3/13/2017 WhatisArcFlash?

SendtoaFriend View/AddComments

WhatisArcFlash?
ArcFlashistheresultofarapidreleaseofenergyduetoanarcingfault
betweenaphasebusbarandanotherphasebusbar,neutraloraground.
Duringanarcfaulttheairistheconductor.Arcfaultsaregenerallylimitedto
systemswherethebusvoltageisinexcessof120volts.Lowervoltagelevels
normallywillnotsustainanarc.Anarcfaultissimilartothearcobtained
duringelectricweldingandthefaulthastobemanuallystartedbysomething
creatingthepathofconductionorafailuresuchasabreakdownininsulation.

Thecauseoftheshortnormallyburnsawayduringtheinitialflashandthearc
faultisthensustainedbytheestablishmentofahighlyconductiveplasma.
Theplasmawillconductasmuchenergyasisavailableandisonlylimitedby
theimpedanceofthearc.Thismassiveenergydischargeburnsthebusbars,
vaporizingthecopperandthuscausinganexplosivevolumetricincrease,the
arcblast,conservativelyestimated,asanexpansionof40,000to1.Thisfiery
explosiondevastateseverythinginitspath,creatingdeadlyshrapnelasit
dissipates.

Thearcfaultcurrentisusuallymuchlessthantheavailableboltedfault
currentandbelowtheratingofcircuitbreakers.Unlessthesedeviceshave
beenselectedtohandlethearcfaultcondition,theywillnottripandthefull
forceofanarcflashwilloccur.Theelectricalequationforenergyisvoltsx
currentxtime.Thetransitionfromarcfaulttoarcflashtakesafinitetime,
increasinginintensityasthepressurewavedevelops.Thechallengeisto
sensethearcfaultcurrentandshutoffthevoltageinatimelymannerbeforeit
developsintoaseriousarcflashcondition.
WhythefocusonArcFlash?

Intheearly1980'sapaper"TheOtherElectricalHazard:ElectricArcBlastBurns"byRalphLeewaspublishedintheIEEE
TransactionsonIndustrialApplications.Theeffectofthispaperwastorealizetheneedtoprotectpeoplefromthehazards
ofarcflash.Fourseparateindustrystandardsconcernthepreventionofarcflashincidents:

OSHA29CodeofFederalRegulations(CFR)Part1910SubpartS.
NFPA702002NationalElectricalCode.
NFPA70E2000StandardforElectricalSafetyRequirementsforEmployeeWorkplaces.
IEEEStandard15842002GuideforPerformingArcFlashHazardCalculations.

CompliancewithOSHAinvolvesadherencetoasixpointplan:

Afacilitymustprovide,andbeabletodemonstrate,asafetyprogramwithdefinedresponsibilities.
Calculationsforthedegreeofarcflashhazard.
Correctpersonalprotectiveequipment(PPE)forworkers.
Trainingforworkersonthehazardsofarcflash.
Appropriatetoolsforsafeworking.
Warninglabelsonequipment.Notethatthelabelsareprovidedbytheequipmentowners,notthemanufacturers.It
isexpectedthatthenextrevisionoftheNationalElectricCodewillrequirethatthelabelscontaintheequipment's
flashprotectionboundary,itsincidentenergylevel,andtherequiredpersonalprotectiveequipment(PPE).

Companieswillbecitedandfinedfornotcomplyingwiththesestandards.

PersonalProtectiveEquipment(PPE)

https://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/NECHTML/HTML/WhatisArcFlash~20040512.php 1/9
3/13/2017 WhatisArcFlash?

CategoriesofPPEasdescribedinNFPA70Eare:

Category Cal/cm 2 Clothing

0 1.2 UntreatedCotton
1 5 Flameretardant(FR)shirtandFRpants
2 8 CottonunderwearFRshirtandFRpants
3 25 CottonunderwearFRshirt,FRpantsandFRcoveralls
CottonunderwearFRshirt,FRpantsanddoublelayerswitchingcoat
4 40
andpants

Cal/cm2aretheunitsofincidentenergythatthePPEcanwithstand.Notethatahardhatwithfullfaceshieldandthe
appropriateglovesarerequiredalso.

Stepsrequiredforaflashhazardanalysis

Toperformanarcflashhazardanalysis,dataiscollectedaboutthefacility'spowerdistributionsystem.Thedataincludes
thearrangementofcomponentsonaonelinedrawingwithnameplatespecificationsofeverydevice.Alsorequiredare
detailsofthelengthsandcrosssectionareaofallcables.Theutilityshouldbecontactedforinformationincludingthe
minimumandmaximumfaultcurrentsthatcanbeexpectedattheentrancetothefacility.Oncethedatahasbeen
collected,ashortcircuitanalysisfollowedbyacoordinationstudyshouldbeperformed.Theresultantdatacanthenbefed
intotheequationsdescribedbyeitherNFPA70E2000orIEEEStandard15842002.Theseequationswillproducethe
necessaryflashprotectionboundarydistancesandincidentenergytodeterminetheminimumPPErequirement.

Flashhazardanalysisanewapproach

Oncethedataispreparedandaflashhazardanalysishasbeenperformed,mostlikelyitwillbediscoveredthatcategory4
PPEwillberequiredinmostplaces.ThisismostunfortunateasthistypeofPPEisveryunwieldyandcouldbecostlyin
termsoftimetakentoperformworkandthepotentialformistakes.Priortothenewarcflashregulations,coordination
studiesweretargetedatreliabilitywithallsettingsadjustedtowardsthehighside.Compliancewiththenewarcflash
regulationsmeansthatnotonlydoesthecoordinationstudyneedtobemoreaccuratebutitalsoneedstotakeinto
accountthefactthatthearcfaultcurrentislessthantheboltedfaultcurrent.

Thedatacanbeusedtoperformasensitivitystudytoadjustbreaker/fusecharacteristicstolowerthePPErequirement.To
achievethisgoal,theexistingbreakersmayneedtobereplaced,generallybymoremoderncounterparts.Oldbreakers
haverelativelyslowreactiontimesandwilltripattoohighacurrent.Tolimittheflashhazardthebreakersareadjustedto
tripearlierthanbefore.Itisexpectedthattheoutcomeofthissensitivitystudy,whenimplemented,willresultinmost
category4PPErequirementsbeingdecreasedtocategory1or2.

ShortCircuitStudy

Theshortcircuitstudyisbasedonareviewofonelinedrawings.Thedrawingsmustbecreatediftheydonotexist,and
fieldverifiediftheydo.Maximumavailablefaultcurrentiscalculatedateachsignificantpointinsystem.Eachinterrupting
protectivedeviceisthenanalyzedtodeterminewhetheritisappropriatelydesignedandsizedtointerruptthecircuitinthe
eventofaboltedtypeofshortcircuit.Next,theassociatedequipmentmustbereviewedtoinsurethatthebusbaris
adequatelybracedtohandletheavailablefaultcurrent.Finally,theboltedfaultcurrentsareconvertedintoarcfaultcurrents
foradditionalanalysis.

CoordinationStudy

Acoordinationstudyistheexaminationoftheelectricalsystemandavailabledocumentationwiththegoalofensuringthat
overcurrentprotectiondevicesareproperlydesignedandcoordinated.Overcurrentprotectivedevicesarerated,selected
andadjustedsoonlythefaultcurrentcarryingdevicenearestthefaultopenstoisolateafaultedcircuitfromthesystem.
Thispermitstherestofthesystemtoremaininoperation,providingmaximumservicecontinuity.Thestudyconsistsof
timecurrentcoordinationcurvesthatillustratecoordinationamongthedevicesshownontheonelinediagram.Notethat
protectivedevicesaresetoradjustedsothatpickupcurrentsandoperatingtimesareshortbutsufficienttooverride
systemtransientoverloadssuchasinrushcurrentsexperiencedwhenenergizingtransformersorstartingmotors.

TheProblems

https://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/NECHTML/HTML/WhatisArcFlash~20040512.php 2/9
3/13/2017 WhatisArcFlash?

Nowthatthehazardsassociatedwitharcflashhavebeenbroughttoourattention,wefacetheproblemoftryingto
eliminateoratleastreducethosehazards.Thefollowingdiscussessomeoftheseproblemsandthesubtletiesin
implementingcorrectiveactions.

ThereareseveralproblemsindealingwithArcFlashAnalysis:

1.BeingoverlyconservativeinyourshortcircuitanalysismayresultintherequiredPPEprotectioncategorybeingset
atalevelhigherthannecessary.

Category4PPE

TheabovefigureisapersoninafullCategory4suit.Thissuitwillprovidethenecessaryprotection,butitiscumbersome
toworkin,itishot,anditprovidespoorvisibility.

Thesuitswillmakemanytasksverydifficult,ifnotimpossible,toperform.Becauseoftheirrestrictionstovisionand
movement,theymayevenmakesometasksmoredangerous.Therearedefinitelytimeswhenthistypeofprotectionis
bothnecessaryandrequired,butbeingoverlyconservativewillresultinexcessivestresstoworkersandunacceptable
timetomakerepairsoradjustments.

2.Relyinguponquickanalysismethodscanexposeyoutounexpectedliabilities.Thereareanumberofshortcuts
beingofferedbyindividualsandcompaniesthatcanhavedisastrousresults.Besurethatyourmethodswillstand
uptoanalysisandpeerreview.
Cureallsolutionsarebeingpromoted,suchastheinstallationofcurrentlimitingfuses.PfeifferEngineeringisafirm
believerintheuseoffuses,particularlycurrentlimitingtypes,butaswillbeshownbelow,theyarenotalwaysthe
answer.Theyaredefinitelynotaquickfixsolution.
3.Beingoverlyconservativewhenperformingashortcircuitanalysisresultsinthemisapplicationofcircuitprotection
equipment,whichinturnhastheconsequenceofcalculatedArcFlashlevelsbeinghigherthantheyactuallyare.
4.Thecalculatedboltedfaultorshortcircuitcurrentisaworstcasecalculationthatassumesverylowshortcircuit
impedance.Itisashortcircuitconnectionbasedupontwoconductorsbeingboltedtogethertoformtheshort.In
reality,mostshortcircuitsarelessthanidealresultinginfaultcurrentsthatarelessthanthealculatedboltedshort
circuitcondition.
5.Ontheotherhand,theArcFaultshouldbeamorepredictableoccurrence.Thearcfaultcalculationsassumethat
thereisaphysicalgapbetweenconductorsthatwasbridgedbysomethingresultingintheformationofanarc.Once
thearcisformedandplasmaisproduced,thearccurrentshouldcloselyapproximatethecalculatedfaultlevels.
TheArcFaultcalculationsareanapproximationbaseduponresearchandtestingsimilartotheshortcircuitanalysis
methods.Theyarenotexactandthereforeoneneedstobecarefulwhenusingtheresults.

Solution

https://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/NECHTML/HTML/WhatisArcFlash~20040512.php 3/9
3/13/2017 WhatisArcFlash?

Thesolutionistofirstperform,asaccuratelyaspractical,ashortcircuitanalysis.Thegoalformostpeopleperforminga
shortcircuitanalysishasalwaysbeentoerrortowardtheconservative.Forexample,whenacablelengthwasneeded,itis
thepracticetoalwaysusetheshortestpracticalvalue,whichwouldresultinhighercalculatedshortcircuitcurrentvalues.
Whenthepublicutilityiscontacted,itisthepracticetoonlyaskfortheworsecaseshortcircuitvalue.

Theoverallresultisthattheshortcircuitvaluesarealwayscalculatedonthehighside.Whendoingashortcircuitanalysis
forsizingtheinterruptingcapabilityofprotectionequipment,thisisthebestpractice.But,itisnotthebestpracticewhen
evaluatingequipmentforArcFaultsandestablishingPPErequirements.Thisisextremelysignificant,andquitenon
intuitive,situation.

ArcFaultcurrent(Ifc)isderivedfromtheavailableboltedshortcircuitorfaultcurrent(Isc)andisalwayssubstantiallyless
thanitscorrespondingshortcircuitcurrent.TheIEEEhasestablishedformulaforcalculating(estimating)theIfcandthey
provideaspreadsheet.Thefollowingareexampleresultsfromusingtheirformula:

BoltedFaultCurrent ArcFaultCurrent
@480V
10kA =6.56kA
20kA =11.85kA
30kA =16.76kA
40kA =21.43kA

Whatisnowimportantistoobtain:

1.Theexpectedmaximum(worsecase)boltedshortcircuitcurrent.
2.Theminimumandmaximumvoltagetothefacility.
3.Theminimumexpectedshortcircuitcurrent.
Alsoneededaredefinitionsoftheoperatingmodesofthefacilitysuchas:

1.Whataretheminimumandmaximummotorloadsexpectedduringnormaloperationandoffhouroperation.
2.Variationinthesourcesofsupplytotheplant,suchasalternatefeedersorcogeneration.

Thedatafromthepublicutilityandthedeterminationofthefacility'smodesofoperationshouldbeconvertedintothe
maximumandminimumArcFaultcurrentatvariouslocationsintheplant.Theseresultsareappliedtoprotectivedevice
coordinationstudies,wheretheprotectivedevicesareevaluated,andadjusted,ifnecessary,allowingtheproperPPE
categoriestobedetermined.

Thefollowingcoordinationcurveillustratesthepoint:

https://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/NECHTML/HTML/WhatisArcFlash~20040512.php 4/9
3/13/2017 WhatisArcFlash?

Thefigureaboveshowsthecoordinationcurveforthesecondaryofa1000kVA480Vtransformer.Thecurveshowstwo
typesofsecondaryprotection,afuseandacircuitbreaker,eachselectedbasedupontheNationalElectricalCode
requirements.ThefuseisaKLPC1600AandthecircuitbreakerisaWestinghouseHNDbreakerwithaDigitrip.

Alltransformerslimittheamountoffaultcurrentthatcanpassthroughthetransformer.Thisisafunctionofthe
transformer'simpedance.ThecoordinationcurveshowsalinefortheIsc,themaximumshortcircuitcurrentthatcanpass
throughthistransformer(20,741amps).TheIscvalueusedassumesthatthereactuallyissufficientcurrentavailableat
theprimarytoprovide20,741ampsonthesecondary.

BasedupontheIEEEformula,thecalculatedArcFaultcurrentIfcis12,230amps.Usingthesetwocurrentsandthe
coordinationcurveonecanestimatethetimethecircuitbreakerandthefusewilltaketoclearthefault.

BoltedFaultCondition:

Fuseclearsin0.22seconds
CircuitBreakerclearsin0.02seconds

ArcFaultCondition

Fuseclearsin1.80seconds
CircuitBreakerclearsin0.02seconds

FromthesecurrentlevelsandclearingtimesthePPEcategorycanbedetermined.

Emb(Maximumincubicboxincidentenergy)

Fuse74cal/cm2Category4PPE
CircuitBreaker0.8cal/cm2Category0PPE

Clearly,inthisexamplethecircuitbreakeroutperformsthecurrentlimitingfuseresultinginaminimal"workerfriendly"PPE
requirement.

IntheaboveexampleboththeArcFaultcurrentandtheBoltedFaultcurrentarelessthanthecurrentlimitingpointforthe
fuse,whichisapproximately28,000amps.Thus,thereisnocurrentlimiteffectfromusingthefuse.Currentlimitingfuses
oftendoprovideadditionalprotectionandtheyareverygooddevicesbuttheymustbeappliedproperly.Inthisexample,
thecircuitbreakerprovidesthebestprotection.

https://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/NECHTML/HTML/WhatisArcFlash~20040512.php 5/9
3/13/2017 WhatisArcFlash?

Studyingthisexamplefurther,letusassumethatthefuseandthecircuitbreakerareatthemainofafacilityandthe
facilityisservedbyamuchlargertransformerwheretheworsecaseboltedshortcircuitcurrentasreportedbytheutilityis
60,000amps.Underthisconditionthearcfaultcurrentwouldbe30,300amps.Inthiscase,thefusewouldopenin1/4
cycleandwouldlimitthefaultcurrent.

TheEmbwouldequal1.15cal/cm2,whichfallsunderacategory0PPE.

Inthenextexamplewehaveafuseandacircuitbreakerprotectinga125Hpmotor.ThefuseisaLLSRK200Aandthe
circuitbreakerisaWestinghouseHKDwithaDigitrip.TherearethreeArcFaultcurrentsanalyzed.

Point1

ArcFaultCurrent3100Amps
BoltedFaultCurrent4200Amps

Point2

ArcFaultCurrent2200Amps
BoltedFaultCurrent2800Amps

Point3

ArcFaultCurrent1800Amps
BoltedFaultCurrent2200Amps
Results:

Point1

CircuitBreakerclearsin.02seconds1.42cal/cm2PPECat.1
Fuseclearsin.02seconds1.42cal/cm2PPECat.1

Point2

CircuitBreakerclearsin.02seconds1.42cal/cm2PPECat.1
Fuseclearsin.1seconds7.7cal/cm2PPECat.2

Point3

CircuitBreakerclearsin.02seconds1.42cal/cm2PPECat.1
Fuseclearsin1.0seconds78.8cal/cm2PPECat.4
https://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/NECHTML/HTML/WhatisArcFlash~20040512.php 6/9
3/13/2017 WhatisArcFlash?

AtanArcFaultcurrentof4000ampsthefusewillbegintocurrentlimitandwillopenthecircuitincyclereducingthe
PPEcategoryto0.

Thethreepointsanalyzedshowthatarelativelysmallchangeincalculatedboltedfaultcurrenthasamajoreffectonthe
calculatedarcfaultcurrent.Thissituationcouldeasilyleadtothemisapplicationofcircuitprotectionequipmentor
inappropriateadjustmentofsame.Itshouldalsobenotedthatasthecalculatedarcfaultcurrentisreduced,theclearing
timeincreases,resultingintheincidentenergylevelincreasingandthus,thePPErequirementincreases.

Inreality,thearccurrentisprimarilyeffectedbyfacilityoperatingconditions,i.e.motorcontributionandchangesinthe
faultcurrentcomingfromtheutility.Theexamplesillustratethattheaccuracyrequiredwhencalculatingshortcurrentshas
tobeimprovedovertraditionalmethods.Bothreliabilityandarcfaultconditionsmustnowbeconsideredwhenperforming
coordinationstudies.

TheRisk

Inastudyof33plantswith4892bussesorswitchpointsunder600volts,themedianincidentenergywasonly2.1
cal/cm2,howevermanybusseshadquitehighincidentenergylevels1:

24%ofbussesover8cal/cm2PPE2
12%ofbussesover40cal/cm2PPE4
5%ofbussesover85cal/cm2Deadlynoprotection
1%ofbussesover205cal/cm2Deadlynoprotection

Riskstopersonnelinclude2:

Burns
Damagingsoundlevels
Highpressure720lbs/ft2eardrumsrupture,1728to2160lbs/ft2lungdamage

Conclusions

1.ArcFaultAnalysisisinactuallyRiskManagement.Therearebasicallythreechoices:

BeveryconservativeandrequirePPE4inmostcasesresultinginhighermaintenancecost.
Donothingandsuffertheconsequences(paylater).Performthenecessaryanalysisandmakeadjustmentsto
reducethearcfaultconditionsresultinginreducedPPErequirements.

2.Areductioninboltedfaultcurrentandthusareductioninarcfaultcurrentcanactuallyresultinaworsesituation.Inthe
motorexampleaboveanarcfaultcurrentreductionfrom4000ampsto1800ampsresultedinanincreaseinarcfault
energyfrom0.6cal/cm2to78.8cal/cm2.Exactlytheoppositeonewouldexpectbeforedoingthemath.Intermsofthe
aboveexamplecoordinationcurves,thisoccursbecausethearcfaultcurrentmovesfromtheinstantaneousportionatthe
bottomofthecoordinationcurvetoapointhigherup,incurringathetimedelaybeforethedevicetrips.

3.Overlyconservativeshortcircuitanalysiswillresultinboltedshortcircuitnumbersthatmaywellresultinthe
misapplicationofcircuitprotectionequipment.

4.Itisveryimportanttoobtaintheminimumavailableshortcircuitcurrentaswellasthemaximumshortcircuitcurrent
fromtheelectricutility.Voltagefluctuationsintheplantsupplyshouldbeconsideredwhendevelopingtheshortcircuit
calculations.Thearcfaultcalculationsneedtobeevaluatedatmorethanjusttheworsecaseandtheminimumcase
conditions.Intheexampleabove,areductioninthearcfaultcurrentactuallyresultedinworseconditions.Thisrepresents
asubtle,butextremelysignificant,changeinthemethodologyofshortcircuitanalysis.

5.Apartfromthefines,nominalcompliancewiththeregulationswillcauseworkerstohavetowearcumbersomePPE.This
willresultinlittleornohighvoltagemaintenancebeingperformed,eventuallycompromisingsafety,equipmentoperation,
andultimatelyproductivity.Arcflashisariskmanagementissue.

6.Havearegisteredprofessionalengineeringfirmperformthecalculationsforarcflashhazardsforthedevicesinyour
facilityandhavethemrecommendanynecessaryplansthatwhenexecutedwouldresultinthelowestcategoryofPPE
beingrequired.

Note:

https://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/NECHTML/HTML/WhatisArcFlash~20040512.php 7/9
3/13/2017 WhatisArcFlash?

Shortcircuitanalysisisbaseduponanumberofassumptionsanyorallmaychangeovertime

1.Availableshortcircuitcurrentfromtheutilitymayvary,particularlyinareaswheretherehasbeenasignificant
expansionof,orchangeto,theelectricalsystems.
2.Thenumberofmotorsrunningatthetimeofafaultaffectstheamountofshortcircuitcurrentandarcfaultcurrent
available(motorcontribution).
3.Thefacilityvoltageoftenvariesasafunctionoftimeofday.Theutilityisoftenmoreloadedduringtheday.
Similarly,thearcfaultmayalsobeaffectedbyvariationsinanyofthefollowing:

1.Theavailableshortcircuitcurrent.
2.Dirtbuildupintheequipmentthatmayaffecttheconductivepath.
3.Moisture(humidity).
4.Circuitsupplyvoltage.
5.Amountofmotorcontributionduringafault
Definitions

BoltedFaultShortcircuitcurrentresultingfromconductorsatdifferentpotentialsbecomingsolidlyconnectedtogether.

ArcFaultShortcircuitcurrentresultingfromconductorsatdifferentpotentialsmakingalessthansolidcontact.This
resultsinarelativelyhighresistantconnectionwithrespecttoaboltedfault.

Author
JohnC.Pfeiffer,P.E.,president,PfeifferEngineeringCo.,Inc.,Louisville,Kentucky

1"ASummaryofArcflashHazardCalculations"D.R.Doan&R.A.Sweigart
2"ArcingFlash/BlastReviewwithSafetySuggestionsforDesignandMaintenance"TimCrnko&SteveDyrnes

UnderstandingtheNEC,Volume1Book2002

UnderstandingtheNECVolume1waswrittentoprovideinsightinto,andan
understandingof,manyofthetechnicalrulesoftheNEC.Thisbook,printedinfour
color,containscleargraphics,examples,and1200+summaryquestions.Basedon
the2002NEC.

ProductCode:02UND1
Pages:430

TableofContents SamplePages SampleGraphic

SendtoaFriend View/AddComments

[BacktoTop]

Copyright2004MikeHoltEnterprises,Inc.
1888NECCODE(18886322633)

https://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/NECHTML/HTML/WhatisArcFlash~20040512.php 8/9
3/13/2017 WhatisArcFlash?

https://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/NECHTML/HTML/WhatisArcFlash~20040512.php 9/9