E N D
3. Goals & Objectives What Is Arc Flash?
Historical Context
Rules & Regulations
NFPA 70E and NESC 41
Arc Physics & Computation Approaches
4. What Is It? Need Basic Definition for Common Understanding
Need to Understand Context of Issues
Need to See What It Is
5. Why of Concern?
6. Electrical Hazards Fire –
First hazard to be recognized due to economic losses
Formed basis of first NEC in 1897
Shock/Electrocution – Second hazard to be generally recognized and addressed
Arc Flash/Blast –
Last hazard to be recognized
First addressed in NFPA 70E-1995
7. Potential Consequences of an Arc-Flash Incident Injury
Death (in the case of burn injuries, often a slow and painful death)
Monetary Cost to Employer
Damage to Equipment, Down Time
Personnel Injury: ~$25,000,000/person
Death of Personnel: ~$15,000,000/person
2% of workplace injuries are electrical in nature, but they account for 28% of the costs of injuries
8. What Is An Arc Flash? Defined as “a dangerous condition associated with the release of energy caused by an electric arc”
Created by such things as:
Equipment failure (misaligned contacts, ferroresonance, insulation failure)
Human error (dropping a tool, body part getting too close to energized parts, stupidity)
9. Classic Arc Flash
10. What Is It?
11. Staged Test
12. When Do Arcs Occur? Primarily from physical movement:
Switch or Circuit Breaker is opened/closed
Contactors/starters pick up or drop out
Door or Cover is opened/closed
Test Equip. and Safety Grounds are installed
Equipment is inserted/withdrawn from energized bus
13. Electric Arc History Arcs have been studied since Aristotle did experiments with sheep’s wool
First studies were static electricity and lightning
Mid-1800s began to experiment and understand electric arcs
Discharges studied by physicists as well as engineers
14. Arc History Partial discharges along with arcs studied in early 1900s – Peek’s Gradient, Paschens Law, Etc
Arc physics still under study as mathematical models still have limits
15. Anatomy of An Electrical Arc Flash
16. Components of Arc Flashes Two basic components of arc flashes:
Heat Radiation (quantified as “Incident Energy Level”)
Pressure Wave (also known as “Arc Blast”)
17. Heat Electric arc temperatures are considered to be approximately 4 times hotter than the sun’s surface.
Temperature at arc terminals can reach 35,000°F (for reference, the surface temperature of the sun is ~9,000°F, and the temperature of a wood fire is ~900°F)
18. Heat Radiation Heat radiation exposure is a function of:
Distance to arc
Available fault current
Fault clearing time
Equipment type
Gap between conductors (determined by equipment)
Vaporizes metals
Ignites clothing
2030F - skin not curable (cell death)
Possible to become fatally burned or seriously injured when working at a distance of 10 feet or more from an electrical arc.
19. Personnel Reaction to Heat Some potential effects on personnel due to Heat Radiation:
External burns, potentially very severe
Internal burns, such as to the lungs due to ingestion of vaporized metal and superheated air
Health effects due to inhalation of toxic gases and heavy smoke due to the burning of paint, insulators, and other components
Partial or total loss of sight
Disability
Death
20. Pressure Wave Electrical blast (or explosion) is the result of the rapid expansion of air caused by an electric arc.
21. Pressure Wave Peaks in the first ˝ cycle of fault (~ 9msec)
Pressure levels of 2,160 pounds per square foot (psf) in the immediate vicinity of the blast have been detected
Caused by superheating of air and vaporizing of conductors (air expands to roughly 1670 times and copper expands to roughly 67,000 times its volume – i.e. 1 in3 becomes 1.4 yd3)
Function of arc fault gap and available fault current
22. Pressure Wave During an arc blast metal droplets travel 10 ft or more and faster than the speed of sound!
Expansion produces explosion that results in:
Molten metal
Fragmented metal
High temperatures
Pressure on the body
23. Pressure Wave (cont.) Some potential effects on personnel due to Pressure Wave
Injury due to blast
Collapsed eardrums leading to partial or near-total loss of hearing and possibly tinnitus – Sound levels of 141.5 decibels at 2 feet from the blast have been detected
Collapsed lungs
Injuries due to shrapnel being ejected from equipment
One positive benefit: can lessen effects of Heat Radiation due to personnel being thrown away from equipment, but this can also lead to other injuries
24. Arc Study Studied in high voltage labs
Voltage
Steady State
Dynamic
Transient
Use Gaps
Spheres
Rods
Planes
25. Applicable Testing Standards International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC)
Canadian Standards Association (CSA)
IEEE - IEEE 4
European Union Standards – BS, DIN,etc
Japanese Standards (JIS)
26. Arc Physics Multiple Parameters
Research is Ongoing
27. Rules & Regulations OSHA
NFPA
NESC
RUS
28. Which Applies? Type of employer
Risk Manager and Legal Counsel
29. OSHA Federal
Standard 1910.269 – Employers must supply appropriate clothing
General Duty Clause – Employer must identify and quantify risks
OSHA May 15, 2008 Ruling – Employer must provide PPE at no cost
State of Colorado – See Regulations
30. NFPA 70 and 70E National Electrical Code - NFPA 70
NFPA 70E – Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace
Original 2000, Updated 2004 to compute flah energy
Flash boundaries
Flash identification with “stickers”
Select PPE based on energy
31. Flash Protection Boundaries
32. Arc-Flash Hazard Warning Label
33. NESC 2007 Section 41
410 (A)
Effective January 1, 2009
Employer must do assessment to determine potential exposure to arc flash
Clothing provided for > 2 cal/cm2
34. NESC 41 Computations must be performed
Include
Available fault current
Arc duration
Distance from arc to employee
Table 410-1
35. RUS 7 CFR Ch. XVII Subpart E – Electric System Design, 1724.40 Compliance with National Electrical Safety Code (a)
“Borrowers shall ensure that its electric system…is designed, constructed, operated, and maintained in accordance with all applicable provisions of the mist current and accepted criteria of the National Electrical Safety Code” and requirements of State and local governmental entity.
RUS has initiated a task force to review its position on arc flash
36. NFPA 70E vs NESC 41 Regardless of legal situation, computations must be performed
Arc energy estimated
Appropriate PPE selected
NFPA 70E contains guidance on computations
NESC 41 provides no guidance except that listed above
37. Electric Arcs Are Functions Of … Weather – Temperature and Humidity
Atmospheric Pressure – Altitude
Gap Size & Type
Terminal Metals / Characteristics
Voltage – Determines voltage gradient (V/cm) and flashover level
Fault Current – Power follow current magnitude
Determines plasma temperature
Heat Flux => Heat Energy = cal/cm2
Time – Fault duration
38. Arc Effects – Function Of …. Electric Arc Parameters (Previous Slide)
Working Distance – Distance from arc source to person
39. Arc Physics and Computation Approaches IEEE 1584
Industry Research
Computer Simulations
40. Flash Boundary and Incident Energy Level Calculation – IEEE 1584 Formulas based on testing are applicable for systems with:
Voltages from 208V to 15kV
Bolted fault current from 700A to 106kA
Gaps between conductors of 13 - 152 mm
Faults involving three phases
Formulas also based on statistical analysis to provide results that covers 95% of the cases (i.e. 5% of the arc flashes statistically will be worse than calculated)
Also have theoretical formulas for systems where the testing-based formulas do not apply
41. Arc Calculations & Research All have limitations
Assumptions for atmospheric conditions
3LG vs 1LG
Arc behavior
Choice of computation approach is based on what results are desired in what environment
None Currently Address Pressure Wave
42. Approach May Be Different Based on Type of Equipment Metal Clad, Metal-Enclosed
Padmounts
Gas (SF6) Substations
Air Bus Substations
Underground Lines
Overhead Lines
43. Example Theoretical Computation230kV Air Bus / Overhead Line Operating Voltage = 230kV
1LG Fault = 15kA Symmetrical rms
Total Clearing Time = 9 Cycles
Distances (NESC 410.1 Does Not Specify)
Gap = 15.6 in
Working Distance = 30 in
44. 230kV Air Bus / Overhead Line
45. 230kV Air Bus / Overhead Line
46. Example Theoretical Computation12.47kV Overhead Line Operating Voltage = 12.47kV
1LG Fault = 600A Symmetrical rms
Fault Location = Midpoint of line
Distances (NESC 410.1)
Gap = 2 in
Working Distance = 15 in
Fault Interrupter – 50-4H Recloser
47. 50-4H Recloser Sequence of Operation Fast Trip Setting
Trip = 0.047 sec or ~ 3 cycles
Open Time Delay = 1 ˝ sec delay
Reclose
Fault Still Exists
Time Delay Trip = 0.2257 sec or ~ 14 cycles
48. 50-4H Recloser First Trip =0.047 sec (~ 3 cycles)
49. 50-4H Recloser Trip = 0.2257 sec (~ 14 cycles)
50. Example Theoretical Computation24.9kV Overhead Line Operating Voltage = 24.9kV
1LG Fault = 600A Symmetrical rms
Fault Location = Midpoint of line
Distances (NESC 410.1)
Gap = 4 in
Working Distance = 15 in
Fault Interrupter – 50-4H Recloser
51. 50-4H Recloser Sequence of Operation Fast Trip Setting
Trip = 0.047 sec or ~ 3 cycles
Open Time Delay = 1 ˝ sec delay
Reclose
Fault Still Exists
Time Delay Trip = 0.2257 sec or ~ 14 cycles
52. 50-4H Recloser First Trip =0.047 sec (~ 3 cycles)
53. 50-4H Recloser Trip = 0.2257 sec (~ 14 cycles)
54. Theoretical Computation24.9kV Overhead Line Example 2 Operating Voltage = 24.9kV
1LG Fault = 300A Symmetrical rms
Fault Location = Midpoint of line
Distances (NESC 410.1)
Gap = 4 in
Working Distance = 15 in
Fault Interrupter – 50-4H Recloser
55. 50-4H Recloser First Trip =0.047 sec (~ 3 cycles)
56. 50-4H RecloserTrip = 0.2257 sec (~ 14 cycles)
57. Means of Mitigating Arc Flash Hazards Work only on electrically safe (i.e. de-energized) equipment – still exposure to hazard in making equipment electrically safe
Increase distance to possible arc
Remote mounting of control equipment or SCADA
Remote racking of equipment – move operators away from flash zone
Hookstick operation
Reduce fault current level
Use current-limiting devices – need to cover minimum arc current
58. Means of Mitigating Arc Flash Hazards (cont.) Reduce fault clearing times (does not affect pressure wave component):
Bus differential
Temporarily change relay settings while work is being performed (e.g. 50 device with “safety switch”)
Non-coordinated overcurrent protection
Zone-selective interlocking
Arc detection systems such as ABB Arc-Guard or similar system in metal clad or metal enclosed switchgear
Fuses – need to cover minimum arc current
Use “Arc-Resistant” equipment
Will likely be other means developed
59. Summary Arc Flashes Components –
Heat Radiation + Pressure Wave,
Both pose serious dangers to personnel
Regulations vary with industry
Differing computations for differentr equipment
Must mitigate
Change working conditions
PPE (No pressure defense)