IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 38, NO.

6, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002 1633

System Grounding and Ground-Fault Protection

in the Petrochemical Industry: A Need for a
Better Understanding
John P. Nelson, Fellow, IEEE

Abstract—This paper provides an in-depth discussion of system

grounding and ground fault protection on systems from 480 V
and above. The paper also discusses modeling of ground faults,
the proper design for ground-fault protection, and common
problems associated with ground-fault protection. The paper will
address many real-life problems associated with system grounding
and ground-fault protection, including safety issues and how to
avoid those problems. The topics to be included in the paper
include low-voltage systems, under 600 V, through high-voltage
transmission systems.
Index Terms—Ground-fault protection, high-resistance
grounding, impedance grounded, solidly grounded, system
grounding.

I. INTRODUCTION
Fig. 1. Three CTs and residual circuit.

M OST electrical faults in the petrochemical industry, es-

timated to be over 90%, are, or begin as, ground faults.
(Many of these faults involve high impedances which allows the
II. GROUND-FAULT MODELING

fault to exist longer than desired before being removed by stan-
dard circuit breakers). Unfortunately, few engineers and practi-
cally no plant operators totally understand ground faults and the
means to protect against them. System grounding and ground-
fault protection in the petrochemical industry are important fac-
tors in the design, construction, and operation of a petrochem-
ical facility. The safety of plant personnel and the reliability
of the equipment are highly dependent on the type of system
grounding selected and the type of ground-fault protection se-
lected.
The basic types of system grounding include the following:
• ungrounded;
• solidly grounded;
• impedance grounded.
The basic types of ground-fault protection include:
• none;
• indication;
• alarming;
• tripping;
• alarming and tripping.
Paper PID 02–17, presented at the 2001 IEEE Petroleum and Chemical In-
dustry Technical Conference, Toronto, ON, Canada, Septmeber 24–26, and ap-
proved for publication in the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS
by the Petroleum and Chemical Industry Committee of the IEEE Industry Ap-
plications Society. Manuscript submitted for review September 15, 2001 and
released for publication August 16, 2002.
The author is with NEI Electric Power Engineering, Inc., Arvada, CO 80001
USA (e-mail: jnelson@neiengineering.com).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TIA.2002.804754
0093-9994/02$17.00 © 2002 IEEE
Ground-fault modeling is important in analyzing the effects
of various types of grounding in the petrochemical facilities and
in predicting the effects of ground faults on the system. Probably
the most commonly used model involves the use of symmetrical
components [1] and, in particular, the use of the zero-sequence
circuit. Historically, the use of zero-sequence current vector
and zero-sequence voltage vector have been used with pro-
tective relays for ground-fault protection. Part of the reason for
the long-time use of these components has been due to the fact
that the zero-sequence values are directly proportional to the
sum of the three phase currents and voltages as shown in (1)
and (2)
(1)
(2)
where
zero-sequence current vector;
zero-sequence voltage vector;
, , three phase current vectors;
, , three phase voltage vectors.
The zero-sequence current component of the current can be
found by summing the three currents from a current transformer
as shown in Fig. 1. Note that the neutral connection of the three
currents transformers, often referred to as the residual circuit, is
equal to .
The zero-sequence voltage component can be similarly found
by summing the three voltages in a circuit called a broken delta
1634 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 38, NO. 6, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002

Fig. 3. Delta–wye grounded.

Fig. 2. Three PTs in broken delta.

as shown in Fig. 2. Note that exists across the portion of

the three voltage transformers which has been left open. Fig. 4. Delta–impedance grounded wye.
Ground faults also create values in the positive- and negative-
sequence circuits which have historically been of less value to
the protection engineer than zero sequence. The reason is that
the positive- and negative-sequence circuits required complex
positive- or negative-sequence filtering in order to develop those
sequence components. As can be seen in (3)–(6), the equations
are more complex
positive sequence
Fig. 5. Wye grounded–delta–wye grounded.

(3)

(4)

negative sequence
(5)
(6)
where
, positive- and negative-sequence currents, respec-
tively;
, positive- and negative-sequence voltages, respec-
tively;
an operator equal to and . • solidly grounded;
With the modern microprocessor-based relays and their
mathematical capabilities for processing of the phase currents
and voltages, positive-, negative-, and zero-sequence quantities
are readily available for use in the protection schemes. There-
fore, the protection engineer now has practically unlimited
capabilities for providing the kind and type of protection
schemes needed for proper ground-fault protection.
III. EQUIVALENT ZERO-SEQUENCE CIRCUITS FOR COMMON
TRANSFORMER CONNECTIONS
Many references exist which show the detailed zero-sequence
equivalent circuits for the different transformer connections.
This paper will consider only those transformer connections
commonly used in the petrochemical industry (see Figs. 3–6)
as follows:
• delta primary–wye grounded secondary;
• delta primary–wye secondary with impedance grounding;
Fig. 6. Wye grounded–wye grounded.
• wye grounded primary–delta tertiary–wye grounded sec-
ondary;
• wye grounded primary–wye grounded secondary.
IV. LOW-VOLTAGE GROUNDING
Low voltage in this paper will consider everything 600 V and
below. The three means of grounding include the following:
• impedance grounded;
• ungrounded.1
Most recent petrochemical low-voltage transformer designs
consist of delta-connected primary, grounded wye secondary.
This type of connection establishes the grounding plane on the
secondary of the transformer. Therefore, grounding is indepen-
dent of the type of grounding upstream from the transformer.
Some grounded-wye primary, grounded-wye secondary-con-
nected transformers are utilized in the petrochemical industry
since this is a commonly used utility transformer connection.
Caution should be taken in use of this type of transformer con-
nection since it is dependent on the primary system grounding.
This transformer can be cautiously used as a grounded-wye pri-
mary to resistance grounded secondary, but should never be con-
nected ungrounded on either the primary or secondary side.
1An ungrounded system is actually a special application of the impedance
grounded system where the ungrounded system is grounded through its system
capacitance.
NELSON: SYSTEM GROUNDING AND GROUND-FAULT PROTECTION IN THE PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY
Fig. 7. Resistance grounding addition to an ungrounded system.
Another system grounding connection which exists in the
petrochemical industry is that of the corner grounded delta. This
connection is found anywhere from production fields to some
large chemical plants. The corner grounded delta provides the
advantage of having the system grounded, but the disadvan-
tages: 1) that the two ungrounded phases will see full line-to-line
voltage between the phase equipment and ground and 2) that a
ground on any of the other two phases results in a phase-to-phase
fault through ground.
As discussed in [2], the ungrounded system is a special appli-
cation of the impedance grounded system in that the system is
grounded through its capacitance to ground. The main disadvan-
tage to this system is with the propensity to allow transient over
voltages which can obtain voltage levels of five times or more
normal line-to-ground voltage (see the Appendix). The author
recommends that existing low-voltage ungrounded systems be
modified, most likely to a high-resistance grounded system, to
minimize the probability of transient over voltages. On an un-
grounded-wye system, a resistor can be placed in the neutral
of the transformer and/or generator. On a delta system, this can
be accomplished at a relatively small cost using properly sized
control power transformers connected resistance grounded wye
primary to delta secondary (see Fig. 7).
V. LOW-VOLTAGE GROUND-FAULT PROTECTION
Ground-fault protection on low-voltage systems has histori-
cally taken the following two directions: 1) alarming/indication
and 2) tripping.
On delta systems and some high-resistance grounded wye
systems, ground-fault detection lamps have been used to
indicate that a ground fault has occurred. On high-resistance
grounded systems, an alarm circuit has usually been incorpo-
rated. In either case, the system designer has chosen to keep
the electrical circuit in service and provide only indication of
a ground fault. Some designs have also incorporated a timing
sequence that would trip a breaker if the fault is not cleared in
a timely fashion.
On solidly grounded systems, the normal means of
ground-fault protection is through tripping of the circuit
breaker or blowing of a fuse. The intent is that the ground fault
should have sufficiently high current to cause normal and se-
lective operation of the overcurrent protective device. However,
due to the resistance of the arc and the arc voltage developed
1635
at the point of fault, it is quite common that the fault current is
limited to a point where the phase overcurrent protective device
will not properly operate, or may be extremely slow if it does.
Therefore, ground-fault protection has been required by code
in many instances and the use of ground-fault protection on
circuit breakers of 600 A and above is highly recommended.
Coordination of ground-fault protection can become difficult,
especially if there are more than three breakers in series. Also,
the selectivity of smaller downstream overcurrent devices
which do not have ground-fault protection is difficult at best.
Solidly grounded low-voltage systems of less than 150 V to
ground will typically have one of two events occur during a
ground fault: 1) the fault will weld at the point of fault causing
a direct short to occur and the overcurrent device to operate iso-
lating the fault, or 2) the fault will extinguish due to the arc
voltage being greater than the source voltage causing the fault
current to cease.
Therefore, these lower voltage faults do not pose any major
difficulties in protecting, that is, systems 150 V to ground or
less. However, once the line-to-ground voltages exceed 150 V,
a different story exists. On the typical 480- and 560-V systems,
the arc resistance and arc voltage make proper sensing of ground
faults more difficult. Where reliability and continuity of ser-
vice are important in the petrochemical industry, high-resistance
grounding should be applied. The reader is encouraged to review
the references for more detailed design information [2], [5].
VI. MEDIUM-VOLTAGE GROUNDING
Medium-voltage systems typically include voltages over 600
V through 15 000 V. The system grounding practices have in-
cluded the following:
• solidly grounded;
• impedance grounded:
1) low resistance;
2) high resistance;
3) reactance;
• ungrounded.
Medium-voltage solidly grounded systems are commonly
used on field distribution systems and small plant electrical
systems. The solidly grounded medium-voltage transformer
can have either high-side fuses or breakers for transformer
protection. Sufficient fault current is normally reflected through
the transformer to allow the use of fuses.
Ground-fault protection can take many forms, but alarming
is not normally one of the options. Fault currents of significant
values are present and tripping is the norm. Ground-fault pro-
tection using residual or current transformer neutral circuits are
common and problems can occur with the use of zero-sequence
current transformers (due to the relatively low ratios on zero-se-
quence current transformers and the relatively high fault cur-
rents).
For example, a solidly grounded system has an available
ground-fault current of 1500 A, which is a relatively low value
of ground-fault current. The expected secondary current using
a 50:5 zero-sequence CT is 150 A. This may be greater than
the thermal or mechanical rating of the CT which often times
is in the 100-A range.
1636 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 38, NO. 6, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002
Medium-voltage impedance grounded systems are com-
monly used for plant operations with the low-resistance
grounded system being the most common. Low-resistance
grounded systems typically limit the ground-fault current to a
range of 200–1000 A. Some reactance grounded systems are
in existence, but they are rare. However, they do follow some
of the same principles as the resistance grounded system. For
the resistance grounded system, the fault currents are relatively
constant for faults throughout the system. This is due to the fact
that the per-unit resistance is typically much greater than the
per-unit reactance of the system.
High-resistance system grounding has been successfully used
on systems through approximately 7200 V. However, problems
have occurred on higher voltages primarily as a result of the
increased capacitive current causing greater arc damage.
Ungrounded medium-voltage systems present the same
transient overvoltage problems as discussed in Section IV.
Ungrounded medium-voltage systems should be avoided
and existing ungrounded medium-voltage systems should be
modified to incorporate some type of system grounding.
It should be noted that grounded-wye power-factor-correc-
tion capacitor banks should not be used on low- or high-resis-
tance grounded systems. A grounded-wye capacitor bank ap-
pears as a parallel path to the resistor in the zero-sequence cir-
cuit, and may cause overheating of the resistor and ground-
fault coordination problems. This problem has been noticed in
petrochemical facilities, especially where overhead distribution
lines are present. The two most common options for installing
power-factor-correction capacitors would be ungrounded wye
and delta. Both eliminate the overheating problem with the re-
sistor and the path for zero-sequence fault current.
VII. MEDIUM-VOLTAGE GROUND-FAULT PROTECTION
Medium-voltage ground-fault protection usually involves co-
ordinated ground-fault tripping. That is, selective tripping of the
circuit breakers is typically used where the breaker closest to
the fault senses the fault and selectively trips, isolating the fault.
Consider the following different types of grounding.
1) A 4.16-kV solidly grounded system has an available
ground-fault current of 5000 A. A zero-sequence CT with
a 50/5 ratio is being considered for feeder ground fault
protection. The problem with using this zero sequence
CT is that the ratio is 10:1 which equates to a secondary
fault current of 500 A for a 5000—A primary fault. Many
current transformers have a secondary rating of 100 A
and few, if any, relays can withstand 500 A. Therefore,
this is not a good application for a zero-sequence CT.
In this particular application, a residual CT circuit with
a minimum ratio of 50:1 or 250:5 should be used to limit
the secondary fault current to less than or equal to 100 A.
2) A 4.16-kV resistance grounded system with a 400-A
grounding resistor will have 400 A for practically all
ground faults. Zero-sequence CTs are a good application
for medium-voltage low-resistance grounding. Another
problem which exists is that of sensitivity of ground-fault
protection. For example, using the residual of a 3000/5
CT provides a ratio of only 600:1. That is, for a ground
fault of 400 A, only 2/3 of an ampere is available for
a ground fault of 400 A. Therefore, sensitive ground
CTs in the neutral of the main power transformer and
zero-sequence CTs are best for ground-fault protection.
VIII. GENERATION GROUNDING
Generator grounding can consist of the following:
• solidly grounded;
• low-resistance grounding;
• high-resistance grounding;
• ungrounded.
First, practically all generators are wye connected. Ground-
fault currents cannot flow from the rare delta-connected gener-
ator. However, ground-fault current can and does flow from the
wye-connected generator and, based on the type of grounding
of the neutral of the generator, the system can be as classified as
above.
Caution should be taken in using a solidly grounded gen-
erator. The reason is that a generator typically has a zero-se-
quence reactance much less than the subtransient reactance
. As such, a bolted ground fault can produce currents in ex-
cess of a bolted three-phase fault. The generator is designed for
withstanding a bolted three-phase fault, but not necessarily a
bolted ground fault. Therefore, good practice dictates that some
type of neutral impedance needs to be placed in the circuit to
minimize the ground fault currents to a value lower than the
three-phase fault. Due to the nature of the zero-sequence circuit,
any impedance placed in the neutral of the generator is multi-
plied by three for zero-sequence modeling. Therefore, the neu-
tral impedance appears to be . As such, the ground cur-
rent which flows for a three-phase and a phase-to-ground fault
are as shown in the following equations:
(7)
(8)
where
subtransient impedance;
positive-sequence generator impedance;
negative-sequence generator impedance;
zero-sequence generator impedance;
neutral impedance.
The minimum positive- and negative-sequence impedances
of the generator are approximately equal to the subtransient
impedance of the generator. The typical range of positive-
and negative-sequence impedance is in the 10%–20% range.
A typical generator zero-sequence impedance is in the range
of 1%–5%. The neutral impedance often times is the most
significant impedance limiting the ground-fault current.
A low-resistance grounded generator has many of the same
characteristics of a low- and medium-voltage system. Generator
voltages in the petrochemical industry are typically classified as
low and medium voltage. In fact, even large utility generators
are rated less than 25 kV and considered medium-voltage gen-
erators. Therefore, the low-resistance grounding of generators
NELSON: SYSTEM GROUNDING AND GROUND-FAULT PROTECTION IN THE PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY
Fig. 8. Generator ground fault over voltage protection options.
is typically used on medium-voltage generators. The low-resis-
tance grounding of a medium generator is typically limited to a
range of 200–1000 A.
Similarly, a high-resistance grounded generator has many of
the same characteristics of a low- and medium-voltage system.
Special precautions must be taken when paralleling solidly
grounded and low-resistance grounded generators [3].
IX. GENERATION GROUND-FAULT PROTECTION
Ground-fault protection of generators usually takes two
forms: 1) ground current detection and 2) ground overvoltage
detection. Also, generator ground fault protection can take the
form of alarming and tripping.
Similarly to low- and medium-voltage systems, a solidly
grounded or low-resistance grounded generator should be
tripped offline. However, a high-resistance grounded gener-
ator can be either alarmed or tripped. With a high-resistance
grounded generator, it may be advantageous to alarm for a
ground fault. That way, important generation may be kept
online for critical loads.
On low-resistance grounded generators, ground faults are
commonly protected using ground-current-sensing devices. For
ground-fault currents originating in the generator, the current
can be sensed using a current transformer in the neutral of
the generator. That method protects the generator as well as
the system. A second method consists of placing a residual
CT on the generator output. This protects the system from the
generator and the generator from the system. However, it does
not provide generator protection from itself. As a backup, a
ground overvoltage relay can also be used. The overvoltage
relay can be placed in the neutral of the generator or can be
provided by a broken delta PT where the resultant value is
(see Fig. 8).
X. HIGH-VOLTAGE SYSTEM GROUNDING (ABOVE 15 kV)
While electric utilities primarily provide the transmission
systems for a petrochemical facility, there are some instances
where the facility has its own transmission system or it may
be interconnected to a transmission system. Therefore, it is
important for the petrochemical facility to have at least a
working knowledge of transmission system grounding and
transmission ground fault protection.
With few exceptions, transmission systems are almost univer-
sally solidly grounded. This is accomplished primarily through
grounded-wye source transformers. As such, ground-fault pro-
tection of high-voltage systems is normally accomplished by
1637
ground overcurrent relays, both directional and nondirectional.
Loop systems typically require the use of directional ground
overcurrent relays. There are also ground-fault distance relays
that are a type of impedance relay.
XI. TRANSMISSION SYSTEM GROUND-FAULT PROTECTION
Transmission system relaying is typically high speed, often
times using a communications system as a means of helping
to identify the actual location of the fault. Fault clearing times
in the range of 4–6 cycles is quite common. Sophisticated
modern-day relaying can sense the fault within 1–2 cycles and
breaker clearing times of 3 cycles are common.
Ground directional relays require some type of polarization.
Historically, this was normally through the use of zero-se-
quence current and zero-sequence voltage polarizing units.
Both zero-sequence current and zero-sequence voltage values
are readily available in power systems. With the digital micro-
processor-based relays, polarizing can take additional forms
such as both zero- and negative-sequence polarizing. This can
be accomplished digitally for negative-sequence polarizing
or the use of the common zero-sequence voltage and current
polarizing as previously shown. The basis for ground-fault
protection is similar to that of lower voltage systems.
XII. GROUND-FAULT SHIELDING CONSIDERATIONS FOR
MEDIUM-VOLTAGE CABLES
Once the voltage on a power cable exceeds 600 V, the user and
cable manufacturer become concerned with safely maintaining
the electric potential or field within the insulation. At the lower
range of medium-voltage cables, through 5 kV, shielding is not
required. However, shielding of power cables is commonly used
on 5-kV medium-voltage cables and is required on all power
cables rated above 5 kV.
There is one aspect of electric power cable shielding which in-
volves system grounding practices and ground-fault protection.
That deals with the ground-fault current withstand capability of
the shield. There are three important variables which must be
considered when considering the proper shield for power cables
for ground currents:
• neutral current;
• ground-fault current;
• time.
The neutral currents are common only in solidly grounded
three-phase four-wire systems. Three-phase four-wire systems
require a neutral conductor. Therefore, the concentric neutral is
typically used for this application. The concentric neutral is the
most commonly used power cable for the electric utility industry
on their distribution systems. Similar distribution systems can
and do exist for the petrochemical industry in the oil fields. The
size of the concentric neutral depends on the continuous and in-
termittent neutral/unbalance currents which will flow current in
the system. This will include both the steady-state and harmonic
currents which flow on the system. The concentric neutral on
each power cable typically include the following:
• full concentric;
• 1/3 concentric;
1638 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 38, NO. 6, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002
• 1/6 concentric.
Single-phase and some three-phase four-wire applications re-
quire a full concentric neutral on each cable. The size of the full
concentric neutral equals the size of the power cable conductor.
Many typical three-phase power systems can use a power cable
with a 1/3 concentric. With the three power cables each having a
1/3 concentric neutral, the total neutral for the system is equal to
the size of the individual conductor. Finally, for three-phase sys-
tems with little or no neutral current, a 1/6 concentric could be
used. One of the main factors, if not the determining factor for
determining the type of concentric neutral will be the amount of
neutral current which can safely flow in the concentric neutral.
On three-phase three-wire systems, neutral current is not a
concern for the shielding. The apparent solution would be to
use a simple tape shield, commonly a 5-mil copper tape with a
12.5% overlap. Since there is no neutral current flowing, the
common assumption is that the tape shield will be adequate.
Unfortunately, that is not always true.
Ground-fault current and ground-fault duration are impor-
tant in determining the size and type of shield. Unfortunately,
the tape shield has limited ground-fault time and current capa-
bility. The use of a tape shield for a petrochemical plant with
a medium-voltage low-resistance grounded system is usually a
good design. The reason is that the ground-fault current is lim-
ited to some value 1000 A or less. Usually, that value is in the
range of 200–600 A. However, on a solidly grounded system,
the ground-fault current can be in the thousands to tens of thou-
sands of amperes.
The maximum short-circuit current allowed in a copper
power cable shield is given by the following equation [4]:
(9)
where
amperes;
shield area in circular mils;
number of cycles;
initial temperature of 65 C;
constant 0.288 (200 C temperature maximum tem-
perature).
The allowable current for cycles allows the temperature
to rise from an initial shield temperature of 65 C to 200 C.
As can be seen from (9), which is also intuitively obvious, the
allowable current is proportional to the cross-sectional area of
the shield and inversely proportional to the square root of the
time. Some examples of approximate allowable times and cur-
rents for 2/0 AWG and 500 MCM Copper Cable are shown in
Tables I and II.
XIII. CONCLUSIONS
System grounding and ground-fault protection are important
in the petrochemical industry. First, it is important to have the
proper system grounding for the particular system application.
Then, it is equally important to have the proper ground-fault
protection. The combination of the two have been shown to be
essential. The following general conclusions can be made.
TABLE I
2/0 AWG COPPER (CURRENT IN AMPERES)
TABLE II
500 MCM COPPER (CURRENT IN AMPERES)
• Ungrounded systems are to be avoided. Transient over-
voltages due to arcing ground faults can occur on the un-
grounded system.
• Solidly grounded systems typically have relatively high
fault currents and tripping is necessary.
• Low-impedance grounded systems are typically used to
limit ground-fault currents and typically allow sufficient
fault current for coordinated tripping.
• Low-resistance grounded systems are commonly used for
medium-voltage systems. The ground-fault current is nor-
mally limited to the 200–1000 A range with many systems
operating at 400 A.
• High-resistance grounded systems are commonly applied
to low-voltage systems with a line-to-neutral voltage in
excess of 150 V. Both alarming and tripping schemes are
used for high-resistance grounded systems.
• Low- and high-resistance grounded generators are the
norm. Special caution must be taken in using solidly
grounded generators. Ungrounded generators should be
avoided.
• Reactance grounding of medium-voltage distribution sys-
tems can be found on electric utility systems where they
are providing an effectively grounded system.
• Grounded-wye power-factor-correction capacitor banks
should not be used on low- or high-resistance grounded
systems.
• Most utility transmission systems are solidly grounded.
APPENDIX
TRANSIENT OVERVOLTAGES DUE TO ARCING GROUND FAULTS
ON AN UNGROUNDED SYSTEM
An arcing ground fault on an ungrounded system presents a
unique problem: the possibility of transient overvoltages. While
this subject is briefly covered in a number of references, one of
the best explanations requires the use of the zero-sequence cir-
cuit in symmetrical components. The capacitance to ground in
NELSON: SYSTEM GROUNDING AND GROUND-FAULT PROTECTION IN THE PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY 1639

Fig. 10. Capacitive current flow and system voltage.

(a)

(b)
Fig. 9. (a) Arcing fault equivalent circuit. (b) Approximate equivalent circuit.

the circuit shows up in the zero-sequence circuit as a capacitor.

The positive- and negative-sequence circuits can be represented Fig. 11. Transient overvoltages from restriking ground fault on “A” phase.
by equivalent impedances, primarily reactive.
The positive- and negative-sequence circuits for an arcing
ground fault are placed in series with the zero-sequence circuit
as shown in Fig. 9(a). However, in comparison with the imped-
ances between the positive-, negative-, and zero-sequence cir-
cuits, the positive- and negative-sequence impedances are neg-
ligible with respect to the zero-sequence impedance and the re-
sulting approximate equivalent circuit is shown in Fig. 9(b).
The first contact with ground will cause a 1-per-unit zero-se- Fig. 12. Zero-sequence circuit showing capacitance discharge.
quence voltage to appear in the circuit. This causes the neutral
of the system to be displaced from ground by a voltage ap- forth per-unit voltages. Theoretically, the overvoltage could
proaching line-to-neutral voltage of 1 per unit. Due to the na- go on unlimited except for the fact that the insulation on the
ture of a capacitive circuit, the fault current is predominantly unfaulted phases will probably fail, creating a fault on a second
capacitive and leads the voltage by 90 . Therefore, when the phase. This will result is a phase-to-phase fault and most likely
current goes to zero, the arc current stops flowing. At the same clearing of the fault through a fuse or breaker.
time, the capacitive voltage is maximum. Therefore, 1-per-unit One of the better options to an ungrounded system is to use
zero-sequence voltage exists across the capacitor and across the a high-resistance grounded system. The resistance is chosen to
system, effectively shifting the neutral of the circuit (see Figs. 10 provide a resistive fault current equal or greater that the zero-
and 11). sequence capacitive current as shown in (A1)
With the 1-per-unit voltage on the capacitor, the system
voltage travels another one-half cycle. With the voltage restored (A1)
across the faulted phase, a subsequent arc can occur, which,
because of the transient nature of the circuit will result in up The high resistance is placed in the zero-sequence circuit as
to 2-per-unit shift of the neutral plus the original 1-per-unit shown in Fig. 12.
voltage. Thus, the neutral can, within one-half cycle, create a As one can see in Fig. 12, the resistance will allow the voltage
shift of 3 per unit in the neutral of the circuit. Next, the same to decay based on a time constant equal to
thing can happen the next half cycle where 3-per-unit voltage
exists in the capacitance of the circuit and another 2-per-unit (A2)
voltage shift can occur during the next half cycle (see Fig. 11).
The transient overvoltage buildup can occur very rapidly, Using a 1000-kVA 5.75% impedance transformer as a source
creating subsequent overvoltages of 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, 9-, and so reactance and a 277- neutral grounding resistor, the time con-
1640 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 38, NO. 6, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002
stant is approximately 2.75 ms. Therefore, in one-half cycle the
voltage will have decayed to
(A3)
Therefore, one can see that the transient overvoltages are lim-
ited with resistance, and the lower the resistance the lower the
transient overvoltage. Experience has shown that the transient
overvoltage is limited to approximately 2.5 per unit if . Urbana, in 1970, and the M.S.E.E. degree from the
REFERENCES
[1] E. Clark, Circuit Analysis of A-C Power Systems. New York:
GE/Wiley, 1959.
[2] J. P. Nelson and P. K. Sen, “High resistance grounding of low voltage
systems: A standard for the petroleum and chemical industry,” IEEE
Trans. Ind. Applicat., vol. 35, pp. 941–948, July/Aug. 1999.
[3] L. J. Powell, “Influence of third harmonic circulating currents in
selecting neutral grounding devices,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat., vol.
IA-9, Nov./Dec. 1973.
[4] “Engineering data for copper and aluminum conductor electrical ca-
bles,” Okonite Co., Ramsey, NJ, Bull. EHB-88, 1988.
[5] P. Beltz and Vilcheck, “High resistance ground retrofits in pulp and paper
mills,” IEEE Ind. Applicat. Mag., vol. 7, pp. 19–27, Mar./Apr. 2001.
John P. Nelson (S’73–M’76–SM’82–F’97) received
the B.S.E.E. degree from the University of Illinois,
University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1975.
He is President and a Principal Engineer with
NEI Electric Power Engineering, Inc., Arvada, CO.
He has authored or coauthored numerous papers,
typically involving electric power systems in the
petrochemical industry.
Mr. Nelson has been active with the Petroleum and
Chemical Industry Committee of the IEEE Industry
Applications Society for more than 20 years. He is a Registered Professional En-
gineer in the States of Colorado, Arizona, California, Louisiana, New Mexico,
Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.