What is an arc flash?

While an arc flash is sometimes used interchangeably with “arc fault”, an arc flash
is more accurately defined as the light produced during an arc fault. An arc fault is
a type of electrical fault that results from the breakdown of an insulating medium
between two conductors where the energy is enough to sustain an arc across the
insulator(often air) and can cause extreme amounts of light(arc flash), immense
heat upwards of 19,000 degress C. and a resulting explosive pressure wave(arc
blast). These forces combine to create a hazardous condition that can vaporize
metal, destroy equipment, and pose a significant hazard to anyone in the vicinity.
The term “arc flash” is used to describe low impedance connections in an electrical
system, which allows movement of unwanted electric discharge through the air
from one voltage phase to another, or to ground. This leads to a rapid rise in
temperature and pressure in the air between electrical conductors, causing an
explosion known as an arc blast.
Arc blasts and the resulting heat can lead to fires, pressure waves and flying
shrapnel that result in serious damage to life and property. These explosions
typically occur without any warning, destroy electrical equipment completely and
lead to severe injury or death of personnel present within the boundary of the arc
flash.
What Are the Main Causes of Arc Flash?
Arc flash occurs when several electrical conductors are placed close to each other,
with significant fault currents flowing through them. In this situation, ionization of
the air can take place as a result of various factors – such as differences in potential
– which leads to a low resistance path and allows current to flow through the air
gap between conductors.
Many people assume that low voltage equipment is safe from arc flash, but arc
flash hazard levels may be higher at low voltages, due to the high fault currents.
Most incidents that occur in low voltage systems are caused by human error, e.g. a
tool slipping while a technician works on electrical equipment.
Arc flash can also be caused due to:
 Carelessness or accidents, e.g. touching the wrong surface with a test probe
 Improper tools, installation and work techniques
 Lack of electrical safety awareness and training
 Use of damaged electrical materials/equipment
 Obstruction in disconnect panels
 Insulation damage, gaps or wear and tear
 Dust, debris and corrosion on electrical conductors
 Improper preventative maintenance for circuit breakers and switches
  Exposed live parts, loose connections or corrosion
 Static electricity or high voltage cables
 Exposure of electrical equipment to water or other liquids
What Are the Best Ways to Avoid Arc Flash?
With the right training, safety procedures and equipment, it’s possible to minimize
the risk of arc flash. Here are 5 important precautions you should take:

1. De-Energize Equipment and Remove Personnel

It’s critical to eliminate the potential hazard as far as possible. Avoid
working on energized electrical equipment, and take extra care while testing
to ensure it has been de-energized or while re-energizing it.Use remote
racking technology to operate circuit breakers from outside the arc flash
boundary instead of allowing personnel to be put at risk of injury or death.

2. Study the Hazard and Use Low-Risk Technology

Collect data about your facility’s power distribution system, and conduct
short circuit and protective device coordination studies to identify arc flash
hazard categories for electrical equipment, as well as how to reduce
them.Also, look into technologies such as remote racking equipment and arc
limiting fuses that help keep personnel as well as property safe.

3. Redesign Electrical Systems and Controls

Determine the correct level of PPE – personal protective equipment –
required as per the flash hazard category, and ensure that personnel are
properly equipped. Redesign your equipment and processes to maximize
engineering controls that help prevent and lessen risk.Adjust settings for
circuit breakers and energy distribution systems where needed, and
substitute high-risk electrical equipment with devices that reduce incident
energy.

4. Improve Safety Training and Risk Awareness

In addition to being mandated by regulatory authorities like OSHA, proper
safety training also ensures that your personnel understand the consequences
of being careless and follow proper safety procedures at all times.Not only
could this help keep them safe in the event of an arc flash, but also help them
understand how to minimize the risk.

5. Create and Implement a Strict Safety Program

Identify the risks, boundaries and suitable PPE for electrical safety through
arc flash hazard studies. Make sure that proper electrical regulations and
 work processes are documented, shared with all involved personnel, and
strictly enforced.
Also create a preventive maintenance program for electrical materials/equipment,
and ensure that only qualified and fully trained personnel equipped with the proper
tools and PPE are allowed to work on electrical systems.
What is an arc-flash relay?
Arc-flash relays are microprocessor-based devices that use optical sensors to detect
the onset of a flash. The sensors are strategically placed in various cubicles or
drawers inside the switchboard. Installing an arc flash relay to rapidly detect
developing arc flashes greatly reduces the total clearing time and the amount of
energy released through an arcing fault, In turn, there is less damage to equipment
and fewer and less severe injuries to nearby personnel.
Why an arc-flash relays important?
Arc-flash relays are a necessary component in an electrical cabinet because they
reduce the amount of incident energy in the system. While an arc flash relay cannot
prevent an arc flash from happening, it will protect critical assets and worker’s
safety by reducing the severity. An arc flash relay is an integral part of an arc flash
protection scheme that can minimize damage, and save money, time, and lives.
How much energy is in a typical arc flash incident?
A phase to phase fault on a 480-volt system with 20,000 amperes of fault current
provides 9,600,000 watts of power. If there is no arc protection and the fault lasts
for 200 milliseconds before the over current protection clears it, then 2 megajoules
of energy will be released, which corresponds roughly to a stick of dynamite.

The energy formula for an arc flash is:

Energy = voltage x current x time
480V x 20,000A x 0.2s = 1,920,000 J
For a given system voltage, two factors can be adjusted to reduce arc flash energy:
Time and current
Time can be reduced by using an arc flash relay, such as the PGR-8800 or AF0500,
to rapidly detect an electric arc flash. An arc flash relay causes the connected
circuit breaker to trip at its instantaneous speed, overriding any inverse-time delay.
Current can be reduced by using current-limiting fuses or, in the case of phase to
ground faults, by using high-resistance grounding.
Hazard Risk Clothing Cal/cm2
Category
0 Non-melting, flammable materials (untreated cotton, wool, rayon, N/A
or silk, or blends of these materials) with a fabric weight of at
least 4.5 oz/yd2
1 FR shirt and FR pants of FR coverall 4

2 Cotton underwear – conventional short sleeve and brief/shorts, 8

plus FR shirt and FR pants
3 Cotton underwear plus FR shirt and FR pants plus FR coverall or 25
cotton underwear plus two FR coveralls
4 Cotton underwear plus FR shirt and FR pants plus multilayer 40
flash suit
Extreme No PPE available >40
Danger
 ARC FLASH

Submitted by:
Jemark Lapinig

Submitted to:
Engr. Roseller Salise