2013 EMC DIRECTORY & DESIGN GUIDE

LIGHTNING & SURGE

EMC = Grounding on Automation

and Control Systems
Applications to Eliminate Electromagnetic Interference in Industrial Plants

ROBERTO MENNA BARRETO electromagnetic disturbances, there will be

QEMC - Engenharia, Qualidade e risks related to safety and financial losses.
Compatibilidade Eletromagnética Ltda. The proper operation of automation and
control systems is thus directly related to
the integrity of the equipment and signals,
this integrity being generally characterized
by the term Electromagnetic Compatibility
(EMC), which can be defined as the ability
of a device, unit of equipment or system to
function satisfactorily in its electromagnetic
environment without introducing itself in-
tolerable electromagnetic disturbances to
that environment.
The best cost-effective approach to such

T
SUMMARY a proper EMC configuration requires each
HE PRESERVATION of signals item of equipment and its interconnections
and equipment are gener- to comply with specific EMC standards
ally characterized by the term which, however, may not be enough to an-
Electromagnetic Compatibility swer for all needs in a particular installation
(EMC), whose essence will when additional protective measures are so
translate in its own grounding to be implemented.
system. The proper EMC im- Practically all protective measures to
provement in the installation of automation avoid Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
and control systems ensures a significant are directly related to the grounding system.
reduction of the risks and costs associated Indeed, all different electrical-electronic
with failure of equipment, whose conse- technologies existing in an Industrial Plant
quences can be disastrous, thus justifying a will necessarily converge into the grounding
systematic approach for the grounding sys- system and it is therefore in the grounding
tem as it is not effective to elect a few “rules system where the noise coupling problems
of thumb” to solve all would be scenarios. occur and thus it is in the grounding system
where they must to be solved.
1. THE ROLE OF THE GROUNDING The essence of electromagnetic compat-
SYSTEM AND ITS OBJECTIVES ibility for automation and control systems
Automation and control systems are will thus be translated into its own ground-
dependent on electronics to meet their ing system which can be understood as an
needs in the various processes. When the (single) electrical circuit, which goes from
equipment associated with these processes the earth electrode subsystem to compo-
are damaged or have a malfunction due to nents in printed circuit boards, including

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all the installed protective measures, whose purpose aims

to conciliate different commitments: Safety for the power
system, Protection against lightning, and Control of elec-

LIGHTNING & SURGE

tromagnetic interference.
To meet this goal (safety, protection against lightning
and interference control) the grounding system would be
an ideal plan with zero impedance where different signal
levels could be mixed without any interference. But the ideal
is not real, and what is done is the simulation of this ideal
behavior through a proper design of the grounding system for
a specific installation, aiming at two complementary goals:

1st Safety Grounding - to guarantee that dangerous

voltages due to power fault or lightning discharge could not
cause any harm to people or to the installation itself, being
its design based mainly on industrial frequencies and sup-
ported by the electrode system;

2nd EMC Grounding - to avoid electromagnetic interfer-

ence, external to the system (both that from a third party
into the installed electronic system or vice-verse) as well as
internal to the system, being its design no more related to the
electrode system but directed to the high frequency behavior
of all system interconnections in order to:
a. prevent electromagnetic disturbances to be coupled
into the circuitry under consideration;
b. prevent electromagnetic disturbances coupled into the
circuitry to cause faults or operating errors.
FIGURE 1: Mesh-IBN with bonding mat.
The grounding system, as the way to assure the electro- Notes:
magnetic compatibility of automation and control systems 1 System blocks 1, 2 and 3 are new installations conforming to the
provided safety, ensures a significant reduction of risks mesh-IBN method. They may be connected to existing installations
(system 4) that use any method of bonding.
and costs associated with interference problems and/or 2 The SPC is the only metallic interface between the mesh-IBN and the
equipment damage, both direct costs, with replacement of CBN. It must be directly connected to the reinforcement of the floor. All
damaged equipment, but mainly indirect costs related to cables leading to the system enter here. All conductors that are bonded
the shutdown or malfunction, whose consequences can be to the mesh-IBN must be connected to the SPC (e.g. cable screens,
disastrous, thus justifying a systematic approach in this area. battery return, etc.).
Credit: K-27 ITU Recommendation K.27, 1996, “Bonding configurations
and earthing within a telecommunications building”
2. THE GROUNDING SYSTEM AND ITS
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE POWER SYSTEM
The electrical potential of the power conductors relative mains power distribution systems, each one fulfilling specific
to the Earth's conductive surface is defined by its earthing power requirements: TT, IT, TN-S, TN-C.
system, indeed the Neutral earthing scheme, which is identi- From the Electromagnetic Compatibility point of view,
fied by three characters XY-Z: the 1st Character X refers to notably where lightning activity is high, the best configura-
the connection of Neutral to Earth (T - directly connected to tion is the TN-C-S earthing system where the combined
earth; I – isolated or connected by a high impedance); the 2nd neutral and earth occurs between the nearest transformer
Character Y refers to the connection between the electrical substation and the service cut out (the fuse before the meter)
device being supplied and Earth (T - directly connected to and, after this, separate earth and neutral cores are used in
Earth; N – connected to Neutral at the origin of installation, all the internal wiring. On the TN-C distribution section
which is connected to the Earth); the 3rd Character Z refers the Neutral is earthed at many points but at the consumer´s
to the Neutral in relation to the Protective Earth (PE), the installation the Neutral is connected to Earth only at the
conductor that connects the exposed metallic parts of the entrance of the facility (just one single connection of Neutral
consumer's electrical installation (S - Neutral and Protec- to Earth) from where the cabling of a power circuit should
tive Earth separated; C - Neutral and Protective Earth in a form a compact group, including the Protective Earth con-
single/combined conductor - PEN) ductor. Common mode voltages Neutral – PE that may exist
This leads to the acronyms used for the different types of from the power distribution system to local earthing system

EMC DIRECTORY & DESIGN GUIDE 2013 INTERFERENCE TECHNOLOGY 15

 are so eliminated at the consumer´s entrance by the use of a for a more comprehensive treatment of the local grounding
TN-C-S power distribution system. structure, originally required to compensate for the poor
For some critical situations it may be advisable to use a susceptibility of RS-232 data connections.
LIGHTNING & SURGE

power transformer to create a new independent earthing Where very high intensity electromagnetic fields are to be
system (TN-S) to overcome problems due to common mode present in the ambient or even when intentional EM fields
voltage. A new independent earthed power system can also can constitute a security threat a (architectural) shielded
be created at panels in Industrial Plants to avoid such prob- room may also be necessary besides the Signal Reference
lems, where a shielded transformer is used to provide a better Grid for some Industrial Plants.
isolation for such common mode voltages (ground loops).
The value of the earth resistance for the electrode subsys- 3 - THE GROUNDING SYSTEM AND ITS
tem, which can be defined as the relationship between the RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PROTECTION
resulting potential of the electrode and the current which AGAINST LIGHTNING
is injected into the soil through it, is not critical for EMC. Industrial Plants are often situated in remote locations
Although a low resistance should be the basic goal whenever and spread over a large area, which makes their instrumenta-
possible (for Safety and Lightning protection reasons) it is tion circuitry particularly exposed to any lightning stroke
not necessary to guarantee the proper EMC performance occurring in the region.
of electronic systems. Automation and control systems must so be protected
The way how the "Protective Earth" is distributed in the against lightning and its effects, using two complementary
installation is the main factor to guarantee the correct per- approaches:
formance of automation and control systems, what can be • the protection of structures against lightning;
configured as the single point grounding or the multipoint • and the protection of electronics against lightning.
grounding. For the protection of structures against direct discharges
The single point grounding is characterized by a single a Lightning Protection System (LPS) should be implemented,
Earth/Ground connection, from which it is distributed comprised of captors to intercept lightning strokes: down
throughout the facility, in a concept of "tree or star," i.e. conductors to conduct the resulting lightning currents to the
always opening without ever closing loops. This configura- earthing system, and the earth electrode system to spread
tion is suitable for low frequencies, which means the length the lightning currents into the soil.
of the wires are no longer than 1/10th of the wavelength of The Lightning Protection System should comply with
the signal, and is quite used for panels in Industrial Plants international standard IEC 62305 – Protection against
and also even for high frequency electronic systems installed Lightning, Edition 2: 2010, which includes risk assessment
in small areas, as is the case of telecommunication stations to define level of protection taking into account the different
(shelters). structures to be protected (buildings, antenna towers, tanks,
However we must be quite carefully when considering etc..) in a particular location (soil resistivity, keraunic level/
such a low frequency grounding system - the point to be lightning density, topography, etc.) and related issues that
considered is that even if the desired transmitted/processed may exist, such as explosive atmosphere (ATEX) zoning.
signal of our system is under a low frequency category, the Technical studies to implement what has been specified by
same certainly will not apply to the undesired ambient the risk assessment, the installation and its initial inspection,
noise, or to the conducted noise originating from items of and further periodic inspections complete the protection of
electronic equipment, due to the high frequency content of structures against lightning.
digital processing and communication devices spread all Here again the value of the earth resistance is not critical
around, and the increasingly widespread use of radio (i.e. - it is far more important a proper topology of the grounding
wireless) communications for voice and data. system to spread the lightning currents into the soil through
The multipoint grounding (meshed) is preferable for the earth electrode system without creating high differ-
high frequencies, where it is implemented through a Signal ences in potential, than a low value of the earth resistance,
Reference Grid whose mesh size should be less than 1/10 th although a low value is addressed and should be the basic
of the wavelength of the highest frequency that is required goal whenever possible.
to be controlled by the ground structure (to better perform For the protection of electronics and services against
like an imaginary “equipontential ground plane” for those lightning (which is also covered by the international standard
frequencies), favoring in this way lower noise communica- IEC 62305 – Protection against Lightning), a better under-
tion between equipment (signal cables run along the mesh). standing of the nature of the problem and the importance
The use of such Signal Reference Grid for the Equipment of grounding system is achieved by considering lightning
Room is always recommended, notably for environments protection within the scope of EMC, taking into account
with high levels of radiated electromagnetic disturbances, that lightning and its effects are indeed electromagnetic
though not always necessary due to its own circuitry, as disturbances too.
new technologies provide a higher immunity level to noise Within the context of EMC, the protective measures to
(Ethernet or fiber optic, for example) so eliminating that need eliminate electromagnetic interference are defined upon

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the initial identification of the source of electromagnetic tion can be circumvented by the use of non-metallic media
disturbance (what is generating the electromagnetic distur- for galvanic isolation, which may include fiber optic or radio
bances, which can be internal or external to the system), the for signal transmission or, alternatively, if not using galvanic

LIGHTNING & SURGE

coupling mechanism (how those generated electromagnetic isolation, then it will be necessary to use Surge Protection
disturbances are coupled to the circuit) and the receiver (the Devices (SPDs).
circuit that is being affected). Then it is possible to solve the The use of SPDs for the protection against surges due
problem by working on one or more of these components to to indirect (EM Field coupling) or direct lightning stroke
reduce the coupled noise and hence the EMI. requires a specific study regarding the grounding system,
Regarding the protection of automation and control in addition to the SPDs own characteristics. The discharge
systems against lightning we may consider that it is not con- current diverted by SPDs always goes somewhere in the
venient, nor even possible, to work on the receiver (the equip- circuit – it doesn´t disappear! The grounding system is the
ments are already defined by manufacturers) and neither on destination of these currents. A misunderstanding comes
the source of electromagnetic disturbance (lightning). We from the fact that a convenient name for most of this type
can only then work on the coupling mechanism! of device (SPD) should be better TGD - Transient Ground-
Returning to the context of EMC, electromagnetic dis- ing Device, because this is its function, while SPD - Surge
turbances are coupled into electronic circuits through three Protection Device, is the purpose for which it is used, leaving
main basic mechanisms: capacitive coupling (electric fields), a margin to imagine that the fact of using a SPD is enough in
inductive coupling (magnetic fields) and common impedance itself, what is not true. The currents diverted by SPD´s should
coupling (ground). flow to the very same (ground) reference of the protected
Most of the techniques that can be applied to reduce these circuit (not necessarily to the electrode earth system) and
coupling mechanisms are directly related to the design of the discharge path must be as short and direct as possible to
the grounding system. For example: reduce its series inductance, to help insure that the transient
• the performance of a filter depends on how it is installed, voltages in the circuitry or the transient noises induced in
that is, how it is grounded; nearby circuits are not too high.
• a non magnetic shield can be used to reduce magnetic
field coupling into signal cable where its use is oriented 4 - THE GROUNDING SYSTEM
for the reduction of the "loop" area defined by the noise AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH
current flow, that is, how the shield is "grounded"; THE TRANSMISSION OF SIGNALS
• and the same grounding situation is important for many For the distribution of signals through the plant, what is
other EMC techniques, too. sought is a compromise between different sources of electro-
The grounding system is indeed the main factor to attenu- magnetic disturbance so that the total noise coupled into the
ate the noise coupling mechanisms within an EMC context circuitry does not cause interference, that is, the information
and, in this same way, the grounding system assumes the is preserved although the signal may be distorted. To attain
leading role in protecting installations of automation and this proper configuration the pertinent techniques should be
control systems against lightning and its effects, from which applied to control radiated or conducted noise coupling on
some guidelines can be derived. each signal path but always preserving safety requirements
For the protection of the instrumentation against EM regarding power distribution and lightning protection.
fields generated by lightning currents (indirect lightning), The control of common mode currents, generically called
all signal cables within an area (LPZ – Lightning Protection “ground loops”, is the most critical aspect for the grounding
Zone) should run close to individual elements of the meshed system regarding the instrumentation distributed in the
grounding system to avoid the creation of large current "loop" plant. When considering the two conductors in a circuit
areas. A metal tray that forms part of the mesh-grounding (source, load, and the two conductors), we must distinguish
structure, and/or a grounded cable (PEC - Parallel Earth between two forms of current circulation: differential mode,
Conductor) run together with the cables fulfills this need, the desired signal, meaning that the current flows from the
which should be expanded throughout the area of the pro- source to the load by one conductor and returns through
tected zone, with the metal tray providing better control of the other; and common mode, the usually unexpected and
higher frequencies than a wire PEC. unwanted signal (noise), meaning that the noise current
The protection against high voltage/current surges on flows in the same direction on both conductors of the circuit,
instrumentation cables interconnecting instruments located returning by a third conductor, usually a "Ground Reference"
in buildings or areas far apart each other in the event of a (hence the term "ground loop").
lightning strike in one of the buildings or areas is another The common mode current circulating circuit may have
important situation to be addressed. Although each build- a "material existence", as in the case where both the signal
ing or area can have its own earth electrode system, if they source and the load are directly connected to a reference
are interconnected through long cables (and they should ("Ground") at different points (note that the concept of “po-
be connected), it will not be possible to “equalize” them to tential equalization” does not apply for practical purposes
higher frequencies in order to avoid such surges. The situa- at frequencies higher than a few kHz, because at these fre-

EMC DIRECTORY & DESIGN GUIDE 2013 INTERFERENCE TECHNOLOGY 17

 quencies inductive reactance dominates the impedance of help solve common mode current problems by adding high
the ground structure, not resistance). In this case, the source impedance in series with the common mode current loop,
of common mode current can be an electrical potential notably at low frequencies. However, there is some contro-
LIGHTNING & SURGE

difference between these two reference points ("Ground"), versy in using this technique due to maintenance problems
which forces the current flow in both conductors in the (an accidental short to ground can be difficult to identify, be-
same direction. cause the system remains operative whilst its EMI problems
Under this scenario it would be quite convenient to might increase) and voltages induced in the signal conductors
implement the signal circuits in a single point topology for which can take high values and make them unsafe.
the grounding system, that is, just the signal source or the Temperature measurements systems require a special
load is grounded at one end of the circuit, thereby avoiding attention due to their noise susceptibility. For thermocouple
the circulation of currents in the common mode. The in- circuits it is advisable to use signal conditioning (e.g. 4 to
strumentation circuits for the transmission of signals from 20 mA or 0 to 10 Vdc) for the signal transmission from the
sensors, which are mostly floating low frequency devices, sensor to the control room, placing the signal conditioning
have been using the single point topology for many years. circuit (often called a temperature transmitter) as close
As the voltages and currents in power frequency (50/60 Hz) as possible to the sensor. The cable to connect the sensor
in the plant were the main noise threat, the use of shielded to the conditioner should be a shielded twisted pair, its
(to avoid electric field coupling, the shield grounded at one length as short as possible, the shield grounded only at the
end only, normally at the equipment room where the circuit transmitter (ungrounded sensor) or at the sensor (grounded
is grounded) twisted (to avoid the coupling of magnetic sensor), or at both ends. Sensors with grounded connections
fields, by reducing the area of current loop) pair cables is to the cable’s shield can be more vulnerable to noise than
largely used. ungrounded ones. If the environment has a high potential for
However, this traditional approach is increasingly ineffec- electromagnetic interference, the use of resistance tempera-
tive due to the many high frequency devices which are in- ture detectors (RTD) or even better infrared thermometers
creasingly used in Industrial Plants, such as microprocessors, provides a better immunity to noise than thermocouples.
digital/wireless data communications, switch-mode power However, care should always be put on considering EMC
conversion, etc.. When higher frequencies are considered, under a compromise of different parts and not restricted to
the circuit where the common mode currents flows may not a single unique element – if you have a sensor with built-in
have a "material" connection to close their circulation "loop", electronics to connect to a digital bus system (e.g. Profibus)
which is usually to a reference (such as Ground). This can be it probably makes little difference whether it is a T/C or RTD
understood by considering that, for high frequencies, stray sensing element. That is why grounding, interconnecting the
capacitances at that ungrounded end of the circuit have a whole system, is the key factor to EMC.
sufficiently low impedance to close the current loop. The high
frequency CM current quite happily creates ground loops 5. THE GROUNDING SYSTEM AND ITS
by flowing through the air at one or more points along its RELATIONSHIP WITH ENGINEERING PROCEDURES
route, defeating the purpose of the single-point grounding The primary purposes of the grounding system are to
topology. ensure electrical safety and, then to reduce the occurrence
As a consequence, sensors will almost always suffer from of interference problems, and these two issues should be
high frequency common mode noise from digital process- fully taken into account both in the design and installation
ing, digital/radio communications, switch-mode power phases, plus in the maintenance phase in order to help en-
converters (off-line as well as DC/DC), and the sampling sure the correct and reliable operation of automation and
circuits in their A/D converters. Where equipment does not control systems.
comply with an appropriate EMC specification, these high
frequency noises can be very significant and will need to be 5.1 - Design and Installation: Interference Control Plan
controlled by (grounding related!) mitigation techniques Each facility has its own particularities, regarding the
such as breaking the high-frequency CM loop (e.g. by the specific electromagnetic environment and the characteris-
use of high-frequency isolating transformers, fiber optics, tics of the automation and control systems, which makes it
CM chokes, etc.); using shielded cables (properly grounded difficult to use such a simple low-cost “standard design" or
at both ends for radio frequencies), or using circuits more “rules of thumb” for the grounding system to cope with all
tolerant to common mode currents (e.g. balanced circuits), possible EMI scenarios.
and others, which generally require a grounding system that The planning of EMC activities is the best cost-effective
is effective up to such high frequencies, that is, an “EMC methodology to answer for both the inherent complexity of
grounding” as referred before in this article and better con- such systems and the sophisticated nature of electromag-
sidered in the IEC 61000-5-2 and other references listed at netic interference problems and their solutions.
the end of this article. The “Interference Control Plan” aims to answer all situa-
Instrumentation systems with floating power supply are tions for the occurrence of interference problems:
sometimes used for signal transmission because they can a. By requiring each item of equipment to comply with

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EMC standards, which cover both the aspect of emission 1-55937-231-1

(the equipment constituting a source of electromagnetic • API 2003 - Protection Against Ignitions Arising out of Static, Light-
disturbance) as immunity (the equipment not being af- ning, and Stray Current, American Petroleum Institute, Washington,

LIGHTNING & SURGE

fected to an unacceptable degree by electromagnetic DC, 1991
disturbances in the environment). The EMC standard • IEC/TR 61000-5-2 ed1.0 1997 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)
IEC 61326-1 Ed. 2.0 :2012 – “Electrical equipment for - Part 5: Installation and mitigation guidelines - Section 2: Earthing
measurement, control and laboratory use - EMC require- and cabling
ments” defines the necessary EMC qualification in order • IEC/TR 61000-5-6 ed1.0 2002 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)
to guarantee that units of equipment are suitable to oper- – Part 5: Installation and mitigation guidelines - Section 6: Mitigation
ate correctly in a wide range of installations. of external EM influences
b. By completing the EMC needs for that particular instal- • ITU Recommendation K.27, 1996, “Bonding configurations and earth-
lation through a proper design of the grounding system. ing within a telecommunications building”
This work is carried out through an EMC Analysis where • EN 50174-2:2001, “Information Technology – Cabling Installation –
a matrix for the EMI risk situations relating the various Part 2: Installation planning and practice inside buildings”
sources of EM disturbances (internal and external to the • “EMC for Systems and Installations” by Tim Williams and Keith
system) and the susceptible circuits is developed and then Armstrong, Newnes, 2000, ISBN: 0-7506-4167-3, RS Components
all the would be EMI situations are mitigated supported by part number 377-6463.
EMC recommended practices and guidelines as published • “Designing Electronic Systems for EMC” by William G Duff, Scitech
by IEEE and IEC, or others. Series on EMC edited by Dr Alistair Duffy, 2011, ISBN: 978-1-891121-
42-5)
5.2 - Maintenance: EMC Procedures • “EMC and Lightning Protection for Telecommunications Systems”
Every Industrial Plant with a few years of existence under- by R. Menna Barreto, ITEM 2002.
goes changes in its initial design installation: data acquisition • “The role of the grounding system in reducing risks in Industrial Plants
systems are modified, new equipment and its controls are –Portuguese IBP305_12” by R. Menna Barreto, 4th Latin American
changeable, new technologies come into place, accidental Conference on Process Safety, IBP Brazil 2012
and/or broken connections or loose contact happens to oc-
cur, to mention some usual facts.
As a consequence there must be specific “EMC Main-
tenance Procedures” to guarantee the performance of
the automation and control systems against the constant
changes in their electromagnetic environment and, quite
important, the Maintenance personnel are to complete
and adapt these electromagnetic interference control pro-
cedures according to the new technologies come in use
during the operational lifetimes.

The “EMC Maintenance Procedures” should include:

a. EMC Records – addressing the set of measurements to
be made throughout the year such as power quality, elec-
tromagnetic fields intensity, electrical continuities, surges,
etc., and also detailed description of eventual occurrences
in the Plant due to lightning, equipment failure, etc.
b. EMC Guidelines – addressing the methodologies, re-
quirements and technologies related to EMC to be applied
in the Plant over the time.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
May I express my deepest gratitude to Mrs Belinda Stas
and Mr Keith Armstrong for reviewing and adding quite
valuable contributions to make the initial document much
more interesting and comprehensive.

REFERENCES
• IEEE 1100-2005 IEEE Recommended Practice for Powering and
Grounding of Sensitive Electronic Equipment (Emerald Book), In-
stitute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, New York, NY, ISBN

EMC DIRECTORY & DESIGN GUIDE 2013 INTERFERENCE TECHNOLOGY 19