatively poor contact. Ideally,
fault current, the impedance of the bonding path, and the each down conductor should be connected to two or more ear-
spacing to the phase conductors must be taken into consider- thing electrodes.
ation. New information appears to validate the dissipation array
The connecting together, or bonding, of the motor frame to lightning protection system. A charged space cloud evidently
the supporting building steel is made so that both metal parts forms above the dissipation array and intercepts any light-
will be at the same potential. Bonding is critical when dealing ning stroke leader. A massive earthling system is installed to
with static. When the ow of materials crosses a glass section, earth the dissipations array system.
it is important to bond around the glass piping, as static For additional information consult Refs. 3 and 13. charges
can build up on the metallic piping where it changes
to glass.
The most common error made in the installation of bond- #*A*IC5,RO*'C*IONGROUNDING
ing and grounding conductors is placing them inside of fer-
rous conduit. The function of the bonding or grounding con- Static is considered a mystery by many. The key to protection
ductor can then be negated, especially if the conductor is against static is the completion of the circuit. Static charges
insulated. The insulated bonding or grounding conductor is a are developed when electrons are moved from one location to
single conductor that under fault conditions can carry largeanother without an adequate conductive return path back to
fault currents. It will have a magnetic eld around it when the source. Charges that are insulated from other conducting
carrying fault current. If it is placed inside the ferrous con- paths back to the source are the problem. Harm can develop
duit, the combination will act as a single-turn transformer, if the charges are allowed to concentrate, build up sufcient
introducing impedance into the circuit and restricting the potential, and break down the insulation properties of air, re-
ow of fault current. Both ends of the conductor must be sulting in a sparkover.
bonded (connected) to the end of the conduit so that the con- Bonding between the location losing charges and the loca-
duit carries the fault current in parallel with the conductor. tion gaining charges will permit the charges to recombine,
preventing any buildup of harmful voltages. The earth
#$ie"ding
See the subsections Grounding of power conductor shields
under Equipment grounding and Grounding of instrumen-
tation shields under Grounding of computer systems.


+IGH*NING,RO*'C*IONGROUNDING
(ground) may be a path allowing the charges to neutralize. Thus,
many times earthing is looked on as the remedy for static. There
are various methods to generating the neces- sary path.
Earthing and bonding are the rst line of defense. Natu- rally, if
the insulating medium is between the charge area and earth, the
connection to earth of the charged area will allow recombining of
the charges. Otherwise, installation of a
Adequate earthing is the key to lightning protection, as the bonding conductor between the charged area and the charge-
earthing electrodes must conduct (some would say dissi- decient area will allow recombining of the charges.
pate) currents as high as 300,000 A in 1 to 1,000 s. The An example is a rubber-lined pipe, connected to a metallic
lightning path begins with the air terminal. Several differ- pipe, connected to a glass section, connected to another metal-
ently designed air terminals are manufactured. One designlic pipe owing into a glass lined tank. Both metallic pipe
has multiple spikes closely spaced, mounted on an umbrella sections are insulated from earth. With sufcient ow of a
or shaped like barbed wire. material that was capable of carrying charges, charges can be
The air terminal is connected to down conductors. The high wiped from the rst metallic pipe section and deposited on
frequency of the lightning stroke forces the current to ow on the second.
the outside of the down conductor. Thus a braided, hollow There are two solutions. One would be just to connect
copper conductor should be considered. Because the lightning (bond) the two metallic sections together. This would allow
stroke will not make sharp turns, but tends to ow in a the charges to recombine. The other solution would be to con-
straight path, all bends must be made with a sweeping turn. nect both the rst and the second metallic section to earth.
If the structure has electrically continuous paths from the The return path would use the earth. This solution would also
top to the bottom and is effectively connected to the earth eliminate any touch-potential problems.
through the reinforcing bars, the steel columns can serve as Moisture is another solution to static problems. Moisture-
the down conductor. When the steel columns are less than laden air will conduct charges. If the air is in contact with
7.62 m (25 ft) apart they form a Faraday cage. A lightning both charged areas, the charges can return through it. Many
strike to the steel will travel down the perimeter of the build- times steam is injected into the air to provide moisture. Ex-
ing steel. The columns inside the structure will be devoid of plosive-powder-producing plants rely on this method. [In ad-
current. dition, since man-made clothing (nylon, rayon, etc.), when
In order to reduce any potential between the air terminals rubbed, can generate static charges, such plants require all
and the earth, a multiplicity of earthing electrodes must be employees to wear cotton clothing or other natural materials.]
installed over a large area. It has been shown that earthing Static charges can build up on computer personnel walking
terminals 1.0 m (40 in.) deep are effective when a multitude across a oor while wearing nylon clothing. The soles of the
are installed over a large area. An earthing electrode should shoes insulate their bodies from the conductive oor. Suf-
not be placed next to the foundation, as it will then be only cient charges sometimes built up to jump to a mainframe
half as effective as one that is placed the depth of the rod computer, damaging the sensitive computer chips. When
away from the foundation. The soil next to the foundation is working on computers, the human body should be bonded to
GROUNDING4&7
the computer frame through a wrist-bonding strap. Conduc- not only by leading computer manufacturers, but also by the
tive oors and conductive shoes are other methods that can new class of engineers known as (electronic) instrumentation
be used to solve the problem. This method is especially useful engineers.
in computer rooms and in explosive-powder-producing factor- Because of the interconnection of neutral conductors and
ies. Ionizationthe generating of free-oating ionswill also other early wiring mistakes, uncontrolled current owed over
allow the recombining of charges. the computer circuits, resulting in damage to the computers.
Fast-moving belts will wipe charges from one rotating me- The popularity of isolated earth connections for computers
tallic roller to another. The charge can be collected by spirally grew. It became necessary, in order to meet the requirements
wound tinsel or wire set near the moving belt and connected of the computer companies and the instrumentation engi-
to earth. The earth conducts the charges back to the source neers, to run the computer grounding connection out to the
to be recombined. parking lots pink petunia bed and drive a rod for the com-
Any owing material, either dry or liquid, can generate puter earthing system. Common sense was lacking, though
static charges. The grain industries are particularly suscepti- all one had to do for a solution was look to the heavens, to
ble. For additional information see the NFPA standards.

GROUNDINGOCO(,U*'R#.#*'(#
Amajor problem is the earthing of sensitive electronic equip-
ment such as computers, process control equipment, program-
mable logic controllers (PLCs), instrumentation distributed
(process) control systems (DCSs), and similar sensitive elec-
tronic equipment. These items will be lumped together under
the term computers for ease of reference. The
proper installa-
tion of earthing is critical in order to achieve satisfactory op-
eration of such sensitive electronic equipment. The low volt-
the circling satellites with several computers on board. If it were
really necessary, for the operation of a computer, to be connected
to earth through a rod in the parking lot, the use of computers in
satellites would be difcult indeed.
The science of computer earthing has progressed to where the
majority of the misconceptions have been dispelled. Cor- rect
principles are now in place and are being used. First and
foremost is the principle that there must be only one connec- tion
to earth and that connection is by way of the electrical power
systems equipment ground conductor.
*ypeso/Co!puterGrounding#yste!s
ages that computers operate at makes them extremely Because of the various earthing functions thought necessary
sensitive to interference from other low voltages, voltages for computers, several types of computer earthing systems
that are not perceptible to humans. Such voltages do not af- came into being. Personnel safety required the frame of the
fect electrical power equipment. Thus, when computers came computer equipment to be connected to the electrical system
on the scene, new techniques had to be developed, new logic equipment grounding conductor. This grounding connection
applied, and new methods used to connect these sensitive became known as the safety ground bus. It was also called,
electronic pieces of equipment effectively to earth. naturally, the equipment ground bus. This was normally the green wire
emanating from the electrical power system
Historyo/Co!puterGrounding
It was unfortunate that the electronic technicians, who be- came
the leaders in this new eld of computers, were mostly not
schooled either in power distribution grounding or in ra- dio and
antenna construction techniques. One electronic computer
leader of a large project to automate the manufac- turing of
explosive blasting caps insisted on using 120 V to power a 50-hp
motor because 120 V was safer than higher voltages. (Even 120 V
can harm humans; see the section Per- sonnel safety protection.)
Exemplifying the maxim that a lit- tle learning is a dangerous
thing, there were many who knew the neutral was connected to
earth. Therefore, when a connec- tion to earth was needed in a
computer circuit, the neutral was employed and was usually
connected to the metal cabinet of the device under construction,
especially where no equip- ment ground conductor was present.
Isolation of the electrical conduit from the computer equipment
frame became preva- lent. Plastic couplings were required to be
installed in the power-supply conduit to the computer to isolate
the computer frame from the building electrical equipment
ground system. Yet, the computer water piping was connected to
the com- puter by persons who were not aware of the fact that the
me- tallic water piping was connected to the system neutral, the
equipment ground system, and earth also. To add to this, there
were those who viewed the earth as a collection of insu-
earthing connection.
The shield wires from the remote instrumentation signals needed
to be connected to earth. All the signal shields were gathered
together, and at one time they were connected to a separate,
isolated earth connection. The connection became known as the
signal ground.
The computer had its own power supplies. These ac and dc power
supplies needed to have one side connected to earth. Since the
object was to keep voltage excursions to a minimum, it would
have been sufcient to connect one side of the power supply to the
equipment metallic enclosure. Nevertheless, a separate isolated
earth connection was provided for the dc power supply reference
ground bus.
For each application where an earth connection was re- quired,
an isolated earth connection was listed as needed. There were
many different names for these connections to earth, such as
computer reference ground, earth common, dc master ground
point, ac safety ground, dc signal common, dc ground bus, and
power supply common ground point or bus. There were no
standards for computer grounding systems, and each computer
company had its own terminology. There were usually at least
three separate ground buses in each computer system.
Co!puterGrounding(et$ods
lated sponges that were capable of absorbing electrons. All In a properly designed system, there is only one connection to
of these misconceptions led to mass confusion and erroneous earth and that connection is by way of the electrical power
grounding methods that were applied to computer grounding, systems equipment ground conductor. How the various ear-
4&8GROUNDING
Centra"Radia"Grounding#yste!s% The computer parts that
%ignal "ro& need to be connected to earth can be connected in a radial or
re&ote location star type earthing connection. Again, this type of connection
-ain %ignal 1 -ode& 2nst9 achieves a single-point connection to earth. The main object is to
prevent the computer grounding conductor from carrying
co&(uter 1
%ignal conductors
%ignal conductors
continuous current. The exception to this is the equipment
ground conductor, as it is connected unintentionally at
many
places through the equipment sitting on earth.
%ignal conductors
%ignal 2-ain
co&(uter 2
-ode&
Building earth connection
%ingle!(oint connection to earth


Figure13. Single-point computer earthing.
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i
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rent carrying conductors. Fiber optic cables are offered with a ground
conductor or shield and/or current-carrying conductors. Remember
that a shield can carry unwanted and interfering current from one
place to another.
Instrumentation cable should have a shield, consisting of ei- ther
solid metal foil or expanded braided wire, over the signal conductors to eliminate
interference from being inducted into the signal carrying conductors. To be effective
the shield must be grounded. The best method of connecting the shields to
#ing"e5,ointGrounding#yste!s% It is necessary to keep earth depends on the voltage difference at the ends, the fre-
stray uncontrolled current from entering the computer sys- quency of the interference signal, and the need to protect
tem, its signal conductors, its power supplies, etc. (See the against lightning and large current ows.
subsection Uncontrolled ow of current over the earth un- If one can be assured that the only interference will be
der Personnel safety protection.) The method used to accom- from either low frequency or high frequency, then a single
plish the control of stray currents is to connect the computer shield will be adequate. However, if frequencies below 1 MHz
ground buses to the equipment ground system at only one and also above 1 MHz are to be encountered, then a single
point. It is desirable to keep the grounding systems of differ- shield will be insufcient. For interference below 1 MHz the
ent computers isolated from each other except at one point shield needs to be grounded at one end only, to prevent circu-
where they are connected together. (See Fig. 13.) lating currents from inducing interference. Above 1 MHz, the
Remote computer locations pose a problem. When the com- shield needs to be grounded, not only at both ends, but per-
munication cables extend beyond the computer room and re- haps even at points in between, in order to attenuate the
mote inputs exist, voltage potentials can develop if the remote high-frequency interference.
locations are earthed locally. This is especially true when The earthing leads need to be short, as they develop im-
thunderclouds are in the vicinity. See Figure 14. pedance proportional to their length as well as to the fre-


777777 777 7 7
1 1
1 1;))) +
1 1 111
/e&ote
location
2nst9
Co&(uter 'uilding /e&ote
location
earthed
%ignal conductors
%ignal conductors
-ain %ignal 2
co&(uter 2
No &ode& installed1direct connection Building ground
1;))) + induced "ro& charged
Figure14. Dangerous and damaging potentials. cloud o$erhead
GROUNDING4&&
quency of the interference. A lead longer than of the wave- the amount of insulation that can be installed. Internal faults
length can produce a resonating circuit. As the wave travels to the generator ground can result in extremely high current
down the conductor, if the length is the same as the wave- ow that can damage the laminations. Generators are often
length and the peak is reected back, a new pulse will occur operated in parallel, producing additional problems.
at the same time, effectively doubling the pulse. Peaks will Depending on the voltage, generators should be grounded
occur at -wavelength intervals. Since the speed of an electro- by one of the methods already discussed. For additional infor-
magnetic wave in a vacuum is about 300,000 km (186,000 mation on industrial generation grounding see Ref. 3, and for
miles) per second, the wavelength in meters is 300 divided by utility generators see the IEEE Power Engineering Society
the frequency in megahertz. Standards.
Example. A10 MHz pulse in a conductor will travel ap-
proximately 30 m (98 ft) in free space during one cycle (0.1
s). In a conductor, the speed is lower. The pulse might travel *'#*ING*H'GROUNDINGAND0ONDING#.#*'(#
26.82 m (88 ft) in 0.1 s. The peak will occur wavelength, or
6.7 m (22 ft). Thus, the connection cannot be longer than 6.7 mif
the voltage is to be equalized between the ends.
If current were to ow over the inner shield, the current
Finding neutral-to-ground faults is difcult and can be time-
consuming. Determining that they exist is very easy. A pre-
liminary test involves placing a clamp-on ammeter on the
could induce unwanted voltages into the signal conductors. In conductor between the transformers neutral
X
0
connection
order to eliminate this possibility, the shield is connected to earth
at only one end, usually at the control end. (The excep- tion is
thermocouples, where the shield is connected at the
thermocouple.) If the shield were connected at both ends, ca-
pacitive current could ow over the shield.
Before the advent of cable-tray installations, instrumenta- tion
cables were installed within rigid ferrous-metal conduit. This
overall shield was connected to ground at support points,
approximately every 3 m. It acted as an outer shield and, be- ing
grounded at multiple points, attenuated high-frequency
interference and the large magnetic elds from nearby light- ning
strikes.
The advent of cable tray eliminated the rigid conduit and the
protection it afforded against high-frequency interference and
lightning strikes. Computer-controlled instrumentation has
inputs of 3 V to 5 V today. At this low voltage, interfer- ence is
easily injected into the instrumentation control cables. Anearby
lightning strike can induce sufcient voltage to de- stroy the
sensitive control circuits and equipment. Instrumentation cables
are manufactured with an inner shield over the signal
conductors, and sometimes also with an overall outer shield.
However, this overall shield lacks suf- cient ferrous cross section
to overcome the effects of large cur- rent ows through the earth
or air or of strong magnetic elds; also, it usually has insufcient
current-carrying capac- ity. Therefore, for maximum protection
against interference from large current ow through the earth,
the magnetic elds associated with lightning, and other strong
electric and mag- netic elds from adjacent current-carrying
conductors, all sensitive electronic circuits extending outside the
control room should be installed within ferrous conduit or ber
optic
and the earth connection (see Fig. 2, terminals T and TG). Any
current ow will indicate neutral-to-ground faults exist. To verify
that there are such faults, the power to the panel is disconnected
or the circuit breakers are all opened (turned off). The incoming
neutral conductor is lifted from the panel terminals. One lead of
an ohmmeter is placed on the neutral bus bar, and the other lead
is placed on earth or ground. The reading should be innity. If
the reading of the resistance is zero, there are solid connections
from neutral to ground.
The neutral-to-ground faults can be isolated by lifting all the
neutral connections from the neutral bus bar and replac- ing
them one at a time, checking the resistance each time a conductor
is replaced.
Bonding and grounding connections can be tested using
the direct method; see the subsection Measuring ground
re-
sistance under Electrical properties of the earth.
For a description of Ground-fault detectors see the White Book
(7).


0I0+IOGRA,H.
1. IEEE standard dictionary of electrical and electronic terms,6th
ed., ANSI/IEEE Std. 100, New York: IEEE, 1997.

". IEEE guide for safety in substation grounding, ANSI/IEEE Std.
80.
#. IEEE recommended practice for groundingof industrial and
com- mercial power systems, ANSI/IEEE Std. 142.

%. F. J. Shields, System grounding for low-voltage power systems,
12345GET-3548B, 12-76. General Electric Company, Industrial Power Systems
Engineering Operations, Schenectady, NY.
cable. In particular, ferrous conduit should be used under- 5. R. H. Lee, The other electrical hazard: Electric arc blast burns,
ground, as PVC conduit offers no protection against mag- netic
interference.


G'N'RA*ORGROUNDING
Generators have characteristics considerably different from other
electrical devices, such as transformers and other sources of
power. The construction of a generator lacks the ability to
withstand the mechanical effects of short-circuit currents, as well
as heating effects. The reactances of the gen- erator are not equal,
as a transformers are. A generator can develop third-harmonic
voltages. Space limitations restrict
IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., IA-18:246251, 1982.

'. M. Capelli-Schellpfeffer and R. C. Lee, Advances in the evalua-
tion and treatment of electrical and thermal injury emergencies,
IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., 31:11471152, 1995.
*. IEEE recommended practice for electric systems in health care
facilities, ANSI/IEEE Std. 602.

+. B. Bridger, Jr., High resistance grounding, IEEE Trans.
Ind.
Appl.19:1521, 1983.
9. AIEE Committee Report, Application of ground fault neutraliz-
ers, Electrical Eng., 72:606, July 1953.

1,. E. J. Fagan and R. H. Lee, The use of concrete enclosed
reinforc-
ing rods as grounding electrodes, IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., IGA-6:
337348, 1970.
;--GROU,CO((UNICA*ION
11. T. Lindsey, Grounding/Earthing electrode studies, 1 of 2,
IAEI/ SNC Grounding Committee, Clark County Building Department,
Las Vegas, NV 89101, May 1997.
1". R. B. West, Impedance testing equipment grounding conductors,
IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., IA-25:124136, 1981.
1#. Lightning protection code, ANSINFPA Std. 780.


ReadingList
American National Standard for electrical power systems and equip-
mentvoltage ratings (60 Hz), ANSI C84.1, 1984.
National Fire Protection Associations National Electrical Code,
ANSI/NFPA 70, 1996.
National Fire Protection Associations Lightning Protection Code,
ANSI/NFPA 780, 1998.
Canadian Electrical Code Part I, Canadian Standards Association,
Rexdale, Ontario, Canada M9W 1R3, 1997.
Grounding for process control computers and distributed control sys-
tems: The National Electrical Code and present grounding prac-
tices, IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., IA-23 (3): 417423, 1987.
Guideline on electrical power for ADP (Automatic Data Processing)
installations, Federal Information Processing Standards Publica-
tion 94 (FIPS 94), National Technical Information Service, 1983.
Recommended practice for powering and grounding sensitive elec-
tronic equipment (Emerald Books), IEEE Std 1100, 1992.
). R. Kaufmann, Some fundamentals of equipment grounding circuit
design, IEEE Trans. Ind. Gen. Appl., IGA73:part 2, November
1954.
-. H. Lee, Grounding of computers and other sensitive equipment,
IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., IA-23:408411, 1987.
-. B. West, Grounding for emergency and standby power systems,
IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., IA-15:124136, 1979.
-. B. West, Equipment grounding for reliable ground-fault protection
in electrical systems below 600 V, IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., IA-10:
175189, 1974.
.. W. Zipse, Multiple neutral to ground connections, in IEEE 1972
I&CPS Technical Conference, 72CH0600-7-1A, pp. 6064.
D.W. Zipse,Lightning protectionsystems: Advantagesand disadvan-
tages, IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., IA-30:13511361, 1994.
DONALD W. ZIPSE
Zipse Electrical Engineering, Inc.