EARTHING

SYSTEM - RULES
AND
CIRCULARS

EARTHING
Provide Ensure that all exposed conductive parts do not reach a
dangerous potential
Maintain the voltage at any part of an electrical system at a known
value so as to prevent over current or excessive voltage on the
appliances or equipment.

Must be of low electrical resistance

Must be of good corrosion resistance
Must be able to dissipate high fault current repeatedly

Safety to human life & equipments

One of the most misunderstood and confused concept

is difference between Bonding, grounding and Earthing.

Bonding is more clear word compare to Grounding and
Earthing,

Earthing and Grounding are necessary and have an idea how to do it but we
dont have crystal clear concept for that.
We need to understand that there are really two separate things we are
doing for same purpose that we call Grounding or Earthing
The Earthing is to reference our electrical source to earth (usually via
connection to some kind of rod driven into the earth or some other metal that
has direct contact with the earth).

The grounded circuits of machines need to have an effective return path

from the machines to the power source in order to function properly (Here by
Neutral Circuit).

Three system earthing arrangements, defined by standards IEC 60364 and NF C

15.100, are:
A) TN system
B) TT system
C) IT system
All three systems have the same final purpose as regards protection of persons
and equipment control of insulation fault effects.
They are considered as equivalent with respect to the protection of persons
against indirect contact.

ECP: exposed conductive part.

Summary of Reactions to Current

ECE 201

13

Electrical Model of the

Human Body

ECE 201

15

Electrical Model of the Human Body

DANGEROUS Current Path !

ECE 201

16

EARTH
Earth behaves as an electrical conductor but its
conductivity is variable and unpredictable. The
resistance of an earth connection varies with
earths
composition,
chemical
contents,
moisture, temperature, season of the year,
depth and diameter of rod and other reason.

PURPOSE OF EARTHING
(1) Safety for Human life/ Building/Equipments:
To save human life from danger of electrical shock or
death by blowing a fuse i.e. To provide an alternative path
for the fault current to flow so that it will not endanger the
user.

To protect buildings, machinery & appliances under fault

conditions.
To ensure that all exposed conductive parts do not reach
a dangerous potential.
To provide safe path to dissipate lightning and short circuit
currents.

 To provide stable platform for operation of

sensitive electronic equipments i.e. To maintain the
voltage at any part of an electrical system at a known
value so as to prevent over current or excessive voltage
on the appliances or equipment .
To provide a surface under and around a station, which
shall be at a uniform potential (nearly zero). This earth
surface should be as nearly as possible to the system.
In order to ensure that all parts of apparatus other than
live parts and attending personnel shall be at earth
potential at all the times. Due to this there exists no
potential difference, which could cause shock or injury to a
person.

 2) Over voltage protection:

Lightning, line surges or unintentional contact with higher
voltage lines can cause dangerously high voltages to the
electrical distribution system. Earthing provides an alternative
path around the electrical system to minimize damages in the
System.
3) Voltage stabilization:
There are many sources of electricity. Every transformer can be
considered a separate source. If there were not a common
reference point for all these voltage sources it would be
extremely difficult to calculate their relationships to each other.
The earth is the most omnipresent conductive surface, and so it
was adopted in the very beginnings of electrical distribution
systems as a nearly universal standard for all electric systems.

Advantage of Earthing
Reduced operation & Maintenance cost
Reduction in magnitude of transient over
voltages.
Improved lightning protection
Simplification of ground fault location.
Improved system and equipment fault protection
Improved service reliability.
Greater safety for personnel & equipment
Prompt and consistent operation of protective
devices during earth fault.

Conventional methods of earthing

(1) Plate type Earthing:
Generally for plate type earthing normal Practice is to use
Cast iron plate of size 600 mm x600 mm x12 mm. OR
Galvanized iron plate of size 600 mm x600 mm x6 mm. OR
Copper plate of size 600 mm * 600 mm * 3.15 mm
Plate burred at the depth of 8 feet in the vertical position and GI strip of size
50 mmx6 mm bolted with the plate is brought up to the ground level.
These types of earth pit are generally filled with alternate layer of charcoal &
salt up to 4 feet from the bottom of the pit.

2) Pipe type Earthing:

Pipe type earthing normal practice is to use
GI pipe [B-class] of 50 mm diameter of wall thickness 3.4 mm, 3 mt feet
long welded with GI flange having holes for the connection of earth
wires and inserted in ground by auger method.

These types of earth pit are generally filled with alternate layer of
charcoal & salt or earth reactivation compound.
If required a special size pipe may be used as per need.

FUSE

FAULT TO
EARTH
IN WINDING

230V

N
Y

LINK

FAULT CURRENT THROUGH EARTH

E

General requirement for Earthing

Earthing shall generally be carried out in
accordance with the requirement of The
Electricity Rules 2005 and the relevant
regulation of the electricity supply. Codes /
standard given below may also be referred (i) IS: 3043-1987- Code of practice for
earthing.
(ii) National electricity code- 1985 of BIS.
(iii) IEEE guide for safety in AC substation
grounding No.ANSI/IEEEstandard, 80-1986.

IMPORTANT I.E. RULES RELATED

TO EARTHING
RULE No: 33. ---Earth terminal on consumers
premises.
RULE No: 61

Max: permissible resistance of earthing

system.
Large power station:
- 0.5 ohms.
Major sub-station:
- 1.0 ohms.
Small sub-station:
- 2.0 ohms.
In all other cases :
- 8.0 ohms.

The earth continuity inside an installation should be

less than 1.0 ohms.

Maximum allowable Earth resistance:

Neutral Bushing. =2 Ohm
Service connection = 4 Ohm
Medium Voltage Network =2 Ohm
L.T. Lightening Arrestor= 4 Ohm
L.T.Pole= 5 Ohm
H.T.Pole =10 Ohm
Tower =20-30 Ohm

Rule 61- Connection with Earth

Earthing of neutral conductor of a 3-phase,
4-wire system.
Earthing of all metal casing / covering of
electric supply lines or apparatus.
Testing of such earth resistance not less than
once in every two years during a dry day of a
dry season shall be conducted and recorded for
all LV & MV installations

Rule 61A - Earth leakage

protective device
The supply of Energy to every electrical
installation other than low voltage installation
below 5 kW and those low voltage installations
which do not attract provisions of section 30 of
the Indian Electricity Act, 1910, shall be
controlled by an earth leakage protective device
so as to disconnect the supply instantly on the
occurrence of earth fault or leakage of current

RULE No: 67. Connection to earth

All equipments associated with HV /EHV
installation, shall be earthed by not less than
two distinct and separate connection with the
earth having its own electrode, except an earth
mat.

Testing of such earth resistance not less than

once in every year during a dry day of a dry
season shall be conducted & recorded for HV
/EHV installation.

RULE No: 90 - Earthing

In distribution system, all metal supports and all
reinforced/pre-stressed cement concrete supports of
overhead line and and metallic fittings attached shall be
permanently and effectively earthed.
Each stay wire shall be similarly earthed, unless insulators
have been provided in it at a height not less than three mtrs.
from the ground.
Every 5th pole as a minimum shall be grounded, if the
foundations are not cements concrete blocks.

RULE No:92- Protection

against lightening
The owner of every overhead line which is so
exposed , as may be liable to injury from
lightening, shall adopt efficient means for
diverting to earth, any electrical surge during
lightening.
The earthing lead for any lightening arrester
shall not pass through any iron or steel pipe
but shall be taken as directed as possible from
the lightening arrester to a separate earthing
electrode / mat.

Earthing system

Earthing system includes earth electrode, installation of

earth electrode in suitable pit size, construction of earth
pit with cover for the installation, connection of earth
electrode with equipotential earth bus and connection
of equipment to equipotential earth bus.

Earth electrode
The earth electrode is the main component of the
earthling system which is in direct contact with the
ground and thus provides a means of releasing or
collecting any earth leakage currents. The material
should have good electrical conductivity and should not
corrode in a wide range of soil conditions.

Electrodes
Plate Electrode Copper - 60 cm X60cmX 3mm.
GI
- 60cmX60cmX6 mm
Pipe Electrode B class GI pipe diameter 40mm/50 mm
Cast iron pipe - diameter 100mm
The length of the pipe electrode should not be less than 4
meters. It should be embedded vertically but where hard rock
is encountered it can be inclined to vertical , the inclination
being limited 30% to vertical

Strip Electrode Copper - 25 mm X 1.60 mm.

GI
- 25 mm X 4 mm
The length of the buried conductor should not be less than 15 m. laid in a
trench not less than 0.5 m. deep.
Earthing lead- It is the conductor by which the final connection to the earth is
made. Its size should be of sufficient cross sectional area so that it will not fuse
under worst fault condition. The earthing lead should be terminated on a soldered
lug and secured perfectly to the body at the point of connection to the earth plate.
There should be a clean metal to metal surface contact which will remain intact
permanently without deterioration or corrosion.

Distance of earthing Electrodes

The distance between two electrodes should not be
less than the twice of the length of electrode and shall
not be situated within a distance of 1.5 meter from the
building whose installation system is being earthed.

2L

Separation distance

Factors influencing earth

resistance
Condition of soil
Temperature of soil.
Moisture content of soil.
Size and spacing of earth electrodes.
Depth, at which the electrode is embedded.
Material of conductor..
Quality of coal, dust, charcoal and salt in the earth electrode
pit.
Number of electrodes connected in parallel.

The following agents tends to

damage Pipe surfaces Inorganic
& Organic salts, Humic acid & Fulvic
acid.
To circumvent these agents the
presence of IRON PHOSPHIDE is
there, which prevents soil corrosion.
NO GALVANISATION is required to
prevent from moisture

Methods of reducing earth resistance

The earth resistance can be considerably reduced by digging around
the earth electrode to a depth of 1.5 or 1meter. Cleaning the surface of
the earth plate or pipe of rust, filling with charcoal soaked in salt
solution. In summer season the pouring of fresh salt water (copper
sulphate solution in case of copper plate earthing) through pipe over
all the coal bed, it will reduce the earth resistance.

The additional steps for reducing the earth resistance of the system
are increasing of plate areas, increasing of pit dept and increasing of
number of electrodes in parallel.

The normal moisture content of soil is 10 percent in dry

seasons to 35 percent in wet seasons, averaging between 16
and 18 percent.
Dry earth weighs about 1440 kg per cubic metre and 10
percent moisture content means about 144 kg of water per
cubic metre of dry soil.

The reduction in soil resistivity effected by the salt

content is shown in the curve.

 The curve flattens off at about 5 percent. A further

increase in salt content will give a very little decrease in
soil resistivity.
The salt content is expressed in percent by weight of the
moisture content in the soil.

Considering 1M3 of Soil, the moisture content at 10

percent will be about 144 kg. (10 percent of 1440 kg). The
salt content shall be 5% of this (i.e.) 5% of 144kg, that is,
about 7.2kg.
Water addition should be about 144 kg and salt addition
shall be about 7.2 kg per cubic metre of dry soil. Any
further additions will not give appreciable benefits.
Deeper the earth pit and longer the earth pipe/rod,
lesser will be the resistance

The resistance to earth of a pipe or rod electrode

diminishes rapidly within the first few feet of driving, but
less so at depths greater than 2 to 3m in soil of uniform
resistivity, after about 4m depth, there is no appreciable
change in resistance to earth of the electrode. Except in
special cases, a number of rods in parallel are to be
preferred to a single long rod.

Guidelines for provision of earthing systems

for different types of installations
(As per Rly. Boards letter no. 2006/Elect(G)/150/5/Pt
dated 11.09.2008)

Conventional earths (GI with charcoal/salt)

Small service building
Residential buildings/blocks
load less than 15kW

with

connected

Cluster earths with 75% conventional & 25% maintenance free earths
with ground enhancing material
Residential buildings/blocks with connected load more
than 15kW
Major service building
Pumping installation major
Sub-stations (PS)
Major Station buildings (A or A-1 & other tourism,
commercial importance)
Switchgear installed by Railways at incoming supply
points from DISCOMs
TSS, SP/SSPs

Maintenance free earths with

ground enhancing material
Deep well pumping installation miner
High masts
SCADA & RTUs

Minor Station buildings (B,C,D,E)

Individual high end customer interface like PRS, UTS,
FOIS, COIS, AVMs, ATMs, Cyber cafes etc.

Maintenance free earthing

Earthing is essential in any electrical installation to provide safety. The conventional
GI pipe earthing employing charcoal & salts are provided for various applications as
per IS:3043. Corrosion of metallic parts is comparatively fast besides maintenance
by way of watering of earthing pits and chiseling of corrosion prone parts and their
replacement require monitoring which may not always be feasible in certain
crowded and inaccessible areas.

Modern maintenance free and durable earthing employ steel conductors which are
copper clad (instead of GI) and utilize graphitic compounds and non-corrosive salt as
groung enhancing material which do not lead to such corrosion. Such earth pits
would also not require the usual watering schedules to maintain the earth resistance
within limits. These earthing systems are expected to provide trouble-free service for
15-20 years.

Technical Specification for

maintenance free earth
Guidelines for installation and testing for long
lasting earthing systems for various application
as per technical specification for maintenance
free earth for electrical installation issued by
RDSO vide letter no. EL/0.9.1/Earthing dated
26.06.2009.

Selection of earth system

S.N.

Installation/Current
Capacity

ER value
required

Soil type/ Resistivity

Earth System

Household
3kA

8 ohms

Normal soil/ upto 50 ohm-mtr.

Single electrode

Sandy soil/ between 50 to 2000

ohm-mtr.

Single electrode

Rocky soil/ more than 2000 ohmmtr.

Multiple
electrodes

Normal soil/ upto 50 ohm-mtr.

Single electrode

Sandy soil/ between 50 to 2000

ohm-mtr.

Multiple
electrodes

Rocky soil/ more than 2000 ohmmtr.

Multiple
electrodes

earthing/

Commercial premises,
office buildings/ 5kA

2 ohms

Transformers,
sub-station
earthing, LT line
equipment/ 15kA

Transformers,
sub-station
earthing, HT line
equipment/ 40kA

1-2
ohms

Less
than 1
ohm

Normal soil/ upto 50

ohm-mtr.

Single
electrode

Sandy soil/ between 50

to 2000 ohm-mtr.

Multiple
electrodes

Rocky soil/ more than

2000 ohm-mtr.

Multiple
electrodes

Normal soil/ upto 50

ohm-mtr.

Single
electrode

Sandy soil/ between 50

to 2000 ohm-mtr.

Multiple
electrodes

Rocky soil/ more than

2000 ohm-mtr.

Multiple
electrodes

Lighting
arresters, extra
high
current
applications etc./
50kA

PRS,
UTS,
RTUs,
FOIS,
COIS, ATMs and
data processing
centers etc./ 5kA

Less
than 1
ohm

Less
than
0.5
ohm

Normal soil/ upto 50

ohm-mtr.

Single
electrode

Sandy soil/ between 50

to 2000 ohm-mtr.

Multiple
electrodes

Rocky soil/ more than

2000 ohm-mtr.

Multiple
electrodes

Normal soil/ upto 50

ohm-mtr.

Single
electrode

Sandy soil/ between 50

to 2000 ohm-mtr.

Multiple
electrodes

Rocky soil/ more than

2000 ohm-mtr.

Multiple
electrodes

Single/multiple electrode in above earth system shall be either rod

earth electrode or concentric pipe earth electrode

Concentric pipe earth electrode

Primary conductor of MS pipe having 25-50 mm dia., classB, length
2000-3000 mm. and secondary conductor of MS pipe having 40-100 mm
dia., classB, length 2000-3000 mm.
For hermetically filling inside the cavity, crystalline high conductive mixture
compound of copper & aluminium powder, conductive carbon/cement and
bonding material etc. in paste form is to be forcefully injected in the
electrode assembly and after solidification of the same, the end caps are
welded. The metal alloy shall help in conducting the current and
conductive carbon gives anti corrosive property. Bonding material should
provide strength to the mixture. Resistivity of mixture shall be less than
0.2 ohm-mtr.

Complete electrode shall be molecularly bonded by 99.99% pure high conductivity

copper on outer surface with copper coating thickness 300 micron or more. Copper
bus-bar of size 250 mmx50 mmx6 mm having electrical conductivity of minimum
99.9% copper content shall preferably be exothermically welded to earth electrode
with help of 2 nos. stainless steel nut bolts of appropriate size having 4 holes of 12
mm dia. (2 on each side) for connecting earthing conductor. Electrode shall have
more than following current carrying capacity for 1 sec.
S.N.

Current
carrying
cap. for 1 sec.

Primary
diameter

3kA

25 mm

40 mm X 2000 mm

5kA

25 mm

40 mm X 3000 mm

15kA

25 mm

50 mm X 3000 mm

40kA

40 mm

80 mm X 3000 mm

50kA

50 mm

100 mm X 3000 mm

conductor

Electrode dimensions (dia. X length)

Earth enhancement material

Earth enhancement material is a superior conductive

material that improves earthing effectiveness, especially
in area of poor conductivity (rocky ground areas of
moisture variation, sandy soils etc.). It may contain
conductive cement, graphite, hydrous aluminium
silicate, sodium montmorillonite etc. It improves
conductivity of earth electrode and ground contact area.

Characteristics of earth enhancement material

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Low resistivity - below .02 ohm-mtr.

Non-dependency on water for conductivity
Alkaline in nature with pH value 7 to 9.
Better hygroscopic property
Retains more than 10% moisture even at 1050C
Water solubility less than 5%
It should have granule size 0.1 mm to 3 mm.
Non-toxic,non-reactive,non-explosive&non-corrosive
Thermally stable between -10oC to +60oC
It shall not decompose or leach out with time.
It shall not cause burns, irritation to eye, skin etc.

12.
13.
14.
15.
16 .
17.
18.

Environment friendly for landfill

It should remove air between electrode and soil.
It shall be permanent & maintenance free
Maintains constant earth resistance with time.
No requirement of periodic charging treatment
Suitable for any kind of electrode & all kind of soils.
It should be diffused into soil pores and creates conductive roots enlarging
conductive zone on pit.

For 5X5X10 earth pit Minimum requirement 75 kgs per pit

For 300 mm bore up to 10 deep type earth pit - Minimum requirement 50 kgs per
pit

Backfill material
Normally the excavated soil with adding some amount of earth
enhancement material shall be used if it is free from sand, gavel and
stone.

In case of excavated soil contains sand, gavel and stone, these shall be
removed by appropriate method such as hand picking, sieving etc. Small
proportion of sand in the soil may be permissible. Materials like sand,
salt, coak breeze, cinders and ash shall not be used because of its acidic
& corrosive nature.
If the excavated soil contains sand , gravel & stone in large proportion
and it is not feasible to remove these economically, good quality soil from
other place i.e. black cotton soil may be used for backfilling.

Equipotential bus & Earthing conductor

A copper bus-bar of size 300 mmX 25 mmX 6 mm to be installed in the
equipment room as equipotential bus and must be connected with
preferably copper strip of size 25 mm X 3 mm from instrument to busbar. The connecting terminals of the earth electrode to the bus-bar must
be connected by copper strip of size 25 mm X 3 mm buried in side a
trench of 300 mm width & 600 mm depth (from the earth pit to nearest
wall). It shall be in duplicate.
It shall be ensured minimum required length is used to keep the earth
resistance minimum. It shall be high conductive copper having 99.99%
copper content.

Construction of unit earth

Make 5 x 5x 10 earth pit Normally & in rocky

areas make 300 mm bore up to10 deep.
Preparation of backfilling
Insert the electrode at the centre of the earth pit &
arrange to keep it vertical in the pit.
Arrange adequate quantity of water supply (appox.
600 ltrs.) for the pit.
Fill the pit with the backfill and keep on adding the
earth enhancement material surrounding the
electrode and simultaneously watering the pit.
With a steel bar or pipe, keep on pocking the soil
gel and stirring intermittently for removing the air
pockets and proper settlement of pit & procedure
to be repeated till completion of filling if earth pit.

The pit should be very compactly rammed and

watering for 2-3 days and addition of
soil
if
required.
Make trench from earth pit to nearest point of
connection.
Construct inspection chamber with cover.

Measure the earth resistance.

If resistance of single earth electrode is

more than required resistance then multiple
earths
can
be
constructed
and
interconnected.

Method for Construction of Earthing Pit

(Indian Electricity Board)
Excavation on earth for a normal earth Pit size is 1.5M X 1.5M X 3.0 M.
Use 500 mm X 500 mm X 10 mm GI Plate or Bigger Size for more Contact of
Earth and reduce Earth Resistance.
Make a mixture of Wood Coal Powder Salt & Sand all in equal part
Wood Coal Powder use as good conductor of electricity, anti corrosive, rust
proves for GI Plate for long life.
The purpose of coal and salt is to keep wet the soil permanently.
The salt percolates and coal absorbs water keeping the soil wet.

 Care should always be taken by watering the earth pits in

summer so that the pit soil will be wet.
Coal is made of carbon which is good conductor minimizing
the earth resistant.
Salt use as electrolyte to form conductivity between GI Plate
Coal and Earth with humidity.
Sand has used to form porosity to cycle water & humidity
around the mixture.
Put GI Plate (EARTH PLATE) of size 500 mm X 500 mm X 10
mm in the mid of mixture.
Use Double GI Strip size 30 mm X 10 mm to connect GI Plate
to System Earthing.

 It will be better to use GI Pipe of size 2.5 diameter (CI/GI pipe

of Thick ness 3.2mm) with a Flange on the top of GI Pipe to
cover GI Strip from EARTH PLATE to Top Flange.
Cover Top of GI pipe with a T joint to avoid jamming of pipe with
dust & mud and also use water time to time through this pipe to
bottom of earth plate.
Maintain less than one Ohm Resistance from EARTH PIT
conductor to a distance of 15 Meters around the EARTH PIT
with another conductor dip on the Earth at least 500 mm deep.
Check Voltage between Earth Pit conductors to Neutral of
Mains Supply 220V AC 50 Hz it should be less than 2.0 Volts.

Notes :
Drawing
based on IS:
3043, codes of
practice for
Earthing .

EARTHING TO BE WELL MAINTAINED TO PREVENT

THE SURGES ATTACKING THE MACHINES

CONVENTIONAL
EARTHING
PAINTING LOOKS OK
BUT EARTHING IS
POORLY MAINTAINED

MAINTENANCE FREE EARTHING : EARTHING

IS GOOD IN THE LONG RUN and well
maintained.

Earth electrode resistance testing

The method to carrying out this test.

1)

Using a proprietary tester.

The test unit has three connections. The first is attached to the electrode under test,
the second to an auxiliary potential electrode or spike, and the third to an auxiliary
current electrode.

CE

PE

TE

IMPORTANT: FIRST DISCONNECT THE

WIRES/FLATS FROM TEST ELECTRODE.
1.Two numbers of spikes( CE & PE ) of 1 feet length each to
be put into the ground.
a. CE should inserted in to the ground at a distance of 10
times of length of TE (10 X 3 =30 mts)
.

b. PE should inserted into the ground at the middle of

TE and CE
c. All the 3-electrodes(CE/PE/TE) should be in same axis

2. Generally the earth tester will have 4-terminals

namely ,C1,C2,P1 and P2
3. Short the C1 and P1 terminals with very very low
resistance wire. And connect a low resistance
wire from C1/P1 terminal to TE.
4. C2 with CE and P2 with PE are to be connected
with low resistance wires.
5. Ensure there should not be any loose contacts at
all connections.
6. Meter Reading is to be taken and recorded.
7. Two further readings are to be taken as follows.

7. a. The first, with the PE placed at 10% nearer the

CE =13.5 mts (15 X 10 /100 =1.5 mts, 5--1.5 = 13.5
mts) (from its original position). and
b. the second, with the PE placed 10% nearer the
TE =13.5 mts (from its original position).
8. The average of the three readings is taken as the
electrodes resistance. (as long as all three readings
are within 5% of one another).
If they exceed 5% the test must be repeated with
the distance of TE and PE and CE
increased.

7.Two further readings are now taken as follows.

a. The first with the potential electrode placed 10% nearer
the current electrode and the second, with the potential
electrode placed 10% nearer the electrode under test (from
its original position).
The average of the three readings is taken as the
electrodes resistance (as long as all three
readings are within 5% of one another). If they
exceed 5% the test must be repeated with the
distance of test and auxiliary electrodes
increased.

info@electriciansbrittany.com

STEP and TOUCH voltage.

Touch Voltage :
It is the potential difference between a grounded
metallic structure and a point on the earths
surface ,separated by a distance equal to the
normal maximum horizontal reach, approximately
one metre.

Step Voltage :
It is the potential difference between two points
on the earths surface ,separated by a distance of
one pace, that will be assumed to be one metre in
the direction of maximum potential gradient.

Example for touch and step

voltages
A damage to a terminal bushing on a transformer has
resulted in the faulting of the respective phase to the
transformer body which is earthed by a pipe electrode
driven into the earth.
The earth fault current will flow from the phase conductor
to the transformer body and through the earth electrode to
earth.
Around the electrode the current will flow outward in all
directions.

STEP POTENTAILS AND TOUCH POTENTAIAL PRIME CONCERNS

PERSONS SAFETY AGAINST ELECTRIC

SHOCKS
ITEMS OF CONSIDERATIONS

IN VICINITY OF GROUNDED FACILITIES

STEP AND TOUCH POTENTIALS DECREASES WITH DISTANCE

STEP POTENTIALS
AND
TOUCH POTENTIALS
VARIES WITH THE DISTANCE FROM
THE FAULT SOURCE

As the current flows through a constantly increasing

volume of earth ,its density drops as the distance from the
electrode increases.
The highest potential is at the electrode which is the same
as that of the transformer tank.
As the distance from the electrode increases,the less is
the difference in earth surface potential between two
points per unit length.
Now if a person happens to touch the transformer tank,the
potential difference between his hands and feet will be
E(Touch) = V1-V2
Where E(Touch) is termed as the Touch Potential . It is the
voltage that exists between the hand and both feet of the
person

Step Potential:
If a person is shown walking towards the transformer tank.
At any time,the earth surface potential between his feet will
amount to
E(Step) = V3-V4
Where E(Step) is termed as the Step Potential and is the
voltage between the two feet of a person.

It can be seen that

E(Step) = (Rk + 2Rf) Ik volts
And E(Touch) = (Rk + Rf/2) Ik volts
Where Rk is the resistance of the body,
Rf is the grounding resistance of one foot in ohms,taken for
all practical purposes to be equal to 3 times the resistivity of
the soil near the surface of ground in ohm-meter,

EARTHING CATEGORIES

There are two types of earthing.

SYSTEM EARTHING : This is primarily concerned
with the protection pf electrical equipment by
stabilizing voltages with respect to ground.
EQUIPMENT EARTHING : This is primarily
concerned with the protection of personnel from
electric shock by maintaining the potential of noncurrent carrying equipment at or near ground
potential.

SYSTEM EARTHING
This is basically achieved by earthing the neutral of the
supply system.

Ungrounded neutral supply systems are not in use mainly

for the following disadvantages :
Under a single line to earth fault the voltage to earth of the
two healthy phases rises from phase value to line value
ie. Root 3 times.
The capacitive current in the two healthy phases
increases to root 3 times the normal value.

The capacitive current in the faulty phase is 3 times its

normal value.
The capacitive fault current gives rise to arcing ground
condition.
Under such condition the phase voltage may rise to 5 to 6
times its normal value causing insulation breakdown.
It is difficult to detect and isolate a single phase to earth
fault.

Modern supply systems operate with their neutral points

grounded.

The advantages are :

There is no voltage rise in the healthy phases during
phase to earth fault.
There are no unbalanced voltages with respect to earth.
Persistent arcing grounds are eliminated.
Earth fault currents can be utilized to operate protective
relays to disconnect the fault.