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GEM Ground Enhancement Material

Ground Enhancement Material (GEM) is a superior conductive material that solves your toughest grounding problems. It is the ideal material to use in areas of poor conductivity, such as rocky ground, mountain tops and sandy soil. GEM dramatically reduces earth resistance and impedance measurements. Furthermore, GEM may reduce the size of the grounding system where conventional methods are unsatisfactory. Once installed, GEM is maintenance-free, not requiring periodic charging or the presence of water to maintain its conductivity.

Third-party testing has been completed to verify that GEM conforms to IEC® 62561-7. This standard introduces a benchmark for electrical performance and corrosion of earth enhancement materials that has been absent from the industry to date.

nVent ERICO offers GEM Calculator software that provides resistivity values for common GEM applications and can help estimate the amount of GEM required for an installation. It operates in four languages - English, Spanish, French and German - and performs calculations in Imperial or Metric units. The GEM Calculator is available for download on our website at erico.com.

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Details

Features

Maintains constant resistance for the life of the system once in its set form
Performs in all soil conditions even during dry spells
Does not require periodic charging treatments or placement
Does not require the continuous presence of water to maintain its conductivity
Fully sets within 3 days, fully cures within 28 days
Does not dissolve, decompose, or leach out with time
Non-corrosive
Reduces vandalism and theft since conductors are hard to remove from concrete
Easy-to-handle 25 lb (11.3kg) bags or buckets
Requires only one person to install
Exceeds IEC® 62561-7 which sets the benchmark for corrosion, leaching, sulfur content, and other environmental regulations
Complies to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP), EPA test method 1311
Can be installed using trench or ground rod backfill methods

Specifications

Unit Weight	11.36 kg
Unit Weight	25 lb

Data Copied

Longueur linéraire en pieds de couverture de conducteur avec chaque sac de GEM
Largeur de tranchée	Épaisseur totale de GEM
Largeur de tranchée	10.2 cm	12.7 cm	15.2 cm
10 cm	1.0 m	0.8 m	0.7 m
15.2 cm	0.7 m	0.5 m	0.4 m
20.3 cm	0.5 m	0.4 m	0.3 m
25.4 cm	0.4 m'	0.3 m	0.3 m
30.5 cm	0.3 m	0.3 m	0.2 m

Suggestion de spécifications
Paramètre	Valeurs recommandées	Méthode d’essai
Conformité aux normes		Entièrement conforme à l’IEC 62561-7 EPA Méthode de Lixiviation pour déterminer les caractéristiques de toxicité (TCLP), à la méthode 1311 de test EPA
Lixiviation	Arsenic < 1,5 mg/l, Barium < 60 mg/l, Cadmium < 0,15 mg/l, Chrome < 3,0 mg/l, Plomb < 1,5 mg/l, Mercure < 0,06 mg/l, Elenium < 1,0 mg/l	Norme EC 62561-7 Norme EN 12457-2
Teneur en soufre	< 2 %	ISO 14869-1
Résistivité	< 2 Ω-cm pour la poudre < 20 Ω-cm pour un matériau mélangé et durci	Poudre comprimée selon la norme ASTM G187-12 Mélangé et durci selon ASTM D991-89
Résistance à la corrosion	Pour les électrodes de terre cuivrées, la résistance à la polarisation doit être > 8 Ω x m2 pour les milieux agressifs Pour les électrodes de terre galvanisées, la résistance à la polarisation doit être > 7,6 Ω x m2 pour les milieux agressifs	IEC 62561-7, sec. 5,5, milieu agressif
Résistance à la flexion	300-450 psi [2 070-3 100 kPa]	ASTM C293
Résistance à la compression	100-200 psi [690-1 390 kPa] après un temps de durcissement 672 heures	ASTM C109

Nbre de sacs de GEM estimés pour le remblayage des piquets de terre à une densité de 63,5 lb/ft ³ (1,017 kg/m³)
Diamètre de trou		ft	m	ft	m	ft	m	ft	m	ft	m	ft	m
Inches	Centimètres	5	1.5	6	1.8	8	2.4	10	3	15	4.6	20	6.1
4	10.2	2		2		2		3		4		5
6	15.2	3		3		4		5		8		10
8	20.3	5		6		8		9		14		18
10	25.4	7		9		12		14		21		28
12	30.5	10		12		16		20		30		40