13Basicexpressionsoftenusedin

electricaltesting

13 Basic expressions often used in electrical testing (photo credit: novuscompliance.co.uk)

Testingofelectricalinstallations//
Thisisthesimplelistofbasictermsyoucanoftenhearwhentestingand
measurementsofelectricalinstallation(ingeneral)isbeingperformed.While
expiriencedelectricalengineerswillfindthislistshort,Ihopebeginnerswillcatchthe
essenceandcontinueexploringthisfieldofelectricalengineering.
Feelfreetosuggestmeanexpression(alongwithdescription)youthinkitshouldbe
listed,itwillbemypleasuretoaddittothelistandtomoveawayfromnumber13
Ok,sohereisthelist:
1. Activeaccessibleconductivepart
2. Passiveaccessibleconductivepart

3. Electricshock
4. Earthingelectrode
5. Nominalvoltage
6. Faultvoltage
7. Contactvoltage
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PDF
8. LimitContactvoltage
9. Nominalloadcurrent
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10. Nominalinstallationcurrent
11. Faultcurrent
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12. Leakagecurrent
13. Shortcircuitcurrent

14. ElectricalInsulation (UPDATE!)

15. Harmonicslevels (UPDATE!)

1.Activeaccessibleconductivepart

Activeaccessibleconductivepartistheconductivepartofanelectricalinstallation
orappliancesuchasthehousing,partofahousingetc.whichcanbetouchedbya
humanbody.Suchanaccessiblepartisfreeofmainsvoltageexceptunderfault
conditions.

Switchboard contruction grounded (photo credit: ecsanyi)

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2.Passiveaccessibleconductivepart
Passiveaccessibleconductivepartisanaccessibleconductivepart,whichisnota
partofanelectricalinstallationorappliance,like:
Heatingsystempipes,
Waterpipes,
Metalpartsofairconditionsystem,
Metalpartsofbuildingframework
etc.

Equipotential bonding of metal pipes (photo credit:

diy.stackexchange.com)

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3.Electricshock
Electricshockisthepathophysiceffectofanelectriccurrentflowingthrougha

humanoranimalbody.Verydangerous,haveeyesonyourbackwhiletesting.
Itsveryimportanttoknowwhattodoifelectricshockoccurs.

Electric shock Emergency resuscitation procedures (photo credit:

uksafetystore.com)

DOWNLOADPOSTER

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4.Earthingelectrode
Earthingelectrodeisaconductivepart,oragroupofconductiveparts,whichare
placedintoearthandthusassureagoodandpermanentcontactwithground.

Earthing electrode

Earthing electrode (photo credit: wikipedia.org)

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5.Nominalvoltage
Nominalvoltage(Un)isthevoltagewhichelectricalinstallationsorcomponentsof
electricalinstallations,suchasappliances,loadsetc.areratedat.Someinstallation
characteristicsalsorefertonominalvoltage(e.g.power).
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6.Faultvoltage
Faultvoltage(Uf)isthevoltagethatappearsbetweentheactiveaccessible
conductivepartsandthepassiveonesoridealgroundinthecaseofafaulton
appliancesconnectedtothemainsinstallation(connectedappliance).
ThefigurebelowrepresentstheFaultvoltage(Uf)anddivisionofthevoltageintothe
Contactvoltage(Uc)andvoltagedroponfloor/shoesresistance(Us).

Figure 1 Presentation of the voltages Uf, Uc and Us in case of a fault on an

electric load

Where:
ZB Impedanceofhumanbody
RS Floorandshoesresistance
RE EarthResistanceofactiveaccessibleconductiveparts
If Faultcurrent

Uc Contactvoltage
Us Voltagedroponfloor/shoesresistance
Uf Faultvoltage

Uf = Uc + Us = If RE
(floormaterialisplacedtoidealground)

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7.Contactvoltage
Contactvoltage(Uc)isthevoltagetowhichahumanbodyisexposedwhentouching
anactiveaccessibleconductivepart.Thebodyisstandingonthefloororisincontact
withpassiveaccessibleconductivepart.
Measuring:Contactvoltageismeasuredbetweentheearthingelectrodeandtwo
measurementelectrodesconnectedtogetherandplaced1mawayfromtestedearthing
electrode.
Voltage apportion across the Earth Resistance
voltage funnel

Where:
Uo Groundpotential
Uc Contactvoltage
Ust Stepvoltage
RE Earthresistance
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8.LimitContactvoltage
LimitContactvoltage(UL)isthemaximumContactvoltagewhichmaybe
continuouslypresentundercertainexternalconditionse.g.presenceofwater.

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9.Nominalloadcurrent
Nominalloadcurrent(In)isthe
currentthatflowsthroughtheload
undernormaloperatingconditionsand
atnominalmainsvoltage.
Nameplate of
HP printer (I
guess) with
nominal values
of voltage and
current

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10.Nominal
installationcurrent
Nominalinstallation
current(In)isthe
currentthatthe
installationdraws
undernormal
operatingconditions.
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11.Faultcurrent
Faultcurrent(If)is
thecurrentthatflows
toactiveaccessible
conductivepartsandthentogroundincaseofafaultonamainsappliance.
DOWNLOADSPREADSHEET//

Fault Current Calculation Spreadsheet

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12.Leakagecurrent
Leakagecurrent(IL)isthecurrentthatusuallyflowsthroughisolationmaterialsor
capacitiveelementstogroundinnormalconditions.
LEARNMORE//

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13.Shortcircuitcurrent
Shortcircuitcurrent(Isc)isthecurrentthatflowsinashortcircuitbetweentwo
pointsofdifferentpotential.
Shortcircuit current diagram

LEARNMORE//

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14.ElectricalInsulation
Anonconductingmaterialthatprovideselectricisolationbetweentwoormany
electricallylivepartsatdifferentvoltagesoratsamevoltages.Itshouldhaveahigh
electricalhighresistivityandhighdielectricstrengthcommensuratewithrequirement
formVoltagetovoltage.
Theelectricalinsulatingmaterialsareinsolid(rigid&flexible),liquidandgaseous
forms.
UpdatedbyMr.K.K.Murty,Jabalpur,India.
Motor windings insulation (photo credit: primeelectricmotor.com)

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15.HarmonicsLevels

Devicescausing
harmonicsare
presentinall
industrial,commercial
andresidential
installations.
Harmonicsare
causedbynonlinear
loads.Aloadissaid
tobenonlinearwhen
thecurrentitdraws
doesnothavethe
samewaveformas
thesupplyvoltage.

Voltage and current waveforms of an induction motor

UpdatedbyMr.NoelPhillips,Mumbai.
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Reference//GuideToMeasurementsOnElectricalInstallationsinTheoryand
Practice(Downloadguide)

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AboutAuthor//

Edvard Csanyi
EdvardElectricalengineer,programmerandfounderofEEP.
HighlyspecializedfordesignofLVhighpowerbusbartrunking
(<6300A)inpowersubstations,buildingsandindustry
fascilities.DesigningofLV/MVswitchgears.Professionalin
AutoCADprogrammingandwebdesign.PresentonGoogle+

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