Arcing Grounds is a phenomenon which is observed in ungrounded three phase systems. In ungrounded three phase systems operating in a healthy balanced conditions, capacitances are formed between the conductors and ground. The voltage across these capacitances is the phase voltage.
Now, in the event of a ground fault, the voltage across the faulty conductor becomes zero while the voltages across the healthy conductors increase by a factor of 1.732.
The arc caused between the faulty conductor and the ground gets extinguished and restarts many times, this repeated initiation and extinction of the arc across the fault produces severe voltage oscillations of the order of nearly three to four times the nominal voltage.
This repeated arcing across the fault due to the capacitances between the conductors and the ground is known as arcing grounds. Arcing grounds can be eliminated by the use of Peterson Coils (see Article) and Arc Suppression Coils
