2009-2010

A Comparative Study between Cast Iron & Galvanised Iron Conductor used for Earthing of Electrical System

Compiled By

(In Alphabetical Order)

Arjun Meena Ashish Khandelwal Ashok Jingar Suparna Saha

A Comparative Study between Cast Iron & Galvanised Iron Conductor used for Earthing of Electrical System

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Earthing is a very wide topic for which vast literature still feels to be less. Lots of earthing practices are present today and one has to choose suitable earthing practice according to the needs & design requirement. One has to consider various factors like soil resistivity, moisture, and resistivity of surface material, material of earthing conductor & other technical parameter like magnitude of fault current, shock duration etc during design procedure. Among various factors, choice & selection of conductor of material is to be considered both economically & technically. There are various choices associated with the material of the conductor like it could be copper, zinc coated steel, Cast iron, Galvanised Iron etc. & selection of each of these materials depends upon the type of application for which they are being used. The qualities associated with good earthing system are that it should be of low electrical resistance, having good corrosion resistance, & it should be able to dissipate high fault current repeatedly. As per IS 3043:1987 P.19 Cl.9.1, electrode resistance is affected by the shape of electrode. Pipe is considered to be the better shape than plate as the surface being circular, the distance from the centre to any point is always equal which facilitates uniform distribution of fault current from electrode to earth. Also pipe has multistage current dissipation. There is a general belief among engineers that CI is better earthing conductor than GI. Economically, GI is considered to be better than CI but maintenance wise & life expectancy wise, CI is considered to be better. IS 3043 also considers CI as better Earthing conductor. But it is not true that CI is always better for every application In CI pipe earthing, the presence of phosphorus is such that Iron phosphide is formed on the pipe surface which forms a matrix & act as barrier layer, preventing any further corrosion. It has longer life due to large thickness & corrosion resistant properties. For power station earthing it is considered to be the best choice (as per IS 3043:1987). For watering the pit to retain moisture content, CI Pipe earthing doesnt require any extra pipe as holes are provided from top to bottom of pipe.

Galvanized Iron Conductor being less expensive & easily available is used more frequently as earthing conductor. G.I. pipe electrode earthing requires 15-20 micron galvanization Plus Charcoal & Salt etc. It has been found by tests that average loss in weight of galvanized Iron electrode is not more than 0.5 % per year compared to pure cast iron/wrought iron whose average loss in weight is 2.2% per year(as per IEEE Std.80-2000). In some places, CI cant be used at all as earthing conductor where GI rods find its importance. Like in case of deeply driven rods where CI pipes installation is considered to be costly, there GI rod found its usage. With the use of proper backfill compound like bentonite & hot dipped galvanizing, GI earthing system finds substantial reduction of resistance of earthing & also finds increase in its life expectancy value by 3 times. As GI pipe corroded rapidly & its condition deteriorates year after year, GI pipe earthing needs to be changed every 4 years. Also for watering of pit, additional pipe is required. It sometimes fails to activate safely devices. Distribution of short circuit current is less in terms of charge dissipation and, therefore, generates high potential at the pit resulting in low fault current which is sometimes insufficient to trip fault protection relays. Also for electronic equipment & appliances, GI pipe earthing is not a stable platform. Conclusion: This paper makes no ruling on whether Cast Iron or Galvanized Iron is better as earthing electrode but it provides the basic information for choosing the more appropriate earthing conductor for a particular application. We have presented a basic discussion based on application, electrode type, & most important based on IS that may allow Engineer to think on its own to evaluate which type of earthing conductor is better.

A Comparative Study between Cast Iron & Galvanised Iron Conductor used for Earthing of Electrical System

Abstract: Earthing is a very wide topic for which vast literature still feels to be less. Lots of Earthing practices are present today and one has to choose suitable earthing practice according to the needs & design requirement. One has to consider various factors like soil resistivity, moisture, resistivity of surface material, material of earthing conductor & other technical parameter like magnitude of fault current, shock duration etc during design procedure. Among various factors, choice & selection of conductor of material is to be considered both economically & technically. There are various options present for the selection of conductor of material & in making this selection; one should understand the theory behind the each option. It is outside the scope of this paper to discuss every conductor. This paper intent to present a comparative study between Cast Iron Conductor & Galvanised Iron Conductor used as earthing material. It is the intention of this paper to assist the engineer in making decision on the subject by presenting basic advantages & disadvantages involved in selection of Cast Iron or Galvanised Iron conductor & also make one understand the complexities involved in selection of conductor of material. It is the application & other parameters which decide the selection of conductor of material.

I. Introduction
Earthing of electrical equipment is very important for the safety of operating personnel as well as for proper system operation. By earthing we mean connecting the electrical equipment to the general mass of the earth which has a very low resistance. Earthing is necessary for Discharging the accumulated charges to ground to prevent hazard to man & machine. Stabilizing system voltage with respect to ground. Fast & efficient operation of protective gear in case of an earth fault. Efficient return of fault / leakage current to its source without disturbance to the running system. causing any

Human Safety - Equipment Safety - Avoid ignition due to static charge Protection against lightening - Protection against surge voltage -Protection against induced voltage - Protection against storage voltage

The qualities associated with good earthing system are that it should be of low electrical resistance, having good corrosion resistance, & it should be able to dissipate high fault current repeatedly. There are various choices associated with the material of the conductor like it could be copper, zinc coated steel, Cast iron, Galvanised Iron etc. & selection of each of these materials depends upon the type of application for which they are being used. Somewhere plate earthing is recommended & somewhere pipe earthing is recommended. As per IS 3043:1987 P.19 Cl.9.1, electrode resistance is affected by the shape of electrode. Pipe is considered to be the better shape than plate as the surface being circular, the distance from the centre to any point is always equal which facilitates uniform distribution of fault current from electrode to earth. Also pipe has multistage current dissipation.

II. Earth Electrodes

IS 3043 recommends wide variety of types of earth electrode. The type includes earth rods, earth plates, & underground structure metal works (as per IS 3043:1987 P.19 Cl.9.2). The soil resistivity of the ground is probably the single most important factor in the determination of the type of earth electrode (as per IS 3043:1987 Cl 8.0.1). Rods can only be as effective as the contact they make with the surrounding material. Thus, they should be driven into pure ground, not disturbed (backfilled) ground. In some locations, low soil resistivity is found to be concentrated in the topsoil layer, beneath which there may be rock or other impervious strata, or a deep layer of high resistivity. In such circumstances, the installation of copper earth tape, or pipes or plates, would be most likely to provide a satisfactory earth electrode resistance value. Whatever forms an earth electrode takes, the possibility of soil drying & freezing, & of corrosion must be taken into account. Preferably, testing of the earth electrode should be carried out under the least favourable conditions, i.e. after prolonged dry weather.

III. Earthing Conductors

Earthing conductors which are defined in IS 3043 as a protective conductor connecting the main earthing terminal of an installation to an earth electrode or other means of earthing must be adequately sized particularly where buried partly in the ground, and be of suitable material & adequately protected against corrosion & mechanical damage. There are various materials available for conductors but their detailed discussion is outside the scope of this paper. For example, copper is considered best material for conductor because of its excellent conductivity, cathodic & resistant to corrosion property. Also at some places, copper clad steel is also used for underground rods. Iron is another material used as material for conductor in the form of Cast Iron Pipes & Galvanised Iron plates/rods. Let us have a discussion on these two in detail;

A. Cast Iron Conductor Generally, Cast Iron (CI) is used as Pipe earthing material (as per IS 3043:1987 p.20 cl 9.2.2). Pipe Earthing is considered to be durable & reliable as reliability depends on powerful metallurgy & surface area of the electrode. CI pipe is considered to be having double surface area. In CI pipe earthing, the presence of phosphorus is such that Iron phosphide is formed on the pipe surface which forms a matrix & act as barrier layer, preventing any further corrosion. It has longer life due to large thickness & corrosion resistant properties. Also, it is resistant to residual chlorine/ sulphate which sometimes present in soil in large quantities. In C.I. pipe, excellent and uniform dissipation occurs and ideally no maintenance is needed because of no upsurge in Ohmic Value. Also less number of pipes is required as surface area contact is more due to bigger diameter. As per IS 3043:1987, CI pipe earthing comprises of installation in which pipe level is kept 4 X 6 above the earth with chamber and can be checked any time. For power station earthing it is considered to be the best choice (as per IS 3043:1987). For watering the pit to retain moisture content, CI Pipe earthing doesnt require any extra pipe as holes are provided from top to bottom of pipe. If CI pipe is compared with galvanized iron, the relative thickness is almost 5 times of GI & hence life expectancy of CI pipe is more than double as compared for GI pipe. Where electrode of large surface area is necessary to provide requisite current carrying capacity, earth plates are recommended. These are generally of cast iron, not less than 12.5mm thick & perfectly ribbed & are usually 1.2m X 1.2 m.(as per IS 3043:1987 P.47 cl 20.5.2). But above all advantages of CI pipes depends on certain conditions & applications. CI is not favourable for every application. In pipe electrode earthing, change of diameter has relatively minor effect & size of pipe is generally governed by resistance to bending or splitting. It is apparent that the resistance diminishes rapidly with the first few feet of driving, but less so at depths greater than 2 to 3 m in soil of uniform resistivity. In this case, Pipes may be of cast iron of not less than 100mm dia, 2.5 to 3m long & 13mm thick(as per IS 3043:1987 Cl.9.1). Such pipes cannot be driven satisfactorily & may, therefore, be more expensive to install than plates for the same effective area. On the contrary plate earthing using cast iron also proved to be costly & expensive with certain limitations. The size employed for plate is normally not greater that 1.2 X 1.2m. For conventional sizes, the resistance is approximately inversely proportional to the linear dimensions, not the surface area i.e. a 0.9 X 0.9 m plate would have 25% more resistance than a 1.2 X 1.2 m plate. Also, the depth at which plates are set should be as such to ensure surrounding soil is always damp(as per IS 3043:1987 P.20 cl.9.2.1). Also CI in its pure form cant be used. Addition of phosphorous material is necessary to make it rugged & better corrosion resistant. B. Galvanized Iron Conductor Galvanized Iron Conductor being less expensive & easily available is used more frequently as earthing conductor. G.I. pipe electrode earthing requires 15-20 micron galvanization Plus Charcoal & Salt etc. It has been found by tests that average loss in weight of galvanized Iron electrode is not more than 0.5 % per year compared to pure cast iron/wrought iron whose average loss in weight is 2.2% per year(as per IEEE Std.80-2000). Plate electrode

when made up of GI or steel shall not be less than 6.3mm in thickness (as per IS 3043:1987 Cl.9.2.1). In some places, CI cant be used at all as earthing conductor where GI rods find its importance. Like in case of deeply driven rods where CI pipes installation is considered to be costly, there GI rod found its usage. With the use of proper backfill compound like bentonite & hot dipped galvanizing, GI earthing system finds substantial reduction of resistance of earthing & also finds increase in its life expectancy value by 3 times. The maintenance rate also decreases on the other side. But use of GI is discouraged because of certain properties which are unavoidable. The galvanized coating eradicates with time & results in reducing the life of earthing. The life of GI rod is considered to be around 6 years. In G.I. pipe, up to 40mm dia pipe can be used & hence, is having lesser area of contact with earth which results in poor dissipation of current. Also maintenance wise, GI earth pit requires maintenance at regular intervals. In case of Plate earthing, as GI plate is inside the earth & only GI strip comes out from pit; if any continuity problem comes, it cant be checked. As GI pipe corroded rapidly & its condition deteriorates year after year, GI pipe earthing needs to be changed every 4 years. Also for watering of pit, additional pipe is required. It sometimes fails to activate safely devices. Distribution of short circuit current is less in terms of charge dissipation and, therefore, generates high potential at the pit resulting in low fault current which is sometimes insufficient to trip fault protection relays. Also for electronic equipment & appliances, GI pipe earthing is not a stable platform.

IV. Conclusion
This paper makes no ruling on whether Cast Iron or Galvanized Iron is better as earthing electrode but it provides the basic information for choosing the more appropriate earthing conductor for a particular application. We have presented a basic discussion based on application, electrode type, & most important based on IS that may allow Engineer to think on its own to evaluate which type of earthing conductor is better. There is a general belief among engineers that CI is better earthing conductor than GI. Economically, GI is considered to be better than CI but maintenance wise & life expectancy wise, CI is considered to be better. IS 3043 also considers CI as better earthing conductor. But it is not true that CI is always better for every application. In our discussion we have shown, in some cases, GI is better where CI type earthing installation is considered to be more expensive & technically not right. Also, with the use of GI as hot dipped & proper backfill compound, good earthing practice can be obtained.

V.REFERENCES
[1] IS 3043:1987 [2] IEEE std. 80-2000_Grounding [3] IEE Wiring Matters| Autumn 2005| www.iee.org | Earthing: Your Questions Answered-By Geoff Cronshaw [4] IEEE Std.142-1991 IEEE recommended practice for Grounding Of Industrial & Commercial Power Systems

VI. Compiled By ArjunMeena,AshishKhandelwal,AshokJingar,SuparnaSaha