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TBA
Civils & Access Engineering
Cabinet Earthing Trial – Conducrete®
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Issue status: 01 Owned by: Design & Standards, Telco
& Ethernet Engineering & Cabinet
Standardisation Team
Date of issue: 13/05/2013 Access Network Engineering

Authorised by: Nigel Myers Gary Lewis Ken Drew Brian Partridge

Find Us On the Intranet: http://sharepoint/sites/customer_ops/accessnetworks/


Engineering/CivilsandAccessEng/default.aspx

Company confidential © Virgin Media 2013

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1. Document History

Document
Issue Summary of changes from previous
Change Date
status versions
Ref.
Draft A Drafted for review 13/05/2013
Draft B Drafted with more test information 05/06/2013

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* Information sourced from field trial documentation and FM Sudafix
(material supplier)*
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2. Aim
To consistently achieve earth impedance values on PME earthed cabinets
of 20 ohms or less and on TT earthed cabinets impedance readings of
between 80 and 200 ohms.
This has not been possible in a reliable, consistent manner using the
traditional earth rods or earth plates when installed in bare earth, or
encased in Bentonite or Marconite impedance enhancing mediums.
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This document is a record of the cabinet earthing medium Conducrete®
trial carried out in Bradford on the 7th May 2013 at NBU 3102 and
Leighton Buzzard on 14 May 2013 at NBU5938.
Objective
To trial and review the recently developed conductive cement
Conducrete® in order to assess its suitability as a standardised method
of VM cabinet earthing rather than employing the current specified rod
or plate.
Summary
The synopsis below does conclude with a positive resistance test result
of 0.416 ohms at Bradford and 4.62 ohms at Leighton Buzzard.
However, further testing will be carried out to ensure that the readings
achieved are possible in all soil/ground types.
The soil at Bradford was gravelly loam and at Leighton Buzzard was
heavy clay.
A further test at Colchester will be done in a sandy chalk soil.
The materials used are cost effective when compared to the current
earth rod/plate and Marconite option.

3. Contents
• Conducrete® material overview
• The Bradford trial installation methodology and results
• The Leighton Buzzard trial installation methodology and results
• Cabinet Earthing – Traditional current installation methodology
• Earth Rods Specification
• Earth Plate Specification
• Figure 5/1: Positioning of the earth leads on the plate
• Figure 5/2: Positioning of the earth ring
• Installation Practice
• Figure 5/3: Typical Cabinet Earth Plate Layout
• Figure 5/4: Typical Cabinets Earth Plate Layout
• Installation Procedure
• Figure 5/5: Earth Plate Electrode Installation Method
• Earth Rod and Plate Resistance Testing
• Earth Ring/Conducrete® Resistance Testing
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4. Conducrete®
Conducrete® is a conductive concrete, which can dramatically enhance
the performance of earthing/grounding systems for superior electrical
protection of assets and can create safe zones in areas where traditional
earthing methods are unsuitable,
Conducrete® is provided in powder form and is available in 25kg bags
(in line with manual handling requirements), or smaller 11.5kg bags. It
is easy to install dry directly from the bag, or mixed with water in a
slurry format and pumped into the trench or hole.
Conducrete® adds protection to any system where low impedance
earthing/grounding is required and it has been successfully utilized to
enhance and protect earthing/grounding systems across many industries
including the following: Electrical Utilities, Telecommunications,
Broadcasting, Wind Farms, Mining, Oil and Gas, Industrial and
Manufacturing, Municipal and Institutional and Military.
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Summary of Conducrete®’s key features and benefits
Protects earthing/grounding systems from theft and sabotage
Environmentally neutral
Significantly extends the life of earthing/grounding systems, 25 year life
cycle.
Dramatically enhances the performance of earthing/grounding systems
for superior electrical and lightning protection for your assets
Cost effective option
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5a. The Bradford trial methodology and results
Location - Opp 144 Wakefield Road, Lightcliffe.
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This cabinet site was chosen due to the inability to gain the required
resistance (+100 ohm) from the traditional earth rod method. A
second earth rod was installed which reduced the resistance to +30
ohm.
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Attendees - Tim Ingman, Paul Willis (Civils Standards), Gary Lewis (Telco
& Ethernet Engineering), Stephen Travers (C&AE Delivery), Fujitsu (VM
contractor),
John Mayer (FM Sudafix – Supplier)
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Method of operation -16mm earth cable connected to the cabinet earth
block, exiting the cabinet via the 56mm black power duct.
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16mm earth cable coiled within the 500mm deep excavated area
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Dry Conducrete® used as a backfill material, encasing the earth cable
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Area to be reinstated as
per SROH, following the
resistance testing.
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Earth resistance test
carried out – Initial
reading was 16 ohm. As
the Conducrete®
material cured, the
resistance reading fell to
0.416 ohm.
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“For comparison purposes”
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5b. The Leighton Buzzard Trial
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Location: Opposite 36 Kestrel Way, Leighton Buzzard
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This site was chosen as it is a New Build site and the soil is very heavy
clay.
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Attendees - Tim Ingman, Gary Lewis (Telco & Ethernet Engineering),
John Henry crew (VM Civils Contractor), John Mayer (FM Sudafix –
Supplier)
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Attached is the FM Sudafix approved method statement and risk
assessment.
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Conducrete
Method_Statement_JM_17.05.13.doc
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Materials Required:
4 25kg bags of Conducrete
1 16mm CSA earth ring assembly.
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The Earth Ring Assembly

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Method of Operation: Excavate VMT1 and VMHP1 cabinet site area and
Earth Ring area to specified area and depth as per VMNB0022.
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• The earth ring excavation should be centred between the VMT1
and VMHP1 cabinet bases under the duct route between the
cabinets and chambers. Consult VM Cabinet Standardisation team
or the appropriate Engineering team for advice on correct earth
ring assembly location.
• The earth ring excavation area is 1000 x 600 x 500mm (LWD).
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• Wear appropriate personnel protective equipment (dust mask and
gloves). Read the FM Sudafix method statement.
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• Lay one unopened 25kg bag of Conducrete® into earth ring
excavation. Conducrete® is a very fine, dry powder. Cut open
the bag and carefully empty the contents into the excavation with
the bag in the excavation. Level the Conducrete® with an
appropriate shovel. Install a second25kg bag of Conducrete® into
the excavation following the same procedure.
• Lay the earth ring on the top of the Conducrete®.

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• Using same precautions as with the first bag of Conducrete®,
install the third and fourth bags into the excavation to cover the
earth ring.
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• Level the Conducrete® to ensure complete coverage of the earth
ring to an overall depth of 100mm.
• Carefully place clean excavated native soil over the levelled
Conducrete® and manually compact.
• Continue backfilling the earth ring excavation and compacting the
soil.
• No mixture with water is required as the Conducrete® absorbs
moisture from the soil surrounding it.

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• Ensure the 5m insulated earth tail is routed to the VMT1 (left end
power compartment) and the 3m insulated earth tail to the VMHP1
(left end power compartment) root areas.
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6. Traditional Cabinet Earthing Techniques

General
The purpose of the Conducrete® Earth Ring Specification is to
consistently achieve earth impedance measurements of less than 20
Ohms for TN-C-S power systems and between 80 & 200 Ohms for TT
power systems at all nodes to ensure:
(i) A safe environment for Virgin Media employees, Contractors and
members of the
General Public.
(ii) That all VM street cabinets conform to BS 7671:2008 + Amendment
No 1: 2011.
(iii) That the installation meets the requirements of the local distribution
network operator.
This applies to all CATV and MUX cabinets erected by VM or any other
cabinet to which mains power is connected.
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Testing
Subject to ground conditions, the earth resistance should be measured
as soon as possible after installation. Failure to do so could lead to delay
in obtaining Electrical Certification leading to delays in activation. The
Contractor shall ensure that all persons engaged to undertake electrical
testing and inspection are suitably trained & qualified to be appointed as
Competent Persons as defined in BS 7671.
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There are 2 methods available for obtaining resistance readings:
(i) Fall of Potential (Using a Fluke 1653B Multi Function Tester (MFT) and
Fluke 1630 Earth Clamp kit) - This method can be used immediately
after installation of the ring assembly, however it requires suitable
ground conditions to enable the earth probes to be driven into the
ground, hence it will only be suitable for cabinet sites with soft
surrounding such as grass or unmade surfaces.
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(ii) Electrical Measurement - This method requires that the power supply
be available into the cabinet(s) and hence can not be made for some
time after installation of the ring assembly. A high resistance earth found
at this stage will require urgent retrofit work.

Measurements
(iii) The target measurement for all new earth electrode installations are:
_ 20 ohms maximum for TN-C-S power systems
_ between 80 - 200 Ohms for TT power systems
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Earth Ring/Conducrete® Method
• Connect red test cable to test probe at furthest length from Fluke
1653B/1630 MFT/earth clamp.
• Connect yellow test cable to test probe at middle distance from
Fluke 1653B/1630 MFT/earth clamp meter.
• Connect both test cables to correct test points on Fluke 1653B/
1630 MFT/earth clamp.
• Connect green test cable to Earth Ring insulated tail at VMHP1
root location.
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• Turn Fluke 1653B/1630 MFT/earth clamp ON and perform
impedance test.
• If the DNO has connected their power head in the VMHP1 power
compartment, the PME earth impedance test can be done.
• Connect the VMHP1 insulated earth tail to the MET at the bottom
centre of the power compartment.
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• Perform the PME earth impedance test using the Fluke 1653B MFT.
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* Some information sourced from legacy company documentation*
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! Tel: +44 (0)191 490 1547
Fax: +44 (0)191 477 5371
Email: northernsales@thorneandderrick.co.uk
Website: www.cablejoints.co.uk
www.thorneanderrick.co.uk
!
End of Document

Tel: +44 (0)191 490 1547


Fax: +44 (0)191 477 5371
Email: northernsales@thorneandderrick.co.uk
Website: www.cablejoints.co.uk
www.thorneanderrick.co.uk

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