Photo: J.

Vogler

C11
Arc Protection

Network Protection & Automation Guide

Network Protection & Automation Guide

Chapter

C11
Arc Protection

1. Introduction 401

2. Arc flash phenomenon 402

3. Causes of arc faults in switchgear 403

4. Impacts and consequences of arc faults 404

5. Arc protection related standards 406

6. Arc protection and mitigation methods 407

7. The principle of arc protection based on simultaneous detection of light and overcurrent 408

8. How to avoid nuisance tripping caused by switching arcs 409

9. Arc protection systems 409

10. Elimination of the arc fault 411

11. Typical application examples 412

 Arc Protection

C11 1. Introduction

High power arc faults in switchgear are rare events but their
consequences can be extremely severe. They can be
characterised as electrical explosions. Personnel may be
seriously affected by the radiation, heat, pressure wave, and
flying particles associated with the arc flash. These impacts
can also devastate the switchgear and cause substantial
economic losses either directly by destroying components
of the system or indirectly by causing process outages or
medical and legal expenses. Traditional overcurrent protection
is inefficient in the detection of arcing faults because it is too
slow. Faster protection methods are needed in order to
significantly reduce the released energy.

Energy Damage & hazard

Figure C11.2a:
Extensive Arcing time 47ms - Minor damage
damage

Limited
damage

Minimal Arcing time

damage

Figure C11.1:
Damage level dependent on the arcing time

This chapter describes the state-of-the-art arc protection

technology which is based on minimisation of arcing time by
very fast arc detection and elimination. By using simultaneous
detection of fault arc light and overcurrent it is possible to
reliably detect the arc within 2ms and phase-to-phase faults
within 1ms. The principle of this protection method and the
Figure C11.2b:
associated sensors, devices and systems are explained and Arcing time 500 ms - Copper busbars have evaporated
clarified by typical application examples. Figure C11.1
illustrates that limitation of the arcing time is an efficient way
to mitigate damages on arc faults. Figure C11.2a and C11.2b
show the results of a 50kA 3 phase internal arc test with short
and long arcing time.

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Arc Protection

2. Arc flash phenomenon C11

An electric arc is a luminous discharge short circuit through

dielectric gas or fluid.
Arcs can be categorised as useful arcs (welding), breaking
arcs (in switching devices), and fault arcs. Fault arcs can
further be divided into low power arcs and high power arcs.
Examples of low power arc faults are series faults in power
systems (e.g. loose connections) and arcs in photovoltaic low
voltage systems. These arcs release very limited amount of
energy compared with high power arc faults.
This chapter is focused on high power arcs in gases where
the fault arc is formed between two or more conductive parts
of a power system, most commonly between two or more
phases or between phase and earth. The emphasis is in high
power fault arcs in air insulated switchgear. An arc fault in
switchgear is a short circuit through ionised gas (normally
air) between live parts or between one live part and earth. It
is very different from a bolted fault with a solid connection.
Air-insulated switchgear is commonly used, since dry air in
normal temperature is a reasonably good insulator. However,
when the temperature of the air is very high, more than 2000
K, thermal ionisation makes air conductive. The ionised air
and the ionised material from the electrodes form a conductive
plasma channel between the electrodes. The plasma consists
mainly of nitrogen and oxygen molecules, atoms and ions of
N and O, electrode material and electrons. The plasma is very
hot, temperatures as high as 20000 K have been reported,
and it radiates light. The light comes from hot particles and
from electrons returning from high energy states to lower
states.
In a high power arc fault very high amounts of electrical
energy turns into radiation and thermal energy extremely
rapidly. Due to the light and the high temperature with the
associated pressure wave and possible flying particles, arc Figure C11.3: [Photo: J.Vogler]:
Electrical explosions as result of an arc fault
faults can be characterised as electrical explosions (see
Figure C11.3).

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 Arc Protection

C11 3. Causes of arc faults in switchgear

Internal arc faults in switchgear are caused by something that
leads to a failure in the insulation. Many arc faults are caused
by direct human errors, such as forgotten tools, forgotten
earthing connections or errors while working on equipment.
Loose connection, vibration, insufficient mechanical
dimensioning and overvoltage can also lead to an arc fault.
Animals, contamination, dirt, moisture, ageing of insulation,
corrosion and maloperation of switching devices are also
possible causes of arcs. Many arc faults start as single phase
faults and then rapidly escalate into three-phase faults.
IEC Standard 62271-200 provides a good overview of possible
locations and causes of internal arc faults as shown in Table
C11.1.

Locations where internal Possible causes of Examples of possible

arc faults are most likely to occur internal arc faults preventive measures
(1) (2) (3)

• Selection of adequate dimensions

Inadequate design
• Use of appropriate materials
• Avoidance of crossed cables connections
Connection compartments Faulty installation • Checking of workmanship on site
• Correct torque
Failure of solid or liquid insulation • Checking of workmanship and/or dielectric test on site
(defective or missing) • Regular checking of liquid levels, where applicable
• Interlocks
Disconnectors • Delayed reopening
Switches Maloperation • Independent manual operation
Earthing switches • Making capacity for switches and earthing switches
• Instructions to personnel
• Use of corrosion inhibiting coating and/or greases
• Use of plating
Corrosion
• Encapsulation, where possible
• Supplemental heating to prevent condensation
• Checking of workmanship by suitable means
Faulty assembly • Correct torque
Bolted connections and contacts
• Adequate locking means
During racking-in or racking-out of
withdrawable parts
E.g. due to dielectric change of state in • Checking of workmanship at site
combination with damage or distortion of
the plugging contacts and/or shutters
• Avoidance of these electrical influences by suitable
Ferro-resonance
design of the circuit
Instrument transformers
• Avoid short circuit by proper means for example,
Short circuit on low-voltage side for VTs
protection cover, low-voltage fuses
• Regular programmed maintenance
Circuit-breakers Insufficient maintenance
• Instructions to personnel
• Limitation of access by compartmentalisation
Error by personnel • Insulation of embedded live parts
• Instructions to personnel
Ageing under electric stresses • Partial discharge routine tests

All locations • Measures to ensure that the specified service

Pollution, moisture ingress of dust, vermin,
conditions are achieved
etc
• Use of gas filled compartments
• Surge protection
Overvoltages • Adequate insulation co-ordination
• Dielectric tests on site

Table C11.1:
Locations, causes and examples of measures to decrease the probability of internal arc faults [IEC Standard 62271-200]

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Arc Protection

4. Impacts and consequences of arc faults C11

Figure C11.4 illustrates the impacts and consequences of

arc faults.

Psychological
trauma

Vaporised copper
Intense light, burning (volume 67.000 times solid copper)
and blinding radiation → Pressure wave
→ Toxic gases

High temperature
Shrapnel and
up to 20.000 K
molten metal

Heated air → Hazardous

pressure and sound wave voltage
(Air expands 1.600 fold)

Fire

Figure C11.4:
Consequences of arc faults

In a high power arc fault incident huge amounts of electrical arc flash can cause eye damage and it also plays a part in
energy are converted into radiation and thermal energy. The the burning impact of the arc (see Figure C11.5a to C11.5c).
radiation includes visible light. The very intense light of the

Figure C11.5a, 5b, 5c: Light arcing flash

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 Arc Protection

C11 4. Impacts and consequences of arc faults

Most of the burning effect comes from the thermal energy

which in fact has many impacts. The high temperature heats
up the air, and it vaporises the metal of the busbars. The hot
plasma and the convection of the hot gases can cause serious
arc burns to personnel.
Serious damage to equipment is also possible. If the arcing
time is high the busbars can be totally destroyed, and the
arc can burn holes to the switchgear housing.
Since arcs can ignite fire, additional damage to switchgear
or substations is possible. Personnel's clothes may catch fire
and increase the risk of burns. Additional safety hazard comes
from toxic gases, due to evaporation of metal parts. Humans
nearby are also vulnerable to hazardous voltage caused by
the fault, and an arc fault may cause subsequent psychological
trauma.
When the temperature of the air rises the volume of the air
increases. Furthermore, when metals evaporate, they expand Figure C11.6b:
dramatically (see Figure C11.6a and C11.6b). For example Damage after an arc fault
when copper evaporates its volume is 67000 times as large
as in the solid form. This instantaneous expansion creates
Arc blast gives arc fault incidents an explosive nature. Since
another major impact of the arc, the pressure wave. The
the peak value of the pressure, measured at the compartment
pressure wave, often called the arc blast, is dangerous to
walls, is normally reached 4-15ms after the ignition of the
humans. In addition to ear damage and lung collapse, it can
fault (peak pressure buildup time is relative to volume),
throw humans against walls or to the floor causing bone
mitigation of the pressure impact requires either efficient arc
fractures or more serious injuries. Additional injuries can be
containment, redirection of the arc blast or high speed
caused by flying particles and molten metal from the damaged
mitigation of the arc.
busbar and assembly.
The above mentioned consequences, serious safety hazard
and significant damage to equipment are not the only risks
caused by arc faults. Injury or even death of humans may
lead to substantial medical and legal expenses. When it comes
to equipment, indirect costs are possible as well. Prolonged
power and process outages due to the destroyed equipment
are possible and in process industries particularly the
interruption costs can be very high.

Figure C11.6a:
Damage after an arc fault

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Arc Protection
5. Arc protection related standards
In some countries arc protection based on simultaneous
detection of light and overcurrent is a ‘de facto’ standard
which means that practically all new industrial switchgear and
primary substations of the utilities are equipped with the
technology. However, currently in 2015, there are no
international standards directly standardising methodology
or equipment for arc protection.
Currently available standards concerning arc fault issues are
the following:
a. IEC 62271-200, High-voltage switchgear and controlgear
- Part 200: AC metal-enclosed switchgear and controlgear
for rated voltages above 1 kV and up to and including
52 kV, known as the international switchgear standard
b. IEC 60364 Low-voltage electrical installations
c. IEEE Std 1584™-2002, IEEE Guide for Performing Arc-
Flash Hazard Calculations
d. NFPA 70E®, Standard for Electrical Safety in the
Workplace, 2015 Edition, NFPA (National Fire Protection
Association)
IEC 62271-200 (Edition 2.0, 2011) is a MV switchgear
standard and it "specifies requirements for prefabricated
metal-enclosed switchgear and controlgear for alternating
current of rated voltages above 1 kV and up to and including
52 kV for indoor and outdoor installation and for service
frequencies up to and including 60 Hz. Enclosures may include
fixed and removable components and may be filled with fluid
(liquid or gas) to provide insulation." Arc faults are briefly
discussed in the standard.
The standard aims at preventing the occurrence of internal
arc faults. It gives a good list of locations where faults are
most likely to occur, and explains causes of failure and
possible measures to decrease the probability of faults.
Additionally IEC 62271-200 gives examples of supplementary
measures - in practice arc protection technologies - to provide
protection to persons:
a. rapid fault clearance times initiated by detectors sensitive
to light, pressure or heat or by a differential busbar
protection
b. application of suitable fuses in combination with switching
devices to limit the let-through current and fault duration
c. fast elimination of arc by diverting it to metallic short
circuit by means of fast-sensing and fast-closing devices
d. remote operation instead of operation in front of the
switchgear and controlgear
e. pressure-relief device
f. transfer of a withdrawable part to or from the service
position only when the front door is closed
IEC 62271-200 recognises two important ratings of the arc
fault currents: a) three-phase arc fault current and b) single
Schneider Electric - Network Protection & Automation Guide
C11
phase-to earth arc fault current.
IEEE Std 1584™-2002, IEEE Guide for Performing Arc-
Flash Hazard Calculations, is a safety oriented guide. It
provides techniques to apply in determining the arc-flash
hazard distance and the incident energy to which employees
could be exposed during their work on or near electrical
equipment. Its applications cover an empirically derived model
including enclosed equipment and open lines for voltages
from 208 V to 15 kV, and a theoretically derived model
applicable for any voltage. The standard also provides a good
list of arc fault related definitions.
One of the most central definitions is the concept of incident
energy: The amount of energy impressed on a surface, a
certain distance from the source, generated during an
electrical arc event. Incident energy is measured in joules
per centimetre squared (J/cm²). The incident energy concept
is used for developing strategies to minimise burn injuries.
The guide is based upon testing and analysis of the hazards
presented by incident energy. It provides a detailed step-by-
step process for arc flash analysis. This analysis ends up with
determining the incident energy level and the flash-protection
boundary (The distance from live parts that are uninsulated
or exposed within which a person could receive a second
degree burn) based on incident energy of 5.0 J/cm². One
should note that the analysis only covers the thermal impact
of the arc fault, not the pressure related impact for example.
The standard is well known but mostly utilised in North America.
Although incident energy levels are seldom calculated in
Europe, incident energy calculations are a useful tool when
comparing the effectiveness of different arc protection
methods. Because the incident energy level depends on four
key parameters: the arcing current, the voltage, the working
distance and the arcing time, it is relatively easy to see that
normally the most practical factors in the mitigation of the
thermal impacts of arc faults are the arcing time and the
arcing current.
IEEE Std 1584™-2002 includes reporting of the tests carried
out with current-limiting fuses. The published figures confirm
the risk related to current-limiting fuses: high incident energy
levels occur when the fault current is low, and the fuse is not
in its intended range of operation.
NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the
Workplace® by National Fire Protection Association addresses
electrical safety-related work practices, safety-related
maintenance requirements and other administrative controls
for the practical safeguarding of employees. It has some links
to arc protection and it provides some commonly used arc
fault related definitions, such as:
a. Arc Flash Boundary: When an arc flash hazard exists,
the distance from a prospective arc source at which a
person could receive a second degree burn if an electrical
arc flash were to occur. (A second degree burn is possible
406
 Arc Protection

C11 5. Arc protection related standards

by an exposure of unprotected skin to an electric arc NFPA 70E includes an informative annex giving guidance on
flash above the incident energy level of 5 J/cm² selection of arc-rated clothing and other PPE (Personal
Protective Equipment) when it is not practical to eliminate
b. Arc-Resistant Switchgear: Equipment designed to
exposure to incident energy.
withstand the effects of an internal arcing fault and that
directs the internally released energy away from the
employee

6. Arc protection and mitigation methods

Naturally the primary goal is to prevent arc faults by, for
example, careful design, education of personnel and adequate
maintenance of equipment. In some cases early detection
of developing faults is possible by special monitoring
equipment. However, it is very difficult to totally eliminate arc
faults in distribution systems.
As shown previously, the incident energy depends on the
voltage, working distance, arc current and arc duration. From
an arc protection point of view it is normally not possible to
effect the applied voltage. The working distance is only related
to humans working on the equipment, and it is often difficult
to increase this distance. In practice there are two major
approaches for decreasing the released energy: limitation of
the arc current or reduction of the arc time.
Incident energy calculations, based on testing, show that the
released energy is proportional to the arc time. When traditional
overcurrent protection is applied, the arc time is normally
some hundreds of milliseconds. This leads to extensive
damage and a serious safety hazard. This is why several
different arc fault mitigation approaches have been introduced,
that are much more efficient than overcurrent protection.
The following Table C11.2 presents evaluation of some well
known arc mitigation methods.

Method Benefits Drawbacks

Arc-resistant switchgear
Equipment designed to withstand the
effects of an internal arc fault and that
directs the internally released energy
away from the employee
Maintenance switch
A switch that when turned on (during
maintenance at a substation) makes
circuit breakers operate without any
intentional delay
Zone-selective interlocking
Current-limiting fuses
Current-limiting reactors
Busbar differential protection
• Good protection for personnel at least
when the doors are closed
• If used as the only arc mitigation approach,
• Provides protection against the pressure
provides no protection to the equipment in the
impact
enclosure
• Gives very good protection if used in
combination with fast protection
• Rather good protection of personnel • Effective only during maintenance
• Rather simple, relatively low costs • Not very fast
• Very fast operation and good protection if
• When fault current is low (as it can be for various
the fault current is in the operation range
reasons) the arc time and the incident energy are
of the fuse
high
• Limits both current and arc time
• Increase cost and losses
• Limit fault current
• Limited effect
• Complicated settings
• Fast protection • Requires careful CT selection
• Does not operate in cable terminal faults

Table C11.2:
Comparison of mitigation methods

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7. The principle of arc protection based on

simultaneous detection of light and overcurrent C11

The leading method in arc protection is based on simultaneous

very fast detection of light and overcurrent as shown in Figure
C11.7. This approach can be divided into two parts: Arc
detection and Arc mitigation. The arc can be detected within
<1 milliseconds which is outstanding performance compared
with conventional protection technology. The arc time varies
according to the elimination technology. When applying
conventional circuit breakers the arc time is some tens of
milliseconds. If a short-circuit device is applied, the arcing
time is less than half cycle.

Figure C11.8: Figure C11.9:

Point type of optical sensor Fibre type of optical sensor

&
Light

Trip signal 7.2 Fast detection of overcurrent

Overcurrent In order to minimise the possible nuisance tripping caused by

Figure C11.7:
Modern arc protection logic
Normally the overcurrent condition increases costs only a little
since existing current transformers can be used. However,
there are applications where "light only" based arc detection
can be applied. For example, if the probability of intense
external light can be practically closed out, measurement of
current would be very difficult, or where low cost is essential
the "light only" condition can be justified.
7.1 Fast optical detection of light
There is a strong correlation between the power of the arc and
the intensity of the observed light. Fault arcs can be detected
practically immediately by using light sensitive sensors, such
as photodiode (point type of sensor) or optical fibre (loop or
point type of sensor).
There is not an exact universal sensitivity threshold value which
could always differentiate between light emanating from arc
external light, an overcurrent condition, i.e. detection of
overcurrent (secondary sensor) is often required in parallel
with the detection of light (primary sensor). The current can
be measured with normal (existing) current transformers. In
arc protection applications it is however necessary to minimise
the operation time and special methods are used to enable
the rapid detection of the overcurrent. Very fast (less than
1ms) detection of overcurrent is possible by applying an
analogue comparator. The method is illustrated in Figure C11.10.
Because many arc faults start as single-phase faults, it is
justified to detect phase-to-earth faults as well. If the arc is
detected and eliminated before it escalates into high-power
three-phase fault, the damage will be lower. The detection of
phase-to-earth arc fault is normally based on simultaneous
detection of light and zero-sequence overcurrent, but zero
sequence voltage can be utilised as well.
3xl
f
3xI + Io + U A/D
3xl
Io
3xl
Comp
Pickup value Io
Io>> I>>

faults and the light coming from other sources. Practical

experience has shown that sensitivity of approximately 10000 CONF.
lux (visible light) gives excellent results. Sensors with the MEMORY

sensitivity of 10000 lux are very likely to detect the light in all
relevant arc fault situations with metal-enclosed switchgear FPGA
while at the same time the risk of false activation is low. This is
true especially in the cases where the detection of the arc is
confirmed by the simultaneous detection of overcurrent.
Point type of sensors (Figure C11.8) enable more selective CPU
protection than fibre loop sensors, identifying the location of
the arc more accurately. Loop sensors (Figure C11.9) are a
cost effective solution for applications where protection
selectivity is not a critical. Figure C11.10:
A method for very fast detection of overcurrent, utilising an
analogue comparator

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 Arc Protection

C11 8. How to avoid nuisance tripping caused by switching arcs

In almost all cases, both in medium voltage (MV) and low

voltage (LV) systems, the trip condition of simultaneous
detection of light and overcurrent has proven to be successful.
However, some low voltage circuit breakers (air-magnetic
type) emit light and other type of pollution while operating.
This problem can be mitigated by using special types of light
sensors, less sensitive or designed for limited wavelength
ranges or by applying pressure sensors.

9. Arc protection systems

9.1 Stand-alone arc protection systems An example of applications is a primary substation (HV/MV)
where arc faults can be selectively tripped . e.g. in cable
The simplest arc protection solutions can be based on stand-
terminations of outgoing feeders - a typical location of arc
alone devices (Figure C11.11). When "light only" detection
faults.
criteria is applied, all that is required is the optical sensors,
and a device that collects the information from the sensors
and sends the trip command to the appropriate circuit breaker.
Some wind power applications, secondary substations and
limited low voltage switchboards are examples of possible
application areas for stand-alone devices. Vamp 321

ON

OK

F1 F2

I O
vamp

Cable Vamp 321

ON
L> (CB, BB)

OK

F1 F2

I O
vamp

CB

BB

CB CB

Cable ON
Vamp 321
Cable ON
Vamp 321

Figure C11.11: F1
OK

F2 F1
OK

F2

Stand alone arc protection system

I O I O
vamp vamp

9.2 Arc protection integrated in numerical protection L> (CB, BB)

relays
Another cost effective and very widely applied solution is to
integrate arc protection into normal protection devices (Figure
Figure C11.12:
C11.12). Because most relays already include current
Integrated arc protection function in a protection device
measurement, it is relatively easy to add the input for light
sensors to achieve the light and overcurrent based trip
condition. However, the overcurrent detection must be very
fast.
When the relays are equipped with communication and several
light sensor inputs, selective arc protection can be provided.

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9. Arc protection systems C11

9.3 Dedicated arc protection systems circuit breakers, if both light and overcurrent are detected.
Very high speed communication between the components is
Arc protection is most often implemented by a separate system
an essential feature of the system, transmitting information
using arc flash detectors connected to dedicated arc
on detected light, detected overcurrent, addresses (location)
protection relays (Figure C11.13). Overcurrent and earth-fault
of detection, and trip commands.
protection is carried out by other relays. A comprehensive,
selective arc protection system comprises of optical sensors, A separate system enables large installations with selective
current transformers (normally no additional CTs are needed), protection and multiple protection zones. It provides very high
I/O units collecting data from the sensors and CTs, speed protection and can also provide some protection
communication cabling, and a master unit or several master redundancy.
units for final collection of all the sensor data. The master
unit(s) are measuring the current and tripping the appropriate

CBFP* CBFP

= Point sensor T2 T4

VAMP 321
VAM 4CD
V
T, T1, T2, T3, T4 = Trip
T3 T
S1, S2, S3 ... = Sensors
* Either CBFP or Direct Zone 1 trip

T1

T1 Zone 4

Zone 1

VAM 12L
V
Zone 2 Zone 3

T3 Zone 2.1 T1
Zone 2.2 Zone 2.3 Zone
e 2.4
4 Zone
Zone 2.5
5 Zone 2.6
T2 T3
T3
S1 S2 S3
S
S2 S3 S1

T T
T2 T1

VAM 12LD VAM 12LD VAM 3L

V

Figure C11.13:
Dedicated arc protection system

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C11 10. Elimination of the arc fault

10.1 The importance of the arc elimination time Fast communication between the arc protection relay and the
short-circuit device is vital. The combination of optical arc
The incident energy is proportional to the arcing time. From
detection and a short-circuit device provides extremely fast
a protection point of view the arcing time consists of two
and efficient protection. The arcing time is only a few
components: arc detection time and arc elimination time. By
milliseconds. The thermal impact of the fault is minimal, and
applying arc detection methods described above, minimal
the pressure impact is significantly mitigated.
arc detection time can be achieved. The arcing time then
depends almost entirely on arc elimination time. 10.4 Current-limiting fuses
10.2 Circuit breakers The use of current-limiting fuses in arc protection requires
good product and system knowledge otherwise the protection
In most applications arc protection relays send the trip signal
level may be much lower than expected. CL fuses can be
to appropriate circuit breakers which then open the circuit
very efficient in both limiting the current and reducing the arc
and extinguish the fault arc. In MV applications using arc
time. When the fault current is in the current-limiting range,
protection relays and CBs the total arcing time is in the order
the fuse is able to break the current very rapidly, and also
of 60ms, consisting of 1ms detection time and <60ms CB
reduce the peak current. The reduction of the peak current
operation time. The operating times of LV CBs are usually
is a benefit, because high current causes mechanical forces
shorter than MV CBs' operation times. When total arcing time
that are detrimental to transformers feeding the current. Figure
is in only a few tens of milliseconds, the thermal impacts of
C11.15 below illustrates the current-limiting impact of a CL
faults arcs are efficiently mitigated (see Figure C11.14).
fuse.

Prospective wave
I
(I rms = A)
B
Limited wave
Cut-off current
(peak value)

Figure C11.15:
Current-limitation of a CL fuse

Current-limiting fuses are not a perfect solution. They are very

Figure C11.14:
Low impact on an arc fault with fast arc protection trip effective in limiting the released energy only if they are in
their current-limiting range. Particularly in low voltage
applications it is difficult to determine the arc fault current
level. The current can be as low as 20-40 % of the bolted
10.3 Short-circuit devices (arc eliminators)
fault current. Low fault current can lead to prolonged arc
Arc eliminating by means of a short-circuit device (crowbar times and thus higher released energy and greater damage.
unit, arc quencher or high speed earthing device) is recognised
by IEC Standard 62271-200 as an option to provide the highest
possible level of protection to personnel in case of an internal
arc in MV switchgear. When using a short-circuit device the
arc protection systems sends trip commands to both the arc
eliminator and the appropriate circuit breakers. The short-
circuit device will create an intentional high speed short circuit
in the system so that the voltage collapses and the arc is
extinguished. The short-circuit current is then eliminated by
the circuit breaker within a few cycles.

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11. Typical application examples C11

11.1 Single main application

The following Figure C11.16 gives an overview of a single
main application.

VAM VAM VAM

10LD 10LD 10LD

0AN 1AN 2AN 3AN 4AN 5AN

VAMP
321
5BN

1BN 2BN 3BN

3CN 4BN

1CN 2CN

5CN

3DN 4CN

1DN 2DN 5DN

4DN

1EN 3EN 5EN

up-stream
breaker 2EN

Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6

Figure C11.16:
Single main application

Every compartment is equipped with an arc sensor. The trip

output relay of AFS units control the incomer breakers. Any
of the point sensors will cause a trip of the main breaker to
mitigate the arc fault. Additionally overcurrent measurement
is taken account if the application requires a minimisation of
the possible nuisance tripping caused by external light.

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C11 11. Typical application examples

11.2 Main tie main application + CBF (circuit breaker

failure)
The following Figure C11.17 gives an overview of a main tie
main application with circuit breaker failure.

A B

Vamp 321 1
ON

F1
OK

F2 2
vamp

4 3

Zone 1 X1 X2 Zone 2 X3 X4 X4 X5

Figure C11.17:
Main tie main application

The protected target is a medium voltage enclosure with two
separate incomers. The enclosure has a longitudinal busbar
between the incomers. To minimise the fault zone, the enclosure
is divided into two separate protection zones.
The different zones are divided by a bus-coupler circuit
breaker and monitored by light sensors connected to the light
detecting units (3 & 4). The system receives current criteria
from the main unit(1) and current measurement unit (2), which
have been installed on incomers.
The CBFP (circuit breaker failure protection) contacts have
been wired to the HV side of the supply transformer for
enclosure backup detection. When defining the CBFP delay
time, the standard break-time of the feeder circuit breaker of
the enclosure must be taken into account.
The main unit and extension units serve as trip units. The main
unit (1) trips its own feeder circuit breaker in zone 1 faults and
serves as CBFP in zone 1 and 2 faults. The arc sensor units
(3 and 4) trip the bus-coupler circuit breaker between zones
1 and 2 in faults in their own zone. The zone 2 light detecting
unit (3) trips its own bus-coupler circuit breaker.

413 Schneider Electric - Network Protection & Automation Guide

Arc Protection

11. Typical application examples C11

11.3 Feeder selective multiple busbar application

The following Figure C11.18 gives an overview of a feeder
selective multiple busbar application.

Vamp 321 Vamp 321

ON ON

OK OK

F2 F2

I>
F1 F1

vamp

I> vamp

Q1 Q4
MF MF

E1.1 E1.2 E1.1 E1.2

Zone 3 Zone 3

Zone 1 Zone 2

Q5.1 Q5.2 Q5.3

MF MF MF

Zone 1
Feeder Feeder Zone 2
Zone 3
Feeder

Figure C11.18:
Multiple busbar application

The protected target is a medium voltage enclosure with breaker between different zone faults in their own zone. The
multiple separate incomers. The enclosure has a longitudinal outgoing feeder zone light detecting units trips their own
busbar between the incomers. To minimise the fault zone, the feeder circuit breakers.
enclosure is divided into four separate protection zones (zone1,
Selective tripping schemes on main units automatically adjust
2, 3 and Feeder). The different zones are divided by bus-
according to incomer disconnector positions (E1.x and E2.x)
coupler circuit breakers and monitored by light sensors
and changes the tripping logic accordingly. This will allow arc
connected to the light detecting units in zones 1, 2,3 and
flash protection to fullfill full selective protection.
feeder. The detection system receives current criteria from
the main units, which are installed on incomers. The outgoing feeder section is protected by using dedicated
light detecting units. These individially trip the corresponding
The main units and extension units serve as trip units. The
feeder circuit breaker to limit the impact without shutting down
main units trip their own feeder circuit breaker for internal arc
the entire busbar in the system e.g. cable fault.
faults when a fault is fed from their own incomer. The arc
sensor units in zones 1, 2 and 3 trip the bus-coupler circuit

Schneider Electric - Network Protection & Automation Guide 414