Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
During arc flash, temperatures of 20,000 oC for several metres around equipment can exist, resulting
in severe burn injuries. Quickly expanding air and vaporization of metals causes high pressures,
sound and shrapnel leading to multiple types of injuries.
To protect people a risk analysis on the arc flash hazard is carried out to better understand what may
occur. Appropriate procedures and personal protective equipment are then employed to minimise
potential injuries.
When evaluating arc flash there are two main considerations, 1) the incident energy in the arc flash
and 2) flash protection boundary. I will be looking at the calculation of these two parameters in terms
of IEE Std. 1584 'IEEE Guide for Performing Arc-Flash Hazard Calculations'.
Contents [hide]
1. IEE 1584 Calculation Method
1. Arcing Current
2. Incident Energy
3. Flash Protection Boundary
4. Summary
Arcing Current
In order to determine both the flash protection boundary and incident energy, first the arcing current
needs to be calculated.
log10(Ia)=K+0.662log10(Ibf)+0.0966V+0.000526G+0.5588Vlog10(Ibf)−0.00304Glog10(Ibf)log10(Ia)=K+
0.662log10(Ibf)+0.0966V+0.000526G+0.5588Vlog10(Ibf)−0.00304Glog10(Ibf)
Where:
log10(Ia)=0.00402+0.983log10(Ibf)log10(Ia)=0.00402+0.983log10(Ibf)
The arcing current is then given by:
Ia=10log10(Ia)Ia=10log10(Ia)
Incident Energy
To calculated the incident energy, first normalized incident energy is calculated. The result of this
calculation is the incident energy for a arc duration to 0.2 s and at a distance from the arc point to the
person of 610 mm. Once the normalized energy has been calculated, this is then adjusted to reflect
the actual arcing time and distance.
log10(En)=K1+K2+1.081log0(Ia)+0.0011Glog10(En)=K1+K2+1.081log0(Ia)+0.0011G
En=10log10(En)En=10log10(En)
Where:
E=4.184CfEn(t0.2)(610xDx)E=4.184CfEn(t0.2)(610xDx)
- voltages ≤ 15 kV and gaps ≤ 152 mm
Where:
Cf = 1.0 for voltages greater than 1000 V and 1.5 for voltages less than 1000 V
x = is a distance exponent from the table below
E=2.142×106VIbf(tD2)E=2.142×106VIbf(tD2)
- voltages > 15 kV or gaps > 152mm
Note: for voltages greater than 15 kV, it is not necessary to first calculate En
Note: to convert J/cm2 to cal/cm2 multiply by 0.239
DB=[4.184CfEn(t0.2)(610xEB)]1xDB=[4.184CfEn(t0.2)(610xEB)]1x
- voltages ≤ 15 kV and gaps ≤ 152 mm
DB=2.142×106VIbf(tEB)−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−√DB=2.142×106VIbf(tEB)
- voltages > 15 kV or gaps > 152 mm
Where:
Cf = 1.0 for voltages greater than 1000 V and 1.0 for voltages less than 1000 V
x = is a distance exponent from the table above
EB can be set at 5.0 J/cm2 for bare skin or at the rating of any proposed PPE. The limit of 5.0 J/cm2 is
that at which a person is likely to receive second degree burns.
Summary
To carry out arc flash calculations, first workout the arcing current, then the incident energy and finally
the arc flash boundary. Pretty straight forward.
To make life a little easier I have created a calculator to do the grunt work. You can find it here: