Safety Analysis of TN-S And TN-C-S Earthing

System
Krishnav Bhatia, Pranav B. Darji and Hitesh R. Jariwala
Department of Electrical Engineering,
S. V. National Institute of Technology, Surat, India-395007
krishnav.bhatia@gmail.com, pranav@eed.svnit.ac.in, hrj@eed.svnit.ac.in

Abstract—This paper presents safety analysis of TN-S and
TN-C-S earthing system considering different sizes of cable and
protective earthing conductor (PEC). For this purpose, touch
voltage and electric shock calculations are presented. In TN-C-S
system, even with the main protective bonding (MPB) and in TN-
S system in spite of local grounding at consumer end, computed
touch voltages are quite high and thus unsafe for human.
Therefore, to safeguard the persons against dangerous touch
voltages in both the earthing systems, novel way of protection
that is bonding of grounding grid to the exposed conductive part
(ECP) of consumer load is proposed in this paper. Also, grid
augmentation is investigated for hazardous step and touch
voltages. Based on the two cases, that is with and without
bonding the ECP of load to grid, touch voltage assessments are
done. The results show that with bonding, touch voltages are
reduced substantially. Therefore, safety and reliability of the
systems are ensured.
end so that desired safety can be achieved. The paper is
organized as follows. In first section, formulation and
calculation of prospective touch voltage with equivalent
circuits for TN-S and TN-C-S system is presented. In second
section, designing of grounding grid is done and its
enhancement for unsafe step and touch potential is analyzed.
Finally, in third section application of grid in both the earthing
system is realized.
II. TN-S AND TN-C-S EARTHING SYSTEM
TN-S systems (Fig.1) are those in which two different
conductors are used; one as a protective earthing conductor
(PEC) and other as neutral throughout the system [5].

Keywords—Electric shock; exposed conductive part (ECP);

grounding grid; protective earthing conductor (PEC); safety; touch
voltage.

I. INTRODUCTION
In modern industry, due to many low voltage electrical
installations the humans are frequently exposed to the electric Fig.1 TN-S earthing system.
shock. Even if the system is properly planned, the menace of
electric shock is always present. In order to determine its
impact and to ensure safety of personnel, safety analysis of the In TN-C-S system (Fig.2) function of neutral and PEC are
system is strongly recommended. TN systems are solidly combined in a single conductor (referred to as PEN) in a part of
grounded power system, provided by public supply system. In the system [5].
these systems, ECP i.e. conductive enclosure of electrical
equipment is directly connected to the grounded point of the
power system [1]. USA, U.K. Australia China, Canada, South
Africa are among the countries which are using this system
[2]. TN-S and TN-C-S systems are classification of TN
system. Worldwide accepted standard such as IEC 60364
gives basic principle for protection of persons against electric
shock due to direct and indirect contact of live parts by taking
into account specific earthing method for the systems not
Fig.2 TN-C-S earthing system.
exceeding 1 kV [2]. Safety against these two contacts (i.e.
direct and indirect contact) must be ensured in the power
system. This can be done by effective grounding of the These systems are also sometimes called as multiple
system. Effective grounding can be done with the help of grounded neutral (MGN) systems which are adopted in
grounding grid. As far as safety is concerned, grounding grids different countries of the world such as USA, Russia,
are certainly vital part of the electric power system [3],[4]. In Germany, Belgium, Sweden etc [6]. In MGN systems at
this paper to achieve safety of personnel, grounding grid is not service entrance if the neutral is effectively grounded ( here by
only designed as per IEEE standard 80-2000 but also its Rgc), then it can be called as TN-C-S system with main
application is determined in TN-S and TN-C-S earthing protective bonding (MPB) and if it is not grounded then it can
system. This paper presents unique way of utilizing the be called as TN-C-S system without MPB [7]. To further
grounding grid in lowering the touch voltages at the consumer analyze, TN-S and TN-C-S system, a practical case is

978-1-5386-5186-5/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE

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considered as shown in Fig.3. It consists of source of 100
MVAsc, connected to 1 MVA distribution transformer, which
is stepping down the voltage from 11kV to 0.44 kV. On the
secondary of this transformer, which is solidly grounded, a fuse
(32A) and a cable along with PEC for TN-S system and cable
with PEC and PEN conductor for TN-C-S system is connected
to a lumped load of 18 kVA. It is assumed that single line to
ground (SLG) fault occurs at bus 3 (that is at ECP of the
consumer load).
= = Touch voltage for TN-S system in volts.
On solving (1) and (2), touch voltage for TN-S system
( ) can be obtained.
2) Touch voltage in TN-S earthing system considering
ECP of load locally grounded through effective
resistance
Here, it is considered that ECP of the load is locally
grounded through a resistance . Equivalent circuit formed is
shown in Fig.5.

Fig.5 Equivalent Touch Voltage Loop in TN-S earthing

system with grounded ECP.

Now, the touch voltage will appear across and is given by

( )= = . . (3)
where
= secondary loop current in A;
( )= Touch voltage for ECP locally grounded
Fig.3 Low voltage distribution system. in TN-S system in volts.

A. Equivalent Touch Voltage Loop and Formulations
Equivalent touch voltage loops or fault loops of TN-S
(Fig.4 and Fig.5) and TN-C-S (Fig.6 and Fig.7) earthing
system are shown below. Also, formulation of touch voltages is
done as follows:
1) Touch voltage in TN-S earthing system
In TN-S system, touch voltage will appear across
(Fig.4).
3) Touch voltage in TN-C-S earthing system
In TN-C-S earthing system, touch voltages are found
without MPB and with MPB as follows:
a) Without MPB
Equivalent circuit for touch voltage calculation
without MPB is shown in Fig.6. Applying KVL in loop of
Fig.6 we get

=( + + + ) , (4)
( ℎ )= = ( + ) . (5)
where
(without MPB) =Touch voltage for TN-C-S system
without MPB in volts.
= impedance of PEN conductor in ohms;
Fig.4 Equivalent Touch Voltage Loop in TN-S earthing system. = source current in A.

Applying KVL in loop of Fig.4 On solving (4) and (5), touch voltage for TN-C-S system
= ( + + ) , (1) (without MPB) can be evaluated.
= = . . (2)
where
= phase to neutral voltage of secondary of transformer
(254 V);
= source impedance in ohms;
= cable impedance in ohms;
= impedance of PEC in ohms;
= source current in A; Fig.6 Equivalent Touch Voltage Loop in TN-C-S earthing
system (without MPB).

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 b) With MPB than TN-C-S system (without MPB). But, not low enough to
Touch voltage equivalent circuit with MPB is shown prevent electrocution in case of SLG fault at ECP of the load.
in Fig.7. On applying KVL in first and second loop of Fig.7, Therefore, to ensure safety, it becomes necessary to reduce the
we get touch voltage to a value which is not harmful. This can be
done by bonding the ECP of load to the grounding grid as
proposed in this paper.
=( + + + ) . (6)
TABLE II TOUCH VOLTAGE CALCULATIONS
. + + = 0. (7) Touch
Touch
Touch Voltages Touch
Voltages for
On solving (6) and (7), can be calculated and by putting it in Size
Voltages for TN-S
TN-C-S
Voltages for
(8), touch voltage for TN-C-S system (with MPB) can be for TN-S system TN-C-S
(mm2) system
system with system with
found as (V) grounded
without
MPB (V)
MPB (V)
ECP (V)
( ℎ )= = . . (8) 2.5 125.8 123.1 121.9 84
4 125 124.6 125 89
VTOUCH Rgc 10 121.2 126.2 132.8 101.7
Zsource ZCABLE ZPEC
C. Electric Shock Calculation (ESC)
V source I1 Z PEN I2 ESC not only makes sure the safety of personnel but also
ensures that given size of PEC is safe for the system or not.
According to [8], protection against electric shock in TN
system is ensured, if (9) is satisfied:

Fig.7 Equivalent Touch Voltage Loop in TN-C-S earthing system (with

MPB). (9)
B. Touch Voltage Calculations
where
For touch voltage calculation, three cables (three core,
copper, 1 kV, XLPE insulated) of different size 2.5 mm2, 4 = (10)
mm2 and 10 mm2 having length of 50 m are considered. Table
I below shows the impedance (in magnitude) of cable, PEC = impedance of the fault loop (in magnitude);
and PEN conductor (taken from standard BS 5467), along = maximum allowed loop impedance;
with their size and length. = current which causes the protective device to operate
automatically.

TABLE I CABLE,PEC AND PEN DATA includes the impedance of source, faulty phase
CABLE/ Impedance magnitude (in ohms) conductor or cable, PEN conductor (in case of TN-C-S
PEC/ TN-C-S TN-C-S TN-C-S system) and PEC. According to [1], for TN system, maximum
PEN TN-S system
(Cable/PEC,
system system system permissible disconnection time for circuit not exceeding 32A
Size (Cable, (PEC, (PEN,
(mm2) 50m) and for equal to 254V is 0.2 second. As per [8],
50m) 35m) 15m)
2.5 0.5 0.5 0.33 0.14
corresponding to this time, can be obtained from the time
4 0.3 0.3 0.21 0.09 characteristic curve (TCC) of protective device (that is fuse of
10 0.1 0.1 0.08 0.04 32A considered in the system shown in Fig.3). TCC of fuse is
shown in Fig.8, and from it, is found to be equal to 228 A.
While calculating touch voltages for TN-C-S earthing ESCs for both the systems are revealed in Table III.
system (with MPB) and for TN-S system with ECP locally
grounded, value of and is taken as 7.9 ohms
(considering source voltage of 254V and fuse of 32A). Results TABLE III ESC FOR TN-S AND TN-C-S SYSTEM
of touch voltage calculation are shown in Table II. It can be
seen from the results that touch voltages obtained for both the Size
in ohms (TN-S in ohms (TN-C-S in
(mm2)
systems (TN-S and TN-C-S) are quite high, thus making the system) system) ohms
system unsafe for human. Also, it is observed in case of TN-S
2.5 1 0.98 1.1
system even with local grounding of ECP, touch voltages are 4 0.6 0.61 1.1
not reduced. It is due to the fact that transformer is solidly 10 0.2 0.23 1.1
grounded and therefore, now the touch voltage mainly
depends on (Fig.5). Although, it is observed that touch From the above table, it can be concluded that for cable
voltages for TN-C-S system (with MPB) are about 1.2 times and PEC size of 2.5 mm2, TN-S and TN-C-S systems are
lower than TN-S system and almost about 1.3 times lower marginally safe but for higher sizes of cable and PEC (greater

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than 2.5 mm2) both the systems are found to be safe from
electric shock point of view. Therefore, in both TN-S and TN-
C-S system, PEC of size greater than 2.5 mm2 is
recommended.
considered that soil where grid is to be buried is of two layer,
surface layer is of clean limestone ( = 3350 ohm-m) and
lower layer is of moist soil ( = 200 ohm-m). Available area
(square shape) for laying down the grid is 10.5 m×10.5 m.
Number of conductors in X and Y directions are taken equal to
4. The grid is buried at a depth of 0.5 m and spacing between
conductors is 3.5 m. As per standard [9], factor which gives
relationship between the fault current and the amount of it
flowing between grid and the earth is called current division
factor and is taken equal to 0.7. Fault and touch duration are
considered equal to 0.5 s. Following results are calculated as
per standard [9]:
Grid resistance = 10.4 ohms;
Touch voltage limit = 823.52 V;
Step voltage limit = 2801.95 V;
Mesh voltage = 2928 V.

From the above results, it is seen that mesh voltage is quite

higher than the touch voltage. Therefore, above grid design is
not suitable. Its structure needs to be revised.

B. Revision of Grid Design

Grid design is amended by inclusion of nine vertical
ground rods (made of copper) in the grid throughout grid area.
Each rod is having diameter of 0.015 m and length of 9m.

Revised values are:

Fig.8 TCC of Fuse (32A).
Grid resistance ( ) = 9.2 ohms;
Mesh voltage = 787.3 V.
III. PROPOSED GROUNDING GRID
Also, step voltage is calculated equal to 1072.6 V (for
In this section, grounding grid is designed as per IEEE
revised design). Now, both mesh and step voltages are within
standard [9] for the low voltage distribution system shown in
limits. Above results yield that with inclusion of vertical
Fig.3. Afterward, its safe design is obtained by addition of
ground rods in the grid, safe and reliable design of the grid
vertical ground rods to its existing structure.
(Fig.9) can be achieved.
A. Designing of Grounding Grid
Grounding grid design procedure is aimed at achieving the
safety from step and touch voltages [9]. For 50 kg body mass,
the step and touch voltage should not exceed the limits defined
below [9]
0.116
= (1000 + 6 ) , (11)

0.116
= (1000 + 1.5 ) . (12)

where
= step voltage limit in volts;
= touch voltage limit in volts;
= touch duration in seconds;
= surface layer derating factor; Fig.9 Grounding grid with nine ground rods.
=surface material resistivity in ohm-m.
IV. EVALUATION OF SAFETY WITH INCLUSION OF GROUNDING
According to IEEE standard 80-2000, for safe grid design,
GRID
touch voltage limit should always be lesser than the mesh
voltage. Highest touch voltage that is obtained within a mesh This section assesses the safety and reliability of TN-S and
of grounding grid is called the mesh voltage [9]. It is TN-C-S system (without MPB) with inclusion of grid. Fig.10

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represents the general diagram considered with grid for both
the earthing systems. Moreover, modified equivalent circuits = = × . (13)
(that is with inclusion of grounding grid) for TN-S and TN-C- where
S earthing system (without MPB) are shown in Fig.11 and = touch voltage of TN-S system with grid in volts;
Fig.12 respectively.
= impedance of Bc in ohms;
= current in secondary loop in A.

2) TN-C-S system (without MPB) with grid

In case of TN-C-S system (without MPB) with grid,
touch voltage for equivalent circuit with grid (Fig.12), can be
found by using the following relation:

( ℎ )= = × . (14)

where
( ℎ )= touch voltage of TN-C-S system
Fig.10 General diagram for both the earthing systems including grounding (without MPB) and with grid in
grid. volts;
= current in secondary loop in A.
B. Calculation of Touch Voltages with ECP of Load Bonded
to Grid
For calculation of touch voltages with ECP of load bonded
to grid (i.e. including the grid), it is supposed that Bc (0.2
+j0.003 ohms) is made up of copper, having size of 4mm2 and
length of 30 m (i.e. distance between ECP and grid). By using
(13) and (14), touch voltages including the grid for TN-S
Fig.11 Equivalent Touch Voltage Loop in TN-S earthing
system and TN-C-S system (without MPB) are calculated,
system with grid. considering equal to 9.2 ohms (as obtained in previous
section). These touch voltages found by including the grid in
the system are then compared with the touch voltages obtained
without including the grid (i.e. excluding the grid) and the
results are shown in Table IV.

TABLE IV COMPARISON OF TOUCH VOLTAGES

(EXCLUDING AND INCLUDING GRID)
Touch Touch
Touch Touch Voltages Voltages
Voltages Voltages excluding including
Size excluding including grid for grid for
(mm2) grid for TN- grid for TN-C-S TN-C-S
Fig.12 Equivalent Touch Voltage Loop in TN-C-S S system TN-S system system
earthing system without MPB and with grid. (V) system (V) (without (without
MPB) (V) MPB) (V)
Here, it is analyzed that how grounding grid helps in the 2.5 125.8 2.61 121.9 2.5
4 125 2.62 125 2.7
reduction of touch voltage in case of ground fault at the
10 121.2 2.57 132.8 3.2
consumer apparatus and makes overall system safer and
reliable. It is assumed that grid is bonded to the ECP of the
load (Fig.10) by means of conductor commonly known as From Table IV, it is apparent that touch voltages including
protective conductor (Bc). the grid are very less as compared to the touch voltages
excluding the grid for both the systems. Touch voltages
including the grid are almost reduced by more than 40 times in
A. Equivalent Touch Voltage Formulations with Grid case of TN-S system and TN-C-S system (without MPB) as
Touch voltage formulations for TN-S and TN-C-S system compared to that of excluding the grid. This is mainly due to
(without MPB) with grid are done as follows: the fact that now the humans are only exposed to the voltage
across Bc. Above results show that if appropriately designed
1) TN-S system with grid
grid is used in the low voltage distribution system which is
For TN-S system with grid (Fig.11), touch voltage can properly bonded to the ECP of the load then the touch voltages
be obtained by simply finding current and then multiplying to which humans are exposed can be reduced to a great extent.
it with impedance of Bc i.e.

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 V. CONCLUSION
TN-S and TN-C-S earthing systems are frequently used in
many countries of the world. Therefore, their reliable and safe
operation is of utmost concern for safety of humans. This
paper provides detailed analysis of touch voltage in both the
earthing systems to ensure safety. For this purpose, touch
voltage equivalent circuit and its formulation for both the
systems are presented. This paper corroborates that TN-C-S
system (with MPB) is safer than TN-S system and TN-C-S
system (without MPB) in terms of touch voltages. Also, to
ensure safety of personnel, electric shock calculations are
done, which shows that earthing systems having higher size of
cable and PEC are safer. Further, paper emphasizes the need
of bonding the ECP of the load to the grounding grid in both
the systems. To this purpose, designing of grid as per IEEE
standard 80-2000 is presented and safety of grid from
dangerous step and touch voltages is ensured. The analytical
results confirm that touch voltages obtained with ECP of the
load bonded to the grid are very less as compared to the ECP
of the load which are not bonded to the grid for both the
earthing systems. Therefore, from safety point of view,
bonding the ECP of the load to the grid should be an essential
part of low voltage distribution system, especially in which
TN-S and TN-C-S earthing system (without MPB) are
adopted.
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