Arc Flash Analysis

In industries, there is a great focus on limiting the collateral damages incurred due to operation
of various equipment. Great damage is induced due to formation of arc formation when a fault
occurs in the electrical system. The energy released from the arc flash is directly proportional to
the arcing time. Therefore there is a great research being done in order to limit the arcing time
and thus to limit the damage incurred from an electrical system.
The damage from the Arc is due to two main reasons. The great temperature of arc which is
usually around 20,000 degree centigrade and the massive pressure which is built due to
formation of arc at this high temperature. The pressure built from the arc is independent on the
arcing time and depends upon the distance from the arc and the fault current.
In year 2000, doughty, Floyd and Neal published an article Predicting Incident Energy to Better
Manage the Electric Arc where they defined incident energy in mathematical terms for an arc at
low voltage level i.e. 600 Volts. For the first time, the incident energy was defined on the basis of
fault duty, working distance and clearing time. The developed formula is as stated:
EMA = 5271 * DA959 * TA [0.0016F2 - 0.0076F + 0.8939]
EMB = 1038.7 * DB1AIN * TA [0.0093F2 - 0.3453F + 5.9675]

(1)

(2)

Where:
EMA = Incident Energy (cal/cm2) for an arc in open air
EMB = Incident Energy (cal/cm2) for an arc in a box (20 inch max.)
DA, DB = Distance from the arc in inches
F = Bolted Fault Current (kA)
TA = Time or arc exposure in seconds.
This work was used in the 2000 Edition of NFPA-70E STANDARD FOR ELECTRICAL SAFETY
REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYEE WORKPLACES, for use in developing safe work practices with
regard to arc flash hazards, but was limited to low voltage applications. It also represented the
basis for further research that resulted in the publication of IEEE. It also represented the basis for
further research that resulted in the publication of IEEE Std. 1584-2002, IEEE GUIDE FOR
PERFORMING ARC-FLASH HAZARD CALCULATION.
For work task, where incident energy levels are above 40 cal/cm. It is desirable to reduce the
exposure to the worker to reduce the burn energy. The reduction can be done by either changing
the work method or by better engineering design.
The incident energy from an arc flash is dependent on the following parameters:

Available fault current at the arcing terminal

Protective equipment clearing time for the arc fault
Voltage level

Type of grounding
Arcing gap length

There are various methods to reduce the risk of arc formation. The crucial methods are to
decrease the time of arcing and to reduce the arcing current. Arcing time and arcing current can
be reduced by some of the methods discussed below.
o By decreasing the pickup settings of relays: In some cases the arcing fault current is not high
enough to operate the relays at very high speed. So by decreasing the pickup setting and
changing the operational time of relays to extremely inverse one can considerably decrease
the arcing time in case of fault.
o Setting low instantaneous values in relays can also considerably decrease the time of arcing.
o By using current limiting reactors, the arcing current can be reduced significantly.
o By using the transformers of high impedance value, the fault current can be reduced
significantly.
o By using Fuse of better current limiting characteristic and fast operation.
We will now discuss the THE IEEE 1584 FORMULAE for the calculation of arc flash. There are
two principal stages in arc flash calculations are:
(a) Calculation of the r.m.s. arcing current IARC so that the operating time of protective
devices can be found.
(b) Calculation of the incident energy density E at a distance d so that a safe working
distance or the required personal protective equipment can be determined.
In IEEE 1548 the following equation is given for the calculation of IARC (originally for system
voltages under 1kV).
logI0 IARC = KA + 0.662 logI0 IBF + 0.0966V + 0.000526g + 0.5588 V log10 IBF - 0.00304 g log^ IBF

Where KA= -0.153 or -0.097 (open or box configuration)

IBF= bolted 3-phase symmetrical fault current, kA
V = system voltage, kV
g = gap between arcing electrodes, mm.
Equation was derived using a least-squares method, to obtain a good fit to the test data. However,
the grouping of the variables on the right-hand-side of equation is not based on physical
phenomena, and can produce anomalous results.
The resistance of the arcing fault produces an arcing current which must always be lower than
the bolted fault current. Furthermore if the arcing gap distance is increased, the resistance
increases (although by a relatively small amount), and the arcing current should fall.
For higher voltage systems the IEEE 1584 equation is:

log10 IARC = 0.00402 + 0.983 log10 IBF

This gives arcing currents higher than the bolted fault current for IBF <
1.724kA.

The second stage of the IEEE 1584 method requires the calculation of a normalized incident
energy density En using
logm EN = K1 + K2 + 1.081 logm IARC + 0.0011g
Where

K1 = -0.792 or -0.555 (open or box configuration)

K2 = 0 or -0.113 (grounded or ungrounded system)

This is then adjusted to the actual fault duration (linearly) and for the distance d using a power-law
with a "distance exponent" X, which depends on the equipment type. This procedure can also give
anomalous results.
In the end I want to conclude that by using the proper formula at various voltages for the
calculation of arc flash, we can design systems with minimum hazard. These calculations also
allow us to use proper PPEs which can prevent sever damage to the workers. These calculations
also allow us to determine high hazard areas in our industrial premises and thus allow us to take
proper measures to work at those high critical area.