142-1982 - IEEE Recommended Practice For Grounding of Industrial and Commercial Power Systems (IEEE Green Book) PDF

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IEEE Recommended Practice for
Grounding of Industrial and
Commercial Power Systems
Published by
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc
Authorized licensed use limited to: Dalhousie University. Downloaded on November 20,2012 at 21:05:41 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
ANSI/IEEE
Std 142-1982
(Revision of ANSI/IEEE
Std 142-1972)
An American National Standard

IEEE Recommended Practice for
Sponsor
Power System Technologies Committee
of the
IEEE Industry Applications Society
Approved June 10,1982

IEEE Standards Board
Approved February 4,1983

American National Standards Institute
Fourth Printing
August 1988
ISBN 0-471-89573-3
Library of Congress 82-083209
0 Copyright 1982 by
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc

345 East 47th Street, New York,NY 10017, USA
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form,
in an electronic retrieval system or othenoise,
without p r i m written permission of the publisher.
Stpttnnber 17, 1982 SH08797
When the IEEE Standards Board approved this standard on June 10, 1982, it
had the following membership:
I. N. Howell, Jr. Chairman Irving Kolodny, Vice Chairman

Sava I. Sherr, Secretary
C. Y. R. Allen Len S. Corey Donald T. Michael*
J. J. Archambault J. V. Fleckenstein A. R. Parsons
James H. Beall Jay Forster J. P. Riganati
John T. Boettger Kurt Greene Robert W. Sellbach
J. V. Bonucchi Joseph L. Koepfinger Jay A. Stewart
Edward Chelotti John E. May Clifford 0. Swanson
Edward J. Cohen Robert E. Weiler
*Memberemeritus
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Foreword
(This Foreword is not a part of ANSI/IEEE Std 142-1982, IEEE Recommended Practice for Grounding of
Industrial and Commercial Power Systems.)
This recommended practice is a revision of IEEE Std 142-1972.The subjects covered
by this document are divided into four parts corresponding to the four sections.
Section 1 covers the problems of system grounding, that is, connection to ground of
the neutral, of the comer of the delta, or of the midtap of one phase. The advantages
and disadvantages of grounded versus ungrounded systems are discussed. Information
is given on how t o ground the system, where the system should be grounded, and how
to select equipment for the grounding of the neutral circuits.
Section 2 deals with the problems of connecting the frames and enclosures of electric
apparatus, such as motors, switchgear, transformers, buses, cables, conduits, building
frames, and portable equipment, t o a ground system. It also outlines the fundamentals
of making the interconnection or ground-conductor system between electric equip-
ment and the ground rods, water pipes, etc.
Section 3 deals with the problems of static electricity--how it is generated, what
processes may produce it, how it is measured, and what should be done to prevent its
generation or t o drain the static charges t o earth to prevent sparking. The methods of
protecting structures against the effects of lightning are also covered; since the system
for protecting structures against lightning consists entirely of conductors t o earth, it
is considered within the scope of this document t o discuss the general aspects of the
problem.
Section 4 deals with the problems of obtaining a low-resistance connection to the
earth. The use of ground rods, connections to water pipes, etc, are discussed.
Looking at the problem from an overall standpoint, the grounding of the system
would in most cases be done by making a metallic connection directly or through an
impedance between transformer or generator neutrals and the building grounding
system that is described in Section 2. The grounding system described in Section 2 in
turn is connected t o earth through the system of ground rods and water pipes des-
cribed in Section 4.
The protective system for static and lightning protection discussed in Section 3
would likewise be connected to the ground rods and water pipe system, as outlined in
Section 4.
The major revisions are contained in Section 3, with only minor changes in Sections
1,2,and 4.
This recommended practice was reviewed and approved by the Power Systems Tech-
nologies Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society. This revision was
prepared by the Power Systems Grounding Subcommittee, of the Power Systems Tech-
nologies Committee. A t the time it approved this recommended practice, the sub-
committee had the following membership:
L. J. Kelly, Chairman
Baldwin Bridger Richard H. Kaufman
Thad Brown Ralph H. Lee
Edward Cantwell Robert Loewe
Leonard S . Corey Bal K. Mathur
J. W.Courter William J. Neiswender
D.C. Grant Elliot Rappaport
Gordon S. Johnson Mark T. Theriault
Donald W. Zipse
4th Edition
Working Group Members and Contributors
L. J. Kelly, Chairman
Chapter 1 - Systems Grounding: J. W.Courter

Chapter 2 - Equipment Grounding: Leonard J. Kelly
Chapter 3 - Static and Lightning Protection Grounding: Bal K . Mathur
Chapter 4 - Connection to Earth: Baldwin Bridger
Contents
SECTION PAGE
1. System Grounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.2 Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.3 Factors Influencing the Choice of Grounded or Ungrounded System . . . 19
1.3.1 Service Continuity ................................... 19
1.3.2 Multiple Faults t o Ground ............................. 19
1.3.3 Arcing Fault Bumdowns .............................. 19
1.3.4 Location of Faults ................................... 20
1.3.5 Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1.3.6 Abnormal Voltage Hazards ............................ 23
1.3.7 Power System Overvoltages ............................ 23
1.3.8 Lightning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.3.9 Switching Surges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.3.10 Static . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.3.11 Contact with Higher Voltage System ..................... 24
1.3.12 Line-to-Ground Faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.3.13 Resonant Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.3.14 Restriking Ground Faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.3.15 Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.3.16 Trends in the Application of System Grounding . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.4 Methods of System Grounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1.4.1 Grounding the System Neutral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1.4.2 Solid Grounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1.4.3 Resistance Grounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.4.4 Reactance Grounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.4.5 Ground-Fault Neutralizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.4.6 Grounding at Points Other than System Neutral . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
1.4.7 “Corner-o€-the-Deltayy Grounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
..
3c
1.4.8 One Phase of a Delta System Grounded at Midpoint . . . . . . . . . 31
1.5 Selection and Design of System Grounding Arrangements . . . . . . . . . . .
1.5.1 Obtaining the System Neutral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P -
v i
1.5.2 Grounding Transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n-

J A
1.5.3 Suggested Grounding Methods for Systems 600 V and below . . 33

1.5.4 Systems 2.4-15 kV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
1.5.5 Systems above 15 kV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
1.5.6 Criteria for Limiting Transient Overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
1.6 Selection of System Grounding Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
1.6.1 Ground at Each Voltage Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3‘1
1.6.2 Ground at the Power Source and Not at the Load . . . . . . . . . . .
1.6.3 Ground Each Major Source Bus Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.3”
17
1.6.4 Neutrai Circuit Arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

1.6.5 Single Power Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
1.6.6 Multiple Power Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
1.7 Calculation of Ground-Fault Currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
1.7.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
1.7.2 Resistance Grounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
1.7.3 Reactance Grounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
1.7.4 Solid Grounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
11
SECTION PAGE
1.8 Selection of Grounding Equipment Ratings ...................... 40

1.8.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
1.8.2 Resistor Ratings ..................................... 41
1.8.3 Reactor Ratings ..................................... 41
1.8.4 Grounding-Transformer Ratings ......................... 42
1.9 Special Problems: Influence of grounding Method on Control Circuit
Safety in Systems 600 V and below ............................ 43
1.10 Autotransformers .......................................... 43
1.11 Systems with Utility Supply .................................. 43
1.12 Unit-Connected Generators .................................. 43
1.13 Three-phase Four-Wire Systems ............................... 44
1.14 Systems with Emergency or Standby Power Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
1.15 References ............................................... 45
1.16 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2 . Equipment Grounding ........................................... 47
2.1 Basic Objectives ........................................... 47
2.1.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.1.2 Voltage Exposure .................................... 47
2.1.3 Avoidance of Thermal Distress .......................... 48
2.1.4 Preservation of System Performance ..................... 50
2.2 Fundamental Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.2.1 A Single Wire as a Grounding Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.2.2 Cabling of Conductors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
2.2.3 Enclosing Metal Shell ................................. 54
2.2.4 Circuit Impedance Components ......................... 56
2.2.5 Electromagnetic Interference Suppression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
2.2.6 Bonding of Metal Sleeves Enclosing a Grounding Conductor . . . 57
2.2.7 Grounding Connections Associated with Steep-Wave-Front
Voltage Protection Equipment .......................... 57
2.2.8 Connection to Earth .................................. 60
2.3 Equipment Grounding as Influenced by Type of Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
2.4 Outdoor Open-Frame Substations ............................. 63
2.4.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
2.4.2 Design of Avenues for Power-Frequency Ground-Fault
Current Flow ....................................... 63
2.4.3 Design of Earthing Connections ......................... 65
2.4.4 Surge-Voltage Protective Equipment ..................... 67
2.4.5 Control of Surface Voltage Gradient ..................... 67
2.4.6 Voltage Gradients External to But Adjacent t o the Boundary
Fence ............................................. 67
2.5 Outdoor Unit Substations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
2.6 Outdoor Installations Serving Heavy Portable Electric Machinery . . . . . 70
2.7 Interior Wiring Systems ..................................... 70
2.7.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
2.7.2 Building Service Equipment ............................ 74
2.7.3 Interior Electric Circuits ............................... 75
2.7.4 Special Considerations ................................ 76
12
SECTION PAGE
2.8 Interior Unit Substations and Switching Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
2.8.1 Switching Centers .................................... 77
2.8.2 Transformation Unit Substations ........................ 80
2.9 Terminal Apparatus ........................................ 81
2.10 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
2.1 1 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
3 . Static and Lightning Protection Grounding ........................... 87
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.2 Static Grounding .......................................... 87
3.2.1 Purpose of Static Grounding ........................... 87
3.2.2 Fundamental Causes of Static Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.2.3 Magnitudes ......................................... 90
3.2.4 Conditions Required for a Static Charge to Cause Ignition . . . . . 91
3.2.5 Measurement and Detection of Static Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
3.2.6 Methods of Static Control ............................. 93
3.2.7 Hazards in Various Facilities and Mechanisms, Applicable
Static Control Methods ............................... 99
3.3 Lightning Protection Grounding ............................... 105
3.3.1 Nature of Lightning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
3.3.2 Equipment and Structures to Be Considered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
3.3.3 Requirements for Good Protection ...................... 109
3.3.4 Practices for Lightning Protection ....................... 112
3.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
3.5 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
4 . Connection to Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
4.1 Resistance to Earth ........................................ 119
4.1.1 Nature of Grounding Resistance ......................... 119
4.1.2 Recommended Acceptable Values ....................... 121
4.1.3 Resistivity of Soils ................................... 122
4.1.4 Calculation of Resistance to Earth ....................... 124
4.1.5 Current-Loading Capacity ............................. 124
4.1.6 Soil Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
4.2 Ground Electrodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
4.2.1 Existing Electrodes ................................... 125
4.2.2 Made Electrodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
4.2.3 Driven Rod or Pipe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
4.2.4 Concrete-Encased Rods or Wires ........................ 126
4.2.5 Buried Strip, Wire, and Cable ........................... 126
4.2.6 Grid Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
4.2.7 Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
4.3 Methods and Techniques of Construction ....................... 127
4.3.1 Choice of Rods ...................................... 127
4.3.2 Methods of Driving Rods .............................. 128
4.3.3 Locating a Water Main (New Construction) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
4.3.4 Connecting to Electrodes .............................. 128
4.3.5 Joining to Underground Piping Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
4.3.6 Joining to Structural Steel ............................. 129
4.3.7 Preparing the Joint ................................... 129
13
.
.
SECTION PAGE
4.4 Measurement of Resistance t o Earth ........................... 129

4.4.1 Need for Measurement ................................ 129
4.4.2 Methods for Measuring ................................ 129
4.4.3 Periodic Testing ..................................... 130
4.4.4 Earth Resistivity Measurement .......................... 130
4.4.5 Cathodic Protection .................................. 130
4.5 References ............................................... 131
FIGURES
Fig 1 Voltage t o Ground under Steady-State Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Fig 2 System Neutral Circuit and Equivalent Diagrams for Ungrounded and
Various Types of Grounded-Neutral Systems ....................... 27
Fig 3 Core Windings and Connections of Three-phase Zigzag Grounding
Transformer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Fig 4 Vectors Representing Current Flow in Wye-Delta Transformer
Used as Grounding Transformer with Line-to-Ground Fault . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Fig 5 Methods of Connecting Grounding Transformer to a Delta-Connected
or Ungrounded Power System to Form Neutral for System Grounding . . . 34
Fig 6 Ground-Fault Detection Diagram Using Overcurrent Relay in Residual
Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Fig 7 Ground-Fault Detection Diagram Using Overcurrent Relay Connected
to Zero-Sequence (Doughnut) Current Transformer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
pig 8 Variation of R and X with Conductor Size and Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Fig 9 Single Wire as Grounding Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
i?ig 10 Magnetic Field of Wire as Grounding Conductor .................... 52
Fig 11 Electromagnetic Induction of Wire as Grounding Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Fig 12 Raceway as Grounding Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Fig 13 Bonding of Metal Enclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Fig 14 Surge Arrester Location on Transformer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Fig 15 Surge Protection Equipment on Motor ............................ 60
Fig 16 Earth Surface Potential around Ground Rod during Current Flow . . . . . . . 32
7ig 17 Open-Frame Outdoor Substation Showing Lightning Masts, Surge
Arresters. and Low-Voltage Side Grounding Resistors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
F g i8 Thermal-Weld Junction in Underground Grounding Conductor . . . . . . . . . 66
Fig 19 Outdoor Unit Substation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Fig 20 Heavy-Duty Portable Apparatus-Physical Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4ig 21 Heavy-Duty Portable Apparatus-Elemenix of Electric-Shock-Hazard
Troblem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72. 73
Fig 22 Indoor Unit Substation-Typical Unitized Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3ig 23 Indoor Unit Substation-& ck View Showing LJse of an Independent
Grounding Conductor with Each Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
T i g 24 Typical Supply-Conductor Patterns of Power Circuits to Utilization
Apparatus with Emphasis on a Distinction between Grounding and
Grounded Conductors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82. 83
Fig 25 Charged and Uncharged Bodies Insulated from Ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Fig 26 Both Insulated Bodies Share the Same Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Pig 27 Both Bodies are Grounded and Have No Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Fig 28 Methods of Grounding Metal Rollers or Shafting .................... 95
Fig 29 Static Collectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
14
FIGURES PAGE
Fig 30 Electrically Energized Neutralizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Fig 31 Details and Location of Static Comb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-01
Fig 32 Annual Isoceraunic Map of Continentd Unikd Et&s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Fig 33 Annual Isoceraunic &E, gf Can319 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Fig 34 Lightining Protection foi Str.4 C L U L ~ S C c l k k k g Bzzxdszs Materials . . . . 113
Fig 35 Lightning Protzctlctn f3r Stacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Fig 36 Typicd ?Jethad of Grzsunding Surge Arrester ....................... 116
r ig 37 Elecli-~dcR z z k t m c e Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
TABLES
D h ! e 1 F.?xge of SWie 17-Zf~gnsProdxed by Various Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1
Table 2 Sparking Cia’;a=iczs i3 Air f c r l ? x i i s ~ sTJoltagcsSctween Needle Points . . 91
Tabk 3 Minimam L I e c : ~ i ~E:az~s?g
d f s r Igriition of Some Dust Clouds and
Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Tdde 4 Electrcdc R c a i s t ~ c e ?c:cz:+Lge
. Qf 25 f t (7.6m) Resistance . . . . . . . . . . 121
Table 5 Resistivity of E d s ox! Rzsis?a x e s of Single Rods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Table 6 Effeci Xuisi-uie SL,L~L.A~ ;n Soil Resistivity ..................... 122
Table 7 Effeci of T~Z.,~CL.Z!I-IL~ oi: Soil Resistivity ......................... 122
Table 8 FoizyAiis for Czl=ul~ticr,c f Raaistances t o Ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
labit: 3
- 7
Xdtifil~kF ~ agc t ~ l ~f~b Kdtiple Rods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
15
1. System Grounding
1.1 Introduction. Whether or not to and extent of the industrial system under
ground an electrical system is a question consideration and on the character of
that must be faced sometime by most service required at the points of power
engineers charged with planning electri- consumption.
cal distribution. A decision in favor of a Where an industrial power system con-
grounded system leads to the question of sists of power-generating equipment,
how to ground. transmission circuits, and distribution
It is the purpose of this section t o circuits, the reasons for grounding these
assist the planning engineer in answering components are often the same as those
these and other more detailed questions for grounding similar components of
on the subject by presenting basic rea- public utility systems and other large
sons for grounding or not grounding and power systems, and the methods of
by reviewing general practices and meth- grounding would generally be similar
ods of system grounding. under like conditions of service. But in
Practices of the grounding of synchro- some cases the reasons for grounding and
'
nous generators [ 71 and of distribution the methods of grounding certain com-
and transmission systems [ 91, particular- ponents of an industrial power system
ly those operated at 23 kV and higher, may differ according t o the requirements
have been summarized in other guides. of manufacturing or process operations.
The practices set forth in those guides are The National Electrical Code [ 2 ] ,
applicable t o industrial power systems to sponsored by the National Fire Protec-
various degrees, depending on the type tion Association, contains regulations
pertaining t o system and equipment
'The numbers in brackets correspond to grounding applicable to industrial, com-
those of the references listed in 1.15. merical, and healthcare facilities. These
17
IEEE
Std 142-1982 GROUNDING OF INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIALPOWER SYSTEMS
rules are considered minimum require- in which no impedance has been inten-
ments for the protection of life and tionally inserted.
property and should be carefully re-
NOTE: This term, though commonly used, is
viewed during the course of system somewhat confusing since a transformer may
design. have its neutral solidly connected to ground,
and yet the connection may be so small in
1.2 Definitions. Definitions of terms in capacity as t o furnish only a very-high-imped-
addition to those appearing in this sec- ance ground to the system to which it is con-
nected. In order to define grounding positively
tion may be found in ANSI/IEEE Std and logically as to degree, the term effective
100-1977[ 11 . grounding has come into use. The term solidly
The varieties of system grounding are grounded will therefore be used in this standard
only in referring to a solid metallic connection
the following. from system neutral to ground; that is, with no
impedance intentionally added in the grounding
ungrounded system. A system, circuit, or circuit.
apparatus without an intentional connec-
tion to ground, except through potential- grounded effectively. Grounded through
indicating or measuring devices or other a sufficiently low impedance such that
very-high-impedancedevices. for all system conditions the ratio of
zero-sequence reactance to positive-
NOTE: Though called ungrounded, this type of sequence reactance (X,/XI ) is positive
system is in reality coupled to ground through
the distributed capacitance of its phase wind- and less than 3, and the ratio of zero-
ings and couductors. In the absence of a ground sequence resistance to positive-sequence
fault, the neutral of an ungrounded system reactance (R,/X,) is positive and less
under reasonably balanced load conditions will than 1.
usually be cluse to ground potential, being held
there by the balanced electrostatic capacitance NOTE: The effcctively grounded system p e r
between each phese conductor and ground. mits the application of surge arresters with less
Figure l ( a ) shows an ungrounded system with than line-to-line voltage ratings. Ground fault
voltage relations for balanced phase-to-ground currents mill be approximately of the same
capacitance. magnitude as three-phase fault currents.
grounded system. A system of conduc- resistance grounded. Grounded through
tors in which at least one conductor or impedance, the principal element of
point (usually the middle wire or neutral which is resistance.
point of transformer or generator wind-
ings) is intentionally grounded, either NOTE: The high-resistance-grounded system is
solidly or through an impedance. designed to meet the criterion of Ro f X C O in
order to limit trsnsient overvoltages due to arc-
NOTE: Various degrees ofgroundings are used, ing ground faults. The ground-fault current is
from solid or effective grounding to the high- usually limited to lesi than 10 A. &O is the dis-
tributed per-phase capacitive reactance to
impedance grounding obtained from a small ground of the system.
grounding transformer used only to secure The low-reaistance-groundedsystem permits a
enough ground current for relaying, to the high- higher ground-fadt current (on the order of
resistance grounding which secures control of 25 A to several hundred emperes) to obtain suf-
transient overvoltage but may not furnish suffi-
cient current for ground-fault relaying. Fmres ficient current for selective relay performance.
For the usual system the criterion for limiting
l(b) and (c) shorn two points at which a sys-
tem may be grounded and the corresponding transient overvoltages is Ro lX0 > 2.
voltage relationships. Note that according to
NEMA SG 4-1976 [6]there are system voltage inductance grounded. Grounded through
limitations for corner grounding. impedance, the principal element of
which is inductance.
grounded solidly. Connected directly
through an adequate ground connection NOTE: The conditions of an inductance-
18
IEEE
SYSTEM GROUNDING Std 142-1982
grounded system are that X o / X l lie within the occurring on another phase, resulting in
range of 3-10 and Ro 1x0 <
1. The ground-fault an outage. The advantage of an un-
current becomes 25%or more of the three-phase
fault current. Inductance grounding becomes grounded system, in not immediately
“effective” grounding if X O / X I is reduced t o dropping load upon the occurrence of a
3 or less. ground fault, may be largely destroyed
1.3 Factors Influencing the Choice of by the practice of ignoring a ground
Grounded or Ungrounded System fault until a second one occurs and re-
1.3.1 Service Continuity. For many pairs are required t o restore service. With
years a great number of industrial plant an ungrounded system it is extremely
distribution systems have been operated important that an organized mainte-
ungrounded at one or more voltage levels. nance program be provided so that
In most cases this has been done with ground faults are located and removed
the thought of gaining an additional as soon as possible after their detection.
degree of service continuity. The fact An adequate detection system, pos-
that any contact occurring between one sibly in conjunction with an audible
phase of the system and grourd is unlike- alarm, is considered essential for opera-
ly to cause an immediate outage to any tion of an ungrounded system. In addi-
load may represent an advantage in tion, it is advisable in ungrounded sys-
many plants, varying in its importance tems to employ ground-fault tracing
according to the type of plant. equipment which permits maintenance
Grounded systems, in most cases, are personnel to locate a ground fault with
designed so that circuit protective de- the system energized and without the
vices will remove a faulty circuit from necessity of interrupting service on any
the system regardless of the type of fault. circuit during the process of fault locat-
A phase-to-ground fault generally results ing.
in the immediate isolation of the faulted Experience has shown that multiple
circuit with the attendant outage of the ground faults are rarely, if ever, experi-
loads on that circuit. However, experienced on grounded-neutral systems.
ence has shown [ l o ] , in a number of 1.3.3 Arcing Fault Burndowns. In
systems, that greater service continuity recent years, especially in low-voltage
:%ay be obtained with grounded-neutral power systems, many cases of arcing
than with ungrounded-neutral systems. fault bumdowns have been reported in
1.3.2 Multiple Faults to Ground. While which severe damage to or complete de-
a ground fault on one phase of an un- struction of electrical equipment was
grounded system generally does not caused by the energy of arcing fault cur-
cause a service interruption, the occur- rents [15]. In typical cases an arcing
Yence of a second ground fault on a dif- fault becomes established between two
ferent phase, before the first fault is or more phase conductors in an un-
cleared, does result in an outage. i f both grounded system, or between phase con-
faults are on the same feeder, that feeder ductor(s) and ground in a solidly
will be opened. If the second fault is on grounded-neutral system. The fault arc
a different feeder, both feeders may be causes the release of enormous amounts
iieenergized. of energy at the fault site, resulting in
The longer a ground fault is allowed to the violent generation of hot gases and
remain on an ungrounded system, the arc plasma. The accompanying heat is so
greater is the likelihood of a second one intense that it vaporizes copper or alumi-
19
IEEE
Std 142-1982 GROUNDING OF INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL POWER SYSTEMS
num conductors and surrounding steel there is no significant current in the

enclosures and distills toxic and flam- ground return path. Therefore, monitor-
mable gases from organic insulation sys- ing the solidly grounded-neutral system
tems. Frequently the devastation is so for currents in the ground circuit provides
complete that the equipment involved an easy means for detecting and remov-
must be totally replaced [ 161 . ing destructive arcing faults to ground.
It is characteristic of arcing fault burn- This type of protection is universally
downs that the normal phase-overcur- applicable throughout the power system,
rent devices do not operate to remove and the sensitivity and speed of such re-
the initial fault quickly. Arcing fault cur- laying are independent of load current
rent levels may be so low that such values and phase-overcurrent device
devices either are not actuated at all (be- settings.
cause fault currents are below pickup An inherent problem of ground-fault
settings) or are actuated only after a long protection devices typically installed in
period of time, too late to prevent burn- low-voltage main circuit breakers, service
down. breakers, etc, is that a ground fault in a
The low-current arcing faults are char- cable or equipment of a small subfeeder
acteristic of open or covered buses, par- or branch of the system is likely to trip
ticularly in switchgear or metal-enclosed the large main circuit breaker, shutting
switching or motor control equipment. down the entire installation. Nonselective
Instances of burndown have also occurred tripping can be a problem unless coordi-
in high-capacity buses having relatively nated ground-fault protection devices are
wide spacing, served from the utility net- installed at each feeder, subfeeder, and
work at 480Y 1277 V through protective at each load branch of the system. Where
devices rated 2000 A or larger. Such spac- isolation of only the faulted portion of a
ing can limit the current of a single arc system is important, much care must be
to approximately 1500A, which is not used in applying ground-fault protection
enough to operate the phase protective equipment.
devices, so arcing continues for many Thus the solidly and low-resistance
minutes. grounded-neutral systems provide a basis
It is generally recognized that preven- for easily securing protection against
tion of arcing fault bumdowns, at the ruinous phase-to-ground arcing fault
present state of protective system design, bumdowns. (Unfortunately, no compar-
must rely upon fast and sensitive detec- ably reliable and universally applicable
tion of the arcing fault current, accom- means of protection against low-level
panied by an interruption of the faulty line-to-line arcing fault burndowns has
circuit within approximately 10-20 been devised.)
cycles. In the solidly grounded-neutral 1.3.4 Location of Faults. On an un-
system, this fast sensitive detection is grounded system, a ground fault does
possible since an arcing fault will pro- not open the circuit. Some means of de-
duce a current in the ground path, either tecting the presence of a ground fault on
because the fault begins as a line-to- the system should be installed. Lamps
ground fault or because it will almost in- connected to indicate the potential from
stantly involve ground, even though ini- each phase to ground will show the pres-
tiated as a line-to-line arcing fault. Under ence of a ground fault and which phase
normal (nonground fault) conditions is involved, but will not show on which
20
IEEE
feeder the fault has occurred. Locating (600 V or less) distribution system may
a ground fault on one of the several feed- result in less likelihood of accidents t o
ers may require removing from service personnel than when the system is sup-
one feeder at a time until the ground de- posedly left ungrounded. The knowledge
tector indicates that the faulted feeder that a circuit is grounded generally will
has been removed from the system. result in greater care on the part of the
Should it happen that the same phase of worker.
two different feeders becomes faulted to It is erroneous to believe that on an
ground at the same time, the faulted ungrounded system a person may con-
feeders cannot be located by removing tact an energized phase conductor with-
them from the system one at a time. It out personal hazard. As Fig l ( a ) shows,
may be necessary to remove all feeders an ungrounded system with balanced
and restore them to service one at a time, phase-to-ground capacitance has normal
checking the ground detector as each line-to-neutral voltage between any
feeder is restored. phase conductor and ground. To acci-
The location of a grounded feeder on dentally or intentionally contact such a
an ungrounded system may be facilitated conductor may present a serious, per-
by the use of various types of locating haps lethal, shock hazard.
apparatus [13]. For example, an inter- While a ground-fault remains on one
rupted direct voltage or superimposed phase of an ungrounded or impedance-
audio signal may be applied to the feeder grounded system, personnel contacting
bus and the tracing current detected in one of the other phases and ground are
the grounded feeders. Some operators subjected t o 1.73 times the voltage that
have reported success using locating ap- would be experienced on a solidly neu-
paratus not requiring deenergizing sys- tral-grounded system. The voltage pat-
tem feeders [14]. This, of course, has tern is the same as that shown in Fig l(c).
the advantage of permitting the location Other hazards of shock and fire may
of ground faults without waiting for result from inadequate grounding of
light load periods on the system. equipment in either grounded or un-
An accidental ground fault on a grounded systems. Accidental ground
grounded system is both indicated and at faults are inevitable. The current path to
least partially located by an automatic ground for a winding-to-frame insulation
interruption of the accidentally grounded breakdown in a motor may include
circuit or piece of equipment. greasy shavings or other materials that
1.3.5 Safety. Many of the hazards to can be ignited by sparks or localized
personnel and property existing in some heating. Such a high-impedance ground
industrial electrical systems are the result circuit may not permit enough current
of poor or nonexistent grounding of flow to operate protective devices, with
electrical equipment and metallic struc- the result that a potential fire and safety
tures. While the subject of equipment hazard may exist for some time. There is
grounding is treated in Section 2, it is hazard of a shock to personnel from
important to note here that regardless of such a condition, should they bridge all
whether or not the system is grounded, or part of the high-impedance ground
safety considerations require thorough path, for example by contacting the
grounding of equipment and structures. frame of the faulty machine. This hazard
Proper grounding of a low-voltage is particularly bad because there are
21
IEEE
A B
B
GROUND
G R o u N D A v B
I
C C
1 1 1
T T T PHASE-TO-GROUND
PHASETO-GROUND
I I I CAPACITANCE
111
- - -
(a)
A
A a
B
C
C
A
I
A B
'J
GROUND C
Fig 1
Voltages to Ground under Steady-StateConditions
(a) Ungrounded System (b) Grounded Wye-Connected System
( c )Corner Grounded Delta-Connected System
22
IEEE
more possible victims than in the case (5) Line-to-ground faults

where persons familiar with electric sys- (6) Resonant conditions
tems work on a circuit. (7) Restriking ground faults
On the other hand, the relatively high 1.3.8 Lightning (See Section 3 and
ground-fault currents associated with [ 171 .) Most industrial systems are effec-
solidly grounded systems may present a tively shielded against direct lightning
hazard to exposed workers from hot arc strokes. Many circuits are either under-
products and flying molten metal, which ground in ducts or within grounded metal
is not present in ungrounded systems. conduits or raceways. Even open-wire
This problem has become much less circuits are often shielded by adjacent
serious however, because of the universal metallic structures and buiidings. Surge
use of metai-enclosed equipment. arresters applied at the incoming service
limit the surge voltages within the plant
1.3.6 Abnormal Voltage Hazards. The which result from strokes to the exposed
possible overvoltages on the ungrounded service lines. Other arrestor applications
system may cause more frequent failures may be necessary within the plant to
of equipment than if the system were protect low -impulse-strength devices such
grounded. In some cases these overvolt- as rotating machines. Where a plant
ages have caused failures on more than is supplied from a substation stepping
one unit of equipment at the same time. down from some higher voltage, surge
These multiple failures are not neces- arresters are desirable on the low side of
sarily confined to one feeder, but may the transformer, since the leading edge
involve equipment on several different of an incoming surge (prior to the pri-
feeders. mary arrester flashover point) is trans-
A fault on one phase of an ungrounded formed just as are the power frequencies.
or impedance-grounded system places a Such a surge pulse is capable of damag-
sustained increased voltage on the insula- ing equipment connected to the second-
tion of ungrounded phases in a three- ary winding unless surge protective de-
phase system. This overvoltage is 1.73 vices suitable for this equipment are
times the voltage normally on the insula- applied.
tion. This or other sustained overvoltages 1.3.9 Switching Surges. Normal switch-
or the transient overvoltages on the un- ing operations in the system can cause
grounded system may not immediately overvoltages. These are generally not
czuse failure of insulation, but may tend more than three times normal voltage
to reduce the life of the insulation. and of short duration. Overcurrent de-
The reduced overvoltages experienced vices such as circuit breakers or non cur-
on grounded systems are less likely t o rent-limiting fuses, in general, interrupt a
damage equipment or insulation. circuit at a normal current zero, at which
1.3.7 Power System Overvoltages (See time the stored energy in the inductance
[ll, chap 51. Some of the more com- of the circuit is zero. The overvoitages
mon sources of overvoltage on a power thus developed result from transient
system are the following: oscillation in the circuit capacitance and
Lightning inductance, there being stored energy in
Switching surges the circuit capacitance at the time of
Static current interruption. More serious over-
Contact with a high-voltage system voltages can be produced by devices
23
IEEE
which interrupt by forcing current zero. current for this condition, will hold the
Such devices as vacuum interrupters and system neutral close t o ground potential,
current-limiting fuses must be carefully and thus the overvoltages t o ground on
applied because of this overvoltage prob- the low-voltage system will be greatly re-
lem. In low-voltage systems, however, duced.
the standards citation for current-limiting 1.3.12 Line-to-Ground Faults. Com-
fuses require that the maximum peak mon source of sustained overvoltage on
voltage occurring during circuit interrup- an ungrounded system is one phase of a
tion shall not exceed 3000 V; this is less three-phase system becoming grounded.
than the crest of the normal high-poten- In this case the insulation of the other
tial test voltage applied to equipment in phases is subjected to a voltage 73%
the 600 V class. above normal. A solidly grounded-neutral
Neutral grounding is not likely to re- system would not permit this overvolt-
duce the total magnitude of overvoltage. While this voltage seldom approaches
age produced by lightning or switching the insulation levels of equipment and
surges. It can, however, distribute the circuits, the cumulative effect of high-
voltage between phases and reduce the er than normal voltage stresses may some-
possibility of excessive voltage stress on what reduce insulation life.
the phase-to-ground insulation of a par- 1.3.13 Resonant Conditions. An un-
ticular phase. grounded system may be subjected to
1.3.10 Static. ( S e e Section 3.)Buildup resonant overvoltages. With the high
of overvoltage on power system conduc- phase-to-ground capacitance of larger
tors due to static charge is not usually a systems, there may be a condition of
problem in modem plants with metal- approximate circuit resonance during a
enclosed circuits and equipment. Static line-to-ground fault through an induc-
charge on moving belts can build up volt- tance such as a faulty coil in a motor
ages which can be transmitted to the starter. The voltage to ground of the un-
power system unless motor frames are faulted phases will then be considerably
properly grounded. Overhead open-wire in excess of line-to-line voltage. An over-
lines may be subject to static overvolt- voltage due to resonant or near-resonant
ages resulting from certain atmospheric conditions can be encountered on a
conditions. A system ground connection, small system where tuned inductive-
even of relatively high resistance, can ef- capacitive circuits are used for such
fectively prevent static voltage buildup. purposes as the operation of welders. For
1.3.11 Contact with Higher Voltage example, if the welder is equipped with a
System. Contact with a higher voltage series capacitor for power factor improve-
system may be caused by a broken high- ment, the voltages across the capacitor
voltage conductor falling on a lower volt- and across the transformer winding are
age conductor where both lines cross or each many times the supply-line-to-line
are carried on the same poles, or by voltage. A fault between the capacitor
breakdown between the high- and low- and the welder transformer imposes this
voltage windings of distribution trans- high voltage on the insulation of the un-
formers, causing other failures of insula- grounded system. A grounded-neutral
tion, possibly at several points. An effec- system would prevent this overvoltage
tively grounded low-voltage system, by holding the phases to their approxi-
though experiencing high values of fault mate normal voltages to ground.
24
IEEE
1.3.14 Restriking Ground Faults. Field tem neutral. Also, the existing protec-
experience and theoretical studies have tive relay schemes may have to be modi-
shown that arcing, restriking, or vibrat- fied t o obtain sensitive ground-fault de-
ing ground faults on ungrounded systems tection. For the existing system, prac-
can, under certain conditions, produce tical consideration may dictate the ap-
surge voltages as high as 6 times normal. plication of a high-resistance grounding
The conditions necessary for producing scheme, with alarm only on the occur-
these overvoltages require that the rence of a ground fault. This eliminates
dielectric strength of the arc path build the requirement for adding sensitive
up at a higher rate after each extinction, ground current relays to each feeder cir-
of the arc than it did after the preceding cuit.
extinction. This phenomenon is unlikely The decision t o convert an existing un-
t o take place in open air between sta- grounded system to grounded operation
tionary contacts because such an arc is usually made for the purpose of limit-
path is not likely to develop sufficient ing transient overvoltages. Older systems
dielectric recovery strength. It may with cables, and motor and transformer
occur in confined areas where the gas windings that have degraded insulation
pressure may increase after each conduc- levels due to aging, atmospheric condi-
tion period. Neutral grounding is effec- tions, and sustained overvoltages are par-
tive in reducing transient voltage buildup ticularly vulnerable to failure due to
from such intermittent ground faults by transient overvoltages resulting from arc-
reducing neutral displacement from ing ground faults. Therefore the cost for
ground potential and the destructiveness converting t o grounded operation is
of any high-frequency voltage oscilla- small when compared to the cost of pos-
tions following each arc initiation or sibly having t o replace cables or rewind
restrike. motor or transformers.
1.3.15 Cost. The cost differential be- 1.3.16 Trends in the Application of
tween grounded and ungrounded neu- System Grounding. The basic reasons for
tral systems will vary, depending on the system grounding are the following.
method of grounding, the degree of pro- (1) To limit the difference of electric
tection desired, and whether a new or an potential between all uninsulated con-
existing system is t o be grounded. ducting objects in a local area
For the new system in the design stage, (2) To provide for isolation of faulted
power transformers with wyeconnected equipment and circuits when a fault
secondaries and wye-connected genera- occurs
tors are available as standard options, (3) To limit overvoltages appearing on
and there is no cost factor for establish- the system under various conditions
ing the system neutral. The additional Many industrial power system opera-
cost items are the neutral grounding re- tors believe that an ungrounded system
sistor or reactor if the system is to be im- offers greater service continuity than a
pedance grounded, and the cost of grounded system, because a line-to-
ground fault relaying. ground fault does not cause immediate
To ground an existing ungrounded tripping of the faulted circuit. On the
deltaconnected system requires an addi- other hand, a second ground fault on
tional cost item, namely, the grounding another phase of a circuit other than
transformer(s) for establishing the sys- that where the original fault occurred
25
IEEE
causes a phase-to-phase fault, large short- 1.4 Methods of System Gounding

circuit current flow (with attendant haz- 1.4.1 Grounding the System Neutral.
ards), and tripping of both faulted cir- Most grounded systems employ some
cuits. Also, the effect of sporadic low- method of grounding the system neutral
level arcing, at the first failure location, at one or more points. These methods
produced by the capacitive “grounding” (Fig 2) are referred t o as the following:
currents from the two ungrounded Solid grounding
phases, may cause the whole system-to- Resistance grounding
ground voltage t o rise t o 4 or more times Reactance grounding
normal voltage (to ground), causing Ground-fault-neutralizer grounding
severe stress on all of the insulation. It is Each method, as named, refers to the
such an overstress that can cause the nature of the external circuit from sys-
failure at a second location, almost con- tem neutral to ground rather than to the
current with the first failure. The various degree of grounding. In each case the im-
grounding systems eliminate this pheno- pedance of the generator or transformer,
menon by changing the fault current whose neutral is grounded, is in series
from entirely capacitive to something with the external circuit. Thus a solidly
nearer a true resistive current. grounded generator or transformer may
Consequently, a major factor t o con- or may not furnish effective grounding
sider in selecting a grounded or un- t o the system, depending on its imped-
grounded system is the quality of elec- ance.
trical maintenance available. Well-main-
tained ungrounded systems, in which the 1.4.2 Solid Grounding Solid ground-
first ground fault is promptly located ing refers t o the connection of the neu-
and corrected, probably have greater ser- tral of a generator, power transformer,
vice continuity than solidly grounded or grounding transformer directly t o the
systems. However, many users whose station ground or to the earth. Because
maintenance practices are not quite so of the reactance of the grounded gener-
extensive feel that a grounded-neutral ator or transformer in series with the
system gives them more continuous neutral circuit, a solid ground connec-
service than an ungrounded system. tion does not provide a zero-impedance
There has been an increasing trend to- neutral circuit.
ward grounding industrial systems in If the reactance of the generator or
order to overcome some of the disadvan- transformer is too great with respect t o
tages attributed to ungrounded opera- the total system reactance, the objec-
tion. In recent years a substantial per- tives sought in grounding, principally
centage of new industrial substation freedom from transient overvoltages,
transformers have been purchased with may not be achieved. Thus it is neces-
wye-connected low-voltage windings, sary to determine the degree of ground-
with the insulated neutral brought to ex- ing provided in the system. A good guide
ternal termination suitable for neutral in answering this question is the magni-
grounding. tude of ground-fault current as com-
In new installations these transformers pared to the system three-phase current.
offer the advantage that they can be The higher the ground-fault current in
operated ungrounded, while having the relation to the three-phase fault current
neutral available for grounding, if desired, the greater the degree of grounding in
at some future time. the system. In terms of resistance and
26
IEEE
CIRCUIT Z ERO-SE QU E N CE COMPON E NTS

OF NEUTRAL CIRCUIT
A
UNGROUNDED
7
SOLIDLY GROUNDED
RESISTANCE GROUNDED
'GO 3xN
REACTANCE GROUNDED
xGO 3xN
GROUND-FAULT
NEUTRALIZER
--
X G O = Zero-sequence reactance of generator or transformer

XN = Reactance of grounding reactor
R N = Resistance of grounding resistor
Fig 2
System Neutral Circuit and Equivalent Diagrams for Ungrounded
and Various Types of Grounded-Neutral Systems
27
IEEE
reactance, effective grounding of a sys- such overvoltages will not ordinarily be

tem is accomplished only when R o < XI of a serious nature if the resistance value
and X , < 3 X , , and such relationships lies within the following boundary limits:
exist at any point in the system. The X , R, < X , , , R o > 2 X o . The correspond-
component used in the above relation is ing ground-fault current is far less than is
the Thdvenin equivalent positive-se- normally used for low-resistance ground-
quence reactance of the complete system ing, but is the design criterion for high-
including the subtransient reactance of resistance grounding.
all rotating machines. Resistance grounding may be either of
In most generators solid grounding, two classes, high resistance or low resis-
that is, without external impedance, may tance, distinguished by the magnitude of
permit the maximum ground-fault cur- ground-fault current permitted to flow.
rent from the generator to exceed the Both types are designed to limit tran-
maximum three-phase fault current sient overvoltages to a safe level (within
which the generator can deliver and for 250% of normal). However, the high-
which its windings are braced. Conse- resistance method usually does not re-
quently, neutral-grounded generators quire immediate clearing of a ground
should be grounded through an imped- fault since the fault current is limited to
ance which will limit the ground-fault a very low level. This low level, typically
current to a value no greater than the on the order of 5 A, must be at least
generator three-phase fault current. In equal to the system total capacitance-to-
the case of three-phase four-wire systems, ground charging current. The protective
the limitation of ground-fault current to scheme associated with high-resistance
100% of the three-phase fault current is grounding is usually detection and alarm
usually practical wtihout interfering with rather than immediate tripout. In
normal four-wire operation. general the use of high-resistance ground-
Surge arresters for grounded-neutral ing on systems where the line-to-ground
service (rated near but not less than 80% fault current exceeds 1 0 A should be
of line-to-line voltage) require that the avoided because of the damage poten-
system be effectively grounded. This will tial of an arcing current larger than 10 A
carry with it a line-to-ground circuit cur- in a confined space.
rent of at least 60% of the three-phase The low-resistance method has the ad-
short-circuit value. vantage of immediate and selective clear-
1.4.3 Resistance Grounding. In resis- ing of the grounded circuit, but requires
tance grounding the neutral is connected that the minimum ground-fault current
to ground through one or more resistors. be large enough to positively actuate the
In this method, with the resistor values applied ground-fault relay. High-resis-
normally used, and except for transient tance grounding is a method that can be
overvoltages, the line-to-ground voltages applied to existing medium-voltage un-
that exist during a line-to-ground fault grounded systems to obtain the transient
are nearly the same as those for an un- overvoltage protection without the
grounded system. modification expense of adding ground
A system properly grounded by resis- relays to each circuit.
tance is not subject to destructive tran- Systems grounded through resistors re-
sient overvoltages. For resistance- quire surge arresters suitable for use on
grounded systems at 15 kV and below, ungrounded-neutral circuits, that is, with
28
IEEE
a voltage rating at least equal to the line- not considered an alternative to resis-
to-line voltage. tance grounding.
The reasons for limiting the current by In practice, reactance grounding is
resistance grounding may be one or more generally used only in the case cited in
of the following: 1.4.2, in which a generator neutral is to
(1) To reduce burning and melting ef- be connected to provide four-wire ser-
fects in faulted electric equipment, such vice. In this event it may be necessary to
as switchgear, transformers, cables, and add a low-value reactor to limit the avail-
rotating machines able ground-fault current through the
(2) To reduce mechanical stresses in generator to a value no greater than the
circuits and apparatus carrying fault cur- three-phase fault current contributed by
rents the generator.
(3) To reduce electric-shock hazards 1.4.5 Ground-Fault Neutralizer (Reso-
t o personnel caused by stray ground- nant Grounding) (See [ 8 ] . ) A ground-
fault currents in the ground return path fault neutralizer is a reactor connected
(4) To reduce the arc blast or flash between the neutral of a system and
hazard to personnel who may have acci- ground and having a specially selected,
dentally caused or who happen t o be in relatively high value of reactance.
close proximity to the ground fault A line-to-ground fault causes line-to-
(5) To reduce the momentary line neutral voltage to be impressed across
voltage dip occasioned by the occurrence the neutralizer, which passes an induc-
and clearing of a ground fault tive current. This current is 180' out of
(6) To secure control of transient phase and is approximately equal in mag-
overvoltages while at the same time nitude (when the neutralizer is tuned
avoiding the shutdown of a faulty cir- to the system) to the resultant of the
cuit on the occurrence of the first system charging current of the two un-
ground fault (high-resistance grounding) faulted phases. The inductive and capaci-
tive components of current neutralize
1.4.4 Reactance Grounding. The term each other, and the only remaining cur-
reactance grounding describes the case in rent in the fault is due to resistance, in-
which a reactor is connected between sulator leakage, and corona. This current
the system neutral and ground. Since the is relatively small, and since it is in phase
ground-fault current that may flow in a with the line-to-neutral voltage, the cur-
reactance-grounded system is a function rent and voltage pass through a zero
of the neutral reactance, the magnitude value at the same instant. In addition,
of the ground-fault current is often used the rate of rise of the recovery voltage
as a criterion for describing the degree of on the faulted phase is very low. There-
grounding. In a reactance-grounded sys- fore the arc is extinguished without re-
tem, the available ground-fault current striking, and flashovers are quenched
should be at least 25% and preferably without removing the faulted line section
60% of the three-phase fault current t o from service. It should be noted that fail-
prevent serious transient overvoltages ures in solid insulations such as paper,
(X, < lox, ). This is considerably higher varnished cambric, and rubber are not
than the level of fault current desirable self-healing as insulator flashovers are,
in a resistance-grounded system, and and not extinguished by the use of the
therefore, reactance grounding is usually ground-fault neutralizer.
29
IEEE
On systems for which faults in air are control of a motor-driven tap changer on
relatively frequent, ground-fault neu- the neutralizer, so.that when parts of the
tralizers may be very useful by reducing system are switched, the neutralizer can
the number of circuit breaker operations be readjusted. Because of those compli-
required to remove faults, thus improv- cations, the ground-fault neutralizer is
ing service continuity. They have been very rarely used in industrial and
used primarily on systems above 15 kV, commercial systems.
consisting largely of overhead transmis-
sion or distribution lines. This method is 1.4.6 Grounding at Points Other than
a second choice to resistor grounding, System Neutral. In some cases low-voltage
which provides ground relaying t o dis- systems (600 V and below) are grounded
connect the faulted circuit. at some point other than the system neu-
In some cases, where it has not been tral. This has been done to obtain a
deemed desirable by the plant operators grounded system at a minimum expense
t o trip a circuit on the occurrence of a where existing delta transformer connec-
ground fault, special arrangements have tions do not provide access to the system
been used to limit the damage due t o the neutral.
flow of charging current and yet be able
t o easily locate the faulty feeder. One 1.4.7 Corner-of-the-Delta Grounding.
method is to use a ground-fault neutral- In low-voltage systems, which in the
izer in the neutral t o limit the ground- past have nearly all been supplied from
fault current and to reduce switching transformers with delta-connected
surges to safe values. In some cases it secondaries, grounding of one phase,
may be desirable t o pass enough ground- (corner-of-the-delta) grounding has
fault current to operate relays that give a sometimes been used as a means of ob-
signal or trip the circuit breaker of the taining a grounded system. Advantages
faulty feeder. This is done by a current- are the following:
sensing relay in combination with a re- (1) Possible cost advantage over other
sistor in parallel with the neutralizer. Be- grounding methods for existing delta
cause of the current t o be switched, a systems
power circuit breaker should be used for (2) Possibility of slightly better pro-
switching the resistor. The resistor and tection with twoelement motor starters
relay are selected as if only the resistor when they are located in the two un-
were used. Such a scheme is expensive grounded phases; with properly con-
and is employed only in very special necked circuits, ground-faults in the
cases. control circuit will neither start the
One of the disadvantages of resonant- motor nor prevent stopping the motor
grounded systems is that care must be by means of the push button
taken to keep the ground-fault neutral- Disadvantages are the following:
izer tuned to the system capacitance t o (1) An inability to supply dual-voltage
minimize the development of transient service for lighting and power load
overvoltages. Thus when sections of the (2) The necessity of positive identifi-
system are switched on or off, it may be cation of the grounded phase throughout
necessary to adjust the neutral reactance the system to avoid connecting meters,
by changing the neutralizer tap. This can instruments, and relays in the grounded
be accomplished by providing an am- phase
meter and a control switch for remote (3) A higher line-to-ground voltage on
30
IEEE
two phases than in a neutral-grounded larly in many old systems of 600 V or

system less and many existing 2400, 4800, and
(4)The possibility of exceeding inter- 6900 V systems. When existing delta-
rupting capabilities of marginally applied connected systems are to be grounded,
circuit breakers, because for a ground grounding transformers may be used
fault, the interrupting duty on the to obtain the neutral. Grounding trans-
affected circuit breaker pole exceeds the formers may be of either the zigzag, the
three-phase fault duty wyedelta, or the T-connected type.
Because of its limitations, this type of One type of grounding transformer com-
grounding has not been widely used in monly used is a three-phase zigzag trans-
industrial systems. former with no secondary winding. The
1.4.8 One Phase of a Delta System internal connection of the transforher is
Grounded at Midpoint. Where existing illustrated in Fig 3. The impedance of
systems at 600 V and below are supplied the transformer t o balanced three-phase
by three single-phase transformers with voltages is high so that when there is no
midtaps ayailable, it is possible to gain fault on the system, only a small mag-
some of the advantages of neutral netizing current flows in the transformer
grounding by grounding the midtap of winding. The transformer impedance to
one phase. This method does not provide zero-sequence voltages, however, is low
all the advantages of system neutral so that it allows high ground fault cur-
grounding. Such connections are also rents t o flow. The transformer divides
used to obtain a limited amount of the ground fault current into three equal
240/120V single-phase power in a three- components; these currents are in phase
phase 240 V system. with each other and flow in the three
1.5 Selection and Design of System windings of the grounding transformer.
Grounding Arrangements The method of winding is seen from Fig 3
1.5.1 Obtaining the System Neutral. to be such that when these three equal
The best way to obtain the system neu- currents flow, the current in one section
tral for grounding purposes in three- of the winding of each leg of the core is
phase systems is to use source trans- in a direction opposite to that in the
formers or generators with wyecon- other section of the winding on that leg.
nected windings. The neutral is then This tends to force the ground-fault cur-
readily available. Such transformers are rent t o have equal division in the three
available for practically all voltages ex- lines and accounts for the low imped-
cept 240 V. On new systems, 208Y/120 ance of the transformer-to-ground cur-
or 480Y/277V wyeconnected trans- rents.
formers may be used to good advan- A wye-delta-connected three-phase
tage instead of 240V. Wye-connected transformer or transformer bank can also
source transformers for 2400,4160,and be utilized for system grounding. As in
13 800 V systems are available as a stan- the case of the zigzag grounding trans-
dard option, whereas 4800 and 6900 V former, the usual application is to accom-
wyeconnected source transformers may plish resistance-type grounding of an
be priced at a premium rate. The alterna- existing ungrounded system. The delta
tive is to apply grounding transformers. connection must be closed to provide a
1.5.2 Grounding Transformers. System path for the zero-sequence current, and
neutrals may not be available, particu- the delta voltage rating is selected for
31
IEEE
I-
LINE LEADS
4
"F
Fig 3
(a) Core Windings (b) Connections of Three-Phase
Zigzag Grounding Transformer
any standard value. A resistor inser- alternative application, the voltage rating
ted between the primary neutral and of each of the transformer windings
ground, as shown in Fig4, provides a forming the wye primary should not be
means for limiting ground-fault cur- less than the system line-to-line voltage.
rent t o a level satisfying the criteria The rating of a grounding transformer,
for resistance-grounded systems. For this in kilovoltamperes, is equal to the rated
arrangement, the voltage rating of the line-to-neutral voltage in kilovolts times
wye winding need not be greater than the rated neutral current. Most ground-
the normal line-to-neutral system voltage. ing transformers are designed to carry
For high-resistance grounding it is some- their rated current for a limited time
times more practical or economical to only, such as 10 s or 1min. Consequently
apply the limiting resistor in the secon- they are much smaller in size than an
dary delta connection. Three single-phase ordinary three-phase continuously rated
distribution class transformers are used, transformer with the same rating.
with the primary wye neutral connected It is generally desirable to connect a
directly to ground. The secondary delta grounding transformer directly to the
is closed through a resistor which effec- main bus of a power system, without in-
tively limits the primary ground-fault tervening circuit breakers or fuses, to
current to the desired low level. For this prevent the transformer from being in-
32
IEEE
'1 gttt
' L
Fig 4
Vectors Representing Current Flow in Wye-Delta Transformer
Used as Grounding Transformer with Line-to-Ground Fault
advertently taken out of service by the ing transformers to assure at least one
operation of the intervening devices. (In grounding transformer on the system at
this case the transformer is considered all times. When the grounding trans-
part of the bus and is protected by the former is so connected, it is included in
relaying applied for bus protection.) the protective system of the main trans-
Alternatively the grounding transformer former.
should be served by a dedicated feeder
circuit breaker, as shown in Fig 5(a), or 1.5.3 Suggested Grounding Methods
connected between the main transformer for Systems 600 V and below. Low-volt-
and the main switchgear as illustrated in age systems are frequently operated
Fig 5(b). If the grounding transformer is solidly grounded. The principal rea-
connected as shown in Fig 5(b), there son for this is the extensive use of
should be one grounding transformer for 480 Y/277V systems with line-to-
each delta-connected bank supplying neutral connected loads, and the require-
power to the system, or enough ground- ment in the National Electrical Code,
33
IEEE
GROUNDING
GROUNDING
RESISTOR
(b)
Fig 5
Methods of Connecting Grounding Transformer to a Deltaconnected or
Ungrounded Power System to Form Neutral for System Grounding
ANSI/NFPA 70-1981 [21 for solidly practical choices. Low-resistance ground-
grounding the neutral of such systems. ing is usually not considered since it
For the low-voltage system without would require the use of sensitive ground-
line-to-neutral loading, solid grounding fault protective devices throughout the
or high-resistance grounding are the system. For reasons of economy the
34
IEEE
solidly grounded system depends on ade- This contributes t o better service conti-
quate ground-fault current at locations nuity by permitting continued operation
remote from the source to operate with one ground fault. However, it does
phase fault devices. It is therefore especi- so at the sacrifice of selectivity in
ally important that the equipment ground-fault protection, because the
grounding network provide a very-low- fault current is normally too low to
impedance return path for the ground- allow use of time-overcurrent relays.
fault current. High-resistance system At the present time there are 2.4 kV
grounding, with alarm only, can be used systems in operation without the system
if service continuity is of prime impor- neutral grounded. More and more engi-
tance and if the faulted circuit can be neers, however, are applying system neu-
located and isolated with little delay. tral grounding t o 2.4 kV systems. The
1.5.4 Systems 2.4-15 kV. Modern conventional method is to provide suffi-
power systems in this range of voltages cient ground-fault current to permit
are usually low-resistance grounded to selective relaying through the application
limit the damage due to ground faults in of ground relays.
the windings of rotating machines and 1.5.5 Systems above 15 kV. Systems
yet permit sufficient fault current for above 15 kV are nearly always effective-
the detection and selective isolation of ly grounded, because these are usually
individual faulted circuits. circuits with open lines in which surge
Ground faults are detected by an over- arresters rated for grounded neutral ser-
current relay connected in the residual vice are desirable for better overvoltage
circuit of the three-phase current trans- protection and lower cost. These may be
formers (Fig 6), or by a relay connect- either distribution or transmission cir-
ed to a window- or doughnut-type (zero- cuits. Recent trends are toward higher
sequence) current transformer which en- voltages for distribution [19].In addition,
closes all the phase conductors (Fig 7). rotating equipment is seldom connected
When any loads are connected line t o directly t o these systems; hence limiting
neutral, then the window-type current ground-fault currents t o prevent the burn-
transformers must also enclose the neu- ing of laminations is a less important fac-
tral conductor. Using either method, tor than in lower voltage systems. In ad-
positive tripping can be accomplished dition, voltages above 15 kV are not
with low magnitudes of ground-fault cur- usually carried inside buildings, hence
rent. However, the sensitivity of the personnel hazards due to high fault cur-
residual scheme is limited by the rela- rents are not a factor. Finally, the cost
tively high ratios of phase current trans- of resistors for resistance grounding at
formers, so greater sensitivity is available these voltages is prohibitive.2
with the zero-sequence current trans- 'In recent years, electric utility distribution
former method. For this reason low- voltages above 1 5 kV have become quite com-
resistance grounding is commonly used, mon. Utility distribution networks above 15 kV
except for those cases where the size of are almost invariably effectively grounded; this
must be considered when designing the primary
the system is so small that the maximum distribution system of an industrial or commer-
available fault current is not high enough cial facility which is supplied at these voltages.
to be objectionable. If resistance grounding is desirable, a delta-wye
transformation between the utility and the user
Alternatively, high-resistance ground- system is usually used to provide zero-sequence
ing, as discussed in 1.4.3, can be used. isolation of the latter.
35
IEEE
N A B C
PHASE R E L A Y
GROUND R E L A Y
Fig 6
Ground-Fault Detection Diagram Using
Overcurrent Relay in Residual Circuit
ZERO-SEQUENCE
CURRENT TRANSFORMER
RE LAY
Fig 7
Ground-Fault Detection Diagram Using Overcurrent Relay Connected
to Zero-Sequence (Doughnut) Current Transformer
36
IEEE
1.5.6 Criteria for Limiting Transient one ground connection on the system at
Overvoltages. (See [12] .) Transient overall times.
voltages can be limited effectively to safe 1.6.2 Ground at the Power Source and
values if the following criteria are Not at the Load. The use of an available
observed: neutral at a load point, such as a wye-
(1) In resistance-grounded systems the delta step-down transformer or a wye-
resistor ground-fault current should be at connected motor, is not recommended
least equal to, but preferably greater as a point for system grounding. The
than, the charging current of the system. principal disadvantage is that a number
(2) In reactance-grounded systems the of these load neutrals must be grounded
ratio of X o / X l should be 10 or less, to ensure that the system remains
where X , is the zero-sequence inductive grounded if one or more of these loads is
reactance of the system, including that out of service.
of the neutral reactance, and X 1 is the Consequently, the ground-fault current
positive-sequence inductive reactance of may be excessively high when all
the system, including the subtransient grounded points are in service. Since
reactance of all rotating machines. power sources are fewer in number than
(3) Where a combination of grounding loads and are less likely to be discon-
transformer and neutral-grounding resis- nected, they are preferred as grounding
tor is used, the grounding transformer points. Other disadvantages of grounding
impedance should be low relative to the at the load are the following:
neutral resistance. The ratio of R , / X , (1) Standard low-voltage unit sub-
should be equal to or greater than 2, stations have delta-connected primaries;
where R , is the zero-sequence resistance therefore special transformers are re-
of the circuit, including the neutral required if the primaries are t o be used as
sistor, and X o is the zero-sequence grounding points.
inductive reactance of the circuit, includ- (2) Since the ground-fault current is
ing that of the transformer and resistor. dependent on the number of feeders or
1.6 Selection of System Grounding grounding points in operation, it may
Points vary widely depending on system operat-
1.6.1 Ground at Each Voltage Level. ing conditions. This makes selective
Delta-wye or wye-delta transformers relaying more difficult and may require
effectively block the flow of zero- additional directional ground relaying t o
sequence current between systems. avoid false tripping of healthy feeder
Hence it is necessary to ground at each circuits.
voltage level to achieve the advantages of (3) The windings of many motors are
neutral grounding in all parts of the sys- not braced t o withstand the unbalanced
tem. Each voltage level may be grounded forces associated with ground faults
at the neutral lead of a generator, power 1.6.3 Ground Each Major Source Bus
transformer bank, or grounding trans- Section. When there are two or more
former. Any generator or transformer major source bus sections, each section
used for grounding should, as far as pos- should have at least one grounded-neutral
sible, be one that is always connected t o point, since the bus tie circuit may be
the system. Alternatively, a sufficient open. If there are two or more power
number of generators or transformers sources per bus section, there should be
should be grounded to ensure at least provision for grounding at least two
37
IEEE
sources on each section. For four-wire ators or power transformers individual

distribution systems, grounding of the neutral impedances are frequently used.
neutral conductor requires special con- With this arrangement the neutral of
sideration for reasons of safety and each generator or main transformer bank
proper detection of ground fault (see is connected directly t o its neutral im-
IEEE Std 242-1975[4]and [l8]. pedance without intervening switching
1.6.4 Neutral Circuit Arrangements. equipment. N o special operating instruc-
When the method of grounding and the tions are required since each impedance
grounding point have been selected for a is automatically connected whenever its
particular power system, the next ques- source is connected. In the case of resis-
tion to consider is how many generator tance grounding, each resistor rating
or transformer neutrals will be used for should be based on providing sufficient
grounding and whether (1)each neutral current for satisfactory relaying when its
will be connected independently to source is operating independently, and
ground, or (2) a neutral bus with a single also to limit the total ground current
ground connection will be established. when the sources are paralleled.
1.6.5 Single Power Source. When a When total ground-fault currents with
power system has only one source of several individual resistors would exceed
power (generator or transformer), ground- about 1000-4000A, neutral switchgear
ing may be accomplished by connect- and a single resistor should be considered
ing the source neutral to earth either for resistance-grounded systems.
directly or through a neutral impe- When individual resistors are used, cir-
dance. Provision of a switch or circuit culation of third-harmonic currents be-
breaker to open the neutral circuit is tween paralleled generators is not a
not necessary because neutral circuits problem since the resistance limits the
have parctically zero potential with re- circulating current to negligible values.
spect to ground, except during the When there are more than two or three
short interval of a fault; hence break- generators or power-supply transformer
downs are not likely. Also, it is not banks at one installation, it is economi-
desirable t o operate the system un- cally desirable t o use only one resistor.
grounded by having the ground connec- Each power source is then connected to
tion open while the generator or the resistor through a neutral bus and
transformer is in service. In addition, the neutral switching equipment. This
neutral switching equipment greatly arrangement keeps the ground-fault cur-
increases the cost of grounding. rent to a practical minimum, since the
In the event that some means of dis- ground current from the station is never
connecting the ground connection is greater than what can be supplied
required in a particular case, a metal- through a single resistor. It also ensures
clad circuit breaker should be used the same value of ground current regard-
rather than an open disconnect switch less of the number of generators or trans-
for indoor installations. The latter is formers in use and simplifies ground
hazardous to personnel if a ground relaying.
fault should occur while the switch is The primary purpose of the neutral
being openzd or closed. circuit breakers is to isolate the genera-
1.6.6 Multiple Power Sources. For tor or transformer neutrals from the
installation involving two or three gener- neutral bus when the source is taken out
38
IEEE
of service, because the neutral bus is current that will flow in the event of a
energized during ground faults. line-to-ground fault on a grounded sys-
Circuit breakers are preferred to tem is determined by the impedance
disconnecting switches for indoor instal- from the source to the fault plus the im-
lations to ensure safety t o personnel. If pedance of the ground return path, in-
disconnecting switches are used, as in cluding the impedances of grounding
some outdoor installations, they should transformers, resistors, and reactors. For
be elevated or metal enclosed and inter- interconnected systems the calculation
locked in such a manner as to prevent of the current may be rather compli-
their operation except when the trans- cated. For simpler cases an approxima-
former primary and secondary switches tion of the available fault current may be
or generator main and field circuit obtained.
breakers are open. 1.7.2 Resistance Grounding. When a
It is sometimes desirable to operate single line-to-ground fault occurs on a
with only one generator neutral circuit resistance-grounded system, a voltage
breaker closed at a time to eliminate any appears across the resistor (or resistors)
circulating harmonic or zero-sequence nearly equal to the normal line-to-neu-
currents. When the generator whose neutral voltage of the system.
tral is grounded is to be shut down, In low-resistance grounded systems the
another generator is grounded by means resistor current is approximately equal
of its neutral circuit breaker before the t o the current in the fault. Thus the cur-
main and neutral circuit breakers of the rent is practically equal t o the line-to-
first one are opened. However, with simi- neutral voltage divided by the resistance
lar generators and reasonably equal load used in ohms. Standard grounding resis-
division, circulating currents are negli- tors have a voltage rating equal to the
gible, and it is often found practical t o line-to-neutralvoltage and a current rating
operate with neutral circuit breakers of equal t o the current that flows when this
two or more generators closed. This sim- voltage is applied to the resistor. Thus,
plifies operating procedure and increases for example, a maximum ground-fault
assurance that the system will be current of approximately 1000 A will
grounded at all times. In the case of mul- be obtained on a system when using a
tiple transformers, all neutral isolating 1000 A resistor. This very simple me-
devices may be normally closed because thod of calculating the ground-fault
the presence of delta-connected windings current is only suitable when the ground-
(which are nearly always present on at fault current is small compared to the
least one side of each transformer) mini- three-phase fault current.
mizes the circulation of harmonic cur- The method just outlined applies to
rent between transformers. faults on lines or buses or at the terminals
When only one source is involved, but of machines or transformers. If the fault
others are t o be added to the station in is internal to a rotating machine or trans-
the future, space should be allowed to former, the ground-fault current will be
add neutral switchgear when this becomes less. The reduction in current is primar-
necessary. ily due to the internal voltage of the
1.7 Calculation of Ground-Fault Cur- apparatus. In the case of wye-connected
rents equipment, this internal voltage is at full
1.7.1 General. The magnitude of the value at the terminals and is zero at the
39
IEEE
neutral. If the fault occurs at the neutral Xo = system zero-sequence react-

of any apparatus, no voltage will appear tance, in 52 per phase
across the system grounding resistor, so X , = reactance of neutral ground-
the fault current will be zero. At inter- ing reactor, in s2
mediate points in the winding between X G p = reactance of ground return
the neutral and a terminal, the fault cur- circuits, in i2
rent will be intermediate between zero E = line-to-neutral voltage in V
and the current due to a terminal fault.
For example, at a point 10% of the In most industrial and commercial
winding length from neutral, the ground- systems without in-plant generation
fault current will be approximately 10% X 2 can be considered equal to X 1 .
of the value for a terminal fault. For a 1.7.4 Solid Grounding. In a system
fault anywhere between this point and a with solid neutral connection to ground,
terminal, the current will be more than the ground-fault current for a single line-
10% of the amount for a terminal fault. to-ground fault may be computed from
In the case of the delta-connected the following equation:
machines, the internal voltage to neutral
may be considered to be 100% at the 3E
I, = (Eq 2)
terminals and 50% at the midpoint of x , +x, + xo + 3xGp
the windings. The midpoints have the
lowest potential with respect to the elec- 1.8 Selection of Grounding Equipment
tric neutral of any part of the winding. Ratings. (See IEEE Std 32-1972 [3].
Therefore a ground fault at any point 1.8.1 General. Grounding resistors,
in the winding will produce a ground- reactors, and grounding transformers are
fault current of 50% or more of the line- normally rated to carry current for a
terminal fault value. limited time only. The standard time in-
1.7.3 Reactance Grounding. In a reac- terval rating usually applicable for indus-
tance-grounded system with a single line- trial systems, with relays arranged to
to-ground fault, the ground-fault current protect the grounding equipment, is 10 s.
may be computed from the following The voltage rating of a grounding resis-
expression, where resistance may usually tor should be the line-to-neutral voltage
be neglected : rating of the system.
3E The insulation class of a reactor is de-
I, = termined by the system line-to-neutral
+ x , +xo ' 3 ( x , ' X G P )
voltage. The voltage rating may be less
(Eq 1)
where than the line-to-neutral voltage and is
calculated by multiplying the rated cur-
I, = ground-fault current, in A rent by the impedance of the reactor.
X1 = system positive-sequence reac- The voltage rating of a grounding
tance, in 52 per phase, includ- transformer should be not less than the
ing the subtransient reac- system line-to-line voltage if the neutral
tance of rotating machines is connected directly to ground or the
X, = system negative-sequence reac- system line-to-neutral voltage if a resistor
tance, in 52 per phase, includ- is inserted between neutral and ground.
ing the subtransient reac- Grounding resistors are rated in terms
tance of rotating machines of the current that will flow through the
40
IEEE
resistor with the system line-to-neutral tem must be available, giving the ratings
voltage applied. of current transformers and types of re-
The rated current of a groundingreac- lays for each circuit. This diagram should
tor is the thermal current rating. It is the include consideration of future changes.
root-mean-square neutral current, in The magnitude of the ground-fault cur-
amperes, that the reactor will carry for rent must be sufficient for the operation
its rated time without exceeding stan- of all relays that furnish ground-fault
dard temperature limitations. protection. In general, if the current is
If a grounding transformer neutral is high enough to operate the relays on the
solidly connected t o ground, the current higher capacity circuits, it will be
that will flow during a ground fault is adequate for the smaller circuits. As a
primarily determined by the reactances general rule, ground-fault relays applied
of the grounding transformer and the on circuits energizing wye-connected ma-
system t o which it is connected. When a chines or transformer windings should
resistor is used between neutral and operate positively with as little as 10%
ground, the current rating of the ground- of the available ground-fault current
ing transformer is based on the resistor flowing. For circuits energizing delta-
rated current. In either case the trans- connected machines or transformer
former is rated t o carry the required cur- windings, and for upstream relaying pro-
rent for rated time without exceeding its tecting lines or cables, the desired sen-
rated temperature limits. Many system sitivity is at least 50% of the available
grounding devices are short-time rated. fault current. Where differential relays
Care must be exercised in their applica- are applied for machine, transformer,
tion to ensure that the current will be bus, or line protection, their sensitivity
automatically interrupted before the t o ground faults should meet the above
thermal limits of the components are ex- criteria unless more sensitive detection
ceeded. is provided by other relays.
1.8.2 Resistor Ratings. For low-resis- Note that the ground-fault current un-
tance grounded-neutral systems the de- der all system-operating conditions must
termination of the resistor value, in equal or exceed the minimum required
ohms, and thus the magnitude of the for relaying each circuit connected to
ground-fault current, is'based on the fol- the system. This value is established by
lowing: selecting the highest of those currents
(1) Providing sufficient current for that meet the requirements of the several
satisfactory performance of the system conditions stated above.
relaying scheme 1.8.3 Reactor Ratings. The reac-
(2) Limiting ground-fault current to a tance of a neutral-grounding reactor
value that will minimize damage at the should be chosen to limit the ground
point of fault without resulting in sys- current and the current in the faulted
tem overvoltages. phase to the desired value. In order to
In most cases the ground-fault current minimize transient overvoltages, the
is limited by the neutral resistor to a ground-fault current must not be less
value considerably less than that which than 25% of the three-phase fault cur-
would flow for a three-phase fault. To rent. This corresponds to a ratio of
determine the minimum ground-fault X o / X I = 10, where X o and XI represent
current required, a diagram of the sys- the total electrical system values for any
41
IEEE
possible ground-fault condition on the 1.8.4 Grounding-Transformer Ratings.

system. For reactance grounding of gen- The electrical specifications of a ground-
erators, the current in any winding must ing transformer are the following:
not exceed the three-phase fault cur- Voltage The line to-line-voltage of
rent. This corresponds to a ratio of the system
X , / X , 2 1, where X , ,and X , represent Current The maximum neutral cur-
generator reactance only. This estab- rent
lishes the criteria for the maximum and Time The transformer is usually
minimum values of neutral reactance. If designed to carry rated
the neutral reactance is selected in ac- current for a short time,
cordance with the following relationship, such as 10 or 60s; for
the current in the winding of the faulted high-resistance grounding,
phase will not exceed the three-phase the rating may need to be
fault current of the machine, regardless continuous
of system reactance [ll,chaps 5-71 : Reactance This quantity is a function
of the positive-sequence
-XGO short-circuit reactance of
x, = x1
3 the power system, or X 1
The determination of the grounding-
where transformer reactance, when used t o ef-
fect reactance-type grounding, is based
X, reactance of neutral reactor
=
on the following criterion. The X o / X l
X, generator positive-sequence
=
ratio should not exceed 10, and prefer-
subtransient reactance ably not exceed 3, in order to eliminate
X G O = generator zero-sequence reac- the possibility of transient overvoltages
tance from a forced current zero interruption.
This maximum limitation of 3 for the
However, the current that flows X o / X , ratio, together with a maximum
through the generator neutral reactor it- limitation of 1 for the R , / X 1 ratio, will
self is not independent of the system also satisfy the criteria for an effectively
constants and may often exceed the grounded system, and will permit the ap-
three-phase fault current of the machine. plication of line-to-ground-voltage rated
The current rating of a neutral reactor is surge arresters for greater economy and
determined by the number and charac- protection. The ratios specified must be
teristics of the system sources and met at any location in the system where
whether they are grounded or un- the reduced-rating arresters are to be ap-
grounded. plied. In a system having a grounding
This rating can be calculated from Eq 1. transformer, its reactance is the principal
The neutral-grounding reactor should part of X o in the preceding criterion.
be selected t o carry the available current Also, the positive-sequence reactance X l
under all practical operating conditions. is equal to the reactance of the system t o
With any given condition of connected initial symmetrical root-mean-square
grounded-neutral sources, the addition three-phase shortcircuit current. The
of ungrounded-neutral sources and loads value of X 1 used in these limiting ratios
will increase the current flow through should be based on the subtransient
the grounded-neutral connections. reactance of rotating machines and the
42
IEEE
system configuration or connections that quent. Autotransformers are quite com-

will result in the maximum available mon, however, in control and utilization
three-phase short-circuit current. equipment. Power systems using auto-
In a system otherwise ungrounded, transformers may be subject to dangerous
the grounding-transformer reactance X,, fundamental-frequency overvoltage dur-
in ohms per phase, required to provide ing system faults or to high-frequency or
any specified X,/Xl ratio is given by the steep-wave-front transient overvoltages
following expression: originating from lightning or switching
surges. Solidly grounding the autotrans-
1000 E: (X,/Xl ) former neutral will stabilize the system
x,t =
kVAsc neutral and prevent excessive voltage
stresses in the event of ground faults.
where The disadvantages of solid-neutral
EL = line-to-line voltage. grounding is the third-harmonic currents
kVAsc = system symmetrical %phase, and telephone interference may become
short-circuit capacity in excessive in certain cases. These har-
kVA monic problems can be minimized by
the use of a tertiary delta on the auto-
When a grounding transformer is solid- transformer.
ly grounded, care should be taken that
it5 reactance is selected at a value low 1.11 Systems with Utility Supply. Some
industrial systems are directly connect-
enough t o provide sufficient fault cur-
ed at their operating voltage to utility
rent for tripping relays and circuit
systems. When this is the case, the
breakers.
scheme of grounding the industrial sys-
1.9 Influence of Grounding Method on tem should be properly coordinated
Control Circuit Safety in System 600 V with that for the utility system.
and Below. Frequently the safety of a If two systems are interconnected by
control circuit is offered as a reason for a means of a transformer bank, at least
particular method of grounding. In all one winding of the bank will normally
cases where motor starter control cir- be connected in delta, and this delta-
cuits lack control power transformers, connected winding will make each sys-
there are potential problems with regard tem independent from the standpoint of
to circuit arrangement which must be grounding.
considered in order to minimize operat-
ing difficulties and personnel hazards. 1.12 Unit-Connected Generators. Gener-
Accidental motor starting due to faulty ators with unit-connected transformers
control circuits inay be associated with usually are equipped with high-resistance
ungrounded systems as well as with most neutral grounding for the following pur-
poses:
types of grounded systems.
(1) To minimize transient overvoltages
1.10 Autotransformers. Power autotrans- (2) To provide a positive indication of
formers are quite frequently used in a ground fault
electric utility power transmission and (3) To limit ground-fault current to a
distribution systems. Their use in indus- value low enough to permit an orderly
trial power systems as part of the power shutdown of the generator without risk-
distribution system is relatively infse- ing severe arc damage.
43
IEEE
As in any other high-resistance line immediately or promptly after a

grounded system, the grounding resistor fault is detected.
is chosen t o provide a ground-fault cur-
rent at least as great as the system capac-
itive charging current. 1.13 Three-phase Four-Wire Systems. In
Depending on the system voltage and these systems single-phase loads are con-
ground current, it may be more eco- nected between phase conductors and
nomical to ground the generator neutral the neutral conductor. The neutral con-
through the primary of a distribution- ductor is insulated over its entire length,
type transformer with a low-voltage except where it is grounded at its source
high-current resistor on the secondary of supply. The neutrals of such systems
than to ground the neutral directly should be grounded such that during a
through a high-voltage lowcurrent resis- ground fault the voltage between any
tor. When a distribution transformer is phase conductor and ground does not
used, its primary voltage should be no appreciably exceed the normal line-to-
less than the line-to-neutral voltage of ground voltage. Four-wire systems
the generator. In fact, to decrease the should thus be effectively grounded in
transformer-magnetizing inrush current such a manner that the ground-fault cur-
on the occurrence of a ground fault, a rents are approximately equal to three-
transformer rated for full line-to-line phase fault currents. This is usually
voltage is often used. In all cases, the accomplished by direct connection of
zero-sequence circuit design should re- transformer bank neutrals to ground
spect the boundary limit of R , < X c o . without any intentional neutral imped-
ance.
Ground faults are detected in this
scheme either by a current relay in series
with the grounding resistor or by a volt- 1.14 Systems with Emergency or Stand-
age relay in parallel with the resistor. If by Power Sources. See IEEE Std 446-
the voltage-relay sensor is chosen, pos- 1980 [ 5, Sec 71 for a detailed discussion
sible false operation on third-harmonic on the grounding of emergency and
voltage, sometimes present, can be standby power sources. Alternate sources
avoided by the use of a third-harmonic of power for supplying loads essential
voltage attenuation filter. In either case, t o the safety of life and property or for
no coordination with relays elsewhere in critical process continuity may consist
the power system is needed. of a standby supply from the utility
The physical size of the grounding company or on-site generator sets. The
transformer is influenced by the ex- transfer of load to the alternate source
pected duration of ground current. If is usually accomplished automatically
the generator will be operated with a through the use of transfer switches or
ground fault for several hours, the trans- circuit breakers. The design of such sys-
former should be rated to carry ground tems should ensure the continuity of
current continuously. However, the equipment and system grounding and
short-time overload capacity of trans- the detection of ground faults when
formers permits a considerably smaller either source is in use and meet the mini-
and less expensive transformer to be mum requirements of the National Elec-
used if the generator is tripped off the trical Code, ANSI/NFPA 70-1981 [ 21 .
44
IEEE
1.15 References [8] AIEE COMMITTEE REPORT. Ap-

plication of Ground-Fault Neutralizers.
[l] ANSI/IEEE Std 100-1977, Diction-
Electrical Engineering, vol72, July 1953,
ary of Electrical and Electronics Terms.3
p 606.
[ 21 ANSI/NFPA 70-1981, National
[9] AIEE COMMITTEE REPORT. Ap-
Electrical Code.4
plication Guide on Methods of Neutral
[3] IEEE Std 32-1972, Terminology Grounding of Transmission Systems.
and Test Procedure for Neutral Ground- AIEE Transactions (Power Apparatus
ing Devices. and Systems), vol. 72, Aug 1953, pp
[4] IEEE Std 242-1975, Recommended 663 -668.
Practice for Protection and Coordination [lo] ARBERRY, J.P.E. The Use of
of Industrial and Commercial Power Sys- 600-Volt Power Systems with Grounded
tems (IEEE Buff Book). Neutrals. Proceedings of the AIEE Na-
tional Power Conference, Pittsburgh, PA,
[ 51 IEEE Std 446-1980, Recommended Apr 1950.
Practice for Emergency and Standby
Power Systems for Industrial and Com- [ U ] BEEMAN, D.L., Ed. Industrial
mercial Applications (IEEE Orange Power Systems Handbook, New York:
Book). McGraw-Hill, 1955.
[ 61 NEMA SG 4-1975, Alternating Cur- [ 121 Electrical Transmission and Distrib-
rent High-Voltage Circuit Breakers.’ ution Reference Book, 4th ed., Westing-
[7] AIEE COMMITTEE REPORT. Ap- house Electric Corporation, East Pitts-
plication Guide for the Grounding of burgh, PA, 1964, chaps 1 4 and 19.
Synchronous Generator Systems. AIEE
[ 131 FORBES, B.G. Location Grounds
Transactions (Power Apparatus and Sys- on 480-Volt, 3-Phase Delta Systems.
tems), vol 72, June 1953, pp 517-526.6 Power Generation, Sept 1949, pp 60-61.
[14] FOX, F.K., GROTTS, H.J., and
TIPTON, C.H. High Resistance Ground-
3 T h i ~standard is published by The Institute ing of 2400-Volt Delta Systems with
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Ground-Fault Alarm and Traceable Sig-
Copies are also available from the Sales de- nal t o Fault. IEEE Transaction o n In-
partment of American National Standards
Institute, 1430 Broadway, New York, NY dustry and General Applications, vol
10018. IGA--1, Sept/Oct 1965, pp 366-372.
The National Electrical Code is published by
the National Fire Protection Association, [15] KAUFMANN, R.H., and PAGE,
Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269. Copies J.C. Arcing-Fault Protection for Low-
are also available from the Sales department of
American National Standards Institute, 1430 Voltage Power Distribution Systems-
Broadway, New York, NY 10018. Nature of the Problem. AIEE Transac-
NEMA publications are available from the tions (Power Apparatus and Systems),
National Electrical Manufacturers Association vol79, June 1960, pp 160-167.
(NEMA), 2101 L. Street, NW, Washington,
DC 20037.
6 F o r information o n the AIEE Committee
[16] SHIELDS, F.J. The Problem of
Reports contact Engineering Societies Library, Arcing Faults in Low-Voltage Power Dis-
345 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017. tribution Systems. IEEE Transactions o n
45
IEEE
Industry and General Applications, vol age Distribution Systems? Mill and Fac-
IGA-3, Jan/Feb 1967, pp 15-25. tory, May 1951.
[17] VAUGHAN, H.R. Protection of BEEMAN, D.L. System Neutral Ground-
Industrial Plants Against Insulation ing in Industrial Plants. Proceedings o f
Breakdown and Consequential Damage. the AIEE National Power Conference,
AIEE Transactions, vol 65, Aug/Sept Pittsburgh, PA, Apr 1950.
1946, pp 592-596. BLOOMQUIST, W.C. Grounding of In-
[18] WEST, R.B. Grounding for Emer- dustrial Systems, General Electric Re-
gency and Standby Power Systems. view, Aug 1951.
IEEE Transactions o n (Industry Appli- BRERETON, D.S., and HICKOK, H.N.
cations), vol 1A-15, Mar/Apr 1979, System Neutral Grounding for Chemical
pp 124-136. Plant Power Systems. AIEE Transactions
[19] ANSI (334.1-1977, Voltage Rating (Applications and Industry), vol 74, Nov
for Electricity Power Systems and 1955, pp 315-320.
Equipment (60 Hz). CASTENSCHIOLD, R. Grounding of Al-
ternate Power Sources. IEEE Conference
Record 77 CHG 1246-B-IA, Oct 1977,
1.16 Bibliography pp 67-72.
ANSI C2-1981, National Electrical Safe-
JOHNSON, A.A. Grounding Principles
ty Code. and Practice-111 : Generator-Neutral
ANSI/NFPA 78-1980, Lightning Protec- Grounding Devices. Electrical Engineer-
tion Code. ing, vol64, Mar 1945, pp 92-99.
BAKER, D.S. Charging Current Data for STRONG, W.F. Neutral Versus Corner-
Guesswork-Free Design of High-Resis- of-the-Delta Grounding. Electrical World,
tance Grounded Systems. IEEE Transac- Sept 25,1950.
tions on Industry Applications , vol THACKER, H.B. Grounded Versus Un-
IA-15, Mar/Apr 1979, pp 136-140.
grounded Low-Voltage AC Systems. Iron
BARNETT, H.G. Why Ground Low-Volt- and Steel Engineer, Apr 1954, p 6572.
46
2. Equipment Grounding
2.1 Basic Objectives caused by electric shock as a result of

2.1.1 General. Equipment grounding, making contact with metallic members
in contrast with system grounding, re- that are normally not energized and
lates to the manner in which nonelectri- normally can be expected to remain
cal conductive material, which either nonenergized. Effective equipment
encloses energized conductors or is grounding practices would eliminate
adjacent thereto, is to be interconnected these personal injuries [ 91 .7
and grounded. The basic objectives being Where there is unintentional contact
sought are the following: between an energized electrical conduc-
(1) To ensure freedom from danger- tor and the metal frame or structure
ous electric-shock-voltage exposure to that encloses it (or is adjacent), the
persons in the area frame or structure tends to become
(2) To provide current-carrying capa- energized to the same voltage level as
bility, both in magnitude and duration, exists on the energized conductor. To
adequate to accept the ground-fault oppose this tendency and to avoid the
current permitted by the overcurrent appearance of a dangerous exposed
protection system without creating a shock-hazard voltage, the equipment
fire or explosive hazard to building or grounding conductor must present a low-
contents impedance path from the stricken frame
(3) To contribute to superior perfor- to the zero-potential reference ground
mance of the electrical system. junction at the source entrance equip-
2.1.2 Voltage Exposure. Industry ment (or adjacent t o the source machine
electric accident statistics compiled by
the State of California make it clearly 7The numbers in brackets correspond to
evident that many personal injuries are those of the references listed in 2.10.
47
IEEE
of a separately derived electrical system adoption of more effective practices in

originating within the building). equipment grounding systems can effect
The impedance of the grounding con- a marked reduction in fire hazards.
ductor must be low enough to accept the In ac applications it is the total impe-
full magnitude of line-to-ground fault dance (R + jX) that controls the current
current without creating an impedance division among paralleled paths. In 60 Hz
(12) voltage drop large enough to be circuits rated 40 A or less, the circuit
dangerous. It is clear that the magnitude reactance jX is an insignificant part of
of the available ground-fault current of the circuit impedance. However, react-
the supply system will have a direct bear- ance may be a prominent element of the
ing on the ground-conductor require- circuit impedance in circuits rated 100-
ments. 200 A; and reactance is the predominant
2.1.3 Avoidance of Thermal Distress. element of impedance for circuits rated
In addition to accomplishing an accept- above 200 A (Fig 8). The reactance of
ably low value of electric-shock-voltage an ac circuit is determined mainly by the
exposure, the grounding conductor must spacing between outgoing and return
function to conduct the full ground-fault conductors, and is only slightly affected
current (magnitude and duration) with- by conductor size. Since the circuit re-
out excessively raising the temperature actance is only slightly affected by con-
of the grounding conductor or causing ductor size, and the circuit resistance
the expulsion of sparks or arcs that is directly affected by conductor size,
could initiate a fire or an explosion. the ratio of X/R and the relative effect
The use of a large-cross-section ground- of reactance on circuit impedance in-
ing conductor of itself is not enough. It creases as the conductor size increases.
must be installed so that the total im-
NOTE: Increased separation spacing between
pedance Of the circuit, grounding and phase conductors increases not
the grounding conductor, will permit the only the reactance Xg of the grounding con-
required current amplitude t o cause ductor but also the zerosequence reactance
X o of the phase conductors.
operation of the protective system.
The installation must also provide a In a dc system the current division
more favorable (lower impedance) fault among paralleled paths is inversely pro-
return path than other possible paths portional to resistance. Available ground-
which might have inadequate current- ing conductors having poor current-
carrying capacity. carrying capability (high resistance)
Summaries of the industrial claim in- carry relatively little of the total ground-
surance of fire insurance companies fault current. A surprisingly large num-
indicate that approximately one out of ber of grounding-conductor design con-
every seven fires in industrial establish- cepts are a carryover from the days of
ments originates in electric systems. dc power systems.
While these reports undoubtedly contain In 60 Hz ac circuits rated above 40 A
some unjustified assignments under the it becomes mandatory that the installed
category of merely defective wiring, adequate-capacity grounding conductor
difficulties in electric system operation be physically placed so as to present a
are probably responsible for a greater much lower reactance than the other less
number of fires than would first be capable parallel paths. The manner in
imagined. Perhaps the development and which this is achieved is treated in 2.2.
48
IEEE
EQUIPMENT GROUNDING Std 142-1982
L-
m
2 *0
O
( U OOFl 1)
- -
N
LD
a
0001 H3d SWHO
r
f
0
80 B0
O b 0
IU OOCl 14 OOOL H3d W H O
49
IEEE
One remaining important requirement tion system ANSI/NFPA 70-1981 [l],

of the grounding-conductor circuit is Article 110-10. One might interpret
that junctions and terminations along the requirement to mean that a higher
the grounding conductor have the short- than necessary ground circuit impedance
time current-carrying capability required would be judged acceptable if the over-
of the grounding conductor. The failure current protection system were rede-
to provide adequate junctions and ter- signed to display no impairment of its
minations is not immediately apparent, performance properties. It will be found,
because this circuit will not be called however, that meeting this requirement
upon to demonstrate its capability until is in harmony with achieving other de-
the first ground fault occurs on the sired goals.
circuit in question.
2.2 Fundamental Concepts
2.1.4 Preservation of System Perfor- 2.2.1 A Single Wire as a Grounding
mance. The grounding conductor must Conductor. To help develop an under-
return the ground-fault current on a standing of the behavior pattern of a
circuit ground fault without introducing single wire as a grounding conductor, see
enough additional impedance to an Fig 9. (For an expanded treatment of
extent that would impair the operating single-line-to-ground fault behavior, see
performance of the overcurrent protec- ~41.)
Fig 9
Single Wire as Grounding Conductor
POWER
SUPPLY
Y I
CONDUCTI
BUILDING
FRAME
50
IEEE
The grounding conductor is considered Spacing EG

to be bonded to the supply-system (in) (mm 1 -
(V 1
grounded conductor, to the building 2 51 100.1
frame, and to the grounding electrode 8 203 124.3
30 762 151.3
at the source end of the circuit. For
the purpose of examining the properties
of the grounding conductor alone, it The change in spacing also changes the
will be considered to remain free of reactance of the phase conductor (rela-
any other contact with the building tive to the grounding conductor). The
frame throughout its length of 200ft corresponding values of the phasecon-
(61 m). Imagine the circuit to be of ductor voltage drop (IF held constant
350 A capacity, employing 500 kcmil at 5500 A) are the following:
(253.35 mm2) phase conductors and a
4/0 (107.16 mmz ) grounding conductor zz Drop,
Spacing Phase A
(copper) at 25 "C. It is assumed that the
(in) (mm) (VI
line-to-ground fault current at the outer 2 51 52.8
terminal is 5500 A. 8 203 85.8
Consideration will be given t o three 30 7 62 118.3
values of spacing between phase and
grounding conductors: 2, 8, and 30 in A change in the location of the ground-
(51,203, and 762 mm). The 60 Hz im- ing conductor changes the value of the
pedance values for phase and grounding reactance in the phase conductor. This
conductors [in ohms for the 200 f t fact leads directly to the next important
(61. m) run] are as follows (see IEEE concept. While our impedance diagrams
Std 141-1976 [3, Tables 20-231): display both resistance and reactance as
properties of the conductor, the react-
ance is in fact a property of the space
electromagnetic field which encircles the
X
Phase
Spacing
(in) (mm)
2- 51 0.0045 0.0085
R
pJ pJ
0.0096
a Z conductor. For the conductor geometry
shown in Fig 9 the magnetic field, which
conductor A 8 203 0.0045 0.0149
is responsible for the reactive voltage
0.0156
30 762 0.0045 0.0210 0.0215 drop, assumes the character shown in
Grounding 2 51 0.0146 0.0108 0.0182 Fig 10. Throughout the space between
conductor G 8 203 0.0146 0.0172 0.0226 the two conductors [ 8 in (203 mm)
30 762 0.0146 0.0233 0.0275 wide and 200 f t (61 m) long] exists a
powerful 60 Hz magnetic field with a
driving magnetomotive force of 5500
ampere turns. It constitutes a huge
In Fig 9 the I F Z G voltage drop along electromagnet. That portion of the total
the grounding conductor appears as a magnetic field which encircles the
touch electric shock at the far end grounding conductor is considered to be
of the grounding conductor. A t the associated with the reactance of the
presumed ground-fault current IF of grounding conductor, while that which
5500 A, the magnitude of shock-voltage encircles the phase conductor is con-
exposure for each of the three spacings sidered to be associated with the re-
is the following: actance of the phase conductor.
51
IEEE
Fig 10
Magnetic Field of Wire as Grounding Conductor
Any loop of conducting material (wire, In the case illustrated, the induced cur-
pipe, messenger cable, steel structure, rent might very well be of the order of
etc) through which some fractional 500 A.
portion of this magnetic field passes will The situation presented by Fig 11
have induced in it a corresponding frac- would not be judged t o be a dangerous
tional part of the 60 Hz reactive voltage shock-voltage exposure, but the possible
drop of the main power circuit loop. arcing and flashing that could occur at a
There need be no physical contact be- light-pressure contact point closing the
tween the two loops. The mutual coup- loop (opencircuit voltage of 2-5 V with
ling is entirely magnetic. If the loop in a closedcircuit current of 500 A) could
which the voltage is mutually coupled be a very real source of ignition of com-
is closed, then instead of a voltage there bustible material (fire) or of flammable
will exist a circulating current. gas (explosion). The same size induction
Figure 11 shows a possible loop along- loop around a highcapacity outdoor
side the grounding conductor (not the station, where the ground-fault current
most intensive field strength location). might be 50 000 A and the spacing be-
With this loop considered t o be open tween phase and grounding conductors
at one corner, the generated voltage 6 f t (1.83 m), might well display an
therein would be 1.65 V for a 2 in opencircuit 60 Hz induced voltage of
(51 mm) grounding-conductor spacing, dangerous shock-hazard magnitude. A
or 5.61 V for a 30 in (762 mm) spacing. useful aspect of this effect can be em-
If the loop circuit is closed, the flux link- ployed to reduce the reactance under
ages through this loop will be reduced to trying conditions. By constructing a
near zero, and the induced current will closed loop with no loose connections,
assume the value that becomes necessary so positioned as to block the passage of
to oppose the entrance of flux linkages. flux linkages responsible for an objec-
52
IEEE
Fig 11
Electromagnetic Induction of Wire as Grounding Conductor
tionable reactance, that reactance can be bare copper cable (scrap or otherwise)
eliminated. As an example, consider a and thread it around the pipe sleeve
temporary highcurrent ac circuit which loop, out through one pipe and back
is required t o pass through a heavy wall through the other, continuing until the
via embedded steel pipes. The conduc- total cross section that has been thread-
tors are too large t o be pulled through ed through each pipe will carry the full
one piece, so each is pulled through an load current. Then close this loop on
independent pipe cell. Under load, the itself by joining the ends of the cable.
voltage drop is excessive, and the pipe Close the power switch and proceed.
sleeves become very hot. One verdict The circuit reactance will be less than
could be that the installation is unusable. if the main conductors had been in
On the other hand, with the knowledge air all the way. There will be a small
just developed we can form a short- extra resistance accounted for by the
circuiting loop which will remove the circulating current flowing in the short-
unwanted reactance and eliminate the circuited loop.
steel pipe sleeve heating. Locate some
53
IEEE
As far as the shock-exposure-voltage stantial with the smaller rated circuits.

drop along the grounding conductor is An analytical approach to a solution of
concerned, the key factors are grounding- this problem is contained in [ 141 .
conductor cross-section area, spacing 2.2.2 Cabling of Conductors. By
relative to phase conductors, magnitude cabling or lacing together all the con-
of ground-fault current, and circuit ductors of one circuit, the spacing be-
length. tween grounding and phase conductors
In the usual installation the grounding can be reduced to the point of direct
conductor is cross-bonded to the build- contact of the insulation. With other
ing structure at regular intervals. The conditions remaining as indicated in
first impression is that such cross bond- Fig 9 the 60 Hz reactances could be re-
ing causes the shock-exposure voltage to duced to 0.0053S2 for the grounding
disappear. The correct explanation is conductor and to 0.005 S2 for the phase
that the voltage, which was observed to conductor. While the grounding-conduc-
exist on the grounding conductor, has tor impedance shows little improvement
been impressed on the building structure. because it is largely resistance limited,
At the point of bonding, the potential the space magnetic field has been sub-
difference has been reduced t o zero. At stantially reduced, with a correspond-
the service equipment a cross-bonding ing reduction in magnetic coupling to
jumper establishes zero potential dif- secondary loop circuits.
ference. Therefore the voltage drop By distributing the total grounding-
along the building structure now equals conductor cross section among the in-
the voltage drop along the circuit ground- terstices of a three-conductor cable (one-
ing conductor. Perhaps voltage differ- third-size conductor in each pocket),
ences have been forced t o appear be- the effective reactance of the ground-
tween certain building structural mem- ing conductor can be further reduced,
bers that are more serious than the resulting in a corresponding reduction
original one. The problems of determin- :n the space magnetic field strength.
ing what voltage differences will appear 2.2.3 Enclosing Metal Shell. By form-
between designated points of the building the metal of the grounding conduc-
ing have become considerably more com- tor into a tubular shape, within which
plex. A rational approach to the problem are run the circuit phase and neutral con-
begins with an evaluation of the voltage ductors, a marked improvement in effec-
exposure that would exist with the cir- tiveness is accomplished. The returning
cuit grounding conductor acting alone. ground-fault current distributes itself
This serves to establish the relative per- about the entire enclosing shell in such
formance quality of the design being fashion as to result in the lowest round-
studied. It also identifies the maximum trip voltage drop (Fig 12). The electrical
voltage difference that could possibly behavior during a line-to-ground fault is
be imparted to the building structure by that of a coaxial line. Except for the ef-
cross bonding. fects of resistivity in the shell, all electric
Of course a cross-bonding connection and magnetic fields are contained inside
from a grounding conductor to the build- the shell. The external space magnetic
ing frame does result in some drop in the field becomes zero [ 131 .
voltage magnitude along the grounding The customary metal conductor rac-
conductor. This drop can become sub- way fits this preferred conductor geom-
54
IEEE
L IVE-TO-G ROUN D
IF
Fig 12
Raceway as Grounding Conductor
etry perfectly. Except for varieties which array of tests was conducted to provide
display too high a value of shell resis- specific data, and the results are reported
tance or cannot be adequately joined in consolidated form in [14]. A variety
and terminated, the normal conductor of enclosure types were examined, cover-
raceway is approved and serves effec- ing a range of phase-conductor sizes from
tively as the circuit grounding conduc- AWG No 1 2 (3.31mm2) to 500 kcmil
tor. See NEC, ANSI/NFPA 70-1981 [ 11, (253.35 mm2 ). The results are presented
Articles 250-91 to 250-99 for approved in terms of voltage drop along the
minimum-size grounding conductors. exterior of the raceway per 1OOOA of
Practical varieties of metal conductor ground-fault current per 100 f t (30.5 m)
raceways and metal sheathing do possess of circuit length.
substantial sheath resistance. The flow of Rigid conduit is observed to offer
ground-fault current will thus produce a superior performance, principally be-
voltage gradient along the grounding cause of the heavy wall thickness. The
conductor due to resistive voltage drop. striking contrast between steel and alu-
The magnitude of this voltage drop minum conduit is interesting and offers
varies widely from one type of enclosure specific application advantages.
to another. Because of its importance in The high magnetic permeability of
fixing the magnitude of electric-shock- steel should and does account for a
voltage exposure, a rather extensive higher line-to-ground fault impedance
55
IEEE
[6], [13], [14]. It would at first seem to avoid the use of raceways having
that the voltage drop along the raceway inadequate short-time current-carrying
exterior would also be increased, yet the capacity unless supplemented with an
exact opposite is observed. The effect of adequate additional equipment ground-
the magnetic material in the conduit wall ing-conductor run within the raceway.
is to confine the return current largely to Joints between raceway sections must
the internal shell of the conduit, pene- be good electrical junctions to be sup-
trating to the exterior surface only as plemented by bonding jumpers.
magnetic saturation in the iron occurs. 2.2.4 Circuit Impedance Components.
For the circuit arrangement indicated The general expression for the line-to-
in Fig 9, the progressive improvement in ground fault current in a three-phase sys-
shock-voltage exposure with different tem is
forms of grounding conductors is dis-
played in the following Table. (The 3EA
IF =
conditions of Fig9 are maintained, 21 +2 2 +2 0 + 32,
except for grounding conductor size and
shape. IF is held constant at 5500 A. The Both positive-sequence (2,) and nega-
30 inch (762 mm) spacing is included tive-sequence (2, ) impedance are active
only for reference. This spacing is unlike- only in the outgoing phase conductors
ly in most industrial applications.) since the currents of these two sequences
Shock-Volt- combine to zero at the fault location. The
age Expo- zero-sequence currents I o , however, are
sure EG in phase on all phase conductors. Three
Grounding Conductor of the phase conductor currents I, must
be returned collectively (31,) over the
4/0 (107.16 mm2) copper grounding conductor. Thus the transit of
with 30 in (762 mm) the zero-sequence current involves a
spacing 151.3 voltage drop of I,Z, in transmitting the
4/0 (107.16 mm2 ) copper current out over the phase conductors
with 8 in (203 mm) and a voltage drop of 310zG in trans-
spacing 124.3 mitting the current back over the
4/0 (107.16 mm2 ) copper grounding conductor. A correct account-
with 2 in (51 mm) ing of impedance for these two terms in
spacing 100.1 the zero-sequence network develops
Triple ground wires, 4/0 when I o is taken out as one factor
(107.16 mm2 ) total in
three-conductor cable 70.4 [IO ( 2 0 + 32G ) I
Test results [ 6 ] , [ l o ] , [13], [14]
Making the grounding conductor a clearly display the fact that the round-
conduit enclosing the phase conductor, trip impedance (2, + 3ZG) is much
the shock-voltage exposure EG drops to greater than Z,, yet the fractional part
6.7 V for rigid aluminum conduit and of the round-trip zero-sequence voltage
to 11 V for rigid steel conduit. drop, which appears along the raceway
The effective performance of an en- exterior, is but a very small part of
closing raceway as a grounding conduc- I 0 ( 2 , + 3ZG). N o easy way to separate
tor should be used to full advantage in 2, from 32, is available, and in fact no
electrical system designs. It is important purpose is served in separating them. It is
56
IEEE
very important to recognize that both 2.2.6 Bonding of Metal Sleeves Enclos-
items are present and the use of the cir- ing a Grounding Conductor. The behav-
cuit 2, alone would represent a gross ior pattern of an independent grounding
error. conductor (such as the run to the
As can be seen from [14], the grounding electrode at the service or the
(2, + 32,)/2, ratio can be kept low, grounding conductor connecting a surge
leading to a low-impedance (2, ) ground arrestor to an earthing terminal) is very
return path. This is obtained by using different from that of a power circuit
ground conductors or buses, or both, in grounding conductor (see Fig 13).
conduit runs, cables, busway and equip- The function in this case is to conduct
ment, and by repeated bonding of these the one-way current to a grounding
ground conductors or buses to the build- (earthing) electrode. The return path of
ing steel, metallic enclosures, and ground. this current is remote from the ground-
ing conductor. In the case of lightning
2.2.5 Electromagnetic Interference current, the return path may be so
Suppression. In developing the funda- remote as to be obscure. There will be an
mental behavior patterns of the various inductive voltage drop along the conduc-
forms of grounding conductors, the abil- tor length due to a changing current
ity to suppress the magnitude of the ( L di/dt or XL I=). The larger the con-
electric and magnetic fields in the space ductor diameter, the lower will be the
external to the electric power channel by conductor inductance (or reactance). If
proper design methods was noted. the member enclosing the conductor is
This knowledge can be employed to magnetic, the magnetic field encircling
make the electric circuit grounding con- the conductor is increased, which corres-
ductor serve to reduce tremendously the pondingly increases the inductive voltage
electrical noise contributed to the drop.
space surrounding the electrical run. As In some cases, installation conditions
might be expected from results so far de- are such as to warrant the application of
fined, the enclosing metal raceway is a metal enclosure over a section of this
superior to discrete conductors. Steel type of grounding conductor. In all cases
raceways are very effective in suppress- where this is done, the conductor and
ing strong fields. High conductance may the enclosing protective metal shell
be needed to achieve very low noise should be bonded together at both ends
levels. of every integral section of enclosure for
The rapidly increasing use of low- the following reasons:
energy-level digital data transmission cir- (1) To avoid increased voltage drop if
cuits in combination with a fast-growing the enclosure is made of magnetic mater-
noise level on power circuit conductors ial
due to time-modulation current chop- ( 2 ) To take advantage of the lower
pers, usually SCRs (silicon-controlled voltage drop associated with larger con-
rectifiers), for accomplishing heating ductor diameter (see [6] for complete
appliance control, light-circuit dimming, details).
motor-speed control, etc, emphasizes the 2.2.7 Grounding Connections Associ-
importance of this electromagnetic inter- ated with Steep-Wave-Front Voltage Pro-
ference suppression function [ 111, [12] , tection Equipment. The application of
[I81 [211.
9 surge arresters to transformers (Fig 14)
57
IEEE
GROUNDING
CONDUCTOR ALONE
Fig 13
Bonding of Metal Enclosure
and surge protective capacitors and arres- sentative. With such a rate of rise of cur-
tors t o rotating machines (Fig 15) illus- rent, even l p H of inductance can be
trate this application of a grounding significant. :
conductor. The function of the ground-
ing conductor is to provide a conducting E = Ldi
path over which the surge current can be dt = 10 000 lo6 = 10 000 V
diverted around the apparatus being pro-
tected, without developing a dangerous NOTE: 1pH is the equivalent of 0.000377fi
voltage magnitude. reactance at 60 Hz.
In the presence of a changing current
(dildt) there will be an inductive volt- It would take only a 3ft (0.91 m)
age drop developed along the grounding length of 4/0 (107.16 mm2 ) conductor
conductor itself, which is additive to the spaced 5 f t (1.52 m) away from the
protective device voltage. The amount of transformer in Fig 14 to add 10 000 V
this added voltage will be proportional to the arrester voltage. Thus grounding-
to the conductor length and the spacing conductor length and spacing become of
from the protected apparatus, and of paramount importance. One can readily
course to the magnitude of dildt. visualize that the additive inductive volt-
Actual values of dildt range over wide age is generated by the total flux link-
limits, but a value of 10 kA/ps is repre- ages which can be developed through the
58
IEEE
Fig 14
Surge Arrester Location on Transformer
window between the grounding conduc- The same fundamental reasoning ap-
tor and the protected apparatus. plies to the installation geometry of
To take full advantage of the protec- rotating-machine surge-protective equip-
tive properties of the surge arrester in ment (see Fig 15). A box, shelf, or
Fig 14, the arrester should be mounted bracket directly adjacent to the emerging
so as t o be in direct shunt relationship to leads from the machine can accomplish
the terminal bushings. At lower voltages the desired objective. The mounting
an arrester-supporting bracket can usual- frame should connect directly with the
ly be extended from the base of the machine frame to minimize the circuit
bushing. At higher voltages a shelf inductance. It is the capacitor element of
extending from the tank body at the the protection system that deserves
proper place to minimize the inductive prime attention. If this item is properly
voltage is often used to support the arres- connected with short, direct connecting
ters. leads, the rate of rise of voltage at the
59
IEEE
SURGE ARRESTER
Fig 15
Surge Protection Equipment on Motor
(Only One Phase Shown for Clarity)
motor terminal will be quite gentle, re- grounding conductors present at the
quiring perhaps 10 ps to build up to ar- working area. What might be the poten-
rester sparkover value. Thus the leads to tial of earth is of negligible importance
the arrester can be longer because of the to this worker on the tenth floor.
modest rate of rise of voltage. In fact, If the worker is transported to the
there can be a benefit from inductance building basement in which the concrete
in the arrester circuit, which cushions floor slab rests on soil, or t o the yard
the abrupt drop in machine-terminal area of an outdoor open-frame substa-
voltage when the arrester sparks over. tion, earth does become the proper refer-
2.2.8 Connection t o Earth. (See Sec- ence ground to which electric-shock-volt-
tion 4.) The well-established usage of the age exposure should be referenced.
terms ground and earth in our technical Thus the proper reference ground to
literature leads to many misconceptions, be used in expressing voltage-exposure
since they seemingly are almost alike, magnitudes may sometimes be earth,
yet in fact are not. The electrical system but (outside of the outdoor substation
of an aircraft in flight will have a ground area) most likely will be the electric-cir-
bus, grounding conductors, etc. To sug- cuit metallic grounding conductor. The
gest that ground and earth can be used following paragraphs will show that the
interchangeably is obviously in error potential of earth may be greatly differ-
here. To an electrician working on the ent from that of the electric-circuit
tenth floor of a modern steel-structured grounding conductor. It therefore be-
building, the referenced ground is the comes very important that shockexpo-
building frame, attached metal equip- sure voltages be expressed relative to the
ment, and the family of electric-system proper reference ground.
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IEEE
All electrical systems, even those in- earth surface radially away from the
stalled in airborne vehicles (as at least ground rod. If a current of 1000 A were
one Apollo crew can testify), may be forced into this grounding electrode, the
faced with circumstances in which rod would be forced to rise above mean
sources of electric current are seeking a earth potential by 1000 25 or 25 000 V.
path to ground. These conditions can do Half of this voltage (12 500 V) would
serious damage to electrical equipment appear as a voltage drop between the rod
or develop dangerous electric-shock- and the earth spaced only 0.5 f t (0.15 m)
hazard exposure to persons in the area, away from the rod. While this current is
unless this stray current is diverted t o flowing, a person standing on earth 0.5 f t
a preplanned path to a ground of ade- (0.15 m) away from the ground rod and
quate capability. touching the connecting lead to the elec-
A comprehensive treatment of the trode would be spanning a potential dif-
behavior of earthing terminals appears ference of 1 2 500 V. A three-dimensional
in Section 4, in [ 4 ] , [ 7 ] , [20], and in plot of earth surface potential versus dis-
IEEE Std 80-1976 [ 2 ] . The prime pur- tance from the ground rod would create
pose of this discussion is to develop a the anthill-shaped figure displayed in
concept of the potential gradients cre- Fig 16. The central peak value would be
ated in discharging current into earth the rod potential (referred to remote
and the manner in which the equipment earth potential), namely, 25 000 V. Mov-
grounding problem is influenced there- ing away from the rod in any horizontal
by- direction would rapidly reduce the volt-
Earth is inherently a rather poor con- age value. The half-voltage contour
ductor whose resistivity is around 1 bil- would be a horizontal circle 1f t (0.3 m )
lion times that of copper. An 8 ft in diameter encircling the rod.
(2.44 m) long $ in (19.05 mm) diameter Imagine a 50 by 50 f t (15.2 by 15.2 m)
ground rod driven into earth might very substation area within which 25 driven
likely represent a 25Sl connection to rods, each of the type previously de-
earth. This resistance may be imagined scribed, had been uniformly distrib-
to be made up of the collective resist- uted. Because of the overlapping po-
ance of a series of equal-thickness con- tential gradient patterns, the composite
centric cylindrical shells of earth. The in- resistance will not be as low as 25/25 Sl.
ner shell will of course represent the For the case at hand a 2 !2 value would
largest incremental value of resistance, be typical (see Section 4). Should a line-
since the resistance is inversely propor- to-ground fault at this station produce a
tional to the shell diameter. Thus the 10 000A discharge into the earthing
central smalldiameter shells of earth terminal, the resulting voltage contour
constitute the bulk of the earthing ter- map would display 25 sharp-pointed po-
minal resistance. Half of the 25 SZ resis- tential mounds peaking at 20 000 V. In
tance value would likely be contained between would be dish-shaped voltage
within a 1f t (0.3 m) diameter cylinder contours with minimum values ranging
(see Section 4). from perhaps 2000 to 5000 V, depend-
For the same reason, half of the volt- ing on location.
age drop resulting from current injec- Such a highly variable voltage con-
tion into this grounding electrode would tour pattern within the walking area
appear across the first 0.5 f t (0.15 m) of of the substation would not be accept-
61
IEEE
GROUND ROD
TERMINAL - - ,I IG
MEAN
EARTH -
POTENTIAL
Es = Earth surface potential

d = Radial distance from rod
Fig 16
Earth Surface Potential Around Ground Rod During Current Flow
able. Additional shallow-buried ground- 2.3 Equipment Grounding as Influenced

ing wires can be employed t o elevate by Type of Use. The principal classes of
the earth surface potential between main use may be categorized for our purposes
electrodes (see IEEE Std 80-1976 [2]. as follows:
Note particularly the concepts of step, (1) Outdoor open-frame substations
touch and transferred potentials. (2) Outdoor unit substations
Additional shallow-buried grounding (3) Outdoor portable heavy-duty
wires can be employed to tailor the equipment, such as shovels, draglines,
voltage contour adjacent to but external
dredges
to the enclosing fence. Beds of coarse (4) Interior wiring systems
cracked rock, well drained, can con-
(5) Interior substations and switching
tribute to improved electric-shock secur- centers
ity. Metal grill mats bonded to the steel
framework supporting switch operating The problems presented to the equip-
handles and located at the “standing” ment-grounding-system designer vary
location of switch operators can ensure quite widely with the different classes of
that the operator’s hands and feet are use. The basic objectives remain the
referenced t o the same potential. same throughout. The equipment
62
IEEE
grounding system must cope with the t o the fence on the outside of the sub-
current flow (magnitude and duration) station area.
which is imposed on it in the course of
normal power system operation. This 2.4.2 Design of Avenues for Power-
duty is most commonly the result of an Frequency Ground-Fault Current Flow.
insulation failure between an energized This ability to carry the ground-fault
conductor and the conductive metallic current from the point where it enters
structure which supports or encloses it. the station to the point where it is to
However, the duty may result from an depart is accomplished by supplement-
outside injection of current such as a ing the inherent metallic substation
lightning discharge or a falling overhead structure with an array of grounding
high-voltage conductor. The equipment conductors which interconnect the bases
grounding system is expected to carry of structural columns and are extended
this imposed current without thermal to the island installations of apparatus,
distress and without creating dangerous routed over appropriate paths [61 , [ 131 .
electric-shock-voltage exposure to per- Copper cable is generally used for this
sons in the area. purpose, with the conductor size rang-
ing from AWG 2/0(70.1 mm2) for small
2.4 Outdoor Open-Frame Substations stations, for instance, t o perhaps
2.4.1 General. The distributed nature 500 kcmil (253.35 mm2) for large sta-
of the typical outdoor open-frame sub- tions. It is appropriate to seek an effective
station (Fig 17) presents some of the short-time current capability in the
most perplexing equipment grounding grounding-conductor path, which is no
problems t o be found anywhere. It is less than 25% of that possessed by the
quite common that various pieces of phase conductor with which it is associ-
major apparatus will appear as “island” ated. In any case, it should be capable
installations within the substation area. of accepting the line-to-ground short-
For any single equipment item, the volt- circuit current (magnitude and duration)
age stress imposed on its insulation sys- permitted to flow by the overcurrent-
tem will be determined by the voltage protection system without thermal
difference between its electrical termi- distress.
nals and the frame or metal case which The routing of a grounding conductor
encloses its active parts. The magnitude should seek to minimize the separation
of electric-shock exposure to an operat- distance between it and the associated
ing or maintenance person within the phase conductors. In multibay metal-
substation area proper will be a func- structure construction, the short-cir-
tion of the voltage difference between cuited loops created by the bonding
the ground surface on which this person grounding conductors between column
stands and the metal which the person bases may effectively limit the ground-
normally touches, such as apparatus circuit reactance under seemingly wide-
frames or substation structure (see IEEE spacing conditions.
Std 80-1976 [Z]).The magnitude of elec- Grounding conductors sized and
tric-shock-voltage exposure to a person routed according to the same rules should
approaching the enclosing fence will de- be run to those points required for sys-
pend on the character of the earth sur- tem grounding connections, such as to
face voltage gradient contours adjacent the neutral terminal of a power trans-
63
IEEE
Fig 1 7
Open-Frame Outdoor Substation Showing Lightning Masts, Surge
Arresters, and Low-Voltage Side Grounding Resistors
64
IEEE
former which is to be grounded or to the be limited by the voltage rating of a

neutral of a grounding transformer. power circuit entering the station. Con-
Junctions between sections of ground- sider, for instance, a station whose main
ing conductors, if not exposed, should circuits operate at 230 kV, but which
be made, preferably, by thermite weld- contains outgoing circuits operating at
ing or brazing (Fig 18). At the exposed 4.16 kV. A voltage excursion on the sta-
junctions and terminations, fittings ap- tion ground mat of 25 kV would not be
proved for the purpose should be used. troublesome to the 230 kV system, but
If overhead-line ground conductors are would be disastrous to components of
terminated at towers along the substa- the 4.16 kV system. Even the best of
tion outer boundary and the phase con- available surge arresters on the 4.16 kV
ductors continue out across the station circuits would be to no avail. The excess
plot, perhaps to a point where they drop seal-off voltage present would promptly
down to apparatus terminals, an ade- result in their destruction (probably by
quately sized grounding conductor open circuiting). The allowable maxi-
should be strung across the area with a mum voltage excursion on the station
vertical down member to the apparatus ground mat may be set by one of a var-
frame to establish a path for ground cur- iety of factors. Once this is set, the de-
rent flow that remains reasonably close sign of the station grounding connection
to the route of the phase conductors. systems can proceed.
It is important that the grounding-con- The effectiveness of reinforcing steel
ductor system extend to and connect located in below-grade foundation foot-
with each of the island structures con- ing as functional grounding electrodes is
tained within the substation area. discussed in [17].All future station de-
2.4.3 Design of Earthing Connections. sign specifications should call for elec-
The achievement of a prescribed degree trical bonding between the metal tower
of connection to earth will constitute base plate and the reinforcing bars in
an important design objective. This usu- buried concrete footings. This can be
ally will involve a multiplicity of earth- accomplished readily in most instances
ing connections (grounding electrodes) via the holddown J bolts.
distributed about the substation area. If If the soil at the substation site tends
individual grounding electrodes are not to be an active electrolyte like cinder
kept sufficiently separated physically, fill, the use of dissimilar metals, for in-
their effectiveness is severely impaired stance, copper and steel, as grounding
(see Section 4). electrodes bonded together in the sta-
One specific design limit may be the tion grounding conductor network may
maximum allowable voltage excursion on lead t o objectionable electrolytic deter-
the substation structure (relative to ioration of the buried steel members
mean earth potential) due to a line-to- [ 8 ] . With today's knowledge, the avoid-
ground power-system fault or a lightning ance of such trouble may be relatively
discharge. All signal and communication easy. When the soil is active, the re-
circuits that extend from this station t o quired earthing connection may be ob-
remote locations must be designed to ac- tained using only the buried steel mem-
commodate this voltage excursion with- bers forming an inherent part of the
out damage. The allowable voltage station. Supplementary electrodes that
excursion on the station structure may may be needed should be made of steel.
IEEE
Fig 18
Thermal-WeldJunction in Underground Grounding Conductor
66
IEEE
If the soil is not active, the intermix of 2.4.5 Control of Surface Voltage
metals such as copper and steel is not Gradient. The tendency for steeply rising
troublesome. voltage gradients to appear directly
Lightning masts extending upward around discrete grounding electrodes re-
from the top structural members of the sults in a very nonuniform ground sur-
station can be effective in intercepting face potential ir. the substation area dur-
lightning strokes and leading the dis- ing a ground-fault incident. This can
charged current to earth without insu- appear as a dangerous electric-shock-
lation flashover at the station. The avoid- voltage exposure to the persons working
ance of insulation flashover is aided by in the substation area (see [4], [ 71 , [ 201
higher insulation flashover levels at the and IEEE Std 80-1976[2]). It is hardly
station and opposed by more intense reasonable to design for a maximum
lightning strokes. However, an installa- voltage excursion on the station struc-
tion which reduces the number of flash- ture low enough to avoid danger. The
over incidents by 60% (far short of per- alternative approach is to employ a mesh
fection) can still be a sound economic grid of relatively small bare conductors
investment (see Section 3). located slightly below grade and con-
nected to the station frame. While this
will not likely reduce the overall station
2.4.4 Surge-Voltage Protective Equip- earthing resistance by very much, it will
ment. Surge-voltage protective devices function (like conducting tape on cable
intended to deal effectively with fast- insulation) to bring all parts of the sub-
front voltage transients must be con- station surface earth lying above the grid
nected in a close shunt relationship to mesh to nearly the same potential as the
the apparatus being protected (see 2.2.7). metal grid (that of the substation metal
The presence of an exposed overhead structure). Only small scallops of lesser
line running to the station, but terminat- voltage magnitude will exist between the
ing at an open switch or open circuit crisscross conductors of the grid mesh.
breaker, invites a flashover at the open The possible magnitude of electric-shock-
terminal because of the tendency for a voltage exposure to maintenance person-
traveling voltage wave to double its nel due to earth surface gradients can be
voltage upon encountering an open ter- reduced to tolerable levels. A surface
minal. The possibility of such an event layer of coarse cracked rock is common-
and its consequences should receive de- ly employed to contribute to reduced
liberate consideration. If found to be contact conductance between the yard
likely, and objectionable, this type of surface and the worker’s feet.
flashover can be prevented by the instal- 2.4.6 Voltage Gradients External to
lation of line-type surge arresters directly but Adjacent to the Boundary Fence.
ahead of the open-circuit point on the The steepness of the surface voltage con-
circuit or by over-insulation (double nor- tour adjacent to but outside the enclos-
mal value of the approaching line) of ing fence determines whether a person’s
the terminal end of the line within the approaching the fence and touching it to
confines of the station, ahead of the the limit of their reach could receive a
point of open circuit. dangerous electric shock. If the fence
NOTE: This increased withstand voltage also were allowed to float, the adjacent
applies to the circuit-opening switching device. voltage gradient would be substantially
IEEE
reduced. Common practice is to bond or animals. Such an extension might

the fence to the station ground mat, take the form of a water pipe, an air
which will take it up to the full mat po- pipe, a messenger cable, etc, seemingly
tential and create a high surface gradient having no electrical function. What it
adjacent to the fence. In defense of the does do is convey the potential of the
practice of bonding the fence to the sta- station ground mat t o the far end of the
tion ground mat is the added security metal extension. The earth surface
afforded should a high-voltage line con- potential drops off fairly rapidly as one
ductor break and fall on the fence. The moves away from the boundary fence.
bond to the station ground allows the The 50% voltage contour will be reached
entire station grounding connection to in a short distance away from a small
participate in holding down the voltage station and in a longer separation dis-
magnitude of the fence and avoiding tance from a large station. Even a fairly
ground-fault impedance which might large station will display a 50% dropoff
otherwise impede the performance of in surface potential within 50 ft (15.2 m).
ground overcurrent relaying. Operating Thus it would be entirely possible for a
the enclosing fence at station-ground- person standing on earth and touching a
mat potential also improves the uni- pipe extension from the station structure
formity of surface gradient within the only 50 f t (15.2 m) removed hom the
substation area. enclosing fence to be subject to an elec-
An inviting alternative would locate tnc-shock voltage of 50% of the ground-
the boundary fence along a specific volt- mat voltage of the station. A station
age contour line (or design for a con- ground-mat voltage of 5000 V is not at
stant voltage contour along the desired all unusual for stations operating in the
route of the fence). This approach might 4.16-33 kV range.
easily result in a 50% reduction in earth
surface potentials external to the fence. 2.5 Outdoor Unit Substations. While the
To avoid the danger of increased volt- functional objectives remain unchanged,
age exposure from a broken line conduc- the concentration of apparatus items
tor, suitable guards would be needed to into a single metal-enclosed package (see
prevent a falling energized line conduc- Fig 19) greatly simplifies the equipment-
tor from making physical contact with grounding-system plan. Even the
the fence. presence of a single s2parate line-termi-
The present trend seems to favor a nating structure adds little complexity.
solid bond between the boundary fence The grounding conductor associated
and the station ground mat. Appropriate with each electric circuit to and from
potential grading shields are buried the substation is continued to the sub-
below grade adjacent to the fence on the station proper and terminated on the
outside of the substation area to control grounding bus provided there. This con-
the step and touch potential exposure to ductor should be of the prescribed cross
acceptable values (see [4], [ 7 ] , [20] section for the capacity of circuit in-
and IEEE Std 80-1976 [ 21 ). volved, and run with as close physical
It is very important to avoid a metallic spacing to the power conductors as
extension from the station structure to feasible.
some point outside the fenced area, The problem of avoiding dangerous
which is exposed to contact by persons electric-shock-voltage exposure t o per-
68
IEEE
sons in proximity to the enclosing fence, use of a design concept now widely
involves the same considerations as in adopted in this class of industry. The
the case of open-frame substations. With- available ground-fault current is greatly
in the confines of many industrial plants, reduced (commonly to a 50 or 25 A
the use of artificially reduced levels of level). Sensitive fast-operating ground-
ground-fault current (400 A being a responsive tripping is employed. A metal
common value) so reduces the voltage grounding conductor of adequate cross
gradients around the substation that no section is run from the supply station to
fenced enclosure is needed. Persons can each item of portable equipment (utiliza-
be permitted to approach and touch the tion and switching alike) and is bonded
substation enclosure without risk of to each such equipment frame or metal
dangerous electric-shock exposure. Of enclosure. N o switching devices are in-
course the grounding bus and enclosure stalled in the grounding conductor. Cir-
frame of the substation must be con- cuit plug disconnecting assemblies are
nected to the building grounding system, arranged to separate all power conduc-
whether or not a local grounding elec- tors before the grounding conductor is
trode system is installed. severed. In many service areas, each
If the substation structure is exposed power transmission circuit to a portable
to lightning or contains surge arresters, machine employs an auxiliary device
the installation should include an which continuously monitors that con-
appropriate grounding electrode. The re- tinuity of the equipment grounding con-
inforcing bars contained on the below- ductor. Should continuity be lost at any
grade foundation structure will usually point between the supply substation and
provide this function adequately [ 171 . the utilization machine, the monitor re-
2.6 Outdoor Installation Serving Heavy sponds and automatically opens all
Portable Electric Machinery. This prob- power conductors of that circuit.
lem area usually involving such equip- A t the supply station it is quite com-
ment as power shovels (Figs 20 and 21), mon to ground the portable-machine-
drag lines, dredges, and some mine in- system grounding conductor to an in-
stallations represents one of the most dependent earthing terminal located
difficult in avoiding dangerous electric- some 50 f t (15.2 m) or so outside the
shock-voltage exposure. Electric power substation area so as not to conduct the
in quite substantial quantity is delivered voltage excursions which may occur on
to a portable, or movable, utilization ap- the substation mat to the frames of the
paratus at potentials up to 7500 V. portable machines being served. It is
The mobility of the utilization equip- important to design the supply sub-
ment, and frequently of portable switch- station grounding system so that the
ing centers also, precludes the installa- magnitude of voltage excursion on its
tion of a predesigned ground mat such as ground mat will not spark over to any of
would be employed at a fixed installation. the conductors which are continued t o
This portable equipment must be de- the portable equipment.
signed to permit personnel t o approach 2.7 Interior Wiring Systems
(and touch) the apparatus structure 2.7.1 General. About the year 1893 a
without risk of dangerous electric shock. nationwide code of acceptable installa-
The avoidance of dangerous electric- tion practice for electric power systems
shock exposure is accomplished by the within buildings, such as residences, fac-
70
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tories, and commercial buildings, was shall be no longer than necessary. After
adopted. These rules are documented in such conductors penetrate the building
ANSI/NFPA 70-1981 [l]. This docu- exterior wall, they shall promptly termi-
ment is reviewed every three years on nate in service equipment. They shall not
the basis of suggestions or criticisms sub- be run within concealed spaces of walls.
mitted by practicing electrical tech- Special construction requirements are
nicians, and revisions or amendments are imposed on service-entrance conductors
made accordingly. ANSI/NFPA 70-1981 to render them less susceptible to insu-
[1] , Article 250 is devoted to the sub- lation failure. Minimum allowable sizes
ject of grounding. All equipment-ground- of service-entrance conductors are pre-
ing-system designs for installation within scribed based on predicted load levels
buildings of the types named should and the type of occupancy. More strin-
recognize and conform to the require- gent requirements exist for equipment
ments contained in the NEC. Basically, grounding conductors along the service
the NEC designates minimum acceptable conductor run.
limits, which may be expanded in a more More effective control of voltage
conservative direction as far as the sys- stresses in an electric power system can
tem designer considers appropriate. be achieved if one of the power conduc-
2.7.2 Building Service Equipment. The tors is grounded solidly without inten-
term service equipment (see [ l , Article tional impedance inserted. To take
2301) applies to the switching and pro- advantage of the merits of single-phase
tective equipment installed where the one-side-grounded utilization circuit
electric service is considered to enter the operation also demands a solidly
building. The required installation prac- grounded power system conductor. The
tices and protective equipment em- NEC presently demands grounding of
ployed at and downstream of the service ac systems of 50-1000 V supplying
equipment are designed to ensure an premises wiring and premises wiring sys-
electric power system which will not tems under any of the following condi-
create fire or explosion hazards, danger- tions:
ous electric-shock-voltage exposure to (1) Where the system can be so
occupants, or an unfavorable electrical grounded that the maximum voltage t o
ambient condition within the building. ground on the ungrounded conductors
The electric power conductors which does not exceed 150 V.
deliver power to the establishment, the (2) Where the system is nominally
service-entrance conductors, do not en- rated 480Y/277 V, three-phase, four-
joy the quality of protection afforded all wire in which the neutral is used as a
circuits extending beyond the service circuit conductor
equipment. An electric fault in these (3) Where the system is nominally
conductors may create a severe arcing rated 240/120 V, three-phase, four-wire
fault which may persist for an extended in which the midpoint of one phase is
interval and represent a dangerous used as a circuit conductor
source of fire ignition. In recognition of (4) Where a service conductor is un-
these facts, NEC Article 230 prescribes a insulated in accordance with Article
number of requirements intended to 230-4
minimize the hazards mentioned. The There are four exceptions to the above
length of service-entrance conductors rules for systems serving furnaces, for
74
IEEE
isolated systems, and for separately de- color. The purpose of the insulated
rived systems. For complete details con- grounded power conductor is to prevent
sult the NEC, Article 250-5. the I2 drop created by the returning cur-
These rules mandzte grounded opera- rent on the grounded conductor from
tion of 2401120 V single-phase three- being impressed on the building metallic
wire, and 208Y/120 V wyeconnected structure .
three-phase four-wire, 48OY1277 V wye- The intended overall purpose of these
connected three-phase four-wire and grounding rules is to achieve, as nearly
2401120 V three-phase four-wire systems. as practical, a zero-potential-difference
To best preserve the desired security condition between electrical grounding
against excessive voltage stresses within conductors, the frames of electrical
the building-interior wiring, the follow- equipment, metal raceways which
ing mandatory rules are imposed on the enclose electrical conductors, and the
incoming power supply. various items of exposed metal building
(1) Any secondary ac electric power frames and metal piping within the
system that operates with a grounded building. To any person within the build-
conductor shall extend the grounded ing this absence of electric-shock-voltage
conductor to the grounding junction exposure continues unchanged, even
at each service being supplied, using a though the grounded electric service con-
conductor size No smaller than pre- ductor assumes a substantial voltage
scribed in the NEC Article, 250-94. deviation from mean earth potential.
(2) In the case of every grounded ac The creation of voltage differences be-
power supply system to these desig- tween these designated exposed metal
nated buildings, the circuit grounding parts within the building will be the re-
conductors of all circuits extending into sult of unplanned, unwanted current
the building shall be brought together at flow through these conducting members,
the service equipment, bonded to the usually as a result of an insulation fail-
service-equipment metal housing, cross ure on an energized power conductor.
bonded to the grounded conductor of 2.7.3 Interior Electric Circuits. With
the service-entrance conductors, and every electric power circuit extending
connected to an effective grounding elec- from the service equipment into the
trode. building interior which supplies electric
(3) The NEC rules make clear the in- power to equipment or apparatus that
tent that all interior metal piping sys- must be grounded, an equipment
tems also be cross bonded to the equip- grounding conductor, sized in accor-
ment grounding system near the service dance with ANSIINFPA 70-1982 [ 11 ,
equipment. Article 250-95, must be run with the
(4) All single-phase one-side-grounded power conductors. In most cases the
load circuits shall (on the grounded side) metal conductor enclosure or cable
be connected t o an insulated grounded tray itself can serve as the grounding
power conductor run from the service conductor [see NEC, Article 250-
equipment. This grounded conductor 91(b)]. The equipment and apparatus
shall remain insulated throughout its requirement for grounding is accom-
entire length downstream of the service plished by an electrical bond between
equipment (with some exceptions) and the frame (or structure) of such equip-
be identified by a white or gray surface ment (or apparatus) and the equipment
75
IEEE
grounding conductor run with that elec- fast-acting fuses in series with the switch-
tric circuit. The planned avoidance of ing interrupter [ 161.
any sustained load current flow on 2.7.4.3 Single-Pole Interrupters in a
grounding conductors maintains the de- Polyphase Circuit. Single-pole interrup-
sired zero-potential-difference concept ters in a polyphase circuit can result in
throughout the extent of the equipment- an I 2 t duty on the grounding conductor
grounding-conductor harness. Only when far greater than the certified short-cir-
unplanned, unwanted fault currents flow cuit let-through of a single interrupter
along these conductors will there be ob- (usually a fuse). The sequence of opera-
served voltage differences (with some ex- tion may be as described hereafter [ 151 .
ceptions). The initial event may be a simple single
line-to-ground fault on a three-phase
2.7.4 Special Considerations. four-wire grounded-neutral circuit. A
2.7.4.1 General. The selection of a surge of current can be expected to flow
circuit grounding conductor sized in between the faulted phase conductor
accordance with ANSI/NFPA 70-1981 and the grounding conductor at the fault
[l, Table 250-941 will in most cases point. The single-phase interrupter in
result in an installation that displays that faulted phase can be expected to
no thermal distress in the grounding
respond and interrupt that phase current
conductor if the system is properly
with an P t let-through no greater than
designed. However, some special consid-
its published limit. Fault-current flow to
erations may be required for specific
the grounding conductor has not been
system design patterns and operating interrupted, however. Current flow to
conditions that can result in aggravated
the fault can continue via the remaining
duty on the grounding conductor. These
two phase conductors, crossing over t o
design changes may include changes in
the faulted phase conductor through the
the protective scheme, increasing the
line-to-line connected load apparatus
grounding-conductor size, or other
windings and then t o the grounding con-
action to ensure freedom from danger-
ductor via the same fault path. At the re-
ous thermal stress in the grounding con-
duced magnitude of fault current,
ductor.
limited by the line-to-line connected
2.7.4.2 Mechanical Interrupting De- load apparatus impedance, the additional
vices. Mechanical interrupting devices 12t permitted to flow to the grounding
such as circuit breakers and interrupter conductor can be many times the pub-
switches require a definite time in which lished short-circuit I’ t of one single-pole
to accomplish current interruption. In interrupter. As a consequence, the
the presence of a high-magnitude of grounding conductor may be subjected
available short-circuit current, the I 2 t to dangerous thermal distress.
let-through during the interrupting oper- Elevated duty on the grounding con-
ation may well exceed the safe withstand ductor can result even though no line-to-
value of the selected grounding conduc- line connected load is present. Follow-
tor. The solution may consist of the ing the same initial event of a single line-
selection of a larger grounding conduc- to-ground fault, subsequent action may
tor adequate for the duty, the substitu- be as follows. The arc energy released at
tion of a faster-operating switching inter- the fault point will overheat and damage
rupter, or the combination of high-rated the insulation of the adjacent phase con-
76
IEEE
ductors. The insulation deterioration downstream of the entire paralleled con-

may well progress to the point where a ductor section. If a fault to ground
second phase conductor of the circuit occurs on one of the parallel circuits at
faults to ground, to the same grounding a point intermediate between the ter-
conductor. The excursion of fault cur- minal paralleling junctions, equal divi-
rent involved in operating the second sion of current among all paralleled con-
phase-overcurrent device adds to the ductors is not achieved. In fact, if the
I* t duty imposed on the grounding con- fault location be fairly close to the
ductor by the first phase-overcurrent de- source-end junction, a major fraction of
vice. During the interrupting function on the total current may be found on the
phase 2, the continued insulation deteri- conductors of the one faulted circuit.
oration on the third phase may cause it So many alternate methods of solution
to also fault t o ground in sequence. The exist that it is inappropriate to suggest a
resulting current surge to ground particular solution. Effective application
through the third phase-overcurrent de- of ground-fault-responsive tripping or
vice again adds to that contributed by unbalanced-current relaying offers
the first and second phase-overcurrent attractive possibilities. The use of re-
devices. stricted ground-fault current (for in-
The assured solution to this problem is stance, 400 A), together with selective
to employ a more sophisticated protec- fast ground-responsive tripping, as is
tive device which, in response to the commonly used on industrial-plant pri-
initial fault condition, acts immediately mary power distribution systems, can
to completely interrupt the three-phase successfully cope with this problem with
circuit. Note that the mandatory installa- modest-size grounded conductors (see
tion of ground-fault-responsive tripping Section 1).
at the service equipment (1000 A and
greater ratings) assigns added importance 2.8 Interior Unit Substations and Switch-
to the prompt interruption of grounding Centers
fault current on downstream circuits in 2.8.1 Switching Centers. (See Figs 22
the interior wiring system (see ANSI/ and 23.) Switching centers of modern
NFPA 70-1981 [ 1, Article 230-951 ). vintage will for the most part consist of
2.7.4.4 Multiple Circuit Runs With- an integral factory-designed metal-
out Individual Overcurrent Protection. enclosed equipment. All internal compo-
Multiple circuit runs without individual nents will be prepositioned to meet the
overcurrent protection can also be re- applicable industry standards. Within
sponsible for dangerous thermal distress this structure the requirements for
in the grounding conductor of one in- grounding conductors will have been
dividual circuit if not carefully checked recognized and supposedly provided for.
out. The wording of the NEC, ANSI/ With the knowledge that ground-fault
NFPA 70-1981 [l, Article 310-41 is current will seek a path in close physical
often misinterpreted to mean that equal proximity to the phase conductor that
division of current among the paralleled carries this current in the outgoing direc-
conductors can be assumed, always. tion, [5], [13], [14], [19], it is ap-
Equal division of current can only be propriate to make a casual inspection to
assumed for cases in which the origin of confirm that these requirements have
the current (either load or fault) is been properly recognized.
77
IEEE
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78
IEEE
Fig 23
Indoor Unit Substation - Back View Showing Use of an
Independent Grounding Conductor with Each Circuit
79
IEEE
The field installation problem boils the duty is severe. Large conduits, as a
down to a very simple one of assuring part of a high-capacity system, require
the integrity of the grounding conduc- substantial bonding clamps and cable
tors. Attention should be given to the interconnection to the equipment frame
proper termination of the grounding rather than terminating them with lock-
conductor associated with each circuit nuts and bushings in a sheet-metal panel
entering the equipment. The grounding which is fastened to the frame with only
conductor shall meet the cross-section a few sheet-metal screws or small bolts.
requirements of that circuit. The Inadequate termination can lead to a
physical routing should meet the objec- burnout at the connection to the sheet-
tives previously named. The terminating metal panel or the sheet-metal screws,
fittings should meet the requirements or both, serious damage to the equip-
of an electrical junction expected t o ment, and danger to personnel.
accommodate safely the high-magnitude 2.8.2 Transformation Unit Substations.
short-time current flow. The terminat- Transformation unit substations present
ing point on the switching structure some additional problems. The electrical
should reflect the same capability. system derived from the transformer
One of the most neglected spots is secondary represents a new electrical
the termination of a metal raceway when system with its own equipment-ground-
it is used as the circuit grounding con- ing-system problems.
ductor. Commonly the switching struc- The treatment of all primary circuits
ture contains no metal floor plate. The entering the structural housing should
raceways, typically metal conduits, have be designed with the same criteria used
been stubbed up through a concrete for a simple switching structure. An ef-
floor as to terminate within the open fective grounding conductor running
floor area inside the boundaries set by back to the source of primary power is
the vertical side sheets of the equipment. required in case of a circuit fault to
The following two grounding conductor ground at any point along the primary
defects appear quite often: circuits or within the enclosure contain-
(1) The metal raceways or cable trays ing the stepdown transformer or the pri-
are not recognized as an electrical con- mary-circuit-switching device.
ductor (the equipment grounding con- The secondary winding of the step-
ductor), and no connection is made t o down transformer constitutes the point
the stub end extending into the equip- of origin of a new electrical system. It
ment enclosure. will be to this point that ground-fault
(2) The grounding lead from the race- currents associated with the radiating
way is thought to be needed only as a secondary circuits return. Hence all
static drain and connected t o the ground secondary-circuit grounding conductors
bus with only an AWG N o 1 2 (2.05 mm) are brought to a common junction point
conductor. at this source transformer. For grounded-
Metal raceways that serve as the circuit system operation this common junction
grounding conductor and terminate at point is cross bonded to the grounded
the side sheets or cover plate of the circuit conductor (on the supply side of
equipment enclosure should be made up any overcurrent device or disconnecting
tight with double locknuts and perhaps means), to the source transformer frame
supplemented with a bonding jumper if or other metal enclosures, and to any ad-
80
IEEE
jacent metal member of the building connection where the metal raceway ter-
structure or piping system if available. minates at the connection box or metal
Should the secondary system be exposed side or roof sheet of the terminal appara-
to external sources of overvoltage surges, tus.
such as lightning, a check should be A bonding connection to adjacent
made to ensure the existence of an ade- building metal structure in the case of
quate grounding electrode connected to fixed equipment is appropriate, although
the central junction of secondary somewhat redundant. The planned
grounding conductors (see, ANSI/NFPA grounding conductor is much superior
70-1981 [ 1, Article 250-2611 ). functionally, unless it has become inter-
In most cases it will be observed that rupted.
the primary and secondary grounding- Figure 24 displays the desired ground-
conductor systems become intercon- ingconductor connection arrangement
nected at the step-down substation. This for a variety of power circuit patterns
happens by mere coincidence because and clearly displays the distinction be-
the metal enclosure at the substation en- tween the grounding and the grounded
closes both energized conductors of the conductors.
primary system and energized conductors 2.10 References
of the secondary system. Functionally,
the two grounding-conductor systems [ l ] ANSI/NFPA 70-1981, National
are independent of each other. (Had the Electrical Code.
transformation station consisted of an [2] IEEE Std 80-1976, Guide for
independent generator belt driven from Safety in AC Substation Grounding.
an electric drive motor, the indepen-
dence of the two grounding-conductor [ 31 IEEE Std 141-1976, Recommended
systems would have been self-evident.) Practice for Electric Power Distribution
for Industrial Plants (IEEE Red Book).
2.9 Terminal Apparatus. The equipment [ 41 ARMSTRONG, H.R., and SIMPKIN,

L.T. Grounding Electrode Potential Gra-
grounding function at terminal apparatus
dients from Model Tests. AIEE Trans-
consists simply of providing an effective
actions (Power Apparatus and Systems),
bonding connection between the non-
V O ~79, Oct 1960, pp 618-623.
electrical metal parts of the terminal
apparatus, which either enclose or are [5] BEEMAN, D.L., Ed. Industrial
adjacent to energized conductors, and Power Systems Handbook. New York:
the circuit grounding conductor. The siz- McGraw-Hill, 1955.
ing and terminating of all such grounding
conductors shall observe the same rules [ 6 ] BISSON, A.J., and ROCHAU, E.A.
Iron Conduit Impedance Effects in
already established which depend on the
Ground Circuit Systems. AIEE Transac-
rating and character of the next up-
tions (Applications and Industry), vol
stream overcurrent protective device. In
many cases where the electrical metal 73, July 1954, pp 104-107.
raceway serves as the equipment ground- [7] BODLE, D.W. Earth Potential Dis-
ing conductor of the circuit, the bonding tribution Associated with Power
connection to the terminal apparatus Grounding Structures. AIEE Confer-
frame consists simply of a good electrical ence Paper CP 62-205,1962.
81
IEEE
Std 142-1982 GROUNDING O F INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL POWER SYSTEMS
).- .
. ...
. .
a
L J ,I l l
82
IEEE
83
IEEE
[8] COLEMAN, W.E., and FROSTICK, General Applications, vol IGA-2, Sept/
H.G. Electrical Grounding and Cathodic Oct 1966, pp
_ _ 384-392.
Protection at the Fairless Works. AIEE
Transactions (Applicationsand Industry), [17] LEE, R.H., and FAGAN, E.J. The
Use of Concrete-Enclosed Reinforcing
V O ~74, Mar 1955, pp 19-24.
Rods as Grounding Electrodes. Confer-
[ 91 Electric Safety. AIEE Publication ence Record of the 1969 Fourth An-
S-69,1969,sec C, bibliography. nual Meeting of the IEEE Industry and
General Applications Group, pp 155-
[ 101 GIENGER, J.A., DAVIDSON, 166.
O.C., and BRENDELL, R.W. Determina-
tion of Ground-Fault Current on Com- [ 181 SCHMIDT, W.C., Electrical Noise
mon AC Grounded-Neutral Systems in in Control System Installations. Confer-
Standard Steel or Aluminum Conduit. ence Record of the 1968 Third Annual
AIEE Transactions (Applications and Meeting of the IEEE Industry and Gen-
Industry), vol 79, May 1960, pp 84-90. eral Applications Group, pp 229-230.
[ 111 GOERS, R.E. Quite-Wiring Zone. [19] SOARES, E.C. Grounding Elec-
Conference Record of the 1968 Third trical Distribution Systems for Safety.
Annual Meeting o f the IEEE Industry Wayne, NJ: March Publishing Company,
and General Applications Group, pp 1966.
249-253 (contains a list of 13 selected [20] THAPAR, B., and PURI, K.K.
references). Mesh Potentials in High-Voltage Ground-
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[13] KAUFMANN, R.H. Some Funda- [ 211 WILLARD, G. The Prevention and
mentals of Equipment-Grounding Circuit Treatment of Noise in Control Signals.
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and Industry), vol 73, Nov 1954, pp Annual Meeting of the IEEE Industry
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[14] KAUFMANN, R.H. Let's Be More
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[ 151 KAUFMANN, R.H. Application pp 145-151.
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Poly-Phase Industrial and Commercial U S . Department of Commerce, Nation-
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DALZIEL, C.F. Dangerous Electric Cur-
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IEEE
DALZIEL, C.F. Effects of Electric LEE, R.H. Impedance of Trays as Fault-

Shock on Man. IRE Transactions o n Me- Return Conductors. Conference Record
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Hazards. Electrical World, Feb 16, 1959, MACKNEZIE, W.F. Impedance and In-
p 78. duced Voltage Measurements on Iron
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HORN, R.S. Ground Your Power Sta-
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O’CONNOR, J.J. Industrial Electrical
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Grounding Devices. Electrical Engineer- tems from Arcing Fault Damage. Power
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KAUFMAN, R.H., and PAGE, J.C. Power Distribution Systems of Open Pit
Arcing Fault Protection for Low-Volt- Mines. General Electric Company, Tech-
age Power Distribution Systems-Nature nical Bulletin GET 2381A.
of the Problem. AIEE Transactions RUDENBERG, R. Grounding Principles
(Power Apparatus and Systems), vol 79, and Practice-I: Fundamental Considera-
June 1960, pp 160-167. tions on Ground Currents. Electrical
Engineering, vol64, Jan 1945, pp 1-13.
LEE, R.H. Ground Fault Magnitude De-
termination and Human Safety from SHIELDS, F.J. The Problem of Arcing
Fault-Return Path Impedance. Confer- Faults in Low-Voltage Power Distribu-
ence Record o f the 1967 Second Annual tion Systems. IEEE Transactions on In-
Meeting of the IEEE Industry and Gen- dustry and General Applications, vol
eral Applications Group, pp 487-490. IGA-3, Jan/Feb 1967, pp 15-25.
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3. Static and Lightning Protection
Grounding
3.1 Introduction. This section covers requirements for protection; and of

static electricity, its generation, proven practices for protection and grounding.
methods in safeguarding from the haz- This section does not cover details of
ards of this phenomenon by grounding calculations in sizing lightning diverters
and other methods, and lightning pro- and methods of selecting lightning pro-
tection grounding. tective devices. The engineer 'responsible
A detailed study of static electricity is for lightning protection is advised t o
not made in this section. For more de- use the referenced materials t o make an
tailed information on this subject, vari- analytical study of this subject.
ous references are cited (see [ 171, [ 181 ,
3.2. Static Grounding
[22]-[25], [28], [32], [33]).* This
3.2.1 Purpose of Static Grounding.
material will serve as a guide for electri-
The accumulation of static electricity on
cal engineers who are involved with this
equipment, on materials being handled
phenomenon so that they can recognize or processed, and on operating personnel
a hazardous situation and provide suit- introduces a potentially serious hazard iil
able safeguards. any occupancy where flammable liquids,
Lightning protection grounding is gases, dusts, or fibers are present.
essential for the protection of buildings, The discharge of an accumulation of
transmission lines, and electrical equip- static electricity from an object to
ment from lightning discharges and sur- ground or t o another charged object of
ges. A brief description is given of the different potential can be the cause of a
nature of lightning; the need for protec- fire or an explosion if it takes place in
tion against lightning for various types of the presence of readily flammable ma-
structures, buildings, and equipment; the terials or combustible vapor and air
*The numbers in brackets correspond to those mixtures. Such fires and explosions have
of the references listed in 3.4. caused injury to personnel and loss of
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life, as well as millions of dollars of loss ignition of vapors from flammable inks
in property damage and business inter- and solvents used in the process.
ruption. There are many other manufacturing
Protection of human life is the first processes or operations where static
objective in attempting t o control static accumulations are either a fire or an ex-
charges. Besides the danger to lives from plosion hazard or cause inferior pro-
explosions or fires that may result from ducts; for example, in grain elevators; in
a static spark, there is also the danger coating, spreading, and impregnating
that a person, becoming startled when operations; with conveyor belts and
suddenly subjected to a static shock, pulleys; dry cleaning; blending and mix-
may fall or accidentally come into con- ing; and filling of tank cars, barges,
tact with some moving equipment. The trucks, aircrafts, or other containers with
second aim in eliminating or mitigating flammable liquids. Each process or oper-
static electricity is to prevent losses in ation may require a different method
the following categories: to safeguard against the hazard. This is
achieved by providing means whereby
(1) Capital investment in buildings charges may recombine harmlessly before
and equipment due to fires sparking or by preventing accumulation
(2) Operating costs for storing flam- of charges by grounding or bonding,
mable materials humidification, or ionization.
(3) Overhead and loss of production 3.2.2 Fundamental Causes of Static
due t o fires Electricity.
If losses such as those listed can be 3.2.2.1 Theory of Static Generation.
avoided by proper static control, the ex- Static electricity is probably the earliest
penditure required to secure this protec- reported manifestation of electricity.
tion is good insurance. The Greeks are on record as having ob-
An additional need for static control served this phenomenon in about 600
may be for the improvement in manu- B.C. They noticed that a piece of amber,
facturing operations or in product qual- when rubbed with another material, had
ity. For example, static in grinding the ability t o attract or repel other ob-
operations can prevent grinding t o a fine jects of light weight, but scientific inves-
degree. Static in certain textile opera- tigation of the phenomenon did not be-
tions causes fibers to stand on end in- gin until some 23 centuries later.
stead of lying flat, which often affects In a neutral or uncharged body the
the quality of the material. Static electrons, which are the negative com-
charges on materials handled by chutes ponents of the atom, and the protons,
or ducts have been known t o cause which are the positive components, are
clogging as a result of materials clinging present in exactly equal numbers, and
to the inside of the chutes and ducts. In these can be separated only by the
the printing industry, the control of expenditure of energy, usually in me-
static electricity is important to prevent chanical, thermal, or chemical form.
dahage to the printed images by the Electrons are free to move from one
attraction of dust particles, and t o pre- molecule to another in solid conductive
vent attraction of the ink to the under- materials. Protons cannot move appre-
side of sheets which may be stacked ciably unless the atom moves. Only
above them, as well as to avoid possible electrons are mobile in solids, whereas
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IEEE
STATIC AND LIGHTNING PROTECTION GROUNDING Std 142-1982
both electrons and protons are free to This potential can continue to grow
move in gases and liquids. on an insulating body under the influ-
Static electricity is generated by the ence of continuous charge generation.
movement of electrons which occurs At some voltage, the leakage of charge
when unlike materials are in contact will be equal to the rate at which the
with each other and are then separated. charge is being placed on the insulated
When two unlike materials are in inti- body, and a stabilized condition will be
mate contact, electrons from one mater- reached. If the leakage of charge through
ial move across the interface to the sur- the insulating body is not rapid enough,
face of the other, and their counterparts a sparking potential will be reached, and
(protons) in equal numbers remain on sparking will occur before stabilization is
the other body; an attractive force is reached.
thus established as equilibrium is The potential increase on separation
achieved. When bodies are separated, could reach several thousand volts, but
electrons produce electrical charges on the charge is relatively immobile, so a
the objects separated, which shows as spark from an insulated surface will
an increase in electrical potential be- usually not produce ignition.
tween the two surfaces. Static electricity is usually generated
If two materials that are good con- by the following:
ductors are in contact with each other, (1) Pulverized materials passing
and are then separated, the excess elec- through chutes or pneumatic conveyors
trons in one will return to the other (2) Belt drives when belts are of non-
before the separation is complete. But conductive material
if either or both of them is an insulator (3) Gas, steam, or air flowing through
and both are not grounded, both will an opening
display a charge because some of the (4)Motion that involves changes in
excess electrons will be entrapped in the relative position of contacting sur-
one of them when separation occurs, faces, usually of unlike materials, liquid
and the insulating body is said to be or solid, one or both of which usually is
charged. Actually, static charge is due a poor conductor of electricity
to an excess or a deficiency in electrons, (5) The human body in a low-humid-
and a surface that has an excess or ity area may accumulate a dangerous
deficiency of one electron in every static charge of several thousand volts
100 000 atoms is very strongly charged. by contact of shoes with floor coverings
The potential developed due t o electrical or by working close t o machinery that
charges is related to the amount of generates static electricity
charge deposited on a body and to the 3.2.2.2 Conditions Affecting the Pro-
capacitance of this body with respect duction of Static Charges. The possibility
to its surroundings. The relationship is of producing electrification (static) and
expressed by the following: the degree that it will be produced will
v = -Q (Eq 6) depend mainly on the following:
C (1) Material characteristics
where (2) Speed of separation
V = potential,in V (3) Area in contact
Q = charge,inC (4) Effect of motion between sub-
C = capacitance, in F stances
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IEEE
(5) Atmospheric conditions into contact, since surfaces that are

(1) Material Characteristics. It has been smooth and flat to the eye are micro-
previously stated that one of the materi- scopically rough with peaks and valleys,
als or substances must have higher insul- and the electrons travel only where
ating properties than the other to at actual contact occurs. Also heating due
least some degree to generate a static to friction eases the transfer of electrons.
charge between them. The physical Similarly liquids sprayed or expelled
forms may be solids, liquids, or gases. from a nozzle, particularly if they im-
The solids may be in the form of sheet- pinge on a surface, often produce high
ing, rods, etc, or may be broken up into potential charges.
particles that form a dust. The degree Liquid materials in a tank may accum-
of electrostatic charge that may exist ulate static charges as a result of delib-
between two materials will be pro- erate agitation of the liquid, because of
protional t o the difference in their tank motion, or while the tank is being
dielectric constants. Also, the positive filled.
charge will usually show up on the ma- Another example of motion producing
terial having the higher dielectric con- alternate contact and separation of
stant. materials is the passing of a belt over
(2) Speed o f Separation. As the speed a pulley, and as previously pointed out,
of separation of two substances is in- the higher the speed, the more often
creased, the chance for impounding the these alternations occur, and the greater
charges on the materials also increases, static charge on the belt. The same
thus increasing the potential differences principle applies to any sheeting passing
between them. For example, electrifi- over rolls, such as in the manufacture
cation of aircraft in flight, caused by and processing of rubber materials,
atmospheric water particles, dry snow, papers, or textiles. Rubber tires [ 3 0 ]
and ice crystals or dust, increases about rolling over streets and roads produce
as the cube of the speed of the aircraft. the same effect, and may account for
( 3 ) A r e a in Contact. The area of the static charges on automobiles, tank
substances in contact has a direct bearing trucks, etc.
on the degree of electrification because ( 5 ) Atmospheric Conditions. The fact
a larger contact area means that more that humidity conditions are related to
charge may be transferred from one the production of static is probably well
substance to the other, though the known to everyone because of the per-
charge density may be the same. In sonal discomfort experienced in touch-
other words, the larger body receives ing a metal object on a dry day after
or accumulates the larger quantity of having accumulated a charge by walking
charge. across a rug or coming into contact with
(4) E f f e c t o f Motion Between Sub- some other insulating material. This
stances. Static electricity has often been shows clearly the hazard that can exist
called frictional electricity, but actually in an operation that may require con-
friction plays little part in the process trolled low-humidity conditions.
of electrification, although the rubbing 3.2.3 Magnitudes
together does increase electrification. 3.2.3.1 General, The magnitude of
This is because in the process of rubbing, static electricity quantities is different
more peaks on the surfaces are brought than that of power electricity. The
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potential difference may reach thou- Table 1

sands of volts, currents may be less than Range of Static Voltages
a millionth of an ampere (1-10-6 A), and Produced by Various Processes
resistances of less than one million ohms
Voltage Range
(1Ma) may cause a short circuit, as far Observed
as electrostatics is concerned. Type of Equipment (kV)
3.2.3.2 Voltages Possible. Voltages Belted drives 60-100
that have been observed in a few indus- Fabric handling 15- 80
tries or have been created in tests are Paper machines 5-1 00
shown in Table 1. From Table 2 it can Tank trucks up to 25
Belt conveyors (grain) up to 45
be seen that even voltages of 20 000 V
may jump over 1 in (25.4 mm). Such
a spark could readily release enough Table 2
energy to ignite flammable mixtures. Sparking Distances in Air
3.2.4 Conditions Required for a Static for Various Voltages
Charge to Cause Ignition. In order for a Between Needle Points*
static spark t o produce ignition in a
combustible vapor and air mixture, there Voltage Distance Voltage Distance
(kV) (in) (mm) (kV) (in) (mm)
must be sufficient energy stored in the
charged body. The amount of energy 5 0.255 05.7 60 4.65 118
which is stored and available from a 10 0.470 11.9 70 5.85 149
15 0.725 18.4 80 7.10 180
capacitive-type discharge can be calcu- 20 1.000 25.4 90 8.35 212
lated by the formula 25 1.300 33.0 100 9.60 244
30 1.625 41.0 110 10.75 273
1 35 2.000 51.0 120 11.85 301
E = p v 2 10-9 40 2.450 62.0 130 12.95 329
45 2.950 75.0 140 13.95 354
(Eq 7)
where *Root mean square values, see [ 201.
C = capacitance, in pF
V = potential, in V gas used in industrial plants for cutting
E = energy, in mJ metal is exceptionally flammable. It
The energy necessary for ignition is de- needs only about 0.02 mJ of spark
pendent upon several variables, such as energy to ignite.
the shape and spacing of the electrodes Approximate values of capacitance, in
between which the spark occurs and the picofarads, of some objects are as
composition of the gas mixture, the gas follows:
temperature, and the pressure. Tests Human being 100-400 pF
have shown that 0.25 mJ of stored
Automobile 500 pF
energy is required t o ignite an optimum Tank truck (2000 gal) 1000 pF
mixture of saturated hydrocarbon gas 1 2 f t (3.6m) diameter
and air, but where the potential differ-
tank with insulated
ences are less than 1500 V and capaci-
tance is less than 222 pF, the resulting lining 1 0 0 0 0 0 pF
sparks are unlikely to cause ignition of In order for static electricity to be able
such a mixture because the energy de- to cause ignition, in addition to the re-
veloped is less than 0.25 mJ. Acetylene quirement of sufficient energy in the
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IEEE
spark discharge, it must take place in an carries a charge potential of 1OOV or

ignitable mixture. If the mixture is too more. Adjustable series-parallel group-
lean or too rich, ignition will not occur. ings of neon lamps and small capacitors
For a complete discussion of the ex- can be arranged to give approximate
plosive limits of various gas and liquid quantitative information.
mixtures, as well as the spark energy 3.2.5.4 Solid-state Electrometer.
required to ignite such mixtures, see This instrument may be used t o detect
[191 , [ w . the presence of static electricity, but it
3.2.5 Measurement and Detection of should have very high input impedance
Static Electricity so as t o limit current drain. Instruments
3.2.5.1 General. Static electricity has are available with an input impedance of
different magnitudes of electrical quanti- 1015 a.
ties than power electricity, so the tech- Electrometers use special field-effect
niques and instruments used for the solid-state devices having a very high
measurement and detection of static input resistance and drawing a very low
electricity are different. Instruments and input current. The meter uses batteries,
devices used in measurements and de- so it must be switched on before enter-
tection are described in the following ing a charged area and switched off
paragraphs. after leaving the area.
3.2.5.2 Electrostatic Voltmeter. As 3.2.5.5 Electrometer Amplifier. This
static charges are characterized by high instrument is generally used for the in-
voltage and low energy, instruments that vestigation of static electricity in the
have practically no current drain must be field and laboratory. It employs high re-
used for voltage measurements. The sistance in the input circuit, and thus has
electrostatic voltmeter is such an instru- low current drain. I t can be used as
ment, and while it may not have high either a voltmeter, a chargemeter, or a
accuracy, it is sufficiently accurate to current meter. I t is quite sophisticated
measure voltage for quantitative electro- and expensive and needs experienced
static analysis. Electrostatic voltmeters operators to use it.
are available in several ranges from 100 V 3.2.5.6 Generating Voltmeter. A gen-
to 5000 V. These meters operate on the erating voltmeter, occasionally called a
principle of electrostatic attraction be- field mill, is a device to measure electri-
tween movable and stationary metal cal field strength and produces alternat-
vanes. Practically no current is passed ing current proportional to the electrical
to maintain deflection. Portable models field by electrostatic induction, much as
are available. These meters are moder- a conventional alternator produces alter-
ately expensive, not too rugged, fairly nating current by electromagnetic induc-
sensitive, and do not indicate polarity. tion. This alternating current is electron-
3.2.5.3 Neon Lamp Tester. This de- ically amplified, then rectified, arid the
vice is very inexpensive and quite sensi- output is fed t o an indicating meter. The
tive. It can be carried in one’s pocket, generating voltmeter usually consists
so occasional checks for static electricity either of a motor-driven variable capaci-
can conveniently be made. It will light tor or of linearly vibrating capacitor
up feebly when one terminal is grounded plates exposed to the electric field. The
or held in the hand and the other makes capacitor serves to chop the electric
contact with the charged body that field, creating a periodically varying
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IEEE
charge, which results in ac output. A can be mitigated or controlled by pro-

chief drawback to the practical useful- viding means of recombining separated
ness of the generating voltmeter, as charges as rapidly as they are produced
normally built and used, is interpreting and before sparking potentials are
the meaning of its indication in a non- attained. Methods used are the following:
symmetrical geometric environment. (1)Grounding and bonding
3.2.5.7 Charge Density Meter. This is (2) Humidity control
a variation of the generating voltmeter, (3) Ionization
which is designed to operate immersed (4)Conductive floors
in a charged insulating liquid. The device (5) Conductive footwear and casters
is usually used in a pipe or with a con- (6) Special precautions
stant-geometry outer shield. Under such (7) Proper maintenance
conditions, the signals from this device These methods may also be used in
can be interpreted in terms of the elec- combination for effective control.
trical environment in which it is work-
ing. Relaxation of space charges in the 3.2.6.2 Grounding and Bonding.
charge density meter after flow has been Many static problems can be solved by
stopped provides a measurement of the bonding the various parts of the equip-
liquid conductivity under actual con- ment together and grounding the entire
ditions in the system at the location of system. Bonding (connecting two or
the meter. more conductive objects together) min-
3.2.5.8 Static Electricity Detector. imizes potential differences between
This is a commercially available instru- conductive objects, thus preventing
ment, which detects the presmce of sparking between two bodies, as shown
static charges and gives both a visual and in Fig 25 and 26.
an audible alarm. It also contains an indi- Grounding minimizes potential differ-
cator to indicate the magnitude of the ences between objects and the ground,
charge. This device is portable or may be as shown in Fig 27. Bonding and ground-
installed in a permanent location with ing should be done by bare or insulated
an antenna system installed in the oper- AWG wire N o 6 or No 4 (for mechanical
ating areas t o pick up the signal if static strength), though the current is on the
is present. Such an instrument is listed order of microamperes A). Any
by Underwriters Laboratories Inc for ground adequate for power circuits or
class I, groups A, €3, C, and D, and class lightning protection is adequate for pro-
11, groups E, F, and G hazardous loca- tection from static electricity. Even a
tions. Some instruments may need ground resistance of 1Mn is adequate for
batteries or line power to operate them. static grounding. Where grounaing or
Such instruments must be judiciously bonding wires are exposed to damage,
handled in hazardous areas to eliminate they should be run in rigid metal con-
the possibility of sparks of arcs due to duit or pipe. Eqi!ipment or tanks inher-
any defect or fault. Test probes used in ently bonded or grounded by their
an area of explosive vapors should be contacts with ground do not need special
highly insulated t o avoid sparks. means af bonding. For moving objects, a
3.2.6 Methods of Static Control grounding brush or wipe of carbon,
3.2.6.1 General. Static electricity brass, c.r spring bronze may be used, as
generation cannot be prevented, but it shown in Fig 28.
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IEEE
UNCHARGEDBODY
CHARGEDBODY
INSULATED FROM
GROUND
Charge Q = 6 pC
Capacitance C to Charge Q = 0
ground = 0.01 pF Capacitance C = 0.01 pF
Voltage V to ground Voltage V to ground = 0
and uncharged body = 600 V
V / //I \\\l/////A 1\ \ \ \ V / / l //L\ \ \\\Y////fA\\\\
GROUND
Fig 25
Charged and Uncharged Bodies Insulated from Ground
m-m BOND WIRE

BOTH BODIES BONDED
TOGETHER WILL SHARE
THE
POTENTIAL
CHARGEDIFFERENCE
AND HAVE NO
Charge Q on both sides = 6 pC

Capacitance C to ground for both bodies = 0.02 pF
Voltage V t o ground = 300 V
V / / / / / A \ \\ \ \ Y/ 11/ / A \ \ \\ \V/1/ / / A \ \ \ \ V/ / I // A 1 \ \ \
GROUND
Fig 26
Both Insulated Bodies Share the Same Charge
BOTH BODIES BONDED AND

BOND WIRE GROUNDED PERMIT CHARGE
TO FLOW TO GROUND
I
Charge Q on bc.th bodies = 0 GROUND
Capacitance C to ground = 0.02 pF
Voltage V t o ground = 0
Fig 27
Both Bodies are Grounded and Have no Charge
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IEEE
Fig 28*
Methods of Grounding or Metal Rollers or Shafting:
Carbon Brush and Holder, Brass or Carbon Brush, Spring Bronze Brush [32]
Grounding, however, is not a cure for relative humidity controls the surface
all static problems. For example, if the conductivity of these insulating mater-
material being processed is rather bulky ials. The higher the humidity, the greater
and has high dielectric characteristics, the conductivity. For example, the sur-
a static charge on the upper portion of face conductivity of plate glass at 50%
the material is usually very effectively relative humidity is about 1000 times
insulated from ground, and it may re- its conductivity at 20% humidity. At
sult in a spark discharge. In case of normal humidity (30% or more) an in-
processes involving nonconducting ma- visible film of water provides an electri-
terial, such as paper, cloth, or rubber, cal leakage path over most solid insulat-
it is not possible to drain off the static ing bodies and the clothes and shoes of
electricity charges by ordinary ground- a worker, which drains away static
ing and bonding. Also charges may charges as fast as they are generated.
accumulate on the surface of low-con- When relative humidity is 30% or less,
ductivity liquids, such as most refined the same materials dry out and become
petroleum products. These charges can- good insulators, and static manifesta-
not be removed by bonding or ground- tions become noticeable and may cause
ing. In such cases, other methods of con- fires from static sparks. Where high
trol, such as ionization or humidification, humidity does not affect the material
should be utilized. adversely, this affords one of the best
3.2.6.3 Humidity Control. Many in- ways of controlling static electricity.
sulating materials, such as fabric, wood, Humidifying the whole atmosphere, or
paper, or concrete, contain a certain localized humidification, especially near
amount of moisture in equilibrium with ths point where static electricity is
the surrounding air. This moisture or accumulating, has proved to be a solu-
tion where static electricity has resulted
in the adhesion or repulsion of sheets
*(From Data Sheet 5-8, Static Electricity.
0 1 9 8 1 by Factory Mrtual Engineering Corpor- of papers, fibers, etc. In some cases,
ation. Reprinted with permission.) localized humidification by steam ejec-
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IEEE
tion provides satisfactory results without cost device. The static comb is a metal
increasing the humidity in the whole bar equipped with a series of sharp
area. The minimum value of relative needle points or a metal wire surround-
humidity that is required for effective ed with metallic tinsel and grounded
control of static electricity is difficult t o (Fig 29). The ionization of air occurs
determine and will vary with the process through the charge concentration on the
and the surrounding conditions. How- sharp points of the collector from the
ever, it is believed that where the relative electric field owing t o the charge on the
humidity is maintained in the range of object. The field is concentrated near the
60-70% at ordinary indoor temperatures, pointed object, and when the charge is
static accumulations are not likely to above a minimum value, spontaneous
reach dangerous proportions. Where the ionization of air takes place. When a
process may be affected adversely by grounded static comb is placed close to
humidity, or where the area may be the insulated charged body, ionization of
air conditioned for process control or the air at the needle points provides
comfort, and where humidity will not enough conductivity to make some
noticeably decrease the resistivity (such charge leak away from the object. This
as uncontaminated surfaces of most method is usually employed to reduce
synthetic plastic and the surface of many the static charge from fabrics, paper, and
petroleum liquids), then other methods power belts.
of static control must be considered. The electrical neutralizer, now avail-
able commercially, produces the conduc-
3.2.6.4 Ionization. In the process of tive ionized air by sharply pointed con-
ionization, the air molecules are over- ductors connected to a high-voltage
stressed; thus electrons are separated supply. When placed near the moving or
from the molecules. The electrons are stationary charged surfaces, the charges
negatively charged, and the molecules are thereby neutralized at the surfaces or
that have lost them become positive in are leaked away to some adjacent
polarity. When a charged object is grounded conducting body. These neu-
brought in contact with ionized air, the tralizers are powered by the high-voltage
static charge is dissipated. The charge is secondary of a small step-up transformer
either conducted to ground through the (Fig 30).
ionized air, or the charged object attracts Electrical neutralizers are used for re-
a sufficient number of positively or neg- moving static charges from cotton, wool,
atively charged ions from the air t o neu- silk, or paper in process, manufacturing,
tralize it. Ionization of air can be ob- or printing, but are not recommended in
tained by flame, alternating electric atmospheres having flammable vapors,
fields generated by high voltage ultra- gases, etc. Necessary precautions must be
violet light, or radioactivity. This can be taken to protect operating and mainten-
achieved by several devices and methods. ance personnel from high-voltage circuits.
The most common are static comb or Radioactive neutralizers ionize the air
inductive neutralizer, electrical neutral- by emission of alpha particles from radi-
izer, radioactive neutralizer, and open oactive material such as radium or polon-
flames. ium. In the application of these neutraliz-
At static comb or inductive neutral- ers, care must be taken to avoid harmful
izer is a nonelectrically energized low- effects of radiation. There use is regu-
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IEEE
Fig 29*
Static Collectors (a) Tinsel Spirally Wound on Wooden Bar
(b) Crimped Bronze Wire Set in Metal Back
(c) Copper or Bronze Bristles Set in Twisted Wire
STEP-UP TRANSFORMER
ELIMINATOR BA
Fig 30*
Electrically Energized Neutralizer
*(From Data Sheet 5-8, Static Electricity. 01981 by Factory Mutual Engineering Corporation.
Reprinted with permission.)
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IEEE
lated by the US Nuclear Regulatory Com- resistance with age, and therefore should
mission. be tested at regular intervals.
Ionization of air can also be obtained 3.2.6.6 Conductive Footwear and
by rows of small open flames, which Casters. When conductive flooring is
may be used in paper printing presses used, operators or others entering the
where nonflammable ink is used. area must wear conductive nonsparking
footwear. Mobile equipment should
3.2.6.5 Conductive Floors. Where make contact with the floor directly or
extremely hazardous operating condi- through conductive rubber casters. Their
tions exist, such as in the production of resistance should be checked at regular
some explosives or in processes involv- intervals or before entering the work
ing oxygen-enriched flammable vapor or area.
gas mixtures which are susceptible to Shoe testers are available for deter-
static ignition, the use of conductive mining the resistance while the shoes are
floors or floor coverings may be required being worn. Such testers are essentially
to prevent the accumulation of static direct-reading ohmmeters with resistors
charge by grounding personnel and con- to limit the short-circuit current t o
ductive objects together, since the hu- 0.5 mA.
man body in a dry location can also Where conductive floors and shoes are
accumulate a dangerous static charge. required, the resistance between the
Where such flooring is required, it must wearer and ground must not exceed
be of nonsparking materials, such as 1 M a , which is the total resistance of
conductive rubber, lead, or other con- the conductive footwear on a person
ductive compounds. plus the resistance of the floor.
The resistance of the floor must be less 3.2.6.7 Special Precautions. In addi-
than 1 MS2 when measured between two tion to the use of conductive floors
electrodes placed 3 f t (0.91 m) apart and shoes, other controls may be con-
anywhere on the floor. In addition, t o sidered, such as the following:
protect personnel against electric-shock (1) Providing wearing apparel with
hazard, the resistance of the floor should low static producing qualities
be more than 25 000 S2 when measured (2) Establishing rigid operating pro-
between an electrode placed at any point cedures
on the floor and a ground connection, (3) Using conductive rubber mats
and between two electrodes placed 3 f t where conductive flooring is not used
(0.91 m) apart at any point on the floor. throughout an area
Each electrode must weigh 5 lb (2.27 kg) Hospital operating rooms utilize most
and shall have a dry flat circular contact of the preceding techniques because of
area 2% in (64 mm) in diameter. I t is the extreme hazard of anesthetic agents
recommended that electrical equipment and the possibility of creating static
energized from a grounded system not electricity from nozzles, operators with
be used or operated by persons standing improper attire, and other causes. The
on the floor. See NFPA 56A-1978 [16] subject of dissipation of static electricity
and [ 321 for more details. is well covered in ANSI/NFPA 77-1977
If waxes or other floor preservants are [ l o ] . In industrial areas with extremely
used, they should have conductive qual- hazardous conditions, it may be well to
ities. Conductive floors may increase in consider these recommendations.
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IEEE
3.2.6.8 Proper Maintenance. Like ground. The physical contact of the air-
other equipment, static control devices craft in flight with airborne particles
are no better than the maintenance they such as dust, smoke, water particles, dry
receive. Therefore it is imperative that snow, and ice crystals will generate
regularly scheduled inspections be made charges, and charged clouds in the prox-
to perform the following checks: imity will also induce electrification in
(1) Determine if all bonding and the aircraft. On the ground, a static
ground connections are intact. charge can build up in the same manner
(2) Ascertain the resistance of all the as it does on any other rubber-tired
equipment to ground. This may be vehicle when in motion or at rest. In
found by the use of commercially avail- addition, the movement of air and air-
able ohmmeters. A resistance of the borne particles over the large metallic
order of 1 M a is usually satisfactory for surface of the aircraft, even though it is
static mitigation. at rest, will also generate static, but of
(3) Examine static neutralizers to be less magnitude.
sure that they are in the correct posi- Fire and explosions can occur during
tion, and if of the high-voltage type, fueling operations because of static dis-
that they are energized and the points charges if adequate bonding and ground-
are clean. ing are not provided. Detailed recom-
(4) Test belts to see if they have main- mendations for protecting against the
tained their conducting characteristics. hazard of static sparks during fueling
(5) Take resistance measurements of operations are described in ANSI/NFPA
conductive flooring and footwear (see 407-1980 [ 131, and the methods of pro-
3.2.6.5 and 3.2.6.6). viding suitable grounding facilities for
(6) Take instrument readings to deter- static electricity in aircraft hangars are
mine if static charges are accumulating, covered in ANSI/NFPA 409-1979 [ 141
either because of the loss of one of the and ANSI/NFPA 77-1977 [lo].
static control devices or because of a 3.2.7.3 Belted Drives. Most power
change in operating conditions, such as belts and conveyor belts are constructed
machine speed, the addition of material- of insulating materials. These are pressed
handling equipment, or use of new ma- into contact with pulleys and idlers and
terials which may have different charac- generate static electricity at the point
teristics. where the belt separates from the pulley.
3.2.7 Hazards in Various Facilities and The generation of static electricity in-
Mechanisms, and Applicable Static Con- creases as speed increases or humidity
trol Methods decreases. Static generation will occur
3.2.7.1 General. A brief description with either conducting or nonconduct-
of the particular hazards met within cer- ing pulleys. Rubber or leather flat belts
tain facilities and the methods of static running at moderate or high speeds may
control which are applicable is presented generate sufficient static electricity to
in the following paragraphs. A more produce sparks. (V belts are not as sus-
complete discussion of many of these ceptible to hazardous static generation as
methods is given in various references. flat belts.) Conveyor belts used for the
3.2.7.2 Aviation Industry. Static transportation of solid material usually
charges are developed on aircraft both move at low speed, and usually do not
when they are in flight and when on the produce static electricity. When con-
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IEEE
TIP OF P O I N T
7
-v
S L I G H T L Y WIDER T H A N B E L T
S L I G H T L Y BELOW T H I S L I N E
I
R I G I D SUPPORT l l l l l
CONNECTED T O I1 I1 ” I/ I\
L J L L L 1 L
SHARP S T E E L POINTS 1 I N A P A R T
W E L D E D OP B R A Z E D T O A N G L E I R O N
4-6 in (102-152 mm)+
DRIVEN DRIVE
PULLEY PULLEY
4--6 in (102-152 m m )
G R O U N D E D S T A T I C COMB
Fig 31*
Details and Location of Static Comb
veyor belts carry heated or dry material, of angle iron the width of the belt with
are operated in a heated atmosphere, or metal spikes welded 1 in (25.4 mm)
move with high velocity, static genera- apart at the valley of the angle iron. The
tion might be significant. In locations spikes do not project above the sides of
where static charges are a real hazard, the angle iron. The comb is installed
considerations should be given to direct within about in (6.35 mm) of the belt,
or gear drives rather than belted drives. 4-6 in (102-152 mm) beyond the point
If belted drives must be used, the follow- where the belt leaves both the driving
ing methods of static control should be and the driven pulleys, as shown in
used. Fig 31. Such devices may sustain mechan-
(1) A grounded static collector is in- ical damage, and are seldom used on
stalled. This consists of a grounded piece power equipment. Tinsel bars used to
remove static from wide sheet materials
can also be used effectively with belts.
*(From Data Sheet 5-8, Static Electricity.
01981 by Factory Mutual Engineering Corpor- (2) A belt of conductive material is
ation. Reprinted with permission.) used. These are available from belt
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IEEE
manufacturers. A very important consid- much higher resistance will still permit
eration in applying conductive rubber dissipating static satisfactorily. However,
belts is to ensure that both the drive and it is desirable t o keep the resistance as
the equipment are well grounded. low as possible to provide a good margin
(3) Special belt dressings are applied. of safety.
This makes the inner surface of the belt One method for testing belts is to
conducting enough to leak the charges I
place two inch (15.9 mm) in diameter
back to the pulley as fast as they are pro- electrodes on the belt 8; in (216 mm)
duced. Such dressings must be renewed apart. The electrodes should be moisten-
frequently to be reliable. ed before being placed on the belt, and
(4) When material transported by con- each should be 3 lbf/in2 (20.7 kN/m2)
veyor belts is spilled from the end of a pressure applied. The resistance is then
belt into a hopper or chute, it may carry measured by means of a standard 500 V
a static charge. The belt support and megohmmeter.
terminal pulleys should be electrically 3.2.7.4 Coal Industry. Many explo-
bonded to the hopper. sions in coal mines and coal preparation
(5) Metal pulleys are charged with an plants have been attributed to the ac-
equal and opposite charge t o that car- cumulation of coal dust and the move-
ried by the belt, and provisions should ment of particles. More than ordinary
be made to transfer this charge to the precautions against the possibility of a
earth through shaft, bearings, and equip- static discharge spark, such as good
ment frame. When equipment frames are maintenance, proper ventilation, and
conductive, no charge is trapped. When prevention of dust accumulation, must
wooden supports are used and are dried be taken to avoid such explosions. For a
out by nearby heat, it is necessary to
detailed study, refer t o ANSI/NFPA
bond and ground the shaft and bearing 653-1959 [15] and ANSI/NFPA 85F-
t o dissipate the trapped charges. 1978 [12].
(6) Sometimes the flow of static elec-
tricity through the oil film has resulted 3.2.7.5 Flour and Grain Industry.
in sufficient roughening or pitting of the Material movement by means of con-
bearing surfaces to adversely affect the veyor belts, elevators, vacuums, blower
bearing life. In such a case it is necessary systems, and other machinery of manu-
t o bond the shaft to the bearing housing facture can be responsible for charge ac-
with some form of sliding metal or car- cumulation and the resulting static dis-
bon brush to provide a low-resistance charge. Fine particles of grain dust sus-
path between the shaft and the bearing pended in the air constitute an excellent
housing. Where a bearing incorporates a explosive. Several explosions of grain
nylon or other nonconductive bearing elevators due to static sparks have re-
material, the shaft should be bonded as cently been reported. For detailed in-
described above. formation, refer to ANSI/NFPA 61B-
One manufacturer of belts considers 1973 [7] and to ANSI/NFPA 61C-
that a belt which shows a 1 0 M a re- 1973 [ 8 ] .
sistance when measured on an 8 ; in Table 3 shows the minimum electrical
(216 mm) section will have sufficient energy required for the ignition of
static properties to make the belt safe some dusts when in a cloud or in a layer
throughout its life. Some feel that a (see ANSI/NFPA 77-1977 [ l o ] ).
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IEEE
Table 3 3.2.7.6 Gas Processing. Gases that

Minimum Electrical Energy for Ignition are not contaminated are unlikely to
of Some Dust Clouds and Layers* generate static electricity. Movement of
a gas that is contaminated with metallic
Dust Dust
Cloud Layer oxides, scale particles, or liquid particles
Material MJ MJ can produce electrification.
Alfalfa 3 20 - Liquified petroleum gases behave in
Allyl alcohol resin 20 80 the same manner.
Aluminum 10 1.6 Compressed air containing particles of
Aluminum stearate 10 40
Aryl sulfonyl hydrazine 20 160 condensed water vapor, liquid carbon
Aspirin 25 160 dioxide, hydrogen gas containing parti-
Boron 60
Cellucotton 60
cles of oxide, and steam, when discharg-
Cellulose acetate 10 ing from an orifice, can each produce
Cinnamon 40 static accumulation on the discharge de-
Coal, bituminous 60
Cocoa 100
vice and the receiving object. This sub-
Cork 35 ject is covered in detail in ANSI/NFPA
Cornstarch 30 77-1977 [ 101, ANSI/NFPA 58-1979
Dimethyl terephthalate 20
Dinitro toluamide 15
[4],ANSI/NFPA 59-1979 [5], ANSI/
Ferromanganese 80 NFPA 598-1979 [6], ANSI/NFPA 50A-
Gilsonite 25 1973 [2], and ANSI/NFPA 50B-
Grain 30
Hexamethylenetetramine 10
1973 [3].
Iron 20 7
Magnesium 20 0.24 3.2.7.7 Paint Industry. The use of
Manganese 80 3.2 flammable solvents in paint-mixing oper-
Methyl methacrylate 15 - ations represents a potential fire and ex-
Nut shell 50
Paraformaldehyde 20 plosion hazard due to ignition by static
Pentaerythritol 10 sparks which may be generated by the
Phenolic resin 10 transferal of liquid from open containers,
Phthalic anhydride 15
Pitch 20
by splash filling of tanks, by beltdriven
Polyethylene 30 machinery, and by the workers them-
Polystyrene 15 selves.
Rice 40
-
Seed (clover) 40 3.2.7.8 Paper and Printing Indus-
Silicon 80 2.4 tries. The movement of the paper itself
Soap 60 3840
Soybean 50 40 over the various rolls and the machinery
Stearic acid 25 - of manufacture tends to cause static
Sugar 30 -
Sulfur
voltages.
15 1.6
Thorium 5 0.004 Where flammable inks and solvents are
Titanium 10 0.008 used in the process, the charge thus pro-
Uranium 45 0.004 duced has caused many fires and an
Urea resin 80 -
Vanadium 60 8 occasional explosion. The static charge
Vinyl resin 10 - is also a source of trouble from the
Wheat flour 50 -
-
production standpoint. Sheets that be-
Wood flour 20
Zinc 100 400
- ..
come charged have an attraction for
Zirconium 5 0.0004 other obiects which causes. difficultv
. -. in
--- --.I
*Data from the US Bureau of Mines.

controlling the sheet, and the web may
be torn. Also the printed image may be
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IEEE
damaged by the attraction of dust par- tainers should be bonded together to

ticles and loose paper fibers t o the paper. maintain both at the same potential, and
3.2.7.9 Refining Industry. The fire grounded to avoid any possibility of
and explosion hazard due to static igni- spark.
tions is well known in this industry, and Rubber-coating machines are particu-
extensive precautions against this hazard larly susceptible t o fires caused by the
are necessary to safeguard lives and ignition of flammable vapors due to the
property. These are described in detail in discharge of static electricity generated
1311. by the movement of fabric over rolls and
3.2.7.10 Powder Processing. Most under spreader knives.
powders, when suspended as a dust 3.2.7.12 Textile Industry. The use of
cloud in air in sufficient concentration, automatic cleaning systems for the
are explosive, and some can be ignited by prompt removal of lint from the atmo-
static sparks. Explosion venting of build- sphere and from the machinery, in addi-
ings and the equipment in which the tion to modern air conditioning and
materials are handled or processed may precise control of humidity, has greatly
be necessary to minimize the damage if reduced the fire hazard from static elec-
an explosion should occur, despite the tricity. An occasional fire in a loom is at-
usual precautions taken to prevent static tributed to static electricity, but ground-
accumulations. In the manufacture of ing the machine frame and bonding all
explosives, the sensitivity to static igni- metal parts together and maintaining a
tions varies with the material being pro- relative humidity of 60-70s usually
cessed. Primary explosives like fulminate will eliminate the hazard.
of mercury can be detonated by a static 3.2.7.13 Hospitals. Mixtures of air
spark. and certain anesthetics and the use of
3.2.7.11 Rubber Industry. Rubber oxygen and oxygen-enriched atmo-
cement containing a high percentage of spheres introduce fire, explosion, and
naphtha is used in the manufacture of electrical hazards. Areas where easily
many rubber products. Static charges ignited anesthetic agents are, such as
generated at many points in the process ethyl ether, cyclopropane, divinyl ether,
are a frequent source of ignition of the trifluro ethyl ether, and ethylene are
naphtha vapors. The maintenance of a present should be thoroughly protected
relative humidity of 50% or more, in ad- against the possibility of dangerous ac-
dition to bonding and grounding the cumulations of static electricity which
various parts of the processing equip- may cause ignition. The principal static
ment and the use of static eliminators, is safeguards in these areas include the fol-
usually needed for adequate control of lowing: conducting floors; use of metal
static electricity. Operators should also or conductive material for all furnish-
avoid the use of rubber-soled shoes to ings in direct contact with the floor; con-
help avoid accumulating a charge on ductive shoes for personnel; prohibition
their bodies. Flammable liquids having of silk, wool, and synthetic garments in
low flash points should be handled in these areas unless used as hosiery or un-
closed systems or closed containers as dergarments that are entirely in con-
much as possible. When transferring tact with the skin; maintenance of rela-
flammable liquids from one open con- tive humidity at not less than 50%; and
ductive container to another, the con- grounding of all exposed noncurrent-
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IEEE
carrying metal parts of electrical equip- (1) Immersion and agitation in solvent
ment such as portable lamps, appliances, in closed vessels
fixtures, cabinets, and cases, as required (2) Brushing or scouring with cleaning
by the National Electrical Code, ANSI/ solvents
NFPA 70-1981 [9, Article 501-161. For (3) Dual-phase processing
more complete coverage of the subject, Dry-cleaning systems are divided into
see NFPA 56A-1978 [ 161. the following types:
In connection with the grounding of Type I. Systems employing solvents
electrical equipment in these areas, more having a flash point below 100 OF
than ordinary care is needed for the (37.8 "C)
maintenance of all electrical systems and Type II. Systems employing solvents
equipment, because the electric-shock having a flash point a t or above 100 OF
hazard is greatly increased due to the (37.8 "C) and below 140 OF (60 "C)
use of conductive shoes by personnel T y p e IIIA. Systems employing solvents
and the installation of conductive floors. having a flash point at or above 140 OF
Recent developments indicate that the (6OoC), and below 200°F (93.3"C),
grounding of noncurrent-carrying metal and complying with the requirements
enclosures generally required for elec- of ANSI/NFPA-32-1979 [ l , chap 31
trical apparatus used in operating rooms Type IIIB. Systems employing solvents
and intensive care units such as electro- having a flash point at or above 200 O F
cardiographs, oscilloscopes, defibrillators, (93.3 "C), and complying with the re-
pacemakers, radios, television sets, vapor quirements of ANSI/NFPA-32-1979 [ 1,
generators, and electrical cauterizing chap 31
equipment, may be increasing the shock Type IV. Systems using solvents that
hazard to patients and personnel in these will not support combustion or are non-
areas, due t o leakage currents over the flammable at ordinary temperatures and
grounding conductor. Patients in inten- only moderately flammable at higher
sive care units may be dangerously ex- temperatures, and complying with the
posed. Transient leakage currents of as requirements of ANSI/NFPA 32-1979
little as 20 pA over circuits for monitor- [I, chap 41
ing various physiological functions of a Type V. Same as type IV, except they
patient in an intensive care unit could be comply with the requirements of ANSI/
fatal where the probes are applied in- NFPA 32-1979 [ 1,chap 51
ternally. To be safe, circuits should be At the present time, the use of type I
designed so that leakage currents d o not systems is prohibited by ANSI/NFPA
exceed 1 0 pA, according to some author- 32-1979 [ l ] .
ities. For more complete coverage of this Storage tanks, treatment tanks, puri-
subject, see ANSI/NFPA 70-1981 [ 91 , fiers, pumps, piping, washers, extractors,
Article 517. drying tumblers, drying cabinets, com-
3.2.7.14 Dry Cleaning. Dry cleaning bination units, and other similar appara-
is defined as the process of removing tus should be bonded together. If this
dirt, grease, paint, and other stains from equipment is not grounded by virtue of
wearing apparel, textile fabrics, rugs, etc, its connection t o the electric power ser-
by the use of nonaqueous liquids (sol- vice, it should be grounded.
vents). The various drycleaning methods Special consideration should be given
include the following: to the control of static electricity in the
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IEEE
handling of fabrics. When they are trans- quently to the earth, resulting in a high
ferred from one piece of equipment to current discharge (stroke) which neutral-
another, the two pieces of equipment izes, for the moment, these cloud and
should be bonded together. Humidifica- earth charges. The discharge current
tion of the area will also help to dissipate increases from zero to a maximum in,
a static charge. usually, from 1t o 10 ps, then declines t o
Personnel working in these areas and half the peak value in from 20 to
performing dry-cleaning operations can 1000 ps. This discharge may be repeated
accumulate static charges, and the wear- one or more times, over the same path,
ing of footwear that may insulate the in rapid succession, resulting from re-
person from ground should be avoided. charging of the original cell by internal
Conductive floors, grounded metal work cloud discharges from nearby cells. The
tables, acd conductive footwear are help- average peak stroke current is about
ful in removing such charges. For more 20 000 A, although some stroke peak
details see ANSI/NFPA 32-1979 [ 13. currents are as great as 270 000 A [ 2 1 ] .
3.2.7.15 Offices. Business machines The point on which the lightning
handling papers and plastic tapes, sheets, stroke terminates is frequently a point
or cards often accumulate static charges. of some elevation, a tree, building, trans-
These may interfere with the operation mission line and its towers, or a similar
of the machine by causing papers to raised structure. This terminal may be on
stick together, attracting lint and dust a metallic structure, which is a good cur-
particles, or transmitting minor shocks rent conductor, or it may be on some-
to the operators. The involuntary reflex thing that is considered a semiconduct-
action due to such discharges, though ing material. These include the following:
otherwise of no hazard, may sometimes (1) Trees with the moist cambium
result in injury to the personnel. layer under the bark
Grounding of all non-current-carrying (2) Wooden structures with wetted
metal parts of the machine will prevent surfaces, or moisture residual within the
the accumulation of the charge, but may timbers, or internal piping or wiring
not cure the operational difficulties (3) Masonry structures with wetted
which will necessitate the use of humid- surfaces or moisture tracks down the
ity or static neutralizers, whichever is internal surface
most practical. (4) Concrete structures with reinforc-
3.3 Lightning Protection Grounding ing material, possibly with sections not
3.3.1 Nature of Lightning bonded together
3.3.1.1 General. Lightning is the dis- These paths are sufficiently conductive
charging of high-potential cells (usually to permit the flow of opposite-polarity
negative) within clouds to each other or charges upward as the cloud cell ap-
to the earth. These charged cells in proaches, but they are inadequate to per-
clouds normally attract charges of oppo- mit the severe stroke current to flow
site polarity on the surface of (or on without extreme heating or mechanical
high objects on) the earth directly below effects. This is due to high resistance in
them. When the cell charge reaches a the path of discharge. Probably the most
critical level (when the insulation be- violent result is the explosive vaporiza-
tween cloud and earth breaks down), it tion of any moisture, such as in the
develops a stepped ionized path, fie- cambium layer of trees, or a moisture
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IEEE
path in masonry buildings. The bark is mized by providing a direct path of low
“exploded” off the tree, and stone and resistance to earth.
bricks are expelled by the steam pressure 3.3.1.2 Need for Protection. Damage
from the structure. At points where rein- to structures and equipment due to the
forcing elements are not interconnected, surge effect is a subject in itself, and pro-
rupture of the intervening material re- tection against this type of damage is not
sults. Wood structural members simply within the scope of this section, except
explode from vaporization of the con- as grounding is involved.
tained moisture. Light metal elements in It is not possible to positively protect
the stroke path may be distorted by the a structure against damage from direct
magnetic stresses of the stroke current. stroke, except by completely enclosing
Probably an even greater danger results it with metal.
when flammable materials, such as petro- It is, however, rare that protection
leum or some chemical products, or in against lightning is really required for all
particular explosives, are subject to light- objects or structures at a given site or in-
ning stroke discharges. The temperature stallation. A number of factors require
at the terminal of the stroke, or at any consideration in determining the extent
high-resistance point in the path over to which lightning protection should be
which the current flows en route t o provided or whether this protection is
ground, is likely to ignite these materials. really needed:
(1) Personnel hazards
Even when a stroke does not occur to (2) Possible production loss, including
a particular point, but is ccmpleted to a overhead and indirect losses
nearby point on earth or another point (3) Possible damage, and repair cost
within the cloud, the discharge of the (4) Effect on insurance premiums
cloud cell forces the immediate dissipa- (5) Value and nature of structure or
tion of the opposite charges on promi- its contents
nent points on the earth. The return to (6) Thunderstorm frequency (isocer-
earth of these previously-bound charges, aunic map, Figs 32 and 33)
known as an induced-stroke, may be (7) Number and severity of lightning
several hundred amperes in magnitude, strokes per storm, average
and can be damaging to sensitive materi- (8) Cost of protection
als, such as flammables and explosives. The above factors are listed in approxi-
Low-voltage electrical and instrument mate order of importance. In certain
devices, too, are subject to damage from situations this order may change. The
this source. Protection from induced number of days per year with thunder-
strokes is conferred by the same means storms occurring in a given region is
as for direct strokes. known as the isoceraunic level of that
Lightning can cause damage to struc- region. The isoceraunic maps of the
tures by direct stroke and to electrical United States and Canada are shown in
equipment by surges coming in over ex- Figs 32 and 33. There are, however, local
posed power lines [34]. Surges may be variations, dependent on topography,
the result of direct strokes to the line mineral content, and moisture content,
at some distance away, or they may which these maps do not take into ac-
be electrostatically induced voltages. count. Also, there are areas where such
Damage due to direct stroke can be mini- storms are more intense, and other loca-
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IEEE
(The highest frequency is encountered in south-central Florida. Since 1894 the recording of
thunderstorms has been defined as the local calendar days during which thunder was heard. A
day with thunderstorms is so recorded, regardless of the number occurring on that day. The
occurrence of lightning without thunder is not recorded as a thunderstorm. Data supplied by
Environmental Science Service Administration, US Department of Commerce.)
Fig 32
Annual Isoceraunic Map of the Continental United States,
Showing Mean Annual Number of Days with Thunderstorms
tions where there are more storms per [ l l ] , but was included for information
year, so Figs 32 and 33 need to be mod- purposes only.
ified to give consideration to these local
variations. 3.3.2 Equipment and Structures to be
Appendix J of ANSI/NFPA 78-1980 Considered. Equipment and structures
[ l l ] contains a risk assessment guide can be separated into five classifications
which provides guidelines on the need for their need of lightning protection:
for lightning protection. This appendix (1) The first class, needing very little
is not a part of ANSI/NFPA 78-1980 or no additional protection, includes:
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IEEE
(Data based on the period of 1957-1972, Data from Meterological Division, Department of
Trawportation, Canada.)
Fig 33
Annual Isoceraunic Map of C a a d a
(a) All metal structures except tanks (2) The second class consists of build-
or other enclosures of flammable mater- ings with conducting surfaces and non-
ials conducting framework, such as metal-
(b) Water tanks, silos, and similar roofed and metal-clad buildings. This
structures, constructed largely of metal type requires the addition of down con-
(c) Flagpoles made of conductive ductors to connect the exterior roof and
material cladding to suitable grounding electrodes.
The only rcal requirements for these is (3) The third class consists of metal-
that they be effectively connected to a framed buildings with nonconducting
suitable grounding electrode. facings. These need the addition of con-
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IEEE
ducting air terminals suitably located, will, if well designed and constructed,
connected to the frame, and projecting not result in damage. Even this means is
beyond and above the facing, to act as not positive, providing only 99.5-99.9%
the lightning terminal points, eliminating protection. Complete protection can be
puncture of the facing. provided only by enclosing the object in
(4) The fourth class consists of non- a complete metal (or metal mesh) encap-
metallic structures, either framing or fac- sulation. For example, a person in a
ing. These require extensive protection metal-topped, closed automobile is safe
treatment. Included are: from lightning stroke injury. Still, a
(a) Buildings of wood, stone, brick, 99.5% protection level will reduce the
tile, or other nonconducting materials, incidence of direct strokes from one
and without metal reinforcing members. stroke per 30 years [normal in the
(b) High stacks and chimneys. Even isoceraunic level of 30 for a 100 f t
with reinforcing members, these should (30 m) square, 30 f t (9.1 m) high struc-
have full lightning protection treatment ture] to one stroke per 6000 years,
of air terminals, down conductors, and while 99.9% protection will reduce the
grounding electrodes. incidence to one stroke per 30 000 years.
(5) A fifth class consists of items of Protection at 99.9%would decrease the
high risk or loss consequences, which likelihood t o one stroke per 30 000
normally receive full lightning protection years. Protection at 99.5% is the prac-
treatment, including air terminals or tical choice. The fundamental theory of
diverters, down conductors, and ground- lightning protection of structures is to
ing electrodes (see 3.3.3.2). These provide means by which a discharge may
include: enter or leave the earth without passing
(a) Buildings of great aesthetic, his- through paths of high resistance. Such a
torical or intrinsic value condition is usually met by grounded
(b) Buildings containing readily steel-frame structures. Suitable protec-
combustible or explosive materials tion is nearly always provided by the in-
(c) Structures containing substances stallation of air terminals, down conduc-
which would be dangerous if released by tors, and groucding electrodes.
the effects of a lightning stroke In the case of metal-frame buildings,
(d) Tanks and tank farms the multiplicity of closed condwting
(e) Power plants and water pumping loops within the structure will act to re-
stations sist the transmission of surge voltages
( f ) Transmission lines into the interior of the building. A direct
(8) Power stations and substations lightning stroke to an upper level of such
Public service facilities such as power a metal building would lead to a surface
plants and pumping stations provide ex- curtain of surge-current flow traveling
tremely important functions, and thus downward toward the ground on the
must always be protected adequately. outer ring of vertical conducting columns
of the building. Any tendency for a
3.3.3 Requirements for Good Protec- surge current t o flow toward the build-
tion ing center is at once blocked by an in-
3.3.3.1 Prolection Principles. Light- duced current around the closed metal
ning cannot be prevented; it can only be conducting frame. The inductive volt-
intercepted or diverted to a path which age drop associated w;th this vertical
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IEEE
surface shell of surge current is associ- objects more than 7 5 f t high. Actually,
ated with a magnetic field encircling the very tall objects, such as radio and tele-
entire building structure. Such a magnetic vision towers and very tall buildings,
field encircles every other vertical con- were found t o be struck below their tops
ducting member within the building, and by stroke paths coming from the side,
induces an equal voltage between the although the top of the structure was
top and bottom of each column. Thus properly protected against the lightning.
there is minimal tendency for any one Methods recently developed have over-
vertical conducting path up through the come the shortcomings of the older
building to display a voltage difference linear-sided cone systems. These are de-
to any other internal vertical path. Even scribed in [ 261, [ 271 , [ 281 .
though a lightning stroke has caused the 3.3.3.2 Practices for Direct Protec-
top deck of the building to go 250 kV tion. Fundamentally, direct lightning
above ground, almost none of this volt- protection (lightning protection systems)
age appears as a difference voltage be- consists of placing air terminals or di-
tween different conducting paths at the verter elements suitably at the top peri-
top deck of the building. meter of the structure to be protected,
The surge-voltage protection problem and connecting them by adequate down
presented by electric circuits and elec- conductors to grounding electrodes
trical equipment contained entirely with- (earth). A necessary principle is that the
in the shell of a metal-frame structure adequate down conductor should not in-
due to lightning exposure external to the clude any high-resistance or high-reac-
building is almost nonexistent. A prac- tance portions or connections, and should
tical knowledge of these behavior pat- present the least possible impedance to
terns can be very useful in getting the earth. There should be no sharp bends
needed protection equipment installed at or loops. Steel-framed structures, ade-
the proper locations. quately grounded, meet these require-
The protection of electrical equipment ments with only the provision for ter-
and overhead distribution lines from the minating the stroke on a metallic air
effects of lightning is not within the terminal, connected t o the frame struc-
scope of this section. The modem tech- ture, to avoid the possibility of punctur-
niques used for line protection, however, ing any roofing or siding to reach the
are very similar to the principles of pro- frame. In the absence of a steel frame-
tection for buildings, tanks, and nonelec- work, a down conductor providing at
trical objects. least two paths to earth for a stroke to
Until very recently, criteria used to de- any air terminal is generally adequate.
termine the lightning protection zone de- Air terminals attached to the structure
pended on the principle of a linear-sided itself are pointed solid rods or pipes, at
cone of protection from high masts or least 1 0 in (0.25 m) long to possibly 20 f t
overhead wires. The angle of protectior: (6.1 m) long. Air terminals exceeding 2 ft
surface from the horizontal varied from (0.61 m) in height should be supported
45" for important structures to 30" for at a point not less than one half their
those of lesser importance. These angles height. These air terminals are separated
were to be used without regard to the by distances determined through use of
height above ground. These criteria were the critical radius described in [26],
found to be inadequate, particularly for [ 271 , [ 291 , so that the structure surface
110
STATIC AND LIGHTNING PROTECTION GROUNDING
will not protrude through or beyond the be bonded at both ends of the tube
surface of protection. On building edges, or pipe.
10 in (0.25 m) terminals should not be Every down conductor must be con-
separated more than 20 f t (6.1 m), and nected, at its base, to an earthing or
2 f t (0.61 m) terminals should not be grounding electrode. This electrode
separated more than 25 f t (7.6 m). With- needs to be not less than 2 f t (0.61 m)
in the periphery, 50 ft (15.2 m) spacing away from the base of the building and
will suffice. Refer to ANSI/NFPA 78- should extend below the building foun-
1980 [ll]. dation if possible. The length of the
All air terminals should be connected grounding conductor is highly important.
by down conductors and should form a A horizontal run of, say, 50 f t (15.2 m)
two-way path from each air terminal to to a better electrode (such as a water
make connection to the grounding elec- pipe) is much less effective than a con-
trode (voltages double at an open circuit nection to a driven rod alongside the
or end, in a lightning down conductor). structure itself. Electrodes should make
Bend radii should be as long as possible, contact with the earth from the surface
since sharp bends increase the reactance downward to avoid flashing at the sur-
of the conductor. Reactance is much face. Earth connections should be made
more important than resistance, because at uniform intervals about the structure,
of the very high frequency of the surge avoiding as much as possible the group-
front. At least two down conductors ing of connections on one side. Properly
should be provided on all structures, ex- made connections to earth are an essen-
cept that only one down conductor is tial feature of a lightning-rod system for
needed for masts, spires, and flagpoles. the protection of buildings (see Sec-
The location of down conductors will tion 4).
depend on the location of the air termi- Naturally, the greater the number of
nals, the size of the structure being pro- down conductors and grounding elec-
tected, the most direct routing, the trodes, the lower will be the voltage de-
security against damage or displacement, veloped within the protection system,
the location of metallic bodies, water and the better it will perform. This is
pipes, the grounding electrode, and the one of the great advantages of the steel-
ground conditions. If the structure has framed building. It has as many down
metallic columns, these columns will conductors as it has columns, or one
act as down conductors. The air termi- about every 15 f t (4.57 m). Also, at the
nals must be interconnected by con- bottom of each column it has a footing,
ductors to make connection with the which is a very effective electrode, even
columns. The average distance between if anchor bolts and reinforcing bar are
down conductors should not exceed not interconnected (see Section 4).
100 f t (30 m). Irregularly shaped struc- Interior metal parts of a non-metal-
tures may require extra down conduc- framed building which are within 6 f t
tors. Down conductors passing through (1.83 m) of a down conductor need
runways, driveways, playgrounds, public to be connected to that down conduc-
walks, etc, should be guarded to prevent tor. Otherwise they may sustain side
their damage or displacement. If a flashes from it, which occur because of
down conductor is run through ferrous voltage drop in the lower portion of that
metal tube or pipe, the conductor must down conductor and electrode. The
111
IEEE
same is true for the juxtaposition of in- the requirements of lightning protection
terior metal parts and exterior metal [26], [27], [29]. The masts or poles
roofing or sheathing. Exterior emergency are normally at least 10 f t ( 3 m) from
ladders should also be bonded to the any part of the structure to be protected.
nearest down conductor. On a flat-top Similarly, elevated wires above the struc-
building protected by air terminals, all ture must remain not less than 10 f t
metallic parts and equipment project- (3m) above the structure (Fig 34). Metal
ing higher than the air terminals, such as masts may act as grounding conductors.
air-conditioning and heating equipment, Wood poles should have an air terminal
should be bonded to the lightning pro- securely mounted to the top of the pole,
tection system. Metal less than in & and a copper or copperweld conductor
(4.76 mm) thick should have an air along the pole should be provided as
terminal mounted on top. grounding conductor. The guy wires for
For high-rise buildings and towers, an elevated wire span can be designed to
an equalizing horizontal bonding loop serve as grounding conductors. As with
should be installed at approximately all other types of grounding conductors,
every 100 f t (30 m). This bonding loop suitable earthing electrodes are neces-
should be connected at every down sary.
conductor to equalize the voltage dif- 3.3.4.2 Tanks and Tank Farms. In
ferences between down conductors. If some places it is not considered neces-
this is not done, during severe light- sary to protect tanks containing flam-
ning strokes a voltage will appear be- mable liquids or gases from lightning,
tween down-conductors as the surge provided the base of the tanks are ade-
impedance of each down conductor is quately grounded. Direct strokes are per-
different, causing high-voltage gradients mitted t o the tank top or walls, and as
3
between these down conductors. These long as the steel is ~ iin; (4.76 mm) or
equalizing loops become more important more in thickness, there is little danger
if the structure area is small since in of a stroke puncturing it. Steel tanks
this case there are fewer down conduc- with steel roofs and floating metal roofs
tors to carry the total stroke current. are generally considered to be self-pro-
3.3.4 Practices for Lightning F’rotec- tecting. Tanks with nonmetallic roofs are
tion. not self-protecting and should usually be
3.3.4.1 General. Buildings and struc- protected with air terminals, conducting
tures involving hazardous liquids, gases, masts, or elevated ground wires. In all
or explosives require additional protec- cases, joints and piping connections
tion. In these it is highly desirable t o should be electrically continuous, and
keep the stroke current away from the all vapor or gas openings closed or flame-
structure, not even utilizing its metal proof. The possibility of a direct stroke
skin or framework as a down conductor. to the vicinity of a vent or leak is taken
For such cases, including tanks, tank care of by an air terminal of suitable
farms, and explosive manufacture and length [ 261, [ 271 , [ 291 .
storage, a separate diverter protection 3.3.4.3 Non-Conducting Heavy-Duty
system is employed. Stacks. For heavy-duty stacks, including
The diverter element consists of one those in petroleum and chemical plants,
or more masts, or one or more elevated air terminals, connected to a loop
wires (between masts or poles), meeting conductor around the top of the stack,
112
IEEE
-ELEVATED WIRE
c- MAST
STRUCTURE
- MAST
PROTECTED
Fig 34
Lightning Protection for Structures Containing Hazardous Materials
and at least two down conductors to draft, the length should be not less than
grounding electrodes at the base of the 15 f t (4.57 m). In the latter case, tilting
stack are required (Fig 35). Air terminals the terminals outward at 30" from the
should be made of solid copper or stain- vertical is desirable.
less steel and should be uniformly dis- Where the effluent is corrosive, as in
1
tributed around the top of cylindrical flue gas, E in (1.6 mm) thick lead
stacks at intervals not exceeding 8 f t coating on the air terminals is required.
(2.44 m). On square or rectangular The loop is also kept below the top of
stacks, air terminals should be located the stack.
not more than 2 f t (0.61 m) from the 3.3.4.4 Steeples. Steeples are similar
corners and should be spaced not more t o stacks except that they normally are
than 8 f t (2.44 m) apart around the peri- sharp peaked and thus require only one
meter. Where the stack gas is nonflam- air terminal. This should project far
mable, the length of the terminals may enough above the top ornamentation to
be as little as 18 in (0.46 m). Where ven- meet the requirements of lightning pro-
tilating stacks emit explosive gas or dust, tection. Otherwise multiple air terminals
the length of the air terminals should be or a multipointed terminal should be
not less than 5 f t (1.52 m). Where the used to provide equivalent protection.
gas or dust is explosive and under forced Steeples are frequently framed with
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IEEE
30' T I LTED OUTWARD

WHERE NECESSARY
A I R 1'ERM I NA LS
I20' A PART
Fig 35
Lightning Protection for Stacks
wood, not metal, so adequate down con- lightning stroke arc. The number of
ductors are a basic requirement. spikes around the mast (three, four, five,
3.3.4.5 High Masts. Equipment on or s i x ) , the length of the spikes, and
the sides of very high masts, such as tele- their vertical spacing along the mast need
vision or FM antennas, can be protected to be determined for optimum econom-
from direct stroke damage by the addi- ics, and according to the principles of
tion of lateral spikes or thorns project- lightning protection. Where masts are in-
ing outward from the sides of the mast. stalled on top of a building, the bottom
At heights above the critical radius of of the mast structure must be bonded
100 or 200 f t (30 or 60 m) [26], [27], at least at two points with the building
[29], spikes in a horizontal or near- grounding network.
horizontal position, suitably spaced as 3.3.4.6 Power Stations and Substa-
described in [ 261 , [ 271 , [291 , will cause tions. While transmission-line protec-
strokes coming from the side t o terminate tion against lightning is an inherent part
on the spikes rather than on the mast of its design and is well documented,
itself. This will greatly reduce the possi- the protection of stations and substa-
bility of damage to electrically fragile tions has received little attention. If
components by the termination of the anything, the old 30'-45' cone of pro-
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IEEE
tection philosophy for building protec- all components are closely intercon-
tion has been applied t o these important nected by means of the grounding grid.
items as well. Substation grounding network resistance
Stations and substations require pro- must not exceed 5 a;
for large stations,
tection from direct strokes, obtainable lower values are desirable.
using the circular-sided protection zone The surge-arrester grounding conduc-
guidance set forth in [26], [271, [291. tor should be connected into the com-
Masts or overhead wires, or both, may mon station ground bus. As with light-
be used. The grounding of these to the ning down conductors, the grounding
usually very adequate grounding net- conductor for surge arresters must be
work of the station or substation is, of as short and straight as possible. The
course, necessary. National Electrical Code, ANSI/NFPA
Protection of the attached overhead 70-1981 [9, Article 2801 requires that it
lines by means of an overhead grounded be not less than AWG No 6 (4.11 mm),
conductor or diverter (static wire) for but larger sizes may be desirable with
2000 f t (610 m) away from the station larger systems, based on the magnitude
or substation is recommended. This will of the power follow current.
preclude direct strokes on this section of 3.4 References
the line, and reduce the duty on the sta-
[l] ANSI/NFPA 32-1979, Drycleaning
tion surge arresters. The spacing of this
overhead grounded conductor or diverter Plants.
and its down conductors from the phase [ 21 ANSI/NFPA 508-1973, Gaseous
conductors must be not less than the Hydrogen Systems at Consumer Sites.
basic impulse insulation level of the
lightning protection system. Otherwise [3] ANSI/NFPA 50B-1973, Liquefied
side flashes t o the phase conductors will Hydrogen Systems.
occur, causing unnecessary outages. [4] ANSI/NFPA 58-1979, Storage and
Generally unless the lines are 66 kV or Handling of Liquefied Petroleum Gases.
higher, it is not practical t o install these
overhead grounded conductors above [ 51 ANSI/NFPA 59-1979, Liquefied
them. Petroleum Gases at Utility Gas Plants.
However, overhead grounded conduc- [ 6 ] ANSI/NFPA 59A-1979, Storage
tors may be desirable on some power and Handling of Liquefied Natural Gas.
lines below 66 kV, depending on past ex-
perience with such lines operating in [ 71 ANSI/NFPA 61B-1973, Prevention
high isoceraunic levels. of Fire and Dust Explosions in Grain
Elevators and Bulk Grain Handling
Lightning protection of power sta- Facilities.
tions and substations includes the pro-
tection of station equipment by means [8] ANSI/NFPA 61C-1973, Prevention
of surge arresters [34]. These arresters of Fire and Dust Explosions in Feed
should be mounted on, or closely con- Mills.
nected to, the frames of the principal [9] ANSI/NFPA 70-1981, National
equipment which they are protecting, Electrical Code.
especially transformers (Fig 36). They
may also be mounted on the steel frame- [ 101 ANSI/NFPA 77-1977, Static Elec-
work of the station or substation where tricity.
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IEEE
Fig 36
Typical Method of Grounding Surge Arrester
116
IEEE
[ 11J ANSI/NFPA 78-1980, Lightning [25] KLINKENBERG, A., and VAN

Protection Code. DER MINNE, J.L. Electrostatics in the
Petroleum Industry. New York: Elsevier
[ 123 ANSI/NFPA 85F-1978, Standard
Publishing Company, 1958.
for the Installation and Operation of Pul-
verized-Fuel Systems. [26] LEE, R.H. Protection Zone for
Buildings Against Lightning Strokes
[ 131 ANSI/NFPA 407-1980, Aircraft
Using Transmission Line Protection Prac-
Fuel Servicing.
tice. IEEE Transactions o n Industry A p -
[ 141 ANSI/NFPA 409-1979, Aircraft plications, vol IA-14, Nov/Dec 1978.
Hangars.
[ 271 LEE, R.H. Lightning Protection of
[ 15] ANSI/NFPA 653-1959, Prevention Buildings. IEEE Transaction on Industry
of Dust Explosions in Coal Preparation Applications, vol IA-15, May/June 1979.
Plants.
[ 281 LOEB, L.B. The Basic Mechanisms
[ 161 NFPA 56A-1978, Inhalation Anes- of Static Electrification. Science, Dec 7,
thetic Code.9 1945, pp 573-576.
[ 171 BEACH, R. Electrostatic Hazards [ 291 OFFERMANN, P.F. LightningPro-
and Their Control. tection of Structures. Conference Re-
[ 181 BEACH, R. Grounding Principles
cord of the 1969 Fourth Annual Meeting
and Practice--V: Static Electricity in In- of the IEEE Industry and General Appli-
dustry. Electrical Engineering, vol 64, cations Group, 69C5-IGA.
May 1945, pp 184-194. [ 30 J PEARSON, J.M. Protection
[19] BEACH, R. Industrial Fires and Against Static Electricity. Automotive
Explosions from Electrostatic Origin. Transactions, vol 21, 1940.
Mechanical Engineering, Apr 1953. [ 311 API-RP-2003 1982. Recommend-
ed Practice for Protection Against Igni-
[20] COLLINS, A.F., and DUFFIN,
tions Arising out of Static. Lightning and
D.J. Radio Amateurs Handbook. New
Stray Currents."
York: Crowell, 1949.
[ 211 DAVIS, N.H. Lightning Protection [32] Static Electricity, in Handbook of
Systems. NFPA Fire Protection Hand- Industrial Loss Prevention. Factory Mu-
book, 15th ed, chap 12. tual Engmeering Corporation, 1968,
chap 30.
[22] EICHEL, F.G. Electrostatics.
Chemical Engineering. Mar 13,1967. [ 331 Static Electricity. Circular C-438.
National Bureau of Standards, Boulder,
[23] GALLY, S.K. Elements of Static CO, United States Government Print-
Electricity. Gas, Mar 1949, pp 42-46. ing Office, Washington, DC.
[24] HARPER, W. R. Contact and Fric- [ 34 J WALSH, G.W. A Review of Light-
tional Electrification. New York: Oxford ning Protection and Grounding Practices.
University Press, 1967. IEEE Transactions o n Industry Applica-
tions, vol IA-9, Mar/Apr 1973.
'This document is available from the Nation-
al Fire Protection Association Publication Sales "American Petroleum Institute, 2101 L
Division, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269. Street N W Washington, DC 20032
117
IEEE
3.5 Bibliography HUGHES, J.F., and BRIGHT, A.W. Elec-

trostatic Hazards Associated with Power
BEACH, R. Mechanical Electrostatic
Handling in Silo Installations. IEEE
Neutralizer Discharge and Safety Char-
Transactions o n Industry Applications,
acteristics. Mechanical Engineering, vol
vol IA-15, Jan/Feb 1979.
71, pp 329-334.
LEWIS, B., and VON ELBE, G. Cornbus-
HEDLUND, Lightning tion, Flames and E x p ~ o s ~ o nNew
s ~ York:
for Buildings. IEEE Transactions o n In-
Academic Press, 1951.
dustry and General Applications, vol
IGA-3, Jan/Feb 1967, pp 26-30.
118
4. Connection to Earth
4.1 Resistance t o Earth about 20 f t (6 m), the incremental re-

4.1.1 Nature of Grounding Resistance. sistance per unit of radius decreases ef-
The grounding resistance of an electrode fectively to nearly zero.
is made up of: To help visualize this, Fig 37 shows a
(1) Resistance of the (metal) electrode typical 10 f t (3 m) by in (16 mm)
(2) Contact resistance between the ground rod in soil. The path of ground
electrode and the soil current outward from the rod surface
(3) Resistance of the soil, from the consists of successive cylindrical and
electrode surface outward, in the geo- hemispherical shells. As the distance
metry set up for the flow of current out- from the rod increases, so do the cross-
ward from the electrode to infinite earth sectional areas of the individual shells.
The first two resistances are very small As their areas increase, their individual
fractions of an ohm and can be neglected series resistances decrease inversely with
for all practical purposes. So the third the area. Table 4 shows the result of
element is the one to be discussed here. carrying out this calculation based on
Around a rod this resistance is the sum the distance of 25 f t (7.62 m) represent-
of the series resistances of virtual shells ing 100% of the total earth resistance.
of earth, located progressively outward The table shows that in the first 0.1 f t
from the rod. The shell nearest the rod (0.03 m) away from the rod surface, 25%
has the smallest circumferential area or of the total resistance is incurred. In the
cross section, so it has the highest resis- first 0.5 f t (0.15 m) and 1.0 f t (0.3m),
tance. Successive shells outside this one 52 and 6895, respectively, of the total re-
have progressively larger areas, and thus sistance is incurred.
progressively lower resistances. As the The Dwight formula for single rods,
radius outward from the rod increases to shown in Table 8, would place this re-
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IEEE
Fig 37
Electrode Resistance Development
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IEEE
CONNECTION TO EARTH Std 142-1982
Table 4 single rod by the number of rods in the

Electrode Resistance at a Radius r ft grounding system, unless the rods are
from a 10 f t (3m) Long by separated by impractically great dis-
$ in (16mm) Diameter Rod tances.
(Total Resistance at r = 25 ft (7.6m) 4.1.2 Recommended Acceptable Val-
= 100%) ues. The most elaborate grounding sys-
tem may not perform satisfactorily un-
Distance from Approximate less the- connection of the system to
Electrode Surface r
Of
Total Resistance earth is adequate for the particular
(ft) (m)
installation. It follows, therefore, that
0.1 (0.03) 25 the earth connection is one of the most
0.2 (0.06) 38
0.3 (0.09) 46 important parts of the whole grounding
0.5 (0.15) 52 system. It is also the most difficult part
1.0 (0.3) 68 to design.
5 (1.5) 86 The connection to earth, or the elec-
10 (3.0) 94 trode system, needs to have a sufficient-
15 (4.6) 97 ly low resistance to permit prompt oper-
20 (6.1) 99 ation of the circuit protective devices in
25 (7.6) 100
the event of a ground fault, and to pro-
(100) (30.5) vide the required safety from shock to
(1000) (30.5) personnel who may be in the vicinity of
equipment frames, enclosures, conduc -
tors, or the electrodes themselves.
sistance at 113% for the 25 f t (7.62 m) Logically, the lower the resistance of the
radius value, or would be the resistance grounding system, the more adequately
at a radius of about 500 f t (152 m). these requirements are met. Yet, smaller
The first few inches away from the rod installations with lower available levels
are the most important ones, as far as re- of ground-fault current do not require as
ducing the electrode resistance is con- low a value of grounding resistance as do
cerned. In high-soil-resistivity locations, larger systems with their higher levels of
decreasing the soil resistivity in this area, ground-fault current. System ground re-
such as by chemical treatment or the use sistances of less than ln may be ob-
of concrete, will be most useful in im- tained by the use of a number of individ-
proving the effectiveness of a grounding- ual electrodes connected together. Such
electrode system. a low resistance may only be required
Adding more electrodes to the first for large substations or generating sta-
one, in order to reduce the resistance, tions. Resistances in the 2-5 52 range are
does not affect the resistance close to generally found suitable for industrial
the electrode. Out to a distance equal to plant substations and buildings and large
half the spacing between the electrodes, commercial installations.
the diagram and logic of Fig 37 apply. The 2552 value noted in the National
Beyond that distance, however, the area Electrical Code (NEC), ANSI/NFPA 70-
of each of the shells is less than lin- 1981 [ l ] l 1 applies to the maximum resis-
early proportional to radius. So the re-
sistance will be higher than the value "The numbers in brackets correspond to
obtained by dividing the resistance of a those references listed in 4 . 5 .
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IEEE
Table 5
Resistivity of Soils and
Resistances of Single Rods
5
Resistance of 8 in
Resistivity
(a * cm)
(16 mm) x 1 0 ft ( 3 m ) Rod
(a1
Soil Avg Min Max Avg Min Max
~
Fills, ashes, cinders, brine

waste, salt marsh 2370 590 7000 8 2 23
Clay, shale, gumbo, loam 4060 340 16 300 13 1.1 54
Same, with added sand
and gravel 15 800 1020 135 000 52 4 447
Gravel, sand, stones, with
little clay or loam 94 000 59 000 458 000 311 195 1516
Table 6 Table 7
Effect of Moisture Content on Effect of Temperature on
Soil Resistivity Soil Resistivity*
Moisture Content Resistivity (a cm) Temperature Resistivity

( % b y weight) Top Soil Sandy Loam ("Cl (OF) (a cm)
0 > l o o 0 lo6 > l o o 0 lo6 20 68 7200
2.5 250 000 150 000 10 50 9900
5 165 000 43 000 0 (water) 32 1 3 800
10 53 000 18 500 0 (ice) 32 30 000
15 19 000 10 500 -5 23 79 000
20 12 000 6300 -1 5 14 330 000
30 6400 4200
*Sandy loam, 15.2%moisture.
tance for a single electrode. If a higher re- face, the type and concentration of
sistance is obtained for a single electrode, soluble chemicals in the soil, the mois-
a second (paralleled) electrode is re- ture content, and the soil temperature.
quired. There is no implication that In other words, the resistivity is that of
2 5 a per se is a satisfactory level for a the electrolyte in the soil. The presence
grounding system. of surface water does not necessarily in-
4.1.3 Resistivity of Soils. It is recom- dicate low resistivity. Representative
mended that the resistivity of the earth values of resistivity for general types of
at the desired location of the connec- soils are given in Table 5. The effects of
tion be investigated. The resistivity of moisture and temperature are shown in
soils varies with the depth from the sur- Tables 6 and 7.
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IEEE
Table 8
Formulas for Calculation of Resistances to Ground*?
lemisphere
radius a
h e ground rod
length L , radius a
rwo ground rods

s > L ; spacings
b o ground rods
s < L ; spacing s
Buried horizontal wire

length 2 L , depth s / 2
Right-angle turn of wire 2L s2

+In- - 0.2373 + 0.2146s + 0.1035 -0.0424%’
length of arm L , depth si2 L L L
Ihree-point star 2L S2 5-4 \

s-+Oo.238~-0.054--~~
length of arm L , depth s / 2 6nL S L L L4 1
Four-point star 2L s2
2.912 - 1.071 %+ 0.645 -1- 0.145 7
length of arm L , depth s / 2 8rL L L L
Six-point star
length of arm L , depth s12
R = P In-
12nL( : +In-
2L
+6.851 -3.128s+1.758s1-00.490s~
L La L4
Eight-point star 2L -1.177

length of arm L , depth s / 2 L
Ring of wire
diameter of ring D, diamete
of wire d, depth s / 2
Buried horizontal strip

length 2L, section a b y b,
depth s12, b < a / S
Buried horizontal round plate

radius a , depth s / 2
Buried vertical round plate

radius a , depth s / 2
*See Ref [ 4 ] .
?Approximate formulas, including effects of images. Dimensions must be in centimeters to give
resistance in ohms.
p =resistivity of earth in ohm-centimeters.
For 1 0 f t ( 3 m ) rods of i,$, and $ in (12.7, 15.88, and 19.05 mm) diameters, the grounding
resistance may be quickly determined by dividing the soil resistivity p , !2 cm, by 292, 302, and
311, respectively.
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IEEE
Table 9 resistivity of this section of the ground-

Multiplying Factors for Multiple Rods ing circuit. Currents passing from the
electrode into the earth will have a de-
Number of Rods F finite effect on these two conditions.
2 1.16
Therefore the current-loading capacity of
3 1.29 a connection must be analyzed from the
4 1.36 standpoint of the nature of the ground-
8 1.68 ing circuit and the types of loading
12 1.80
16 1.92 which it can normally be expected to
20 2.00 carry. Information useful in this regard
24 2.16 for steel rods in concrete (reinforcing
bars) is given in [5].
4.1.4 Calculation of Resistance to Currents of low magnitude, even if of
Earth. The resistance to earth may be long duration, will result in relatively
calculated and measured. The calculation little heating. The effect of heat conduc-
has been simplified to a great extent by tion and the movement of moisture due
the formulas developed in [4] and pre- to capillary action will maintain, in most
sented in Table 8. cases, the resistivity of the earth at the
Multiple electrodes in parallel yield electrode close to the original value.
lower resistance to ground than a single Where the earth must dissipate high
electrode. Multiple rods are commonly currents for short durations, no appre-
used to provide the low grounding resis- ciable amount of heat can be dissi-
tance required by high-capacity installa- pated by the normal process of thermal
tions. Adding a second rod does not, conductivity. The permissible current
however, provide a total resistance of density for a given temperature rise is
half that of a single rod, unless the two inversely proportional to the square root
are several rod lengths apart. A useful of the soil resistivity. The effective re-
rule is that grounding systems of 2-24 sistance of the earth connection there-
rods placed one rod length apart in a line, fore depends on the number of such
hollow triangle, circle, or square will pro- situations that could occur in succession
vide a grounding resistance equal to the before stable conditions in the earth are
single-rod resistance divided by the num- reestablished.
ber of rods and multiplied by the factor Since approximately 25% of the
F taken from Table 9. grounding resistance of each rod elec-
Placing rods within the periphery of a trode occurs within a 0.1 f t (0.03 m)
square, circle, or other shape will not radius of the rod surface, serious heating
appreciably reduce the grounding resis- and vaporization of the moisture adjacent
tance below that of the peripheral rods to the rods may occur on heavy faults.
alone. When the moisture is boiled away, the
4.1.5 Current-Loading Capacity. One effectiveness of the rod in the dried-out
factor which should not be overlooked earth is substantially reduced, and arcing
in designing a grounding system is the below the ground surface is likely. The
current-loading capacity of a connection boiling away of soil water results in
to earth. The temperature and moisture steaming or “smoking” at the ground
conditions immediately surrounding the surface near the electrode.
electrode have a direct effect on the Ground currents of high magnitude
124
IEEE
CONNECTION T O EARTH Std 142-1982
and long duration are unusual, but could trodes, while the metal building frame is
occur as the result of ground faults that simply a grounding conductor.
are not cleared promptly. If ground cur- The NEC, ANSI/NFPA 70-1981 [l],
rents of this type are anticipated, the states that continuous underground
system must cover a relatively large area water or gas-piping systems in general
and employ a sufficient number of elec- have a resistance to earth of less than
trodes t o keep the current density in the 3 a, and that metal building frames,
earth to a low value [lo]. local metallic underground piping sys-
4.1.6 Soil Treatment. Soil resistivity tems, metal well casings, and the like
may be reduced anywhere from 15 to have in general a resistance to earth of
9096, depending upon the kind and tex- substantially less than 25 a. For safety
ture of the soil, by chemical treatment. grounding and for small distribution sys-
There are a number of chemicals suit- tems where the ground currents are of
able for this purpose, including sodium relatively low magnitude, such electrodes
chloride, magnesium sulfate, copper sul- are usually preferred because they are
fate, and calcium chloride. Common salt economical in first cost. However, before
and magnesium sulfate are most com- reliance can be placed on any electrodes
monly used. of this group, it is essential that their
Chemicals are generally applied by resistance to earth be measured to ensure
placing them in a circular trench around that some unforeseen discontinuity has
the electrode in such a manner as to not seriously affected their suitability.
prevent direct contact with the electrode. Also, care should be exercised to ensure
While the effects of treatment will not that all parts that might become discon-
become apparent for a considerable nected are effectively bonded together.
period, they may be accelerated by 4.2.2 Made Electrodes. Made electrodes
saturating the area with water. Also, may be subdivided into driven electrodes,
such treatment is not permanent and steel reinforcing bars in below-ground
must be renewed periodically, depending concrete, buried strips or cables, grids,
on the nature of the chemical treatment buried plates, and counterpoises. The
and the characteristics of the soil. type selected will depend upon the type
of soil encountered and the available
4.2 Ground Electrodes depth. Driven electrodes are generally
4.2.1 Existing Electrodes. Basically all more satisfactory and economical where
ground electrodes may be divided into bedrock is 10 f t ( 3 m) or more below the
two groups. The first group comprises surface, while grids, buried strips, or
underground metallic piping systems, cables are preferred for lesser depths.
metal building frameworks, well casings, Grids are frequently used for substations
steel piling, and other underground or generating stations to provide equi-
metal structures installed for purposes potential areas throughout the entire sta-
other than grounding. The second group tion where hazards t o life and property
comprises made electrodes specifically would justify the higher cost. They also
designed for grounding purposes. The require the least amount of buried mate-
metal building frames are normally rial for a given electrode resistance.
attached by long anchor bolts to their Buried plates have not been used exten-
concrete foundation footings. The sively in recent years because of the high
anchor bolts in concrete serve as elec- cost as compared to rods or strips. Also,
125
IEEE
when used in small numbers they are in concrete foundations and footings
the least efficient type of made electrode. provides a ready-made supply of ground-
The counterpoise is a form of buried ing electrodes at structures utilizing this
cable electrode used to ground transmis- type of construction. It is only necessary
sion-line towers and structures (see to bring out an adequate electrical con-
Tables 8 and 9 and [111 . nection from a main reinforcing bar of
When multiple electrodes are used, each such footing for attachment to the
spacings of less than 10 f t ( 3 m) do not building ground bus or structural steel.
provide the most economical use of A convenient means for such a connec-
materials. tion is t o tack-weld a short connecting
In selecting the number and size of bar between one of the vertical reinforc-
grounding terminals, their current-dis- ing bars and one of the anchor bolts for
charge limitations must be recognized. connection above the footing surface.
If these are exceeded, the earth around The steel frame of a building, attached
the electrode may be exploded by steam to these anchor bolts, then becomes a
generation, or may be dried out to the highly effective grounding conductor,
extent of becoming nonconductive. and is used as a grounding bus in many
4.2.3 Driven Rod or Pipe. Driven elec- industrial buildings.
trodes are normally rods. Where soil con- Each such a footing electrode has a
ditions permit, a few deep rods are usual- resistance equal to or lower than that of
ly more satisfactory than a multiplicity a driven rod of equal depth. The large
of short rods, since the soil resistivity number of such footings inherent t o
generally decreases with depth due to buildings will provide a net ground resis-
the increased moisture content. A num- tance considerably lower than that
ber of design charts for the determina- normally provided by other made elec-
tion of optimum ground-rod dimensions trode methods, generally below 1S2 and
and spacings for a given installation are frequently of the order of 0.25 S2.
given in [ 121 . Test results and design data for the de-
4.2.4 Concrete-Encased Rods or Wires. termination of the ground resistance of
Concrete below ground level is a semi- single and multiple concrete-encased
conducting medium of about 3000 S2 - cm footing electrodes are given in [ 51 .
resistivity at 20 'C, or somewhat low- Steel rods in concrete in (irregular) ex-
er than the average earth resistivity. cavations in rock or very rocky soil have
Consequently, in earth of average or been found greatly superior to other
high resistivity, the encasement of rod or types of made electrodes. The principles
wire electrodes in concrete results in governing this electrode type are those
lower resistance than when a similar elec- that provide grounds for the majority of
trode is placed directly into earth. This the steel towers of high-voltage transmis-
is due to a reduction of the resistance of sion lines.
the material closest to the primary elec- 4.2.5 Buried Strip, Wire, and Cable.
trode, in much the same manner as chem- Where bedrock is near the surface, or
ical treatment of the earth reacts near the where sand is encountered, the soil is apt
electrode. While it is seldom justifiable to be very dry and of high resistivity,
to excavate or drill holes for the place- and it is necessary to have an earthing
ment of concrete for this purpose, the connection of considerable extent. Un-
widespread use of steel reinforcing bars der such conditions, buried metal strips,
126
IEEE
wires, or cables offer the most econo- at least 4 f t (1.22 m) beyond the peri-
mical solution. Since the effectiveness meters of the grid, the fence should be
of this type of electrode for lightning grounded to its own electrode system,
discharges is a function of its inductance, which will include a cable buried in the
the use of a number of well-spaced earth approximately 3 f t (0.91 m) out-
shorter strips in parallel is preferable to side the fence line, for the same reasons
one or more long strips. The depth at as discussed. Refer to IEEE Std 80-1976
which the strips are buried is not critical. [ 21 for more information.
Tests by the National Bureau of Stan- Coarse cracked rock, usually granite, is
dards [9] show that the resistance de- normally spread all over the surface of
creases only about 596, when the burial the soil within such a substation grid
depth is increased from 18 in t o 36 in area, not for housekeeping reasons, but
(0.5 m-1 m), based on uniform soil re- t o provide a high-resistance surface treat-
sistivity. Similarly the effect of conduc- ment to reduce the hazard from step
tor size is extremely small. potential to persons within this area
4.2.6 Grid System. Grid system usual- during a severe fault.
ly extend over the entire station yard 4.2.7 Plates. The preferred practice
and may extend some distance beyond with plate electrodes is to bury them on
the boundary fence. They consist of edge since a minimum of excavation is
conductors buried a minimum of 0.5 f t required and it is possible to ‘obtain bet-
(0.15 m) in the ground, forming a net- ter contact with the soil when backfilling.
work of squares or rectangles. The spac- There appears t o be little difference be-
ing of the grid conductors will vary with tween the effective resistance of hori-
the voltage class of the station, but cable zontal and vertical plates. For commonly
spacings of 10-12ft (3.0-3.7 m) are used plates of 10-20 f t (0.9-1.9 m2 ) the
commonly used. All cable crossings optimum burial depth is 5-8 f t (1.52-
should be securely bonded and the sys- 2.4 m).
tem connected to the normal ground sys- 4.3 Methods and Techniques of Con-
tem as well as to all equipment and steel struction.
structures. In rock ground, where driven 4.3.1 Choice of Rods. Ground rods are
grounds are impractical, it is sometimes manufactured in diameters of i,k , i,
more economical and desirable t o use a $, and 1 i n (9.53, 12.7, 15.88, 19.05,
grid system in place of buried strips, in and 25.4 mm) and in lengths of 5-40 ft
which case the cables are usually buried (1.5-12.2 m). For most applications, the
at a depth of 1-2 f t (0.3-0.6 m). The diameters of i,
,; and $ in (12.7,15.88,
basic characteristics and design elements and 19.05 mm), in lengths of 8, 10, 12,
for extensive grid systems are given in and 16 ft (2.44, 3.05, 3.66, and 4.88 m)
~71. are satisfactory. The NEC, ANSI/NFPA
Where the enclosing fence is within the 70-1981 [l], specifies that rods of steel
perimeter of the buried grid, the fence or iron shall be at least in (15.88 mm)
must be bonded to the grid to minimize in diameter, and that rods of nonferrous
the shock hazard from the touch poten- materials shall not be less than 51 in
tial of persons touching the fence and, (12.7 mm) in diameter. Copper-clad
of course, standing on the ground which steel, one of the most common types of
may be at a substantially different rods, permits driving to considerable
potential. Where the enclosing fence is depth without destruction of the rod
127
IEEE
itself, while the copper coat permits depths than would be possible by hand
direct copper-to-copper connection be- sledging. If rods are to be driven on a
tween the ground wire and the rod. In comparatively large scale, it is desirable
addition to the copper-clad steel, gal- to provide power driving equipment.
vanized steel rods are available. Electric, pneumatic, and gasoline driven
For ease of driving, some rods are hammers are available, the first two re-
available in sections. As each section is quiring sources of power. Regardless of
driven toward ground level, another the type of driving tool used, precau-
section is added by use of a coupling, tions should be taken to prevent mush-
making a continuous conductor. A re- rooming of the head.
movable stud will take the driving blows 4.3.3 Locating a Water Main (New
and avoid damage to the threads of the Construction). Prior to new construction,
joint. For safety reasons, rods should be analysis of the soil condition and loca-
driven so that no unguarded length re- tion of the grounding point may permit
mains above ground. locating a water pipe nearby. This would
The effect of the rod diameter on the eliminate a long grounding line to a dis-
resistance of the connection to earth is tant water main with its inherently high
small. The diameter of the ground rod is inductance. The economic advantage of
determined mainly by the mechanical such an arrangement should not be over-
rigidity required for driving. It is advan- looked.
tageous to select the smallest diameter 4.3.4 Connecting to Electrodes. Con-
rod that meets the driving requirements. nections to electrodes are usually made
Average soil coiditions will permit the by one of several means. The first of
4
use of the in (12.7 mm) rod. The in these methods involves the use of me-
(15.88 mm) rod can be driven in nearly chanical (bolted) fittings, which are
all types of soil, and the $ in readily available, simple to install, dis-
(19.05 mm) rod may be reserved for ex- connectable for measurements of re-
ceptionally hard driving conditions or sistance to earth, and have a long history
for deep driven rods. of satisfactory usage. Although corrosion
For ordinary soil condition, the 10 f t has sometimes presented a problem,
(3m) length of rod has become fairly treatment of the joint as an ordinary
well established as a minimum standard electrical connection in a corrosive en-
length t o meet the code requirement of a vironment eliminates most of the prob-
minimum of 8 buried f t (2.44 buried m). lems in this respect. Mechanical connec-
4.3.2 Methods of Driving Rods. Sledg- tions should, if at all possible, be acces-
ing requires a minimum of driving equip- sible for inspection and servicing.
ment, but may require considerable time The second method, a thermite process
per foot of rod. A modification of the of connecting t o the electrode, has in-
sledging process, consisting of a chuck creased in usage in recent years because
and sliding hammer, permits the work to of the savings in time and costs when
be carried on at a level convenient to the many connections must be made. This
worker without a ladder or auxiliary method provides a permanent connec-
platform. An additional advantage is that tion, eliminates contact resistance, is re-
the blow is delivered to the rod at a latively corrosion' free, and permits the
point not far from the ground line, thus use of smaller cable because of the 450 "C
permitting rods to be driven to greater maximum temperature limitation, as
128
IEEE
compared to the maximum of 250°C grounding wire and the steel or iron
usually permitted for mechanical con- from the corrosion standpoint. Brazing
nections. (The NEC ANSI/NFPA 70- and the thermite process are also used
1981 [ l , article 250-941 imposes a when connecting to structural steel, but
minimum conductor size limitation, should be restricted to applications that
however.) It does, however, have certain will not affect the structural properties
inherent limitations. It requires separate of the steel.
disconnecting means, such as above- 4.3.7 Preparing the Joint. It is impor-
ground bolted joints, for measurements tant that the surface of any connection
of resistance to earth. It also requires a be cleaned of any insulating medium,
certain amount of training, and it cannot such as insulation, grease, paint, or dirt,
be used in the presence of volatile or ex- before making the connection.
plosive mixtures, or where the gaseous
products of the operation would inter- 4.4 Measurement of Resistance to Earth.
fere with nearby operations. 4.4.1 Need for Measurement. In any
Utilities are experimenting currently formula for the determination of the re-
with a third method, which involves the sistance to earth there are many indeter-
use of a copper or copper-alloy connector minate factors, and too much reliance
which is squeezed onto both ground rod should not be placed upon the calculated
and cable simultaneously by a hydraulic results. For example, the soil resistivity
press. This method is economical, pre- varies inversely with the soil temperature
sents most of the advantages of the ther- and directly with the moisture content
mite process, and eliminates most of the and, usually, depth. The only certain
objections t o that process. way t o determine the resistance is to
Other methods of joining, such as braz- measure it after the system has been
ing or welding, are satisfactory if proper- completed. A desirable refinement
ly done. would be to measure the resistance of
4.3.5 Joining to Underground Piping each electrode during installation.
Systems. Joining to pipe presents several 4.4.2 Methods for Measuring. The prin-
problems. Clamp-type fittings are rela- ciples used in the measurement of resis-
tively expensive, since they must obvi- tance to earth are essentially the same as
ously accommodate a large pipe in addi- those used for measuring other types of
tion to the relatively small conductor. electrical resistances. The various
Welding or brazing to the pipe will cause methods available all make use of two
localized stress, which may impair the auxiliary electrodes in addition to the
function of the pipe, particularly if it one under test and may be grouped into
contains fluid under high pressure. the following three general classes:
4.3.6 Joining to Structural Steel. (1) The three-point method, in which
Bolted fittings lend themselves best to the resistance to earth of the electrode
structural steel that can be field drilled under test and of the auxiliary electrodes
but not welded. These are available in a is measured two electrodes at a time, in
number of shapes and sizes to accom- series. This method is suitable for mea-
modate the range of conductors. Mate- suring the resistance to earth of isolated
rial for the clamps, or protective finishes ground electrodes or small grounding in-
applied t o the clamps should be chosen stallations. It is not suitable for the mea-
so as to be satisfactory for both the surement of low-resistance installations.
129
IEEE
(2) The fall-of-potential method, It is desirable, in measuring the resis-

which involves passing a known alternat- tance of the completed system, to allow
ing current through the electrode under some time to elapse before measure-
test and one of the auxiliary electrodes, ments are made, so that the earth around
and measuring the potential drop be- the electrodes will be consolidated. This
tween the former electrodes and a does not apply to the auxiliary electrodes
secondary auxiliary electrode set at vari- required in the test, since their resistance
ous distances between the two fixed is negated in the test method.
electrodes. This method may be subject
to considerable error if stray ground cur- 4.4.3 Periodic Testing. Tests should be
rents are present, or if pipes or other made periodically after the original in-
conductors are buried near the test stallation and test, so that it can be de-
electrode. termined whether the resistance is re-
(3) The ratio method, which involves maining constant or is increasing. If later
measurements of the ratio of the resis- tests show that the resistance is increas-
tance to earth of an auxiliary test elec- ing t o an undesirable value, steps should
trode to the series resistance to earth of be taken to reduce the resistance either
the electrode under test and a second by additional electrodes, by increasing
auxiliary electrode. Multiplying this ratio the moisture content, or by chemical
by the series resistance gives the effective treatment.
resistance of the ground electrodes. This
method is more satisfactory than the tri- 4.4.4 Earth Resistivity Measurements.
angulation methods since ratios of the The commercial portable instruments
resistance of the auxiliary test electrode available for measuring the grounding
to the resistance of the electrode under electrode resistance normally may be
test may be as high as 300:l. used to measure the soil resistivity as
A more complete treatment of these well. For this purpose they are con-
three methods may be found in [ G I . nected t o four short electrodes spaced
Commercially available portable test- uniformly in a line. Spacing between the
ing instruments provide the most con- two center electrodes is a direct measure
venient and satisfactory means for mea- of the effective depth desired for the re-
suring the resistance of connections to sistivity, that is, for example, a 1 0 f t
earth. Instruments used for measuring (3 m) spacing will yield the average resis-
insulation resistance are not suitable, tivity of the top 10 ft ( 3 m) of soil, and
however, because they cannot measure so on.
sufficiently low resistance values. Also, The instrument yields an ohmic read-
ordinary low-resistance ohmmeters lack ing, which then, multiplied by 2 times
sufficient voltage for this purpose, and the spacing in centimeters, is the soil re-
have no means for separating out the sistivity in S2 * cm. Full instructions
grounding resistance of the auxilary elec- for this test are provided with each test
trodes needed t o make the test. instrument .
Precision in measurements of the re-
sistance to earth is difficult to obtain 4.4.5 Cathodic Protection. Discussion
and is usually not required. Normally, of cathodic protection is beyond the
an accuracy of the order of *25% is scope of this document. For information
sufficient in view of the many variables. see ~ 3 1[81.
,
130
IEEE
4.5 References [7] GROSS, E.T.B., CHITNIS, B.V.,

and STRATTON, L.J. Grounding Grids
[ 13 ANSI/NFPA 70-1981, National for High-Voltage Stations. AIEE Trans-
Electrical Code. actions (Power Apparatus and Systems),
V O ~72, Aug 1953, pp 799-810.
[ 21 IEEE Std 80-1976, Guide for Safe-
ty in AC Substation Grounding. [8] HEADLEE, J.F. Cathodic Protec-
tion for Steel Mill Grounding Systems.
[3] COLEMAN, W.E., and FROSTICK, Iron and Steel Engineer, Mar 1954.
H. Electrical Grounding and Cathodic
Protection at the Fairless Works. Pre- [ 91 PETERS, O.S. Ground Connections
sented by the AIEE Subcommittee on for Electric Systems. Technical Bulletin
Cathodic Protection at the 1954 AIEE 108, National Bureau of Standards,
Winter General Meeting. Boulder, CO.
[ 101 RUDENBERG, R. Grounding
[4] DWIGHT, H.B. Calculation of Re- Principles and Practice-I: Fundamental
sistance to Ground. AIEE Transactions, Considerations on Ground Currents.
V O ~55, Dec 1936, pp 1319-1328.
Electrical Engineering, vol 64, Jan 1945,
[5] FAGAN, E.J., and LEE, R.H. The pp 1-13.
Use of Concrete Enclosed Reinforcing [ll] TAGG, G.F. Earth Resistances.
Rods as Grounding Electrodes. IEEE London WC2: George Newnes Ltd,
Transactions on Industry and General Tower House, Southampton St.
Applications, vol IGA-6, July/Aug 1970,
pp 337-348. [12] ZABORSKY, J., and RITTEN-
HOUSE, J.W. Design Charts for Deter-
[6] FINK, D.G., and CARROLL, J.M., mining Optimum Ground-Rod Dimen-
Eds. Standard Handbook f o r Electrical sions. AIEE Transactions (Power A p -
Engineers. New York: McGraw-Hill paratus and Systems), vol 72, Aug 1953,
Book Company, 1968. pp 810-817.
131
IEEE
Index
A metal clad, 38
Arcing fault neutral, 3 8 , 3 9
burndowns, 1 9 , 2 0 power, 30
line-to-line, 20 Conducting
Arrester material, 52
line-to-ground-voltage rated surge, 42 path, 58
line-type surge, 67 Conductor
sparkover value, 60 circuit grounding, 50,54
surge, 28, 35, 57, 59 electric circuit grounding, 57,60
electric service, 75
B energized, 47
Bonding energized electrical, 47
electrical, 6 5 independent grounding, 57
jumper, 56,80 inductance (reactance), 57
of metal sleeves, 57 large-cross-section grounding, 48
Breakdowns, winding-to-frame insula- neutral, 44
tion, 21 overhead line, 65
phase, 35, 36, 44, 48, 51, 54, 56, 76,
C 77
power circuit, 57
Circuit power circuit grounding, 57
breaker, 3 0 , 3 1 , 3 3 , 3 8 , 3 9 , 4 3 , 4 4 service entrance, 74, 75
control, 43 supply-system grounded, 50
distribution, 35 Connection, earthing, 6 5
fault, 48 cost
feeder, 37 corner o f the delta grounding, 30
grounding conductor, 50, 54,55 grounded neutral systems, 25
high-current ac, 53 neutral switching equipment, 37
impedance components, 56 of resistors, 35
interior electric, 7 5 ungrounded neutral systems, 25
length, 54 Coupling, mutual, 52
loop, 52 Cross bonding, 54
loop, main power, 52 Current
rated, 54 amplitude, 48
residual, 35, 36 capacitive charging, 44
secondary loop, 54 circulating, 38, 52, 53
transmission, 35, 5 7 fault, 3 5 , 3 8 , 4 0
Circuit breaker flow, power-frequency ground-fault,
feeder, 33 63
generator main and field, 39 flow, short circuit, 25,26
generator neutral, 32 full load, 53
marginally applied, 3 1 ground, 38,44
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IEEE
INDEX Std 142-1982
harmonic, 39 electric-shock-hazard, 6 1
induced, 52 electric-shock-voltage, 48, 55, 60, 63,
lightning, 57 67,68,70, 74,75
line-to-ground, 28 shock voltage, 51,52,56
line-to-ground fault, 48, 51, 56 voltage, 4 7 , 5 4
line-to-ground short circuit, 6 3
neutral, 42 F
one-way, 57
phase conductor, 56 Fault
rated, 4 0 , 4 1 , 4 2 arcing, 19, 20, 74
rated neutral, 32 arcing fault burndowns, 19, 20
relay, 44 line-to-line arcing, 20
resistor, 39 behavior, single-line-to-ground, 50
resistor ground-fault, 37 circuit ground, 50
resistor rated, 4 1 cu:Tent, 40
root-mean-square neutral, 41 line-to-ground, 23, 24, 29, 39, 40, 54,
surge, 58 61,76
third harmonic, 38, 43 location, 20,21
three-phase fault, 28, 29, 39, 41, 42, phase-to-ground, 19
44 phase-to-phase, 25
three-phase short-circuit, 4 2 , 4 3 restriking ground, 23,25
transformer, 3 5 , 4 1 terminal, 40
transformer magnetizing inrush, 44 Fence, boundary, 6 7 , 6 8
zero sequence, 3 1 , 3 7 , 3 9
G
D Ground
Distress, thermai, 48 bus, 5 7 , 6 8
conductor, 57
junction, 47
E
Grounded
Earth, 60,61. efrectively, 18
Electromagnetic interference suppres- feeder, 21
sion, 57 inductance, 18,19
Enclosing metal shell, 54 neutral, 25
Equipment, resistance, 1 8 , 2 8 , 2 9
building service, 74 solidly, 18
grounding, 62 Ground-fault responsive tripping, 77
grounding function, 81 Grounding
grounding system, 48, 63 conductor defects, 80
outdoor installation, 70 corner-of-the-delta, 30
outdoor port;?ble heavy-duty, 62 electrode, 51, 57,61,65, 70
rotating-machine surge-protective, 59 equipment, 47
surge protection, 60 high-resistance neutral, 43
surge-voltage protective, 67 high-resistance system, 35
Expmure industrial power system, 1 7
electric shock, 63, 70 low resistance, 35
133
IEEE
reactor, 40 M
resistor, 40
solid neutral, 43 Mechanical interrupting devices, 76
system neutral Metal sleeve (protective), 58
ground-fault-neutralizer, 26,27, 29, Multiple circuit runs, 77
30
reactance, 2 6 , 2 7 , 2 9 , 4 2 N
resistance, 26, 27, 28,29, 30, 38, 39 Neutral
solid, 26, 27, 28, 3 4 , 4 0 autotransformer, 4 3
transformer, 4 0 , 6 5 generator, 44
Grounding wires, shallow buried, 6 0 , 6 2 grounding transformer, 41
system, 3 1 , 4 3
transformer bank, 44
I Neutralizer
Impedance ground fault, 29,30
circuit, 4 8 , 5 0 high resistance, 34
ground fault, 6 8 neutral, 31
grounding conductor, 54 tap, 30
grounding transformer, 37 tap changer, 30
line-to-ground fault, 55
negative sequence, 56 0
neutral, 38 Overvoltage
positive sequence, 56 fundamental frequency, 43
roundtrip, 56 power system
Interrupter lightning, 23
single-pole, 76 contact with higher voltage system,
single-phase, 76 23,24
line-to-ground faults, 23, 24
J resonant conditions, 23, 24
J bolts, 6 5 restriking ground faults, 23, 25
static, 23
switching surges, 23
protection, 35,47
Line-terminal fault value, 40 limited transient, 37
Load surges, 81
line-to-neutral, 35 transient, 2 9 , 3 0 , 4 1 , 4 2 , 4 3
single-phase, 44
Loading, line-to-neutral, 34
Loop
P
circuit, 52 Pattern
closed, 52 potential gradient, 6 1
induction, 52 voltage contour, 6 1
main power circuit, 52 Phase overcurrent device, 77
pipe sleeve, 53 Protection
short circuiting, 53 ground fault, 41
134
IEEE
INDEX Std 142-1982
line, 41 Relaying
overcurrent, 47,50,77 unbalanced current, 77
overvoltage, 35 selective, 37
Requirements, ground conductor, 48
Resistance
circuit, 48
R earthing terminal, 61
Raceway incremental value of, 61
conductor, 55 sheath, 55
enclosing, 56 zero sequence, 37
metal, 80 Resistor
steel, 57 grounding, 40,44
Rating high-voltage low-current, 44
current, 41,42 individual, 38
grounding transformer, 42 low-voltage high-current, 44
resistor, 41 neutral, 41
short-time rated, 41 neutral grounding, 37
thermal current, 41 ratings, 41
Reactance standard grounding, 39
circuit, 48,53 value, 41
generator positive-sequence subtran-
sient reactance, 42 S
generator zero-sequence, 42 Safety
ground return in circuits, 40 circuit breakers, 39
neutral, 30,37,42 control circuit, 43
positive sequence inductive, 37 industrial electrical systems, 21,22
positive sequence short circuit, 42 Secondaries, delta connected, 30
subtransient, 37,40,42 Short circuit
system negative sequence, 40 current, 76
system positive sequence, 40 current flow, 25,26
system zero sequence, 40 Source
zero sequence inductive, 37,48 emergency or stand-by power, 44
Reactor grounded neutral, 42
generator neutral, 42 ungrounded neutral, 42
grounding, 41 Spacing, grounding-conductor, 52
neutral, 42 Station ground mat, 68
neutral grounding, 40,41,42 Substation
Relay interior, 62
current, 44 interior unit, 77
ground, 35,36,37 open frame, 70
ground fault, 41 outdoor open frame, 62, 63, 64, 65,
overcurrent, 36 66,67
phase, 36 outdoor unit, 62,68,69,70
time overcurrent, 35 stepdown, 81
tripping, 43 transformer unit, 80
135
IEEE
Switch wyedelta, 3 1 , 3 3 , 3 5 , 3 7
disconnecting, 39 zigzag, 31, 32
open disconnect, 38 industrial substation, 26
primary and secondary, 39 multiple, 39
Switching centers, 77 power, 2 5 , 2 6 , 3 8 , 4 3
System neutral single phase, 31
grounding single-phase distribution class, 32
ground-fault-neutralizer, 26, 27, 29, unit connected, 43
30
reactance, 2 6 , 2 7 , 2 9 V
resistance, 2 6 , 2 7 , 2 8 , 2 9 , 30
solid, 2 6 , 2 7 , 2 8 Voltage
System hazards, abnormal, 23
dc, 48 third harmonic, 44
dc power, 48 three phase, 31
equipment grounding, 4 8 , 4 9 , 7 5 primary, 44
four wire, 44 withstand, 67
grounded neutral, 2 0 , 2 7 , 3 1 , 4 1 zero sequence, 31
grounding conductor, 6 5 , 8 1 Voltage drop
high-resistance grounded, 44 impedance (U), 48
interior wiring, 62, 70 inductive, 5 7 , 5 8
low resistance, 39 phase conductor, 51
low resistnce grounded neutral, 4 1 reactive, 5 1
low voltage, 21,30, 34 resistive, 55
metal piping, 75 round trip, 54
overcurrent protection, 47, 5 0 , 6 3 round-trip zero-sequence, 56
power, 43 shock-exposure, 54
power transmission and distribution, Voltage gradient, surface, 67
43
reactance grounded, 37
resistance grounded, 28,37,38, 39 W
resonant grounded, 30 Wiring, building-interior, 75
safety, 21,22
three phase, 56 Z
Zero-potential difference
T concept, 76
Time modulation current choppers, 57 condition, 75
Terminal apparatus, 81 Zero -sequence
Transformer current, 37, 56
autotransformer, 43 current transformer, 31,35, 36
current, 3 5 , 3 6 inductive reactance, 37
distribution, 44 isolation, 35
grounding resistance, 37
T-connected, 31 voltage, 31
136

142-1982 - IEEE Recommended Practice For Grounding of Industrial and Commercial Power Systems (IEEE Green Book) PDF

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Authorized licensed use limited to: Dalhousie University. Downloaded on November 20,2012 at 21:05:41 UTC from IEEE Xplore.

An American National Standard

Approved June 10,1982

Approved February 4,1983

Library of Congress 82-083209

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc

Stpttnnber 17, 1982 SH08797

I. N. Howell, Jr. Chairman Irving Kolodny, Vice Chairman

Working Group Members and Contributors

Chapter 1 - Systems Grounding: J. W.Courter

1.5.2 Grounding Transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n-

1.5.3 Suggested Grounding Methods for Systems 600 V and below . . 33

1.6.4 Neutrai Circuit Arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

1.8 Selection of Grounding Equipment Ratings ...................... 40

4.4 Measurement of Resistance t o Earth ........................... 129

Fig 30 Electrically Energized Neutralizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

num conductors and surrounding steel there is no significant current in the

more possible victims than in the case (5) Line-to-ground faults

causes a phase-to-phase fault, large short- 1.4 Methods of System Gounding

CIRCUIT Z ERO-SE QU E N CE COMPON E NTS

X G O = Zero-sequence reactance of generator or transformer

reactance, effective grounding of a sys- such overvoltages will not ordinarily be

two phases than in a neutral-grounded larly in many old systems of 600 V or

sources on each section. For four-wire ators or power transformers individual

neutral. If the fault occurs at the neutral Xo = system zero-sequence react-

possible ground-fault condition on the 1.8.4 Grounding-Transformer Ratings.

system configuration or connections that quent. Autotransformers are quite com-

As in any other high-resistance line immediately or promptly after a

1.15 References [8] AIEE COMMITTEE REPORT. Ap-

2.1 Basic Objectives caused by electric shock as a result of

of a separately derived electrical system adoption of more effective practices in

IU OOCl 14 OOOL H3d W H O

One remaining important requirement tion system ANSI/NFPA 70-1981 [l],

The grounding conductor is considered Spacing EG

As far as the shock-exposure-voltage stantial with the smaller rated circuits.

Es = Earth surface potential

able. Additional shallow-buried ground- 2.3 Equipment Grounding as Influenced

former which is to be grounded or to the be limited by the voltage rating of a

reduced. Common practice is to bond or animals. Such an extension might

ductors. The insulation deterioration downstream of the entire paralleled con-

2.9 Terminal Apparatus. The equipment [ 41 ARMSTRONG, H.R., and SIMPKIN,

DALZIEL, C.F. Effects of Electric LEE, R.H. Impedance of Trays as Fault-

3.1 Introduction. This section covers requirements for protection; and of

(5) Atmospheric conditions into contact, since surfaces that are

potential difference may reach thou- Table 1

spark discharge, it must take place in an carries a charge potential of 1OOV or

charge, which results in ac output. A can be mitigated or controlled by pro-

m-m BOND WIRE

Charge Q on both sides = 6 pC

BOTH BODIES BONDED AND

4-6 in (102-152 mm)+

Table 3 3.2.7.6 Gas Processing. Gases that

*Data from the US Bureau of Mines.

damaged by the attraction of dust par- tainers should be bonded together to

30' T I LTED OUTWARD

[ 11J ANSI/NFPA 78-1980, Lightning [25] KLINKENBERG, A., and VAN

3.5 Bibliography HUGHES, J.F., and BRIGHT, A.W. Elec-

4.1 Resistance t o Earth about 20 f t (6 m), the incremental re-

Table 4 single rod by the number of rods in the

Fills, ashes, cinders, brine

Moisture Content Resistivity (a cm) Temperature Resistivity

rwo ground rods

Buried horizontal wire