Body contact (electricity)

A body contact or body fault is a conductive connection between body and active parts of electrical equipment resulting from a fault.[1]

A body, short or ground fault is:

Perfect (direct) contact

If there is no fault resistance in the circuit

Imperfect (indirect) contact

If a fault resistance is present in the circuit (e.g. wet branch, arc)[2]

This can be caused by installation errors or defects, such as cable breaks.

There is a risk of electric shock when touching the parts of the system under voltage by the body joint. As a countermeasure, so-called protective conductors and residual current circuit breakers are used in electrical engineering.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Definition für Körper gemäß Internationales Elektrotechnisches Wörterbuch – IEV 195-06-10: leitfähiges Teil eines elektrischen Betriebsmittels, das berührt werden kann und üblicherweise nicht unter Spannung steht, aber unter Spannung geraten kann, wenn die Basisisolierung versagt.
  2. ^ Gerhard Kiefer, Herbert Schmolke (2011), VDE 0100 und die Praxis, Wegweiser für Anfänger und Profis (in German) (14. ed.), Berlin und Offenbach: VDE Verlag GmbH, p. 103, ISBN 978-3-8007-3190-9