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Enhanced By: Roy W. Milam Electrical Engineer/Instructor National Mine Health and Safety Academy Beckley, West Virginia
Enhanced By: Roy W. Milam Electrical Engineer/Instructor National Mine Health and Safety Academy Beckley, West Virginia
SYSTEMS
Originally Developed by:
Enhanced by:
Roy W. Milam
Electrical Engineer/Instructor
National Mine Health and Safety Academy
Beckley, West Virginia
TESTING
GROUNDING
SYSTEMS
As required by:
30 CFR §56/57.12028
56/57.12028 the REG.
“Continuity and resistance of
grounding systems shall be tested
immediately after installation, repair,
and modification; and annually
thereafter. A record of the
resistance measured during the most
recent test shall be made available
on request by the Secretary or his
duly authorized representative.”
WHY DO WE TEST ?
Ensure that continuity & resistance
tests are conducted on a specific
schedule (at least annually)
Y thereafter.
56/57.12028 the POLICY
Conductors in fixed installations, such as
rigid conduit, armored cable, raceways,
cable trays, etc., that are not subjected to
vibration, flexing or corrosive
environments may be examined annually
by visual observation to check for damage
in lieu of the annual resistance test. When
operators elect to conduct this visual
examination as a method of compliance
with 30 CFR56/57.12028, MSHA will
require that a record be maintained of the
most recent annual visual examination.
56/57.12028 the POLICY
Grounding conductors in trailing
cables, power cables, and cords that
supply power to tools and portable or
mobile equipment must be tested as
prescribed in the regulation. This
requirement does not apply to double
insulated tools or circuits protected by
ground-fault-circuit interrupters that
trip at 5 milli-amperes or less.
56/57.12028 the POLICY
Testing of equipment grounding
conductors and grounding electrode
conductors is not required if a fail-safe
ground wire monitor is used to
continuously monitor the grounding
circuit and which will cause the circuit
protective devices to operate when the
grounding conductor continuity is
broken.
56/57.12028 the POLICY
A record of the most recent resistance
tests conducted must be kept and made
available to the Secretary or his
authorized representative upon request.
When a record of testing is required by
the standard, MSHA intends that the
test results be recorded in resistance
value in ohms.
Grounding Electrodes
EQUIPMENT GROUNDING
CONDUCTOR
The conductors used to connect the
metal frames or enclosures of
electrical equipment to the
grounding electrode conductor
Motor 1 Motor 4
Motor 2
Motor 3
GROUNDING ELECTRODE
CONDUCTOR
Conductor that connects the grounding
electrode and the transformer to the
equipment grounding conductor
T
R
A Main Ground Bus
N maybe in the MCC
S
F
O
R
M
E
R
Earth
Grounding
Electrode
GROUNDING ELECTRODES
Usually driven rods connected to each other
by suitable means, buried metal plates, or
any other effective methods located at the
power source to provide a low resistance
earth connection.
What is actually in contact with Earth.
Rod
Grid
EQUIPMENT GROUNDING
CONDUCTORS
Immediately after -
INSTALLATION,
REPAIR, OR
MODIFICATION, AND
ANNUALLY, IF conductors are
subjected to
VIBRATION
FLEXING
CORROSIVE ENVIRONMENTS
GROUNDING ELECTRODE
CONDUCTOR
Test for Continuity and Resistance
Immediately after -
INSTALLATION,
REPAIR, OR
MODIFICATION, AND
ANNUALLY, IF conductors are
subjected to
VIBRATION
FLEXING
CORROSIVE ENVIRONMENTS
GROUNDING ELECTRODES
Testing
Test for Resistance (Earth)
Immediately after -
INSTALLATION,
REPAIR, OR
MODIFICATION, AND
ANNUALLY thereafter.
Are there EXCEPTIONS ? YES !!!
Trailing cables
Power cables
E E
I=
I R R
BUT …..FIRST !
Remember OHM’S LAW ! ( E = IR )
Circuits are protected by fuses/breakers against
SHORT CIRCUITS AND GROUND FAULTS
IF GF occurs, we want the fuse/breaker to clear
ASAP!
C
Ground
OC
Ground
How good is the equipment
grounding?
CONVEYOR 1: 1ohm, Ø-grd=265v.
How much FC will flow if GF at motor frame?
To find current (ohms law) I= E/R.
265v
I= =265 amp FC; On 30 amp
1ohm breaker
C
A OC
Ground
Corner Grounded Delta
CONVEYOR 1: 1ohm, Ø-grd=480v.
How much FC will flow if GF at motor frame?
To find current (ohms law) I= E/R.
480v
I= =480 amp FC; On 30 amp breaker
1ohm
480a.(FC)/30a(bkr) = 16.0...What’s this mean?
Breaker will TRIP at instantaneous level ASAP
GOOD GROUNDING !
Corner Grounded Delta
SCREEN: .5 ohms, Ø-grd=480v
480v
I= .5ohm =960 amp FC; On 100 amp
fuses
GOOD GROUNDING !
Corner Grounded Delta
CRUSHER: 1 ohm, Ø-grd=480v
480v
I= =480 amp FC; 300 amp fuses
1ohm
480a.(FC)/300a.(fu) = 1.6 ...What’s this mean?
Fuse will start heating up. (must see at least 125% to
begin) Will blow on very long delay.
DANGEROUS GROUNDING UNACCEPTABLE!
ADVICE: Check connections; loose, dirty, wire
size? CORRECT & REPAIR! Crushers - flexing and
vibration
FLOATING or UNGROUNDED
SYSTEMS
BE AWARE!
ELECTRICAL SHOCK
ELECTROCUTION
FIRES
Now let’s look at some of
the test instruments that
can be used to test the
grounding system
Instruments
used to test the
grounding
electrode
This is a Biddle Earth Tester that is battery powered. It uses 6 “C”
cells. It is used to test the grounding electrode resistance.
This a type of
Measuring the resistance Biddle Earth
of the equipment Tester that is
battery powered.
grounding conductor for It is powered by 4
this piece of equipment. “C” cells. It is
used to test the
grounding
electrode
resistance.
This is a Biddle Earth
Tester that is used
to test the
resistance of the
grounding electrode.
It is powered by the
use of the hand
crank on the side of
the device.
This is the Field Kit that is used with an Earth
Tester to measure the resistance of the
grounding electrode. It contains 2 metal
stakes, and 3 conductors of various lengths.
Set-Up for Testing Grounding Electrode
Resistance
C1 P1 G P2 C2
Earth
Test Rods
Grounding
Electrode
This person is driving
a test rod to be used
while testing the
grounding electrode
resistance.
This is the method used
when testing the
grounding electrode
resistance with a Biddle
Earth Tester.
The results obtained during
the testing of the grounding
electrode resistance are
plotted on a graph. The
actual resistance of the
electrode is the flat part of
the graph.
Another method of testing
the resistance of the
grounding electrode is using
a voltage source, such as a
vehicle battery, a voltmeter
and an ammeter. We do not
recommend this method as
it can be extremely
dangerous.
This is one possible
set-up for testing the
grounding electrode
resistance.
This is the method used
when testing the
grounding electrode
resistance with a Biddle
Earth Tester.
Use OHM’S LAW to
calculate the resistance
values your tests found.
R=E/I
The results obtained during the
testing of the grounding
electrode resistance are plotted
on a graph. The actual
resistance of the electrode is the
flat part of the graph.
This is the ECOS Pow-R-Mate
Tester. It is used to test the
resistance and impedance of
the grounding electrode. It is
both battery powered and
plug-and-cord connected.
This is a Biddle
Insulation Tester
that is used to test
the insulation value
of conductors,
motors,
transformers, and
cables. It is powered
by the hand crank
on the side of the
device. This device
should not be used
to test the
grounding electrode
nor the equipment
grounding
conductors.
Instruments used
to test the
grounding electrode
conductor and the
equipment
grounding
conductors
This is a Fluke
Graphics Multi-Meter
which can be used to
measure the
resistance of the
equipment grounding
conductors.
This is a Fluke Multi-
Meter which can be
used to measure the
resistance of the
equipment grounding
conductors.
This is a Simpson
Multi-Meter which
can be used to
measure the
resistance of the
equipment grounding
conductors. It is
reading an open
conductor now.
This is a Simpson
Multi-Meter, with
test leads attached,
which can be used to
measure the
resistance of the
equipment grounding
conductors. It is
reading an open
conductor now.
This is a Simpson
Multi-Meter, with
test leads attached,
which can be used to
measure the
resistance of the
equipment grounding
conductors. It is
reading Zero ohms
resistance as the test
leads are contacting
each other. The
meter is being
zeroed.