ARC FLASH HAZARD ANALYSIS AND ITS IMPORTANCE

Pradeep Kumar Singh (Sr. Engineer-Electrical)

GAIL (India) Ltd- PATA Petrochemical Complex
Email: - Pradeep.singh@gail.co.in

1.0 Abstract

Recent changes in workplace safety Hazard/Risk Category (HRC) task tables for
regulations have heightened the awareness personal protective equipment (PPE)
of hazards associated with electrical arcs. selection. These tables provide pre-defined
Two types of electrical hazards now well levels of PPE, which are based on the
recognized are electrical shock and available short circuit current and the speed
electrical arc/flash burn. Electrical shock of the over current protective device.
requires that a person have contact with the Therefore, in order to properly apply the
exposed energized electrical conductor or tables, some degree of electrical calculations
circuit part or be within the air flashover must be performed.
(breakdown) distance of the conductor or
circuit p art. Electrical arc/flash burn can 2.0 Causes of Arcs and Effects of
occur when the expose d body is yet several Arcing And Flashing
feet away from the exposed energized
We all are aware of electricitys hazards to
electrical conductor or circuit part.
life, but few of us are aware of the possibility
The hazard level must be quantified and
of radiation burn from the fierce fire of
workers properly protected before entering
electric arcs and flashovers. Electric arc burns
proximity of exposed energized conductors.
account for a substantial portion of the
National Fire Protection Associations
injuries from electrical malfunctions and
(NFPA) standard 70E provides the
incidents. When electric current flows
guidelines for work involving electrical
between two or more separated energized
hazards and the selection of arc flash
conducting surfaces, an arc occurs. Some arcs
protective equipment. In order to properly
may be intentional such as arc welding or
select the protective gear one must have
they may be accidental caused by a tool
knowledge of the potential thermal energy of
slipping or by touching a test probe to the
the electric arc. Institute of Electrical and
wrong surface. A common cause of an arc is
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 1584
insulation failure. The fault currents
has been the standard for calculating the arc
magnetic effects cause conductors to separ ate
energy levels at different points in the
producing an arc.
electrical power system. However, NFPA
The results of such arcs are often devastating.
70E also provides the option of using the
Temperatures at the arc terminals can reach or
exceed 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit (F) or four
times the temperature of the suns surface.
The heat energy and intense light at the point
of the arc is termed ARC FLASH. Air
surrounding the arc is instantly heated and
conductors are vaporized causing a pressure
wave termed ARC BLAST. System voltage,
arc resistance (impedance) and available
short-circuit current determine instantaneous
arc energy. Total arc energy (incident energy)
is the instantaneous arc energy times the arc
duration. Conductive vapors help sustain the
arc and the duration of the arc is primarily
determined by the time it takes for over
current protective devices to open the circuit.
Current-limiting fuses for example may open
the circuit in 8.3 ms (1/2 cycle) or less while
other devices may take 100 ms (6 cycles) or
more to open.
Fig 1. Effect of Arcing & Flashing
Therefore the persons working on or near
energized electrical equipments should wear
personal protective clothing equipment to
prevent injuries to the eyes, head, face, body,
limbs, and extremities from electrical arcs and
flash due to equipment failure, malfunction,
or human error.
Electrical arc flash and shock hazards have
been recognized as particularly dangerous and
fairly frequent occurrences that put the lives
and health of electrical workers at significant
risk. Statistics indicate that based on
hospitalization records, arc flash accidents
that involve a fatality or serious injury to an
employee occur frequently in India. Those
incidents most often occur when personnel
are required (or choose) to work on electrical
equipment while it is in an electrically
energized condition. So, there is a greater
importance for arc flash auditing. An arc flash
audit is done by considering electrical
equipment parameters. Through an arc flash
safety analysis, one can offer alternatives to
help our organization become more aware of
possibilities to reduce our employee's
exposure to arc flash energy
3.0 Impact of Electric Arcs
Definitely the impacts of arc flash accidents
are very severe. We generally see the impacts
like serious injuries and medical costs, serious
burns or even death, equipment damage and
repair cost, switchgear replacement,
production loss. Three key factors determine
the intensity of an arc flash on personnel.
These factors are the quantity of fault current
available in a system, the time taken for
successful short circuit interruption, and the
distance an individual is from a fault arc.
Various design and equipment configuration
choices can be made to affect these factors
and in turn reduce the arc flash hazard. To
prevent arc flash hazards, there are certain
equipment called Arc Fault Circuit
Interrupters which are designed to prevent
fires by detecting an unintended electric arc
and disconnecting the power before the arc
starts a fire. Conventional circuit breakers
only respond to overloads and short circuits.
So they do not protect against arcing
conditions that produce erratic, and often
reduced current. An Arc Flash Circuit
Interrupter is selective so that normal arcs do
not cause it to trip. The Arc Flash Circuit
Interrupter circuitry continuously monitors
the current and discriminates between normal
and unwanted arcing conditions. Once an
unwanted arcing condition is detected, the
Arc Flash Circuit Interrupter opens its internal
contacts, thus de-energizing the circuit and
reducing the potential for a fire to occur. An
Arc Flash Circuit Interrupter should not trip
during normal arcing conditions, which can
occur when a switch is opened or a plug is
pulled from a receptacle, or a device with a
brush-type motor is in operation.
4.0 What is Arc Flash Analysis?
An Arc Flash Hazard Analysis starts with
gathering up-to-date equipment information,
then performing a detailed analysis comprised
of a load-flow study, short circuit study, and
protective device coordination study as well
as an equipment evaluation to determine that
the current withstand rating is acceptable. An
arc flash analysis is crucial for personnel
safety in an industrial plant
A study investigating a workers potential
exposure conducted for the purpose of injury
prevention and the determination of safe work
practices and appropriate levels of PPE. There
are many methods of arc flash protections.
This includes PPE (Personnel Protective
Equipment) or modifying the design and
configuration of electrical equipment. There
have been many companies that offer arc
flash protective equipment. The materials are
tested for their arc rating. The arc rating is the
maximum incident energy resistance
demonstrated by a material prior to break
open (a hole in the material) or necessary to
pass through and cause with 50% probability
a second or third degree burn.
5.0 Use of NFPA 70E Tables
NFPA 70E provides Hazard/Risk Category
tables, which highlight specific personnel
protective equipment to be used on various
electrical distribution equipment. However,
these tables are based on fundamental
assumptions about the available fault current
and the over current device clearing time.
In order to use the tables, the person in charge
must verify that the available fault current and
the over current protective device (OCPD)
tripping time are both equal to or lower than
the values assumed for developing the tables.
This essentially requires performing the
majority of the calculations that are necessary
for determining the arc flash energy.
However, a common but incorrect approach
to using the tables is to select the PPE based
on the equipment and voltage levels only and
ignore the limitations imposed by the fault
current and over current protective device
operating time.
6.0 IEEE 1584 analysis
procedure
The IEEE 1584 analysis procedure begins
with a complete data collection from the
power system. Characteristics of the power
source utility or generator and the power
system components such as transformers and
cables, as well as the tripping characteristics
of over current protective devices are can be used to solve the equations.
identified and entered into a computer
program. The program first calculates the A detailed arc-flash hazard analysis
bolted 3-phase short circuit current at each using this method requires the
bus of concern in the system. Then the arc
following steps.
fault current is calculated at each location. For
Step1) Collect the power system and
low voltage systems, the arc fault current will
installation equipment data.
be lower than the bolted fault current because
of arc impedance. Next, under the arc-fault
Step 2) Review the system single line for each
current condition, the clearing time of the
location and determine the power systems
protective device protecting the bus is
modes of operation. If a single line does not
determined. For fuses, the manufacturers
exist, inspect the system and develop a single-
total clearing time is used. For relayed
line diagram.
medium voltage breakers, the relays curve
shows only the relay operating time and the
Step 3) Perform an analysis of the maximum
particular breakers opening time must be
and minimum available short-circuit currents
added to this time.
for each different mode of operation that
Following the clearing time determination,
applies. Determine the first cycle symmetrical
the working distance at each bus is selected.
root-mean-square bolted three phase fault
Next, incident energies are calculated for each
current and X/R ratio at all locations where
bus. Incident energy is the amount of energy
people could be working on energized
impressed on the face and body of the
electrical equipment. Equipment below 240 V
electrical worker. One of the units used to
need not be considered unless it involves at
measure incident energy is calories/cm2. The
least one 125-kVA, or larger, low-impedance
flash protection boundary based on incident
transformer in its immediate power supply.
energy of 1.2 calories/cm2 is calculated. This
is the generally accepted energy level that
Step 4) Determine the arc fault currents. The
causes the onset of a second-degree burn.
arc fault current for each location where an
Finally, the hazard risk category and the
arc-flash hazard exists and the portion of that
workers protective clothing system for each
current that flows through the protective
bus under consideration are determined. All
device that will clear this fault must be
arc flash hazard analysis results are presented
determined.
in an easy to understand format.
Step 5) from the protective device
A. Steps in calculating arc-flash energy characteristics, find the arcing duration. The
total clearing time of the fault will determine
IEEE STD 1584-2002 provides a method of
the time factor in the energy equation.
conducting an arc flash hazard analysis. This
If power in the arc remains constant, a longer
method uses equations that were developed
time will produce more energy based on the
using statistical analysis of data from arc-
following:
flash testing performed at laboratories. This
Energy = Power X time
standard includes a spreadsheet calculator that
 TABLE I
Step 6) Record the system voltages and the WORKING DISTANCE BASED ON
equipment classes for each bus. For example, VOLTAGE LEVEL
record whether the equipment is switchgear or
a motor control center. Working
Distance Equipment KV
Step 7) Determine working distances. Arc-
flash protection is based on the incident Type
energy level on the persons face and chest
24 inches (610mm) Switchgear <1
area at the working distance. The degree of
injury in a burn depends on the percentage
of a persons skin that is burned. Burns to 18 inches (455mm) Panel <1
the head and/or chest area are much more
life threatening than burns on the
extremities. The working distance based on 36 inches (910mm) Switchgear > 1 & <
the voltage level and equipment type using 35
the table I.
72 inches
(1829mm) Switchgear > 35
Step 8) Determine incident energy for each
work location in the study. This is best done
18 inches (455mm) all others
using a software package. The equations in
IEEE Std 1584-2002 are available in
spreadsheet format. These equations have B. How arc-flash energy affects
been incorporated into the packages of personal protective equipment
power system software vendors.
(PPE)
Step 9) Determine the flash-protection
NFPA 70E defines five levels of arc
boundary for each work location in the
hazard. Table II shows the hazard/risk
study. Incident energy equations can be
category levels and the calculated incident
solved for the distance from the arc source at
energy at the working distance. The table
which the onset of a second-degree burn
lists typical clothing and layer counts for the
could occur. This is called the flash-
torso. In short, this is the level of clothing
protection boundary. The incident energy
that should be worn to limit incident energy
for the flash-protection boundary must be set
damage to a second-degree burn. Put another
at the minimum energy beyond which a
way, this guide is designed to protect the
second-degree burn could occur (1.2
worker from heat to prevent a second-degree
cal/cm2).
burn.
 TABLE II
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
(PPE) TO LIMIT BURNS.

Required
Clothing description (No.
Hazard Minimun Arc
of clothing layers is given
Risk rating of
in parentheses)
PPE(cal/cm2)
Non melting,flammable
materials(i.e untreated
0 cotton,wool,rayon or silk or N/A
blends of these materials)
FR shirt and FR pants or
1 FR coverall(1) 4
Cotton underware-
conventional short sleeve
2 and brief/shorts,plus FR 8
shirt and FR pants(1 or 2)
Cotton underware plus FR
shirt and FR pants plus FR
3 overall or cotton underware 25
plus 2 FR coveralls(2 or 3)
Cotton underware plus FR
shirt and FR pants plus
4 multilayer flash suit(3 or 40
more)

7.0 Arc Flash Labels

Arc flash labels are provided. The data in the

labels will be populated based on the arc flash
calculation software output. The labels must
have the following characteristics.
1. UL 969 standard compliance for durability
and adhesion 8.0 Reduction Strategies For
2. Include shock protection data per NFPA Arc Flash Energy
70E in addition to arc flash hazard data.
An arc-flash hazard evaluation for an
industrial power system will generally
uncover locations in the power system where
the incident energy levels are high. This is
considered to be levels above 40 cal/cm2.

1) Reduce Existing Pickup Settings

In some cases, the arcing fault current
magnitude may not be large enough to
operate the over current protective device in
its short delay or instantaneous trip time. If
possible, the short delay or instantaneous
pickup should be reduced to allow for more
sensitive sensing of the calculated arcing
current that flows through the protective
device. Changing the sensing element from
long delay to short delay or instantaneous can
make a significant difference in incident
energy levels. Care must be taken with the
choice of the reduced pickup setting to ensure
that over current coordination is maintained
and nuisance tripping on load energization
inrush will not occur.
2) Reduce Existing Time Delay
Settings
If a protective device operates in its long
time region, the time curve is normally an
inverse type that has increased time delay as
fault current decreases. Arcing fault
magnitude is approximately 50% of the bolted
fault current magnitude. Long delay trip time
greater than 2 s may occur for arcing faults. It
is generally recognized that the reaction time
required to move away from an arc-flash
hazard is 2 s. Based on the work task, if there
is a good possibility that the worker can move
away from the arc-flash area, then a
maximum clearing time of 2 s may be used
for incident energy calculations. When
reviewing existing coordination studies, there
are usually areas found where coordination
between two devices can be eliminated which
will allow the time delay setting for the
upstream device to be reduced. Two areas
where removal of the coordination interval
can be considered are between the main and
tie protective devices or between primary and
secondary protective devices on transformers.
3) Reduce Fault Current
Incident energy can also be reduced by
lowering the arcing fault current. The
reduction of incident energy will depend on
the trip time that results at the reduced
current. A protective device with a definite
time characteristic is best suited for this
incident energy reduction technique. Note that
for most inverse time current curve
characteristic shapes, reduced arcing currents
will result in increased trip time and increased
incident energy. Fault levels can be reduced
by one of the following design changes, both
of which require a significant amount of cost
and engineering effort:
Installation of current limiting reactor
Use of multiple transformers instead of
one large transformer.
4) Remote Racking Device
These devices are presently available for
some equipment. Awareness of the arc-flash
hazard is accelerating the development of
these devices to work with an increasing
number of equipment types from various
manufacturers. By operating the breakers
remotely, you have increased safety.
However, this idea is cost prohibitive in low
voltage switchboards. To make every breaker
electrically operated would add
approximately $1,000 per breaker to the
switchboard plus the addition of a controller
station. Remote racking is a great idea for
draw out switchgear. However, most
switchboards do not have draw out
components and thus this must be ruled out.
5) Insulated Bus Bars
Insulating the bus bars is a positive
addition to any design. It adds protection from
inadvertent live bus bar contact. It protects the
qualified electrician from the unqualified and
startled rodent, snake, bird or other animal
that makes phase to phase contact inside the
gear. Also it can protect the electrician from a
flash due to metal parts left loose inside the
gear or from a falling metal tool.
6) Maintain Adequate Working
Clearances
The safest thing to do is not to get near the
gear. If you are not a qualified electrician,
stay away from exposed live parts. Obviously
this is not practical for the qualified
electrician. In many applications it is often
not practical. Testing, troubleshooting,
diagnostics and a continuous process segment
require that power remain on to complete the
task and de-energizing would introduce an
increased hazard or is infeasible. This is
where many accidents occur and the risks and
effects of an arc flash are the greatest.
Finally, maintaining adequate work
clearances does not minimize the hazard.
9.0 Proficiency & Retraining
The employer shall provide training to
each employee who is required by this section
to use PPE. Each such employee shall be
trained to know at least the following: When
PPE is necessary; what PPE is necessary;
How to properly don, doff, adjust, and wear
PPE; The limitations of the PPE; and, The
proper care, maintenance, useful life and
disposal of the PPE. Distilling the
requirements from the various standards
yields the following requirements.
1. The arc flash hazard must be assessed.
2. Appropriate PPE must be selected for
non-prohibited work.
3. The results must be documented.
4. Personnel must be trained, understand the
hazards, and take appropriate action.
5. Analysis should be revaluated if the
standards, PPE types, or system
configuration changes.
Documenting the results occurs in two forms.
The first is the site safety manual. The Safety
manual should include the results of the
calculations, and required PPE classifications
for each location, complete descriptions of the
PPE classifications, and procedures
associated with performing energized work.
The second is labelling at the locations where
energized work is to be performed. In order to
meet the requirements of the relevant
standards, more than just a warning is
necessary. Figures shown below are two
examples of labels generated using the arc
flash module in a power systems analysis
software package.
10.0 Importance of Arc Flash
Assessment
Without an arc flash study you will not know
the actual level of danger or the appropriate
personal protective equipment (PPE) required
for employees. Electrical systems are
dynamic and change over time. Internal
changes, such as adding new equipment can
affect the level of arc flash energy. A study
must be updated every time the system
changes. External changes, such as utility
changing transformers or changes at your
utilitys closest substation can severely
impact your level of arc flash energy.
Performing this study will help you create a
safer work environment.
Benefits of Performing an Arc-Flash
Hazard Assessment
1) Provides workers with the best possible
PPE.
2) Insurance premiums can be reduced.
3) Brings electrical system documentation up
to date by providing current and accurate
one-line diagrams.
4) System reliability can be enhanced with a
proper protective device coordination
study to insure device closest to the fault
opens in the least amount of time.
5) Over-dutied equipment can be identified
from an accurate system wide short circuit
analysis.
6) Since the system is typically modelled on
software, it will be easy to make future
changes or upgrades with minimal
expense or effort.
7) Most importantly, there will be fewer
injured worker when an analysis is
performed and recommended procedures
are followed.
Costs of Not Performing an Arc-
Flash Hazard Assessment
Costs due to not performing an arc flash
hazard analysis can range from minor costs
associated with fines, to millions of dollars
for lifelong medical cost and can include any
of the following:
1) Cost of non-compliance fines.
2) Cost associated with lost productivity.
3) Increased equipment repair costs.
4) Medical expenses for injured workers.
5) Legal costs.
6) Most importantly, loss of life, there is no
price for this.
11.0 Conclusion
An arc-flash event occurs whenever a fault
occurs. The attention given to the safety of
personnel continues to increase. Conducting
arc-flash studies allows engineers to
determine personal protective equipment
required and flash boundaries. Implementing
protection schemes to reduce trip increases
safety and could reduce injuries or even save
lives. On new and existing systems, consider
adding controls to enable instantaneous
tripping when personnel are in close
proximity to energized equipment. The cost
of implementation is small compared to the
benefits of reduced trip times and reduced
arc-flash hazards.
This paper has described the process of
arc flash hazard assessment with an example
system, including the calculation of incident
energy levels in arc flash faults and selection
of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) levels as well various strategies for
reducing this arc flash phenomena.
The IEEE 1584 method, however, is a
systematic approach which calculates the
exact arc flash energies from the electrical
power system parameters