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Lecture 1 Slides
Lecture 1 Slides
SAFETY
INTRODUCTION
General
One method of providing some measure of protection against these effects is to join
together (bond) all metallic parts and connect them to earth.
This ensures that all metalwork in a healthy situation is at or near zero volts, and under
fault conditions all metalwork will rise to a similar potential.
So, simultaneous contact with two such metal parts would not result in a dangerous
shock, as there will be no significant PD between them.
This method is known as protective equipotential bonding.
Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, earth itself is not a good conductor unless it is
very wet, and therefore it presents a high resistance to the flow of fault current.
This resistance is usually enough to restrict fault current to a level well below that of the
rating of the protective device, leaving a faulty circuit uninterrupted.
TN Grounding System
A solidly grounded power system; the system has one point directly
grounded and the ECPs directly connected to that point by protective
Conductors
TN‐C Grounding System
Same definition as that for TN grounding system; neutral and protective
functions are combined in a single conductor (i.e.,PENconductor)
throughout the electrical system
TN‐C‐S Grounding System
Same definition as that for TN grounding system; neutral and protective
functions are combined in a single conductor (i.e.,PENconductor)
in a part of the electrical system
ARC
ANSI/IEEE Std 100‐1988 defines arc as: “A discharge of electricity through a
gas, normally characterized by a voltage drop in the immediate vicinity of the
cathode approximately equal to the ionization potential of the gas.”
Electric arcing occurs when a substantial amount of electric current flows
through what previously had been air. Since air is a poor conductor, most of
the current flow is actually occurring through the vapour of the arc terminal
material and the ionized particles of air.
This mixture of super‐heated, ionized materials, through which the arc
current flows, is called a plasma.
Arcs can be initiated in several ways:
● When the voltage between two points exceeds the dielectric
strength of the air. This can happen when overvoltages due to
lightning strikes or switching surges occur.
● When the air becomes superheated with the passage of current
through some conductor. For example, if a very fine wire is subjected
to excessive current, the wire will melt, superheating the air and
causing an arc to start.
● When two contacts part while carrying a very high current. In this
case, the last point of contact is superheated and an arc is created
because of the inductive flywheel effect.
ENERGIZED OR DE‐ENERGIZED?
The Fundamental Rules
All regulatory standards are quite clear in their requirements to de‐energize
a circuit before employees work on or near it. Stated simply:
All circuits and components to which employees may be exposed should be
deenergized before work begins.
A few basic points will clarify this requirement:
● Production or loss of production is never an acceptable, sole reason to work on or
near an energized circuit.
● Work that can be rescheduled to be done de‐energized, should be rescheduled.
● De‐energized troubleshooting is always preferred over energized troubleshooting.
● The qualified employee doing the work, must always make the final decision as to
whether the circuit is to be de‐energized. Such a decision must be free of any
repercussions from supervision and management.
The end for now