Equipotentiality and Grounding Circuit Analysis

Equipotentiality and Grounding
Derivation of grounding resistance for

equipment
By Richard Nute
Presented by Jim Bacher
Grounding-1 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company
Equipotentiality is one means of preventing electric shock. Grounding is a

specific kind of equipotentiality.
For some kinds of power distribution systems, the resistance of the grounding
circuit in an electrical product is critical to establishing equipotentiality.
This paper explains equipotentiality and how it provides protection against

electric shock. This paper also describes the grounding circuit for the various
power distribution systems. Finally, this paper shows the effect of the product
grounding resistance on the voltage of accessible parts, and validates the value
required by various safety standards.

Agenda
Grounding is a supplementary protection

Safety by means of the Equipotential Cage
Explanation of the Power System Designations
Circuit analysis of the TN-S Power System
Equipment resistances for 30 volts
Accessible voltages with 0.1 ohm resistance
Accessible voltages for short-circuit faults
Conclusions


Protective Grounding
(also Protective Earthing)
Protective grounding is a supplementary

protection scheme for providing protection
against electric shock in the event of failure
of basic insulation.

Probably the most well-known protective scheme is that of protective

grounding.
Grounding is a supplementary protection scheme. It is equivalent to

supplementary insulation in a double-insulation protective scheme.
For both protective grounding and double-insulation schemes, the principal

protection is Basic Insulation.
Grounding and supplementary insulation are supplementary protection

schemes because they are only called into operation in the event of a failure of
the principal safeguard, Basic Insulation.

Principal and Supplementary Safeguards
Hazardous
Safeguard Electric
Principal Supplementary
Safeguard Safeguard
Concept Energy
Hazardous
Double Electric
Basic Supplementary
Insulation Insulation
Insulation Energy
Hazardous
Protective Electric
Basic Grounded
Insulation Parts
Grounding Energy

The operating concept for product safety is that safeguards be interposed

between the body and the hazardous electric energy.
Furthermore, protection is provided by both a principal safeguard (for normal

operating conditions) and a supplementary safeguard (for the event of failure
of the principal safeguard).
For electric shock, the principle safeguard is Basic Insulation.
In the event of failure of Basic Insulation, there are two supplementary

safeguards, (1) Supplementary Insulation and (2) Protective Grounding.

How Does Grounding Provide
Protection Against Electric Shock?
The purpose of grounding is to establish an

equipotential environment.

Grounding provides protection against electric shock by creating an

environment that approaches an equipotential environment.
An equipotential environment is an environment where there is no potential

difference between any two conductors. If there is no potential difference,
then there can be no current between those conductors.

The Faraday Cage

Faraday Cage is the name given to a device that shields its inside from electric
fields generated by static electricity. Usually a complete conductive shell, it
collects stray charges and, because like charges repel, stores them on the
outside surface (where they can be further apart than on the inside). The
electric fields generated by these charges then cancel each other out on the
inside of the cage.
Reference: Museum of Science, Boston.

(http://www.mos.org/sln/toe/glossary.html#faradaycage)

The Equipotential Environment
(Quasi-Faraday Cage)

The Faraday Cage also creates an equipotential environment (or Equipotential

Cage).
Because all of the conductors are connected together, there is no potential

difference between any two conductors. No matter how much current or how
high the voltage, there is no potential difference in the cage. If there is no
potential difference between any two conductors, then there is no current in the
body.
(This model assumes the resistance of the conductors and connections that
comprise the cage is negligible.)

Equipotential Cage Equivalent Circuit

The Equipotential Cage can be grounded or it can be isolated from ground. An

equipotential environment is established regardless whether the Cage is
grounded or not.
For the ungrounded Cage, there is no current return path. Regardless of the
Cage voltage, there is no potential difference within the Cage, and there is no
current in the body.
For the grounded Cage, the current path is that of least resistance (in
accordance with Kirchhoffs Laws). Since there is no resistance in the
conductors that make up the Cage, there is no voltage across the body, and
there is no current in the body.
In these Equipotential Cage equivalent circuits, there is no current through the

body because the body resistance is shorted out by the Cage conductors.
If the Equipotential Cage is grounded, then the resistance of the cage

conductors and connections is critical to maintaining the equipotential
environment.

Creating the Equipotential Environment

The concept of the equipotential environment is quite simple: Connect all

conductive parts of the environment together.
Notice that the parts need not be connected to ground to create the
equipotential environment.
If the conductive parts are connected only to each other, then in the event of a
fault of Basic Insulation, there is no current as there is no return circuit path.
If there is no current, then the resistance of the Equipotential Cage conductors

and connections is inconsequential. This concept is important because in some
power distribution schemes the grounding path resistance is relatively high.
These schemes are discussed elsewhere in this paper.

Equipotential is Independent of Ground
Conductive barrier
Circuit (enclosure)
Distribution
breaker
transformer
Hazardous
Load
voltage

Normally, there is no cage.
To accomplish the equipotential environment, the accessible conductive parts

of electrical equipment must be connected to other conductive parts in the
local environment. A wire connects the equipment to the local conductive
parts.
In principle, the conductive parts need not be connected to ground.
In practice, most conductive parts such as water pipes, heating ducts, and
similar parts are connected to ground. So, for convenience, all conductive
parts are connected to ground. The ground provides the common connection
for all conductive parts, and no special connections need be made.

TT, IT, TN, TN-S, TN-C
Power System Designations
1st letter: neutral connected to...

2nd letter: protective conductor connected to...
Letter definitions:
T = earth (terra), i.e., grounding rod
N = neutral conductor
I = impedance (to earth)
S = separate (connected to the neutral conductor at the service entrance)
C = combined (connected to the neutral conductor in the equipment)

We would not be concerned with the ground circuit characteristics except that
most power systems are grounded. This means the grounded equipotential
cage provides a current path back to the electric energy source. The design of
the cage must account for fault currents through the cage conductors.
The world has several different power system grounding configurations.
In IEC standards, the various power system configurations have designations

based on the connection of the Neutral wire to earth, and on the connection of
the Protective Conductor connection to earth. The IEC designation is
comprised of two letters, the first for the Neutral conductor, and the second for
the Protective Conductor.
The letters designate the means by which the respective conductor is

connected to earth.

The TT Equipotential System
Conductive barrier
Circuit (enclosure)
Distribution
breaker
transformer
Load
Hazardous
voltage
T
T

The TT system has two, separate ground rods.
The neutral is connected to its ground rod at the service entrance.
The protective conductor is connected to its own ground rod, remote from the
neutral ground rod. In some cases, the ground rod may be the steel frame of
the building. In any case, there is no direct copper connection between the
enclosure and the supply system.

The IT Equipotential System
Conductive barrier
Circuit (enclosure)
Distribution
breaker
transformer
Hazardous
Load
voltage

The IT system also has two, separate ground rods.
The neutral is connected through an impedance to its ground rod at the service
entrance.
The protective conductor is connected to its own ground rod, remote from the
neutral ground rod. In some cases, the ground rod may be the steel frame of
the building. In any case, there is no direct copper connection between the
enclosure and the supply system.
One characteristic of the IT system is that the system is tolerant of a fault to

ground. That is, a fault to ground does not operate the circuit breaker, so the
system remains operational. (An alarm identifies the fault to ground, but the
system continues to operate.) As in the TT system, there is no direct copper
connection between the enclosure and the supply system.

The TN-S Equipotential System
Conductive barrier
Circuit (enclosure)
Distribution
breaker
transformer
Hazardous
Load
voltage

The TN-S system has a single ground rod.

At the service entrance, the neutral conductor is connected to the ground rod.
The protective earth conductor is connected to the neutral at the service
entrance.
The S in the designation means that the protective earth conductor is a
separate system conductor.
Unlike the TT and IT systems, in the TN system the equipment and man are
grounded through different paths. If the current through the different paths is
different, then a potential difference will occur between the equipment and the
man, and current will pass through the man. To minimize the potential
difference due to the difference between the equipment and the man, it is
imperative to keep the equipment ground circuit resistance as low as
practicable.
This paper analyzes the TN-S grounding resistance and voltage differences
between the equipment and the man.

The TN-C Equipotential System
Conductive barrier
Circuit (enclosure)
Distribution
breaker
transformer
Hazardous
Load
voltage
T N

The TN-C system has a single ground rod.
The neutral conductor is connected to the ground rod located at the service
entrance.
The protective earth conductor is connected to the neutral in the equipment.

There is no separate protective conductor.
The C in the designation means that the protective earth conductor is

combined with the neutral conductor. The TN-C system is used for electric
dryers, electric ranges, and electric water heaters in the United States.

TN-S Design and Analysis Rules
Supply source resistance

6% maximum voltage drop at maximum load.
3% typical voltage drop at maximum load.
Maximum load
Maximum load is rated load of the overcurrent device.
Protective conductor resistance

Protective conductor resistance is equal to the phase or
neutral conductor resistance.

To analyze the circuit, the various circuit parameters must be known. The
parameters needed are: source resistance, maximum load, and protective
conductor resistance.
Electrical engineers design power distribution systems for a specific system

voltage drop. The voltage drop cant be zero because sources and conductors
have a small but finite resistance. Most systems are designed for 3% typical
and 6% maximum voltage drop. Using Ohms Law, the circuit resistances can
be calculated from the system voltage drop,
Maximum load is the rated load of the overcurrent device (usually a circuit-
breaker).
The protective conductor is the same size as the phase and neutral conductors.
Therefore, for the purposes of this analysis, the protective conductor has the
same resistance as the phase and neutral conductors. (Note that the percent
system voltage drop is comprised of both the generator resistance and the
conductor resistances; for this analysis, we have assumed that all of the
resistance is in the wires.)

Equivalent Circuit
1/2 Supply
Source
Circuit Resistance
breaker
Nominal Load
Load
System Voltage
Voltage 1/2 Supply
Source
Resistance
1/2 Supply
Source
Resistance
Maximum Load Current = Circuit Breaker Rating

Load Voltage = Nominal System Voltage - System Voltage Drop
Supply Source Resistance = System Voltage Drop / Maximum Load Current

This circuit is used for the analysis.
Maximum load current is taken as the circuit breaker rating.
The load voltage is the nominal system voltage minus the voltage drop across
the source resistance due to the load current.
The supply source resistance is the system voltage drop divided by the
maximum load current. It is attributed to the wires, each wire having half of
the source resistance.
The protective conductor resistance is the same value as the resistance of the
other wires (because it is constructed of the same size wire and is in parallel
with the other wires). The protective conductor normally has zero current.

Analysis
Equipment resistances for 30 volts

as a function of system voltage drops
for various fault currents.
Accessible voltages for 0.1-ohm resistance

as a function of fault current
for various system voltage drops.
Accessible voltages for short-circuit faults

as a function of system voltage drops
for various supply circuits.

There are three analyses.
The first analysis is: What is the equipment resistance that will maintain no
more that 30 volts on accessible parts? The voltage on accessible parts is a
function of both the system voltage drop and the fault current.
The second analysis is: What is the voltage on accessible parts when the
equipment resistance is 0.1 ohm? The voltage is a function of both the fault
current and the source resistance (system voltage drop).
The third analysis is: What is the voltage on accessible parts when the
equipment resistance is 0.1 ohm and when the fault is a short circuit, i.e., when
the fault current is limited only by the resistance of the source and the 0.1 ohm
equipment grounding resistance?

Power System Resistances
6% Voltage Drop
15-A Circuit
breaker
15 A
112.8 V
Load
120 V (120 V - 6%)
R = E/I
E =(120-112.8)/2
I = 15
R = 0.24

The power system resistances are calculated from this circuit.
At maximum current, the load voltage is 120 V minus 6 percent of the supply
voltage, 112.8 volts. This means 7.2 volts (120 - 112.8) is dropped in the
source resistance. One-half of 7.2 volts, 3.6 volts, is dropped in each wire.
The resistance of each wire is 3.6 volts divided by 15 amperes, or 0.24 ohms.
These calculations can be repeated for various system voltage drops, 1% up to

6%.
The same calculations can be repeated for the different supply systems, 120 V,
20 A, and 230 V, 16 A.

Power System Resistances
120 volts 15 amps 6% drop 0.48 ohms



This table shows some representative source resistances for the different power
sources and for different system voltage drops. Source resistance approaches
0.5 ohm maximum, and 0.1 ohm minimum. As previously mentioned,
engineers design for 3% system voltage drop, or about 0.2 ohm source
resistance.
Note that as system voltage drop goes down, the source resistance goes down.
Logical!
Note also that source resistance is a function of the maximum current of the
system, not the voltage of the system.

TN-S Circuit Analysis
Conductive barrier
Circuit (enclosure)
Distribution Insulation fault
breaker
transformer
Hazardous
Load
voltage

This schematic shows the normal-current (blue) and fault-current paths in the
TN-S system.
The fault current is created by an insulation fault. This fault can be any
resistance from megohms to zero ohms (i.e., short-circuit). For this analysis,
only those resistances that cause fault currents exceeding the circuit-breaker
rating are considered.
The fault current divides, most of it through the protective conductor, and
some through the body to earth. This analysis does not address the current, but
instead examines the voltage at an accessible (grounded) part of the
equipment.

TN-S Circuit Analysis -- 2X rated current
15-A Circuit
30 A
breaker Insulation fault
0.12 ohms
Load
120 V
R 30 V
30 A
0.12 ohms
R = E/I
30 A E=30-3.6
E = IR I = 30
E=30x0.12 R = 26.4/30
E= 3.6 V R = 0.88 ohms

The question is: If the insulation fault allows a current of twice the maximum
load current (i.e., twice the rated current of the circuit breaker), what is the
maximum value of equipment resistance that will limit the voltage of an
accessible part to 30 volts?. (At twice rated current, the circuit-breaker will
take up to 2 minutes to operate; so, for those 2 minutes, safety must be assured
by the grounding circuit.)
The system voltage drop in this example is 3%. Therefore, the source
resistance is 0.12 ohms (see #20). The voltage drop across the 0.12 ohm
resistance of the protective conductor is 3.6 V.
For 30 V at accessible grounded parts of the equipment, 30 V is the sum of the
voltage drop across the protective conductor resistance, 3.6 V, and the voltage
drop across the equipment resistance, 30 minus 3.6, or 26.4 volts.
The equipment resistance is 26.4 volts divided by the current, 30 amperes, or
0.88 ohm. This is much greater than the 0.1 ohm required by various safety
standards.
6%.

Equipment Resistance for 30 V
as a function of system voltage drop
(120 V, 15 A)
1.6
20 A
1.4
1.2
Equipment Resistance, ohms
1.0
30 A
0.88 ohms
0.8
40 A
0.6
50 A
60 A
0.4
Fault current
0.2
0.1-ohm limit
0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
System Voltage Drop, percent

This is a display of equipment resistances that give 30 volts at accessible

grounded parts for various fault currents as a function of system voltage drops.
The resistance calculated on the previous slide (#22), is 0.88 ohm at 30

amperes and 3% system voltage drop.
The resistance for 30 volts for 30-ampere fault current was re-calculated for
system voltage drops from 1% to 6%.
The same calculations are shown for 20- to 60-ampere fault currents. Note
that the maximum resistance for all fault currents up to about 80 amperes is
greater than the 0.1 ohm required by safety standards!

TN-S Circuit Analysis -- Fault Currents
15-A Circuit
0.12 ohms
I = E/R
Load
120 V E= 120
R = 0.12+0.1+0.12
0.1 E = 33
150 A
0.12 ohms
E = IR
150 A E = 150x0.1
E = IR E = 15
E = 150x0.12
E = 18 V

If the equipment resistance is 0.1 ohm as required by the various standards,

what is the voltage at accessible grounded parts for various fault currents? Is
the voltage always less than 30 volts?
Once again, the analysis is for a 120-V, 15-A, 3% system voltage drop circuit.
The current is an arbitrary 150 amperes (10 times the circuit-breaker rating).
This current will clearly operate the circuit-breaker in a relatively short time.
Using similar calculations as for the equipment resistance, the accessible part
voltage is 33 volts .

6%.

Accessible Part Voltage
as a function of fault currents
(120 V, 15 A system, 0.1 ohm equipment resistance)
100
1%
90
2%
80 3% nt
rce
5%
4%
, pe
6%
rop
70
eD
ltag
Vo
Accessible Voltage
m
60
ste
Sy
50
40
150 A
30
Limit for electric shock
20
10
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Fault Current, Amperes

This is a display of voltages at accessible grounded parts for various system

voltage drops as a function of fault currents.
The voltage calculated on the previous slide (#24), is 33 volts at 150 amperes
and 3% system voltage drop.
The voltages for 0.1 ohm resistance for 3% system voltage drop was re-
calculated as a function of fault current.
The same calculations are shown for 1- to 6-percent system voltage drops.
Note that the maximum voltage for all fault currents from 80 amperes to 220
amperes is less than the 30 volts required by safety standards. So, the 0.1-ohm
resistance does a reasonable job of limiting the voltage. Note that circuit-
breaker operating time decreases rapidly with increasing current. So, the
duration of voltage is limited by the current-time operating curves of the
circuit-breaker.
Note that as the system voltage drop decreases, the current for 30 volts
increases. The lower the resistance of the source, the more effective the 0.1-
ohm equipment resistance!

TN-S Circuit Analysis -- Short-circuit
15-A Circuit
0.12 ohms
I = E/R
Load
120 V E= 120
R = 0.12+0.1+0.12
0.1 E = 77.7
353 A
0.12 ohms
E = IR
353 A E = 353x0.1
E = IR E = 35.3
E = 353x0.12
E = 42.3 V

If the equipment resistance is 0.1 ohm as required by the various standards,

what is the voltage at accessible grounded parts in the event of a short-circuit?
Clearly, the voltage will not be less than 30 volts? How high is the voltage?
Once again, the analysis is for a 120-V, 15-A, 3% system voltage drop circuit.
The current is limited only by the source resistances and the 0.1-ohm
resistance of the equipment. (This current will clearly operate the circuit-
breaker in a relatively short time.)
Using similar calculations as for the 150-ampere fault current, the accessible
part voltage is 77.7 volts volts .
These calculations can be repeated for the three major supply systems, 120 V/
15 A, 120 V/20 A, and 230 V/16 A as a function of system voltage drop.

Accessible Part Voltage, Short-circuit to Grounded Part
as a function of system voltage drop
(0.1-ohm grounding resistance)
180
160
140
230 V, 16 A
120
Potential, volts
100
120 V, 20 A
80
77.7 V Short-circuit current
120 V, 15 A
60
40
Limit for electric shock

20
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
System Voltage Drop, percent

This is a display of voltages at accessible grounded parts for short-circuit

currents as a function of system voltage drops.
The voltage calculated on the previous slide (#26), is 77.7 volts at 3% system
voltage drop.
The voltages for 0.1 ohm resistance and short-cicuit current was re-calculated
as a function of system voltage drop.
The same calculations are shown for 120 V/15 A, 120 V/20 A, and 230 V/16A
supply circuits. Note that the maximum voltage always sexceeds the 30 volts
required by safety standards. Note that circuit-breaker operating time is
minimum under short-circuit conditions. So, the duration of hazardous voltage
is limited by the current-time operating curves of the circuit-breaker.

How Does Grounding Provide
Protection Against Electric Shock
for a TN-S system?
When the fault current is low,

grounding limits the voltage on
accessible parts.
When the fault current is high,

grounding enables automatic
disconnection of the supply.

For a TN-S system, grounding does not provide an equipotential environment

due to the finite resistances of the equipment grounding circuit.
However, equipment grounding through its protective conductor does serve to

limit the voltage for low fault currents.
For higher fault currents, another scheme provides protection against electric
shock: limited duration of the current through the body by means of automatic
disconnection of the supply (operation of the circuit-breaker).

Characteristics of 0.1-ohm
Grounding Resistance
Easily achievable.
Limits the voltage on accessible parts to less

than 30 volts for fault currents up to about 80
amps.
For currents above 80 amps, protection is

provided by the operating time of the
overcurrent device (2 seconds or less).

By limiting equipment grounding resistance to no more than 0.1 ohms,

protection against electric shock (by limitation of voltage) is achieved for fault
currents up to about 80 amperes.
The 0.1-ohm limit is easily achievable.
Ohms Law allows prediction of the maximum current at which the voltage on
accessible parts will exceed the usual 30-volt electric shock limit. For a
nominal 120-V, 15-A, 3% system voltage drop, the maximum current is about
125 amperes.

Conclusions
In the TN-S system, equipotentiality is NOT

independent of the grounding resistance.
In the TN-S system, the 0.1-ohm grounding

resistance limits voltage on accessible parts
to less than 30 volts for fault currents up to
about 80 amperes.
For higher current and short-circuit faults,

protection depends on the I-T characteristic
of the overcurrent device.


Acknowledgement
Thanks to Jim Bacher for presenting this

paper in my absence.
Richard Nute
Copies (pdf) of this paper with text are available from

Richard Nute, richn@ieee.org.


Equipotentiality and Grounding Circuit Analysis

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Equipotentiality and Grounding

Derivation of grounding resistance for

Grounding-1 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

Equipotentiality is one means of preventing electric shock. Grounding is a

This paper explains equipotentiality and how it provides protection against

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company

Grounding is a supplementary protection

Grounding-2 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company

Protective grounding is a supplementary

Grounding-3 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

Probably the most well-known protective scheme is that of protective

Grounding is a supplementary protection scheme. It is equivalent to

For both protective grounding and double-insulation schemes, the principal

Grounding and supplementary insulation are supplementary protection

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company

Grounding-4 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

The operating concept for product safety is that safeguards be interposed

Furthermore, protection is provided by both a principal safeguard (for normal

For electric shock, the principle safeguard is Basic Insulation.

In the event of failure of Basic Insulation, there are two supplementary

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company

The purpose of grounding is to establish an

Grounding-5 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

Grounding provides protection against electric shock by creating an

An equipotential environment is an environment where there is no potential

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company

Grounding-6 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

Reference: Museum of Science, Boston.

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company

Grounding-7 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

The Faraday Cage also creates an equipotential environment (or Equipotential

Because all of the conductors are connected together, there is no potential

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company

Grounding-8 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

The Equipotential Cage can be grounded or it can be isolated from ground. An

In these Equipotential Cage equivalent circuits, there is no current through the

If the Equipotential Cage is grounded, then the resistance of the cage

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company

Grounding-9 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

The concept of the equipotential environment is quite simple: Connect all

If there is no current, then the resistance of the Equipotential Cage conductors

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company

Grounding-10 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

Normally, there is no cage.

To accomplish the equipotential environment, the accessible conductive parts

In principle, the conductive parts need not be connected to ground.

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company

1st letter: neutral connected to...

Grounding-11 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

The world has several different power system grounding configurations.

In IEC standards, the various power system configurations have designations

The letters designate the means by which the respective conductor is

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company

Grounding-12 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

The TT system has two, separate ground rods.

The neutral is connected to its ground rod at the service entrance.

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company

Grounding-13 Rev. B.02 06-Sep-00

The IT system also has two, separate ground rods.

One characteristic of the IT system is that the system is tolerant of a fault to

2000 Hewlett-Packard Company