Dear all,

We need further information relate to material specification of grounding cable.

Many copper grounding cables at our plant have been lost or broken for particular reason. Could those lost copper grounding cable be changed with bare aluminum cable?

Thank you for attention guys,

regards,

ANF

 

In some respects, it depends on what the codes and standards that you have to comply with. In the US, you can indeed use aluminum wire for this purpose. You can't use bare wire where it is subject to galvanic corrosion. I seem to recall that bare AL wire is prohibited underground or inside metallic conduits, at least in the US. But, I might be remembering wrong.

I am also not all that sure just what cables you are refering to. If you are refering to the grounding electrode conductor, the one that connects to the grounding electrode such as a ground rod, it has to be one piece and can't be spliced. The equipment grounding conductor has no such restriction, so there is no reason you could not just repair them.

 

I always specified Copper because it is a better conductor than Aluminum. When it comes to harmonics from noise you want to shunt all that you can to ground.

 

When it comes to harmonics from noise you want to shunt all that you can to ground.

Perhaps you would like to explain how one would "shunt" noise to ground. Good trick if you can do it.

 

ANF, see NEC (NFPA 70) Article 250.62 for Grounding Electrode Conductor (GEC) materials, and Article 250.64 for Grounding Electrode Conductor installation restrictions.

Phil Corso, PE ([email protected])

 

As the impedance (not just resistance) to ground approaches zero, all noise (referenced to ground) goes away. That's why I specify big hairy ground straps even when there is no quiescent current flow to ground. This is to lower that impedance. Capacitors are also effective in shunting higher frequencies to ground iff the circuit allows. Shields shunt radiated and induced noise to ground. We do it all the time.

Regards
cww