Earthing 1 2. Earthing 2.1. Introduction Eathing isthe system of connecting the metalic frame of electrical installation to the general mass ofthe cath, [nother words, the term “earthing” means connecting the neural point of a supply system othe non= current carrying parts of electrical apparatus tothe general mass of earth in such a manner tht at all times, ‘an immediate discharge of electrical energy takes place without danger. ‘The purpose of earthing isto provide protection tothe human beings as well as equipment from electrical bazar In an electric installation, ifa metallic part ofan electric appliance comes in direct contact with a bare oF live wire, the metal being @ good condustor of electricity is charged. Now, if any person comes in contact ‘with tis charged metal par, they'll get a severe shock, Fig. 2.1(a) shows the circuit without of the body ofthe appliance, 2 Body of Appliance T= T+ Te Coe Le Yo : us ; be i —Aigure 20} Creu withowteonting of oatonce body In this condition, the curent through the body wil be calculated as follows : 5 Vis oav, lotr = Recap 105000 Where, eody = 10,0000 in dy condition Also, 1 + thoay ‘Then, the eurent through te circuit (0) isnot large enough to blow out the fuse.2 Earthing ait Ear Re eee ONES beer de thee ee Fuse ae Body of Appliatice Teh+h hk = 5 -Roure 2,10): Creu with eorting of apponce body Durie metal prs of the appliance ae ete as shown in Fig 2), the charg wil eased tothe mel. Andae the dactge tes ple eta age amount eae ws the eth since theresa ofthe path of cen Ton isnt he caret ease ig arate fe provided inthe cet wil lw of and cut off th apples ape In hs Sodio hut Sen vouph earl ecules a lle, vee Where, Rg =Resistance of the earthing (very low value) fehty ‘Then, the curent through the circuit () will be enough to blow out the fuse instantly before somebody comes in contact with the body of appliance. Thus, earthing of metalic parts of electcal equipment and appliances provide safe. ‘The various specifications regarding earthing as recommended by IS. are given below. LL Distance of Earth from Building: An earthing electrode shall not be situated within a distance if 1.5m from the building whose installation system is being earthed. fu. Size of Earth Continuity Conductor (ECC): The conductor, by means of which the metal body of an equipment or appliance is connected to the earth is known as earth continuity conductor (ECC). The earth continuity can be ensured either through metal conduit, metal sheathing of the etal sheathed cables or by a special earth continuity conductor. The cross-section of the ECC should not be either less than 2.9mm* or haf ofthe installation conductor size, ‘Complicd by Abbilasha DajracharysEarthing 3 lik Resistance of Earth: The main principle regarding the earth resistance is that it should be low ‘enough to cause the flow ofcurént that is suficient enough to operate the protective relays or blow fuses, inthe event of an earth fault. The value of earth resistance does not remain constant but changes with weather, as it depends upon the moisture content of soil and isthe maximum during dry season, As a general rule, the lower the value of earth resistance, the better it is. Even then, the following values of earth resistance (maximum permissible values) will give satisfactory results Type ‘Maximum Permissible Resistance Tage power sation 05.2. ‘Major power station 12 i ‘Small sub-station 20 Tn all other cases 3a ‘The sensitivity of the protective equipment, system voltage and the maximum fault eurent are Airectly related to the permissible value of earth resistance. In ase the earth esistance exceeds the permissible valu, then in case of earth fault, the fault current may not each a sufficient value to ‘operate the protective equipment (such as fuses or relays) and dangerous conditions may arise, '¥. The earth wire and the earth eletrode shall be of the same material ‘vi The earth wire shall be taken through GI pipe of 12-7mm of diameter for atleast 30.5em length above and below ground surface tothe earth electrode, to protect it against mechanical damage. vik It is pot necessary that earth wire connected to an earth electrode is run along the whole wiring system. All the earth wires run along the various sub-crcuits shal be terminated and looped firmly atthe main board, and from the main board, the main earth wire shall be taken othe earh electrode. ‘The loop earth wires used shall not be ether less than 2.9mm (14 SWG) or half of the size ofthe sub-cirult conductor. ‘ili-Ths earthing electrode shall always be placed in vertical postion inside the earth or pt so tha it ‘may be in contact with ll the different earth layers. 22. System and Equipment Earthing 221, Points tobe Earthed i. Barth pin of 3 pin lighting plug sockets and, 3 pin and $ pin power plug sockets should permanently and efficiently earthed. ji, All metal casing or metallic coverings containing or protecting any clectric supply line or ‘apparatus, such as ironclad switees, iron cla distibution fuse boars, GI pipes and conduits tnelosing” VIR oF PVC cables, the dovn rods of electric fans, metallic reflectors of light fixtures, et, should be connected tothe earth. ‘The metal casing of portable apparatus such as heaters, refFigertors, hand lamps; soldering inons, electric drills, ee, should be connected to the earth. Ifany one of them is installed in a fixed positon, a separate direct connection to the earth should be provided in addition to the ‘earth wire in the conneeting cable. “The frame pfevery generator, station motor, portable motor and the metallic pars (not intended as conductors) of al transformers shouldbe earthed.4 Earthing * TS Reutral conductor ofa three-phase, four-wire system and the middle conductor of a tor hase, thtee-wie system should be earthed by not less than two seperate and deneey Stone 9 Ons With the earth, athe generating station and at the substation. It may also be carthed atone or more points along the dis system or service line, inaddition to any connection ‘ith the earth, which may beat the consumer's premises, Nr Tpcate of a system comprising of eletic suply lines having concentric cables, the extemal enputor of such cables shouldbe earthed by two separate and distinct connecting sot he arth, wh Fated tel transmission line tovers and tubular stel or rail poles carrying overhead Conductors should be earthed, For this purpose, a continuous earth wire is provided sod tareg hd ih the earth at four points in every mile(1.6tkm), the spacing between the pone being as nearly equidistant as posible. Alternatively the metalwork shuld be connec oc «effective earthing device at each individual suppor. 2.2.2. Factors Influencing the Earth Resistance ‘The resistance ofthe earthing system depends upon the following factors. i. Condition of sit Temperature of soit iii, Moisture content of soit iv, Size and spacing of earth electrodes ¥. Depth at which the electrode is embedded Vi, Material ofthe condustor 2 Method of Reducing Earth Resistance As entioned above the eath resistance depends upon the condition, temperature and moisture content ofthe sol, area of earth electrode and the depth to which itis driven. The earth resistance cnn te ng around the earth electode to depth of 1.5m to 2m, cleaning the ‘of all ris, and then filling with charcoal soaked in sait solution, In Summer sexton the pouring of fresh salt water (copper sulphate solution in cae of copper plas ‘arthing) through the pipe over the coal bed, will reduce the eath resistance, [Re ditional steps for reducing the earth resistance of the system are increasing the plate area, insteasing the pit depth and increasing the numberof electrodes in parallel, 23. Methods of Earthing The various methods of earthing ae as fallows. i. Strip or Wire Earthing {pis estem of earthing, stip electrodes of cross-section not ess than 26mm X 1mm of copper or 25mm X dann of galvanized iron or tel are buried in horizontal trenches of minimum depth cr $, {fround conductors are used thir cross-sectional area shall ot be smaller than Sum? fo copper and {eu for galvanized iton or steel. The length ofthe buried conductor shall be sufficient to give the reuuired cart resistance, However, it should not be less 15m. The electrode shall be at widely Aistibured as possible, preferably ina single straight or circular tench, or in a number of teache,‘aiating from a point. If conditions require the use of more than one strip, they shall be lid either in parallel trenches or in radial trencies Rod Farthing owe 22 Red Eating In this system of earthing, 12mm diameter of slid rods of copper, or 16min diameter solid rods of. ‘galvanized iron or steel, or hollow section 25mm GI pipe of length not less than 2.5m, are driven vertically into the cart, In order to increase the embedded length of electrodes under the ground, which is sometimes necessary to reduce the earth resistance toa desired value, more than one od sections are hharamered one above the other: ‘This system of earthing is suitable for sandy areas and is very cheap as no excavation work is involved, ii, Pipe Earthing Pipe earthing is the best form of earthing and is very cheap in cost. In this method of earthing, galvanized and perforated pipe of approved length and diameters placed upright ina permanently wet” sil ee ee ‘Noes Tre four bachetsof wate shal be poured the ump through the watering chamber every week Compl by Ababa Baeacharya6 Earthing Fgwe23 Pipe caning ‘The pipe is provided with a tapered casing at the lower end, in onder to fcitate the driving. The pipe ‘atthe bottom is surrounded by broken pieces of coke or charcoal for a distance of about Sem aneond the pipe. Generally, alternate layers of coke and salt ae used to increase the effective area ofthe cash ado decrease the earth resistance respectively. Another pipe of mm diameter and minimum lngth 1.25m is connected at the top to the GI pipe through reducing socket. !nsumamer season, the moisture inthe soil decreases, which causes increase inthe earth resistance. So, ‘Acement concrete work i doe inorder to keep the water arrangement accesible In summer, to hase cifecive earth, three or four buckets of water are put through the funnel connected to 19mm diemeree pipe, which is further connected tothe GI pipe ‘The earth wire (ether GI wite or Gl sip of sufficient cros-sction to cary faulty curent safely) is «artied i a Gl pipe of diameter 12.7mm ata depth of about em from the ground,Earthing 7 Plate Earthing ont von (6 Nnged eC rane a in owe 24: Pte Eahing ‘An carting plate either of copper of dimension 60em X 60cm X 3.1Smm oF galvanized iran of {dimension 60cm X 60cm X 6.3mm is bured to the ground, with its face vertical sta depth of not less than 3m from the ground level. The earth plate is embedded in alternate layers of coke and salt for a ‘minimum thickness of Sem. The earth wire (GI wire for GI plate earthing and copper wire for copper plate earthing) i securely bolted to the earth plate with the help of nut, bolt and washer. These are also ‘made of same material as that ofthe earth pate. Complicd by Abtilasha BajracaryaEarth Selestion of Size of Earth Electrode Lod or Pipe Electrode ‘The value of earth resistance for rod or pipe electrode is piven by the following formula. R _— ‘Approximate values of so ity soil resistivity (Qe) eae = diameter ofthe rod ot pipe (em) ee ee ats 1 length of rod or pipe (em) (Cay black soll 623 Sandy loam elt ik Plate Electrode ‘The value of earth resistance plate electrode is given by the following formula, iE :E Where, ‘A® area of both sides ofthe plate (mn) Measurement of Earth Resistance ‘There are various methods of measurement ofthe carth resistance. A simple method of earth resistance testi the “Two Probe Earth Test. This method works on the bats of potential ‘gure25 Eat Test Tw Probe Method Complied ty Abas BajracharyaEarthing 9 et Se ng 8 Infig 2.5, X isthe earth electrode and, Zand Y are two txt probes driven to the eath ata distance from the earth electrode and equidistant to each other. Curent i injected to the eat path from X to Y, and voltage drop berween X and Z is measured. Then, the earth resistance is given bythe ratio of voltmeter reading andthe ammeter reading The test probe B is moved towards (Z:) and away (Z:) from the earth electrode and is resistance is measured. If the value of resistance is approximately the same in all cases, the average ofthe three readings is taken as the earth resistance, Otherwise, the test probe Yi moved further away from X and ‘the same procedure is performed until the three readings are approximately the same. 24, Lightning Protection Earthing A lightning protection system consists of terminals projecting int the air above the uppermost parts of the structure with interconnecting and earthing conductors Terminals should be placed so a to project ll points that are likely tbe struck. Conductors should present the least possible impedence to earth Each projecting terminal above the structure should havea least two connecting paths to earth. Each conductor running down from the terminals ontop ofthe Structure should have an eath connection. Properly made connections to earth are an essential feature of a lighting rod system for protection of buildings. Electrodes shouldbe atleast 2ftavay from and should extend below building foundations. gre 28 gharng reser Compled by Abita Rajracharya