A body contact or body fault is a conductive connection between body and active parts of electrical equipment resulting from a fault.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.
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)
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 Power engineering Electrical fault
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