1

Neut
ralGr
oundi
ng
Neut
ralGr
oundi
ng
Thepr ocessofconnect ingneutralpointof3- phasesystemt oearth(i
.[Link]
l)ei
therdi
rectlyort hr
ough
someci r
cuitelement(e.
g.r esi
stance,reactanceet c.)i
scal
ledneutralgroundi
ng.
Neutralgroundingpr
ovidespr ot
ectiont opers onalandequipment
.Itisbecaus eduri
ngear thfault
,the
curr
en tpathiscompl etedt hrought heear t
hedn eutr
alandt heprotectivedevices([Link] c.)
operatet oisolatethef aultyconduct orfrom t herestoft [Link]
ustr
atedi nFig.
26.
10.

Fig.26.10showsa3- phase,star -
connecteds ys tem wit
hn eutralearthed(i.
[Link] nect ed
tosoi l
).Supposeasi nglelinetogr oundf aultoccur sinli
neRatpoi [Link] hecur rentt o
flowt hroughgroundpat hasshowni [Link] ethatcur rentfl
owsf rom Rphas et oear th,thent o
neutralpointN andbackt o R- [Link] hei mpedanceoft hecur r
entpat hislow,al argecur rent
flowst hrought hi
spat [Link] twillblow thef usei nR-phasean disolat
et hef aultyl i
neR.
Thiswi llprotectthesyst em f rom thehar mf uleffects([Link] oequipmen t,electri
cs hockt o
personnelet c.
)oft hef aul
[Link] mportantfeat ureofgr oundedn eutrali
st hatthepot enti
aldi ff
eren ce
betweent hel i
veconduct orandgr oundwi lln otexceedt hephas evol t
ageoft hes ys em i
t .
[Link] l
l
remainn earl
ycons tant.
Advan
tagesofNeut
ralGr
oundi
ng
Thef oll
owi ngaret headvant agesofneut r
algr ounding:
(i
)Vol tagesoft he heal thy phasesdo n otexceed l i
net o ground vol
tagesi.
[Link] r
emai
nn earl
y
cons t
ant.
(i
i)Thehighvol t
agesduet oarcinggr oundsar eeli
minated.
(i
ii
)Thepr otect
iver elayscanbeusedt opr ovidepr otect
ionagainstearthfaul
ts.I
ncaseearthfaul
t
occursonan yli
ne,t hepr otectiverel aywi lloperatet oisol
atethef aul
tyli
ne.
(i
v)Theover voltagesduet olight
ningar edi schargedt oearth.
(v)Itprovidesgreat ersaf etyt oper sonn elandequi pment.
(vi)I
tprovidesimpr ovedser vicereliabil
i
t y.
(vii
)Operatingandmai ntenanceexpendi turesar ereduced.
Met
hodsofNeut
ralGr
oundi
ng
Themethodscommonl yusedforgroundingtheneutr
alpointofa3- phases yst
emare:
i
()Solidoreffecti
vegrounding (i
i)Resi
stancegrounding
i
(i
i)Reactancegroundi
ng (i
v)Peterson-coi
lgr
oun ding
Thechoiceoft hemet hodofgr oundingdependsuponman yf act
or sincludi
ngthesi
zeoft
hesyst
em,
syst
emvol tageandtheschemeofpr otecti
ontobeus ed.
Sol
i
dGr
oundi
ng
Whent he neutr
alpointofa 3-phase system (
e.g.3-
phase generator,3-
phase t
ransformeretc.
)is
di
rect
lyconnect edt
oear t
h(i
.
[Link])throughawireofnegli
gi
bler esi
stanceandreactance,i
tiscal
led
sol
idgroundingoref
fecti
vegrounding.
 2

Fig.26.
11s howst hesol i
dgr oundingoftheneutr
[Link]
ncetheneutralpoi
ntisdirectl
yconnectedt o
earththr oughawi r
e,then eutr alpoi
nti
sheldatear t
hpot enti
alunderallcondit
[Link]
efore,under
faultcondi t
ions,thevol tageofan yconductortoeart hwil
lnotexceedt hen ormalphasevoltageof
thesyst em.
Advant [Link] oli
dgr oundingofneutr
alpointhasthefoll
owingadvan t
ages:
(i
) Theneut r
alisef f
ect i
vel yhel
datearthpotenti
al.

(i
i)Whenear thf aultoccur sonan yphas e,ther es ultantcapaci tivecur rentI Ci si nphas eoppos itiont o
thef aultcur ren [Link] et wocur rentscompl et elycanceleachot [Link] ef or e,n oar ci
n ggr oun dor
over -vol tagecondi tion scanoccur .Con sideral i
n et ogr oun df aulti nlineBass howni nFi g.26. 1
[Link]
capaci tivecur rent sf lowi ngi nt heheal thy phas esR an d Y ar eI Ra ndI Yr es pect i
vel [Link] es ultant
capaci tivecur r entICi st hephas orsumofI Ra ndI Y. I
naddi ti
ont ot hes ecapaci tivecur rents,t hepower
sour ceal sosuppl iest hef aultcur rentI [Link] i
sf aul tcur ren twi llgof rom f aultpoi ntt oear th,t hent o
neut ralpoi n tNandbackt ot hef aultpoi n tthrought hef aul typhas [Link] hofI Ci scapaci tivean d
thatofI Fi s* i
n duct i
[Link] wocur rentsar ei nphas eoppos i
t i
onan dcompl et elycan celeachot her.
Ther ef ore,noar cinggr oundphenomenonorover -vol tagecon di
t ionscanoccur .
(i
ii
)Whent her ei sanear thf aultonan yphas eoft hes ystem,t hephas et oear thvol tageoft hef aulty
phas e becomeszer [Link] ,the phas et o ear thvol tagesoft he r emai ningt wo heal thy phas es
remai natnor malphas evol tagebecaus et hepot en t
ialoft hen eut ralisf ixedatear thpot ent i
al .This
per mitst oi ns ulatet he equi pmentf orphas e vol [Link] ef ore,t her ei sa s avi ngi nt he cos tof
equipment .
(i
v)I tbecomeseasi ert opr ot ectt hes ys tem from ear thf aultswhi chf requen t l
yoccuront hes ys tem.
Whent her ei sanear thf aul tonanyphas eoft hes ys tem,al argef aultcur ren tf lowsbet weent hef ault
poin tandt hegr oundedneut [Link] mitstheeas yoper at i
onofear thf aultrel ay.
Disadvant [Link] ollowi ngar et hedi sadvan tagesofs ol i
dgr oun ding:
(i
)Si ncemostoft hef aul tsonanover heads ys temar ephas etoear thf aults,thes ystemhast obeara
l
ar genumberofsever es hock [Link] scaus est hes ys temt obecomeun stable.
(i
i)Thes ol i
dgr oundi ngr esul tsinheavyear thf aul tcur r
en [Link] cet hef aulthast obecl ear edbyt he
circuitbr eak er s,theheavyear thf aultcur rentsmaycaus et hebur ni
n gofci r
cui tbr eak ercon tact s .
(i
ii
)Thei ncr easedear thf aultcur rentr esultsingr eat eri nterferen cei nt hen eighbour i
n gcommun ication
l
ines.
Appl [Link] i
dgr oun dingi susual l
yempl oyedwher et heci rcuitimpedan cei ss uffi
ci entl
yhi ghs oas
tok eept heear thf aultcur rentwi thins afel i
[Link] ss yst emofgr oun dingisus edf orvol t
agesupt o33
kVwi tht ot alpowercapaci tynotexceedi ng5000k VA.
Resi
stanceGr
oun
ding
I
nor dertolimi
tt hemagnit
udeofear thfaul
tcur rent,i
tisacommonpr acti
cet oconnecttheneutr
al
poi
ntofa3- phasesyst emt
oearththroughar esi
[Link]
l esist
ancegroundi
ng.
Whent he neutralpointofa 3-phase system (e.g.3-phase generat
or,3-phase tr
ansfor
meret c.
)i
s
connectedtoear t
h(i
.[Link]
l
)thr
oughar esi
stor,i
tiscal l
edresistancegroundi
ng.
 3

Fig.26.13showst hegr oun dingofneut ralpoi ntthroughar [Link] ueofR s houldnei therbe
ver ylow n orveryhi [Link] heval ueofear thingresistan ceRi sver yl ow,t heearthf aultcurren twi l
lbe
l
ar geandt hesystem becomessi milartot hes ol
idgroun dingsys [Link] heot herhan d,iftheear t
hing
resisance R i
t sver yhi gh,t hesyst em con diti
onsbecomes i
milart oun groundedn eutrals yst [Link]
valueofRi ssochosens ucht hatt heear thf aul
tcurr en tislimitedt os afeval uebuts ti
l
ls ufficientt o
per mi
tt heoper ationofear thf aultpr ot
ect i
ons ystem.I npr act i
ce,t hatval ueofR i ss el
ect edt hat
l
imitst he earthf aultcur rentt o 2t i
mest he normalf ullload cur r entoft he ear thed gen er atoror
transformer .
Advant [Link] ollowi ngar et headvan t
agesofr esistan ceear thing:
(i
)Byadj usti
ngtheval ueofR,t hear ci
nggr oun dscanbemi [Link] eearthf aultoccursi nphas e
B as showni n Fi
g.26. [Link] capaci ti
ve cur r
entsI Ra n dIYf l
ow i nt he healthy phas es R an dY
[Link] aultcur rentIFl agsbehin dt hephas evol tageoft hef aultedphas ebyacer tainan gle
depen dingupont heear thingr esi
st anceRan dt hereact an ceoft hes ys t
emupt othepoi ntoff [Link]
faultcurrentIFcanber esol vedint ot wocompon entsvi z.

Fi
g.26.
14
a)I
( F1i
nphas ewi tht hef aultyphas evol tage.
b)I
( F2laggi ngbehi ndt hef aultyphas evol t
ageby90° .
Thel aggi ngcompon entI F2 isinphaseoppos i
ti
ont ot het otalcapaci ti
vecur [Link] hevalueof
ear t
hi ngr esistanceR i ssoadj ust edt hatI F2 =I C,thear cinggroun discompl etelyeliminatedan dt he
oper at i
onoft hesys tembecomest hatofs oli
dlygr oun deds ys t
[Link] fRi
,i ssoadj ustedthatI F2
<I C,t heoper at i
onoft hesyst embecomest hatofun groun dedn eutralsystem.
(i
i
)Theear t
hf aultcurr enti ssmal lduet ot hepr es enceofear t
hingr esi
[Link],interf
eren ce
withcommun icat i
oncircui tsi sreduced.
(i
i
i)Iti mpr ovest hes tabi l
ityoft hesyst em.
Disadvant [Link] ol lowi ngar et hedi sadvan tagesofr esi
stancegr ounding:
(i
)Si ncet hes yst emneut rali sdisplaceddur ingear thf aults,theequipmen thast obein sul
atedf orhigher
vol t
ages.
(i
i
)Thi ss ys temi scost liert hant hesol idlygr oundeds ys tem.
(i
i
i)A l argeamountofener gyispr oducedi ntheear t hi
ngr esistancedur i
ngear [Link] i
mesi t
becomesdi ffi
cul ttodi ssipat ethisener gyt oat mos pher e.
Appl icat i
ons.I tisusedonasyst emoper atingatvol tagesbet ween2. 2k Van d33k Vwi thpowers our ce
capaci tymor et han5000k VA.
React
anceGr
oundi
ng
I
nthi
ssyst
em,ar
eact
ancei
sinser
tedbet
weent
heneut
ralandgr
oundasshowni
nFi
g.26.
[Link]
 4

purposeofr eact
anceistoli
mitt
heear t
hfaul
tcurr
[Link]
ngtheear
thi
ngreactance,t
heear
th
faultcur
rentcantochangedtoobtai
nthecondi
ti
onssi
milart
othatofsol
i
dgroundi
ng.

:
Thismet hodisnotusedthesedaysbecaus eofthef oll
owingdi
sadvantages
i
()Int hi
ss ystem,thefaultcur
rentrequi
redt ooper atetheprotect
ivedevicei
shi
ghert
hant
hatof
resi
stancegr oundi
ngforthesamefaultcondit
ions.
i
(i)Hi
ght ransi
entvolt
agesappearunderfaultcondi
tions.
Ar
cSuppr
ess
ionCoi
lGr
oun
ding(
orResonan
tGr
oundi
ng)
Wehaveseent hatcapacit
ivecur r
en tsar er espon sibleforpr oducingar ci
nggr [Link] ecapaci t
ive
currentsflow becaus ecapacitanceexi stsbet weeneachl i
nean dear [Link] opri
ate
valuei sconnect edinparal
lelwi t
ht hecapaci tanceoft hes ystem,thef aultcurrentIFflowi ngthroughL
willbeinphas eoppos i
ti
ont ot hecapaci tivecur r
en tICo fthes [Link] ssoadj ustedt hatI L=IC,then
resultantcurrentinthefaul
twi l
lbezer [Link] scon ditionisk nownasr esonantgr ounding.
Whent heval ueofLofar csuppr essioncoi lissucht hatt hef aul
tcur rentI Fexact l
y bal ancest he
capaci t
ivecur r
entIC,i
tiscalledr esonantgr oundi ng.
Circuitdet ai
[Link] csuppr essioncoi l(als o called Pet ersoncoi l
)isani ron-cored coi lcon nected
bet weentheneut r
alandear thasshowni nFi g.26. 1
6(i).Ther eactorispr ovi
dedwi t
ht appingst ochan ge
the inductance oft he coi
[Link] adj usti
n gt he t appin gsont he coil
,t he coilcanbe t un ed wi t
ht he
capaci t
anceoft [Link] oun dingcanbeachi eved.

Operati
[Link] g.26. 16(i)showst he3- phas es ystem empl oyin gPet ers oncoilgr [Link] el i
net o
groundf aultoccur si nt hel neBatpoi
i [Link] aultcur rentI Fan dcapaci t
ivecur rentsIRa ndI Ywillfl
ow
asshowni nFi g.26. 16(i
).Not et hatI Ffl
owst hrought hePet er soncoi l(orAr csuppr essioncoil)t on eutral
andbackt hr
ought hef [Link] otalcapaci ti
vecur ren tICi st hephas ors um ofI Ra ndI Yass howni n
phasordi agram i nFig.26. 1
6(ii
).Thevol tageoft hef aultyphas ei sappl iedacr os sthear cs uppres si
on
coil
.Ther efor e,f aultcur rentI Flagst he faulty phas e vol tage by 90° .The cur rentI Fisi nphas e
opposit
iont ocapaci tivecur rentIC[SeeFi g.26.16(ii
)]
.Byadj ustingt het appingsont hePet ersoncoi l
,the
resul
tantcur r en tint hef aultcanber educed.I fi nduct anceoft hecoi liss oadj ustedt hatIL=I C,then
resul
tantcur ren tinthef aultwi l
lbezer o.
Advant [Link] er soncoi lgroundin ghast hef ollowi ngadvan t ages :
(i
)ThePet ersoncoi liscompl etel
yef f
ect i
vei npr even tingan ydamagebyanar cinggr ound.
(i
i)ThePet ersoncoi lhast headvant agesofun groun dedn eutrals ys tem.
Disadvant [Link] ersoncoi lgroundin ghast hef ollowin gdis advan tages:
(i
)Duet ovar yi ngoper ationalcondi ti
ons ,thecapaci tan ceoft hen et workchan gesf romt imet o
ti
[Link] efor e,induct an ceLofPet ersoncoi lrequiresr eadj ustmen t.
(i
i)Thel i
nesshoul dbet ransposed.
Vol
tageTr
ans
for
merEar
thi
ng
I
nthi
smet
hodofneut
ralear
thi
ng,t
hepr
imar
y ofasi
ngl
e-phasevol
taget
rans
for
meri
sconnect
ed
 5

betweent he neut
raland the earthass howni nFig.26.
17.A low r
esist
ori nseri
eswi tharelay i
s
connectedacrosst hesecondaryoft hevoltagetransf
[Link]
aget r
ansformerpr ovi
desahigh
reactanceintheneut r
alearthi
ngcircui
tan doperatesvirt
uallyasanungroundedn eutralsyst
[Link]
earthfaultonan y phase producesa voltage acrossthe rel
[Link]
scaus est he operati
onoft he
protect
ivedevice.

Advant [Link] ol l
owi ngar et headvan tagesofvol taget r
ansformerear thi
n g:
(i
)Thet ransientover vol t
agesont hes ys tem duet os wi
tchin
gan dar cinggr oundsarereduced.I ti
s
becausevol t
aget rans f
or merpr ovideshi ghr eactancet ot heearthpath.
(i
i
)Thi stypeofear thinghasal lt headvan t
agesofun groundedn eutr
alsys tem.
(i
i
i)Ar ci
nggr oundsar eel i
mi nat
ed.
Disadvant [Link] oll
owi ngar et hedi sadvan t
agesofvol tagetransf
or merear thi
ng:
(i
)Whenear thfaul
toccur sonanyphas e,t helinevoltageappear sacr ossl i
net oearthcapacitances.
Thesys temi nsulat
ionwi llbeover st ressed.
(i
i
)Theear t
hedneut r
alact sasar ef l
ectionpoi ntforthet ravell
ingwavest hroughthemachinewi ndi
ng.
Thismayr esulti
nhi ghvol tagebui l
dup.
Applicati
[Link] eoft hissystem ofn eutralearthi
n gisn or
mallycon fi
n edt ogener
atorequipmen t
s
whichar edirectlyconn ect edt ost ep- uppowert ransf
or mers.
SELF-TEST
[Link] anksbyi nser tingappr opriatewor ds/f igures:
(i
)Whensi nglelin et oear t hf aul toccur sonanun gr oun dedneut ralsys tem,t hevoltagesoft heheal thyphases
(othert hant hef aultyphas e)r i
s ef romt heirn or malphasevol tagest o. .
...
.
..
..
.
...
..
(i
i)Whens i
ngl el i
net o ear thf aul toccur sonanun groun dedn eut r
alsyst em,t hecapaci t
ivecur r
en tint het wo
healt hyphas esr i
s est o. .
...
..
....
...
...
..timest hen ormalval ue.
(i
ii
)Whensi ngl elinet oear thf aul toccur sonanun groun dedn eut rals ys t
em,t hecapacit i
vef aultcur rentbecomes
.
..
..
..
....
.
..
..
..
.t i
mest hen ormalperphas ecapaci ti
vecur r ent.
(i
v)I nPet er soncoi lgroun din g,i nduct anceLoft hecoi lisr elatedt ol inet oear t hcapacitanceCas. .
.
...
.
...
.
..
..
..
..
(v)Whensi ngl elinet oear thf aul toccur si ns olidgr oun di ngs ys t
em,t hephaset oear thvol t
ageoft her emai ni
ng
twoheal thyphas esr emai nat. .
...
....
.
..
..
..
..
..
[Link] hecor rectwor ds/f igur esf rombr ack et sandf il
lint hebl ank s.
(i
)Theun groun dedneut rals ys temcann otpr ovideadequat eprot ect i
onagai n stear t
hf aultsbecauset hecapaci ti
ve
faultcur renti s...
...
..
..
..
...
..
.. smal
( l,veryl arge)
(i
i)InPet ersoncoi lgr oundi ng,wheni nduct ivef aultcur rentbecomesequalt ocapaci t
ivecur ren toft hesyst em,
then. ..
..
..
.
...
..
..
...
. XC = 3XL;
(
XL=3XC)
(i
ii
)Invol taget ransf or mergr oun ding. .
..
.
...
.
...
...
..
..ofsi ngl ephas et ransfor merisconn ectedbet weenn eutralandear th.
secondar
( y,pr i
mar y)
(i
v)I nequi pmentgr oun di
n g,t heen closurei sconn ect edt o. .
..
..
..
.
...
..
..
..
.wi re. gr
( ound,neut ral)
(v)Thegr oun dwi rei scol our ed. ...
..
..
..
..
..
.
...
.. bl
( ack,green)
(vi)Theneut ralwi reiscol our ed. ...
.
...
.
..
..
..
..
... bl
( ack,gr een)
(vii
)InPet ers oncoi lgr oun din g,t hei nductan ceoft hecoi lis...
..
..
...
..
..
..
..
.. f
(ixed,var iable)
(vii
i)Incaseofear thf ault,t heun groundedn eut rals ys tem. ..
..
..
..
...
..
..
.leadt oar cingground. does,doesnot
( )
(i
x)Gr oundingt r
an sfor meri sus edwher en eutral. .
..
..
...
...
..
..
...available. i
(s,isnot )
(x)Mostoft hef aul t
sonanover heads yst emar e....
...
...
.
..
....
.
.faults. phase t
( o ear th,
phaset ophase)
ANSWERSTOSELF-
TEST

Ques
tions
1
.Whatdoyoumeanbygr
oundi
ngorear
thi
ng?Expl
aini
twi
thanexampl
e.
 6

[Link] groundedori solatedneut r

als [Link]
sdisadvantages?
[Link] pmentgroundi ng?
[Link]
lust
ratet heneedofequi pmen tgrounding.
[Link] sneut r
algr oun ding?
[Link] et headvant agesofn eutr
algr ounding?
[Link] ssol idgroundi ng?Whatar eitsadvan tages?
[Link] et hedi sadvan t agesofs olidgroundi ng?
[Link] sr esistancegr oun di
n g?Whatar ei tsadvan t
agesanddis
advantages?
[Link] cs uppres sioncoi lgr
oun di
n g.
[Link] es onan tgroun di
ng?
QUESTI
ONS
[Link] sgroun dwireusedi nequipmen tgr oundi
ng?
2.Thereis1 1k V/230Vs i
nglephas et [Link] oti
cethatoneoft hesecon
dar
yconductorsis
[Link]?
[Link]. [Link]
neofasi ngl
ephas et ransf or
meraccidentlyfall
[Link]
[Link]
iveflashover
i
nahomeorf [Link]?
[Link] headsys t
em,mostoft hef ault
sares i
ngleli
[Link]?
[Link] et hef actorscausi
ngar chi nggrounds?
[Link] sthei mportanceofar cs uppr essi
oncoilgroundi
ng?
[Link] edoweus egroundingtransf ormer?