EARTHING

Earthing or grounding is the term used for electrical connection to general mass of earth. it is classified as; (a) System earthing, and (b) equipment earthing. Earthing of neutral in power houses and sub-stations belongs to the first category. It is employed to restrict the voltage of live conductors with respect to the potential of the general mass of earth to a value consistent with the insulation level. Equipment earthing signifies earthing of non-current -carrying metal parts of electrical equipment. as per Rules 33 and 61 of the Indian Electricity Rules 1956, all non-currentcarrying metal parts must be earthed with two seperate and distinct earth continuity conductors to an efficient earth electrode. Equipment with double insulation need not be earthed. 'A double insulated device' is one, in which protective or supplementary insulation is provided, in addition to the normal functional insulation to provide safety against electric shock. Earthing provides protection to personnel and equipment by ensuring operation of the protective control-gear and isolation of the faulty circuit in the following cases. (a) Insulation puncture or failure. (b) Accidental contact between high and low voltage lines. (c) Break down of insulation between primary and secondary windings of a transformer. (d) lightning strokes.

Methods of earthing
Different methods of earthing are given in I.S.: 3043 - 1966 'code of practice for Earthing' and the information given hereafter is based on that standard and I.S.:732-1963. Equipment and portions of installations shall be deemed to be earthed only if earthed in accordance with one of the following methods: (i) Direct earthing system.

(ii) Multiple-earthed neutral system. (iii) Earth leakage circuit-breaker system. Multiple Earthed Neutral System (useful for m/c tool application). A system of earthing in which the parts of an installation, specified to be earthed, are connected to the general mass of earth, and in addition, are connected within the installation to the neutral conductor of the supply system. This system shall be used only where the neutral conductor of supply system is multiple-earthed so that the resistance between neutral and earth is low enough to perclude the possibility of a dangerous rise of potential in the neutral. Definations.

Solid Earth. A conductor is said to be solidly earthed when it is electrically

connected to an earth electrode without a fuse, switch, circuit-breaker or resistance in the earth connection. the associated line conductors.

Earth Wire. A conductor connected to earth and usually situated in proximity to

Earth Electrodes. A metal plate, pipe or other conductor, or an array of

conductors elcetrically connected to the general mass of earth.

Earthing Lead. the conductor by which the connectionto the earth is made. Earthing Ring or Bus. A ring or bus formed by connecting earth electrodes. Leakage. The passage of electricity in path, other than that desired, due to
imperfect insulation.

electrode) within which practically the whole of the potential difference between the electrode and

Resistance Area. (of an earth electrode only). The area of earth (around earth

the general mass of earth occurs when it is carrying an earth fault or test current. For all practical purposes, it is limited to a radius of one metre round the electrode.

Step potential. The maximum value of the potential difference possible of being shunted by a human body in one pace, which may be assumed to be equal to one metre. Earth Continuity Conductor. The conductor, including any clamp connecting to
the earthing lead or to each other, those parts of an installation which are required to be earthed. it may be in whole or in part the metal conduit or metal sheath or the armour of the cables or a special continuity conductor, cable or flexible cord incorporating such a conductor. Factors Affecting Earth resistance. The earth electrode resistance depends upon electrical resistivity of the soil in which the electrode is installed, which in turn is determined by the following factors, (1) Nature of soil (2) Extent of moisture. (3) Presence of suitable salts dissolved in moisture.

Nature of soil.
Sites for earthing may be chosen inm the following order of preference: (a) Wet marshy ground containing refuse, cinders, brine waste etc. (b) Clayey soil or loam mixed with small quantities of sand. (c) Dump and wet sand pit. Aclosely packed soil with fine grains and free of lumps will give low resistance. Presence of vegetation indicates soil with good moisture content.

Effect of moisture on Earth Resistance.

Variation of soil resistivity with moisture is indicated in the fig.

200

100

Resistivity of soil

10

20

30

40

50

60

Moisture in soil percent

It would be seen that little advantage is gained with moisture content exceeding 20 percent. On the other hand, resistivity increases sharply, if moisture falls below 20% . Therefore, in the dry season, periodic addition of water is recommended to keep up the moisture level. Dry earth weighs about 1440 kg. per cu. m. and 20 % moisture will mean 288 kg of water per cu. m. of dry soil. Earth electrodes. An earth electrode should be able to resist corrosion for a long time. The recommended materials are copper, copper-clad iron, cast iron and galvanised steel. The various type of earth electrodes in use are:(1) Rod and pipe electrodes. (2) Strip electrodes (3) Plate electrodes. Rod and pipe electrodes. Rod electrodes shall be at least 16 mm in diameter if of steel, and 12.5 mm in dia if of copper. Pipe electrodes shall not be smaller than 38 mm internal dia. if of galvanized iron or steel, and 100mm internal dia. if of cast iron. The length of rod and pipe electrodes shall not be less than 2.5 m, which shall be driven to a minimum depth of 2.5 m Where rock is encountered at a depth of less than 2.5 m

the electrodes may be buried inclined to the vertical with inclination not more than 30 Deg. from the vertical. Very little gain is achieved by installing electrodes longer than 3 m. If one electrode fails to give the required low resistance, a number of such electrodes may be installed and connected in parallel. The distance between two adjacent electrodes should not be less than twice the length of the electrodes. Driven Electrodes. The method of earthing by driven electrodes is suitable for soils which are reasonably free from stones and rock. Rods with hardened tips and driving caps at the top can be driven with blows of moderate force. Such electrodes, because of being driven in undistributed soil have high efficiency, and since no excavation is necessary, the cost of the installation is also low. In designing Driven -rod or pipe electrodes, the resistance may be calculated from the following formula R= 100/2L loge 4L/d ohms Where = resistivity of soil in ohm-metre, L= length of rod in cm, and d = dia of rod in cm. Strip Electrodes. Strip electrodes shall not be smaller in cross-section than 25 mm X 1.6 mm if of copper, and 25 mm X 4mm if of galvanized iron and steel.If round conductors are used, their cross-sectional area shall not be smaller than 3 sq. mm. in case of copper and 6 sq. mm in case of galvanised iron and steel. The length of the buried conductor shall not be less than 15 m laid in a trench not less than 0.5 m deep. If the conditions necessitate more than one strip, they should be laid in widely spaced

parallel or radial trenches. The size of wire and the depth of burial have little effect on earth resistance. It is the length that matters. Plate Electrodes. Plate electrodes may be made of copper, galvanized iron and steel. The size of copper plate shall be less than 60cm X 60 cm X 3.15 mm. and that of iron and steel plated not less than 60 cm X 60CM X 6.3mm. The top edge of plate shall be at a depth not less than 1.5 m from the surface of ground. The resistance of a plate electrode may be calculated from the formula: R = /4 /A ohms where = resistivity of soil in ohm-metre, and A= area of both sides of plate in sq.cm. Where the resistance of one plate electrode is not satisfactory, two or more plates may be used in parallel with a minimum distance of 8 metres between the two plates. The size of the plate too has an effect on the resistance but there is little gain with plate area more than 1.75 sq.m. per side. Earth Bus and Earth Wires. Round and flat sections of copper and galvanized- iron are used for earthing purpose. No earth wire shall have a cross-sectional area than 3 sq.mm if of copper and 6 sq.mm if of galvanized iron, except in portable equipment whose current-carrying conductor has a cross-sectional area less than 3 sq.mm. In such a case, the earth wire shall have a cross-sectional area equal to that of current-carrying conductor. The size of the main earthing bus of copper can be worked out from the formula,

A=0.3I sq.mm for bolted or pressure joints, where A is cross-sectional area in sq.mm. and I the maximum fault current. The minimum size of copper earth bus should be nearly half the size of the corresponding current carrying conductor, but not less than 65 sq.mm if of copper and 200 sq.mm. if of galvanized iron and steel . In case of steel wire, the conductivity should be equal to that of copper.The earth wire should be so laid that there is no dangerof mechanical damage to them. Earth-continuity Conductor.(ECC) The cross-sectional area of every seperate copper ECC not contained in a cable, flexible cable or flexible cord shall not be less than one half that of the largest current carrying conductor feeding the circuit and in no case shall any seperate earth continuity conductor have a cross sectional area less than 3.0 sq.mm. if of copper, and 6sq.mm if of galvanised or steel. It need not have a cross-sectional area greater than 65 sq.mm (copper) in any case. Metal conduit pipe should normally not be used as an earth continuity conductor.Where so used, all joints should be screwed tight for effective electrical continuity.Locknuts should also be used to safe-guard against loosening. Earthing of Machine tools. Irrespective of the size and type of a machine tool, its bed plate shall be earthed by means of a strip of conductor of not less than 6.5 sq.mm cross-sectional area if of copper, and 16 sq.mm if of galvanized iron.The strip should be securely fastened by means of a bolt. Measurement of Earth Resistance. By earth tester. Earth resistance of the eletrodes "E" can be measured directly with the help of an "Earth tester." It has two electrodes , potential electrode (P) and current electrode (C ) which are 15 to 20 mm dia and 40 cm long bar. The electroded C

is planted at a distance of approx. 25m from E (the electrode under test.) and P is fixed centrally between E & C .By earth tester the reading can be measured. Two more readings are taken by shifting P a distance of 3 m on either side of its central position. The instrument should indicate nearly constant readings in the three positions. If it does not, C should be moved away from E by approx. 6m and the experiment repeated till constant readings are obtained. This value is the resistance of the electrode E to earth. ================================================= ==