GROUNDING BASIC CONCEPTS FROM THE NEC (ON-LINE TUTORIAL), COMPILE BY JAVIER MENDOZA.

GROUNDING PART 5
Through the bonding connections made to electrical equipment a fault current path is established. A ground fault is an unintentional connection between an ungrounded (hot) conductor and a grounded noncurrent-carrying part of electrical equipment. In a solidly grounded system the fault current path creates a low impedance, high current circuit which causes the overcurrent device protecting the circuit to funtion automatically and deenergize the circuit. In industrial applications the NEC permits the use of an impedance grounded system under specific condition of use and supervision. This system purposely impedes the ground fault current in order that overcurrent devices do not automatically open the circuit. Alarms or indicating devices are required on these systems to alert operators of a fault in the system. Fault Current Path: An electrically conductive fault current path that is permanent and electrically continuous has the capacity to carry the maximum fault current likely to be imposed on it, and has low enough impedance to facilitate operation of the overcurrent device under fault conditions.

Solidly Grounded: The grounded conductor is grounded without inserting a resistor or impedance device. The picture below represents a solidly grounded system.

GROUNDING BASIC CONCEPTS FROM THE NEC (ON-LINE TUTORIAL), COMPILE BY JAVIER MENDOZA.
Impedance Grounded: An impedance grounded system is one in which a grounding impedance, usually a resistor, limits the ground-fault current to a low value. The NEC permits this grounding method for 3phase ac systems of 480 volts to 1000 volts under specific conditions of installation, supervision and use.

A piece of equipment that is grounded without inserting a resistor or impedance device is an example of a piece of equipment that is grounded with which manner of grounding technique? Select an answer.

Fault Current Path Solidly Grounded

Impedance Grounded

GROUNDING BASIC CONCEPTS FROM THE NEC (ON-LINE TUTORIAL), COMPILE BY JAVIER MENDOZA.
The correct answer is Solidly Grounded. A circuit is solidly grounded if it is grounded with no resistance or impedance.

This terms presented in this course represent key terms used in the NEC related to the grounding of electrical systems. The usage of these terms builds throughout the course. The terms taught in each section are shown below. System Grounding Grounded Conductor Grounding Electrode Equipment Grounding Grounding Electrode Bonding Main Bonding Jumper Equipment Bonding Jumper Fault Current Path Solidly Grounded Impedance Grounded

Equipment Grounding Conductor Bonded/Bonding

Grounding Electrode Conductor Grounding Electrode Conductor Grounding Electrode System

This drawing (at right) of a Grounded Electrode System illustrates all the concepts covered in this tutorial. Click the underlined terms to see their definitions.