Grounding of Airfield Lighting.ppt

Grounding of Airfield Lighting Joseph Vigilante, PE Penn State/FAA Hershey Conference 2009 Grounding of Airfield Lighting “In the Fairytale of electrical design, Grounding is the Ugly Duckling.” Definition Objective Standards Recommended Values Soil Resistivity Calculation Design Summary Grounding of Airfield Lighting NEC 250.2 – Effective Ground-Fault Current Path “An intentionally constructed, low impedance electrically conductive path designed and intended to carry current under ground-fault conditions from the point of a ground fault on a wiring system to the electrical supply source and that facilitates the operation of the OCPD or GFD on high-impedance grounded systems.” Grounding of Airfield Lighting The Objective: In ground system design, the objective is to achieve the lowest ground resistance value possible that makes sense economically and physically. Grounding of Airfield Lighting Standards: National Electrical Code (NEC) FAA AC 150/5340-30D FAA-STD-19e – Lightning and Surge protection, Grounding, Bonding and Shielding Requirements for Facilities And Electronic Equipment Grounding of Airfield Lighting National Electrical Code (NEC) 250.56 A single electrode consisting of a rod… that does not have a resistance to ground of 25 ohms or less shall be augmented by one additional electrode… Grounding of Airfield Lighting NEC 250.53 58 …. Two or more grounding electrodes that are bonded together shall be considered a single grounding electrode system. Grounding of Airfield Lighting FAA AC 150/5340-30D 12.6. SAFETY (EQUIPMENT) GROUND … A safety ground must be installed at each light fixture…. The safety ground must be a #6 AWG bare jumper connected to the ground lug at the fixture base or stake to a 5/8 inch (16 mm) by 8 foot (2.4 m) minimum ground rod installed beside the fixture. The resistance to ground of the stake must be 25 ohms or less per measurement with a ground tester. Grounding of Airfield Lighting FAA -STD- 19e Section 4.2.4 Earth Electr