Earthing

By Er. Kabita Ojha

 Earthing
⚫ Earthing is one of the main factor in electrical systems to
protect the humans from getting electric shock.
⚫ Earthing is used in almost every equipment.
⚫ Earthing is system in which the part of the equipment is
connected to the earth with the help of the wires or
cables.
⚫ Earthing is also known as the grounding system. Earthing
is defined as the discharge of electric current in the earth
with the help of the wires or cables having low resistance.
⚫ Mostly Galvanised iron (G.I) strips are used for the
earthing.
⚫ Earthing protects the humans from getting electric
shock from the leakage current and when a live wire or
cable comes in the contact of the body of the equipment
or from the short circuit current.

Important of Earthing in Electrical System:

⚫ Earthing keeps the humans safe from getting electric
shock.
⚫ Earthing protects the equipment form getting damage
from the excessive flow of the current in the circuit.
⚫ Earthing prevents the risk of the damage of the
equipment from leakage current.
⚫ The earthing provides the easiest path to the flow of the
short circuit current even after the failure of the
insulation.
⚫ To avoid the risk of fire in electrical installation
systems.
⚫ In case of the electrical faults high voltage can pass
through the circuit which can damage the electrical
installation. If earthing is installed in the circuit the
excessive voltage passes through the cables to the earth.

Types of Earthing
⚫ There are three types of earthing in electrical system:-
1) Pipe earthing
2) Plate earthing
3) Chemical earthing
Pipe Earthing
⚫ A galvanized steel and a perforated pipe of approved
length and diameter is placed vertically in a wet soil in
this kind of system of earthing.
⚫ It is the most common system of earthing.
⚫ The size of pipe to use depends on the magnitude of
current and the type of soil.
⚫ The dimension of the pipe is usually 40mm (1.5in) in
diameter and 2.75m (9ft) in length for ordinary soil or
greater for dry and rocky soil.
⚫ The moisture of the soil will determine the length of
the pipe to be buried but usually it should be 4.75m
(15.5ft).
Pipe Earthing
Plate Earthing
⚫ In plate earthing system, a plate made up of either
copper with dimensions 60cm x 60cm x
3.18mm (i.e. 2ft x 2ft x 1/8 in) or galvanized iron
(GI) of dimensions 60cm x 60cm x 6.35 mm (2ft x
2ft x ¼ in) is buried vertical in the earth (earth pit)
which should not be less than 3m (10ft) from the
ground level.
⚫ For proper earthing system, follow the above
mentioned steps in the (Earth Plate introduction) to
maintain the moisture condition around the earth
electrode or earth plate.
Plate Earthing
Chemical Earthing
⚫ Chemical earthing are recently introduced.
⚫ In this type of earthing arrangements are same like pipe
earthing but the charcoal and salt replaced by the
chemical.
⚫ There are two types of chemical such as Carbon Powder
and Bentonite Powder are mostly used in this earthing.
⚫ Carbon Powder is in black color while bentonite is in
brown color.
⚫ Carbon Powder is used for earthing in normal place while
earthing in dry place bentonite is used.
⚫ In this type of earthing there is less chance of loosing
resistivity and also demands less maintenace as compared
to other type of earthing.
Components of Earthing System
1) Earth Continuity Conductor
2) Earthing Lead
3) Earth Electrode
Earth Continuity Conductor
⚫ That part of the earthing system which interconnects the
overall metallic parts of electrical installation e.g.
conduit, ducts, boxes, metallic shells of the switches,
distribution boards, fuses, Regulating and controlling
devices, metallic parts of electrical machines such as,
motors, generators, transformers and the metallic
framework where electrical devices and components are
installed is known as earth wire or earth continuity
conductor.
⚫ The resistance of the earth continuity conductor is very
low.
⚫ According to IEEE rules, resistance between consumer
earth terminal and earth Continuity conductor (at the
end) should not be increased than 1Ω
⚫ Size of the Earth Continuity Conductor or Earth Wire
depends on the cable size used in the wiring circuit.

Earthing Lead
⚫ The conductor wire connected between earth continuity
conductor and earth electrode or earth plate is called
earthing joint or “Earthing lead”.
⚫ The point where earth continuity conductor and earth
electrode meet is known as “connecting point”.
⚫ Earthing lead is the final part of the earthing system
which is connected to the earth electrode (which is
underground) through earth connecting point.
⚫ There should be minimum joints in earthing lead as well
as lower in size and straight in the direction.
⚫ Generally, copper wire can be used as earthing lead but,
copper strip is also used for high installation and it can
handle the high fault current because of wider area than
the copper wire.
Earth Electrode
⚫ A metallic electrode or plate which is buried in the earth
(underground) and it is the last part of the electrical
earthing system.
⚫ In simple words, the final underground metallic (plate)
part of the earthing system which is connected with
earthing lead is called earth plate or earth electrode.
⚫ A metallic plate, pipe or rode can be used as an earth
electrode which has very low resistance and carry the
fault current safely towards ground (earth).
⚫ Both copper and iron can be used as earthing
electrode.
⚫ It is recommended to bury the earth electrode in the
moisture earth. If it is not possible, then put water in
the GI (Galvanized Iron) pipe to make possible the
moisture condition.
⚫ Moisture is important for earthing, because higher
the moisture content lower the soil’s resistivity and
hence soil resistance decreases.
Properties of Metal
Physical Properties:
⚫ Properties of metal that are measurable is known as
physical properties.
⚫ For Example:
⚫ High melting points
⚫ Good conductors of electricity
⚫ High density
⚫ Good conductors of heat
Mechanical Properties
⚫ Properties of metal that determines how the metal
performs when different forces are applied to them.
⚫ For example:
⚫ Strength, ductility, wear resistance, toughness etc.
Strength
⚫ It is the ability of material to resist the externally applied
forces without breaking or yielding.
Stiffness
⚫ It is the ability of a material to resist deformation under
stress.
⚫ The modulus of elasticity is the measure of stiffness.
Malleability:
⚫ It is the property in which materials to be rolled or
hammered into thin sheets.
⚫ A malleable material should be plastic but it is not
essential to be so strong.
⚫ Commonly used malleable materials are lead, soft
steel, wrought iron, copper & aluminium.
Ductility:
⚫ It is a property of a material enable it to be drawn into
wire with the application of a tensile force.
⚫ Commonly used ductile materials are mild steel,
copper, aluminium, nickel, zinc, tin and lead.
Elasticity:
⚫ It is the property of material to regain its original
shape after deformation when the external forces are
removed.
⚫ This property is essential for tools and machines.
⚫ Here, steel is more elastic than rubber.
Plasticity:
⚫ It is the property of a material to loose its elastic
property and deform permanently with the application
of forces.
⚫ This property is necessary for forging, ornamental
works, stamping image on coins etc.
Toughness:
⚫ It is a property of a material to resist fracture due to
high impact loads like hammer blows.
⚫ The toughness of the material is decreases when
heated.
⚫ This property is suitable for parts subjected to shock
and impact loads.
Resilience:
⚫ It is a property of a material to absorb energy and to
resist shock and impact loads.
⚫ This property essential for spring materials.
⚫ It is measured by the amount of energy absorbed per
unit volume within elastic limit.
Fatigue:
⚫ It is a type of failure of a material when a material is
subjected to repeated stresses, it fails at stresses below
the yield point stresses.
⚫ This property is consider while designing shafts,
connecting rods, gears, springs etc.
Creep:
⚫ When a part is subjected to a constant stress at high
temperature for a long period of time, it will undergo a
slow and permanent deformation called creep.
⚫ This property is considered while designing internal
combustion engine, boilers and turbines.
 Cast Iron
⚫ Cast iron is a hard, relatively brittle alloy of iron and
carbon which can be readily cast in a mould. It contains
a higher proportion of carbon than steel.
⚫ Cast iron is a metal alloy. Carbon content of this alloy is
2-4%. Cast iron has a relatively low melting temperature
than other iron alloys.
⚫ Along with carbon and iron, cast iron is composed of
silicon, manganese and trace amounts of sulfur and
phosphorous as well.
⚫ Its carbon content is high. Cast iron solidifies as a
heterogeneous alloy.
⚫ Cast iron also has about 1-3% of silicon. Therefore, cast
iron is actually a metal alloy of iron-carbon-silicon.
⚫ Molten cast iron is less reactive with molding material.
However, cast iron is not that much ductile. Therefore, it is
not suitable for rolling.
Properties of Cast Iron:
⚫ Cast iron is more brittle due to the high carbon content.
⚫ Cast iron has a high weight due to high iron-to-carbon
ratio.
⚫ Cast iron has a lower melting point (1200°C) as compared
to the melting point of mild steel which lies in the range of
1300°C and 1400°C.
There are few types of cast iron based on the
microstructure of the alloy. They are,
⚫ Gray Cast Iron: carbon content 3-3.5%, grey color is
due to carbon is present in the form of free graphite.
⚫ Malleable Cast Iron: obtained from white cast iron by
a suitable heat treatment process.
⚫ White Cast Iron: carbon content 1.75-2.3%, white color
is due to the carbon is in the form of carbide.
⚫ Chilled cast iron: white cast iron produced by quick
cooling of molten iron.
 Carbon Steel
⚫ Carbon steel is composed of iron and carbon with carbon
content up to a maximum 1.5%.
⚫ Some elements are silicon, manganese, sulfur and phosphorous
are present in small amount as impurities.
⚫ In general, carbon steel is highly ductile. Due to the presence of
a less amount of carbon when compared to the amount of iron
present in the alloy, carbon steel is less brittle and has a high
strength.
Carbon steel is also divided into three groups as below:
⚫ Dead mild steel – upto 0.15% carbon
⚫ Mild carbon steel – 0.15-0.45% carbon
⚫ Medium carbon steel – 0.45-0.8% carbon
⚫ High carbon steel – 0.8-1.5% carbon
Cast Iron & Carbon Steel
Cast Iron
It is hard, relatively brittle alloy of iron
and carbon which can be readily cast in
mould.
It contains up to 2-4% of carbon
It is less ductile
It is more brittle due to the presence of
a high amount of carbon.
Cast iron has relatively a low melting
point.
Cast iron is composed of iron along
with carbon, silicon manganese and
trace amounts of sulfur and
phosphorous as well.
Carbon Steel
It is a type of steel having a high
amount of carbon and low amount of
other elements.
It contains up to 1% carbon.
It is more ductile
It is stronger than cast iron.
Carbon steel has relatively a high
melting point.
Carbon steel contains mainly iron and
carbon. Other elements can be present
in trace amounts.
MCQ
1. Earthing is necessary to give protection against
a) Danger of electric shock
b) Voltage fluctuation
c) Overloading
d) High temperature of the conductors
a) Danger of electric shock
 2. Average resistance of human body is
a) 500 ohms
b) 1000 ohms
c) 1500 ohms
d) 2000 ohms
b) 1000 ohms
 3. Moisture content in the soil …………..the earth soil
resistance.
a) Increases
b) Decreases
c) Does not effects
d) None of the above
b) Decreases
4. Factors on which soil resistance depends?
a) Depth of the electrode
b) Moisture
c) NaCl
d) All of the above
d) All of the above
 5. Which color wire is recommended for earth
connection as per ISI code?
a) Red
b) Green
c) Black
d) Blue
b) Green
6. The percentage of carbon in cast iron varies from
a) 0.1 to 0.5
b) 0.5 to 1
c) 0.5 to 1
d) 2 to 4.5
d) 2 to 4.5
 7. Grey cast iron has
a) Carbon in the form of free graphite
b) High tensile strength
c) Low compressive strength
d) All of these
a) Carbon in the form of free graphite
8. White cast iron has
a) Carbon in the form of carbide
b) Low tensile strength
c) High compressive strength
d) All of these
d) All of these
 9. The blade of a power saw is made of
a) Boron steel
b) High speed steel
c) Stainless steel
d) Malleable cast iron
b) High speed steel
10. The steel widely used for motor car crankshaft is
a) Nickel steel
b) Chrome steel
c) Nickel-chrome steel
d) Silicon steel
b) Chrome steel
Thank
You!!!