Incident energy factors

and simple 480-V incident energy equations

BY TAMMY L. GAMMON & JOHN H. MATTHEWS
HE RELEASE OF IEEE 1584-2002, GUIDE FOR PERFORMING ARC-
Flash Hazard Calculations, is formal recognition of the danger of arcing
faults in electrical systems. The standard includes an extensive data set
used for developing the IEEE 15842002 arc-flash calculator that pre-
dicts three-phase arc current and incident energy for appropriate selection of overcurrent
protective devices and personal protective equipment (PPE), respectively. As an addition-
al benefit, the published data set can further enhance the understanding of the electrical
characteristics of arcing faults in industrial power systems. The 1584 data set has been
both quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed to assess the relationships between arc cur-
rent, arc voltage, system voltage, arc power, and incident energy, as well as other vari-
ables, such as gap widths and the effect of equipment enclosures. Simple relationships for
estimating three-phase arc current, arc power, and incident energy on low-voltage (<1
kV) systems are presented.
The origin of IEEE 15842002 [1] lies in arc tests conducted in
the mid-1990s [2][6]; at this time, awareness was increasing that
thermal burns resulting from electrical arc flashes account for a
significant number of electrical accident injuries. The focus of
the testing was to better determine the PPE required to pro-
tect workers from arc-flash hazards. PPE recommendations
include specific types and layers of clothing, as well as face
shields/hoods, and work gloves.
The 15842002 data set includes over 300 entries, some
of which are the average of several tests conducted in the mid-
1990s. A wide range of three-phase test conditions were used:
supply voltages from 208 V to 13.8 kV, bolted-fault currents from
700 A to 106 kA, and gap widths from 7 mm (1/4 in) to 152 mm
(6 in). In addition, the test system setups may have been grounded,
ungrounded, or high-resistance grounded, and the arcs may have been initiated in
open air or in a metal box comparable in size to a common equipment enclosure.
T
DIGITALVISION, LTD.
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The Arc as a Circuit Parameter
Although a complex model depending on fundamental
physical quantities, like plasma enthalpy, may be more
precise when used correctly, it is often easier for elec-
trical engineers to understand the arcing fault modeled
as a simple electrical circuit parameter. Furthermore,
since arcing is such a dynamic and random process,
arcs initiated on identical test setups are not likely to
produce identical sets of data, although the extent of
variability depends on the setup involved.
A single-phase equivalent circuit containing an arc
is shown in Figure 1 and defined as follows:
V
max
sin(t) = Ri
arc
+L
di
arc
dt
+ v
arc
. (1)
For simplicity, the three-phase arc currents are
assumed to be in balance and the effective ground
impedance is zero (which occurs when the three bal-
anced fault currents sum to zero as they return to
ground through the same path). For a given supply
voltage and system impedance, the arc current is limit-
ed by the arc voltage. The precise arc voltage is an
undefined, nonlinear function; the arc voltage wave-
form is neither sinusoidal nor dc.
Figures 25 show the impact of several parameters
on the arc voltage. For a given supply voltage and sys-
tem impedance, as the magnitude of the arc voltage
increases, the arc current and the ratio of the arc current
to the short-circuit current (short-circuit ratio)
decrease. Figure 2 presents the results of 13.8-kV,
three-phase arc testing in open air with gap widths of
13 mm (five tests) and 152 mm (16 tests) between the
three-phase conductors acting as electrodes. The two
open-air, ungrounded, test setups had available short-
circuit circuits of 20.1 kA. Figure 2 clearly shows that
larger gap widths generate larger arc voltages, even
though the increase is not proportional. The larger gap
is 11.7 times the smaller gap, and the corresponding
average arc voltage is only 2.8 times larger. The mea-
sured rms arc voltages for each gap width demonstrate
the variability in the data from identical arc test setups.
In Figure 3, the same data from the 13.8-kV test
setup with a 13 mm gap width is plotted with data
from a 610-V test setup to show that larger supply
voltages also tend to generate larger arc voltages. The
610-V data (six tests) was collected from three-phase
arc testing in open air; the ungrounded, test setup had
an available short-circuit current of 36.25 kA. Even
though the 610-V test setup had slightly larger gap
widths and generated larger fault currents (24.225.5
kA as opposed to 20.020.3 kA), the arc voltages
associated with the lower voltage supply were signifi-
cantly smaller. As in Figure 2, the change in arc volt-
age was proportionally much smaller than the change
in the supply voltage. The ratio of the supply voltages
is 22.6 and the ratio of the respective arc voltages is
only 2.2. Higher electric fields associated with the
larger supply voltages may be responsible for produc-
ing larger arc voltages.
Figure 4 shows an interesting relationship between
the location of the electrodes and the arc voltage.
When an arc is initiated in a box, a lower arc voltage is
Arc voltage as a function of supply voltage.
0.750
0.500
0.250
0.000
A
r
c

V
o
l
t
a
g
e

(
k
V
-
L
i
n
e
)
0 10 20 30
Gap Width (mm)
13.8 kV, 587 V (Average) 610 V, 264 V (Average)
3
Arc voltage as a function of gap width.
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
A
r
c

V
o
l
t
a
g
e

(
k
V
-
L
i
n
e
)
0 50 100 150 200
Gap Width (mm)
13 mm, 587 V (Average)
152 mm, 1.628 kV (Average)
2
Equivalent circuit of an arcing fault.
i
arc
v
arc
Z
system
=
R + jL
V
supply
=
V
max
sin(t)

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25
generated. The lower arc voltage may result from the
enclosures affect of limiting the arc length. Both the
open (nine tests) and box (12 tests) tests were per-
formed with three-phase voltage supplies ranging from
600 V to 623 V and both test setups were ungrounded
with 32-mm (1
1
4
in) gaps between the conductors. The
12 box tests were conducted inside a 508 mm 508
mm 508 mm (508 mm = 20 in) metal box open in
the front. The three phase conductors were 102 mm (4
in) from the rear wall.
Although not identified in IEEE 15842002 Stan-
dard, Stokes [7], [8] has established that the rms arc
voltage is related to the rms arc current raised to a
power of 0.12; Figure 5 shows this relationship. When
the rms arc current ( I
arc
) equals 500 A, I
0.12
arc
equals
2.11; when I
arc
increases to 50,000 A the value of I
0.12
arc
has only increased to 3.66. Although the arc voltage is
not explicitly plotted in Figure 5, it is clear that as the
arc current increases, the arc voltage will also increase
slightly.
Figures 25 demonstrate that the gap width, the
supply voltage, enclosure type, and the arc current
affect the magnitude of the arc voltage. Although the
arc voltage may seem like an unimportant quantity, it
is very important when analyzing the arc as an electri-
cal model, because the magnitude of the arc voltage
determines how much current can flow. Even if the arc
voltage is not explicitly declared in arc power and
energy equations, the impact of arc voltage is certainly
embedded in them. Fundamentally, the single-phase,
time-average arc power (P
arc
) and arc energy (E
arc
) may
be defined by the instantaneous arc phase current and
arc phase voltage:
P
arc
=

v
arc
i
arc
/(number of samples) (2)
E
arc
=

v
arc
i
arc
t. (3)
The three-phase P
arc
or E
arc
may be determined by
adding the P
arc
or E
arc
, respectively, of the three phases.
Additional factors may also affect the arc voltage
and current. These factors include the gap width
between the phase conductors (electrodes) and the
rear wall of the box and the type of grounding. The
1584 analysis group found no correlation between
X/R ratio of the system impedance and arc current,
which means that the high-energy, three-phase arcs
generated continuous arc currents. The recent phase-
to-ground, current-dependent arc voltage models
showed that the X/R ratio of the system impedance
affected the short-circuit ratio [9]. These waveforms
were discontinuous, and the X/R ratio affected the
shape of the waveform and the extinction time; conse-
quently, the X/R ratio also affected the magnitude of
the arc current and the short-circuit ratio. Discontin-
uous arc waveforms are likely to extinguish, unless
some mechanism initiates restrike when the arc
becomes extinct. In the case of three-phase arcs, a
higher ionization level at current zero may facilitate
arc restrike at a lower restrike voltage than used in
the published current-dependent arc models.
Analysis of 1584 Test Data
The data listed in Table 1 shows that the short-circuit
ratio generally increases as the supply voltage increases.
Although the arc voltage also increases with increasing
supply voltage, the arc voltage increases at a slower rate
than the supply voltage; hence, the ratio of arc voltage to
supply voltage decreases. By applying Kirchoffs voltage
law and Ohms law to Figure 1 to two different circuits
defined by smaller and larger supply voltages with the
same short-circuit current, the short-circuit ratio gener-
ally increases with a decreasing ratio of arc voltage to
supply voltage. The 208250 V tests in the data set may
be the exception because of the relatively close proximity
between 208250 V and 400485 V, and because the
lower-magnitude short-circuit currents available on the
208250 V setups tend to result in higher short-circuit
ratios (based on current-dependent model analysis [10]).
Impact of arc current on arc voltage.
4
3
2
1
0
i
a
r
c



0
.
1
2
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000
Arc Current, i
arc
(A)
5
Arc voltage as a function of enclosure.
0.500
0.375
0.250
0.125
0.000
A
r
c

V
o
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t
a
g
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(
k
V
-
L
i
n
e
)
0 10 20 30
Arc Current (kA)
Open Box
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TABLE 1. STATISTICAL SUMMARY OF IEEE 1584 DATA SET.
V
oc
Electrode Enclosed
Enclosed Supply I
sc
I
arc
/ V
arc
V
arc
/ P
arc
/ R
arc
/ Gap Box = 1
kV kA I
sc
kV-line V
oc
VA
sc
Z
system
mm Open = 0
<< <1 kV Three-Phase Supply (165 tests)
min 0.208 0.671 0.238 0.175 0.349 0.119 0.418 7.11 0.00
max 0.768 106.000 0.956 0.615 1.042 0.484 3.772 76.20 1.00
mean 0.543 31.633 0.688 0.305 0.582 0.332 0.985 25.55 0.85
median 0.590 30.000 0.724 0.295 0.549 0.325 0.739 31.75 1.00
stdev 0.105 28.223 0.180 0.070 0.144 0.065 0.592 12.39 0.35
>> >1 kV Three-Phase Supply (148 tests)
min 2.328 2.527 0.591 0.501 0.036 0.027 0.036 13.00 0.00
max 13.800 40.800 1.161 1.886 0.387 0.326 0.395 152.00 1.00
mean 5.490 14.426 0.954 0.946 0.221 0.214 0.231 109.13 0.53
median 2.382 15.000 0.971 0.662 0.253 0.228 0.266 102.00 1.00
stdev 4.698 8.815 0.072 0.483 0.084 0.078 0.091 26.99 0.50
208250 V Three-Phase Supply (six tests)
min 0.208 20.000 0.238 0.187 0.811 0.141 1.195 10.00 1.00
max 0.250 87.500 0.678 0.220 0.899 0.444 3.772 12.70 1.00
mean 0.243 31.250 0.565 0.208 0.855 0.250 1.755 10.45 1.00
median 0.250 20.000 0.616 0.209 0.863 0.171 1.401 10.00 1.00
stdev 0.017 27.557 0.164 0.012 0.035 0.144 0.996 1.10 0.00
400485 V Three-Phase Supply (41 tests)
min 0.400 2.551 0.239 0.175 0.433 0.119 0.520 7.11 0.00
max 0.485 103.340 0.832 0.383 0.945 0.369 3.291 38.10 1.00
mean 0.411 55.857 0.477 0.283 0.691 0.303 1.601 21.30 0.93
median 0.400 53.607 0.472 0.285 0.704 0.321 1.510 19.05 1.00
stdev 0.025 31.628 0.132 0.047 0.121 0.048 0.628 8.96 0.26
590687 V Three-Phase Supply (116 tests)
min 0.590 0.671 0.324 0.213 0.349 0.222 0.418 7.11 0.00
max 0.687 106.000 0.956 0.615 1.042 0.484 1.843 76.20 1.00
mean 0.601 22.761 0.768 0.317 0.526 0.348 0.711 27.72 0.83
median 0.600 21.400 0.778 0.317 0.524 0.340 0.652 32.00 1.00
stdev 0.015 21.447 0.125 0.070 0.113 0.059 0.248 12.92 0.38
2.3282.382 kV Three-Phase Supply (78 tests)
min 2.328 2.527 0.591 0.511 0.216 0.199 0.215 102.00 1.00
max 2.382 16.403 1.055 0.792 0.336 0.297 0.360 102.00 1.00
mean 2.357 10.996 0.931 0.635 0.269 0.236 0.285 102.00 1.00
median 2.360 13.000 0.947 0.610 0.261 0.227 0.284 102.00 1.00
stdev 0.017 4.863 0.086 0.067 0.028 0.025 0.031 0.00 0.00
4.16 kV Three-Phase Supply (35 tests)
min 4.160 5.440 0.742 1.487 0.358 0.244 0.366 102.00 0.00
max 4.160 40.433 1.161 1.612 0.387 0.326 0.395 102.00 0.00
mean 4.160 16.649 0.966 1.557 0.374 0.289 0.383 102.00 0.00
median 4.160 19.833 0.971 1.572 0.378 0.286 0.386 102.00 0.00
stdev 0.000 10.709 0.055 0.064 0.015 0.022 0.015 0.00 0.00
13.8 kV Three-Phase Supply (35 tests)
min 13.800 5.710 0.977 0.501 0.036 0.027 0.036 13.00 0.00
max 13.800 40.800 1.008 1.886 0.137 0.122 0.138 152.00 0.00
mean 13.800 19.847 0.994 1.514 0.110 0.090 0.110 132.14 0.00
median 13.800 20.100 0.995 1.659 0.120 0.094 0.121 152.00 0.00
stdev 0.000 10.266 0.007 0.401 0.029 0.026 0.029 49.35 0.00
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For the voltage supplies greater than 1 kV, the aver-
age short-circuit ratio is 0.954 with an average tested
gap width of 109 mm (4.29 in.). Therefore, for the rel-
atively small gap widths likely in industrial buildings,
the arc voltage is likely to be a fairly small percentage
of a medium-voltage supply (0.221, average), and the
magnitude of the arc current is likely to approach the
short-circuit current.
For voltage supplies less than 1 kV, the arc current
(and short-circuit ratio) is highly dependent on the
supply voltage because the arc voltage is a significant
fraction of the source, averaging 0.855, 0.691, and
0.526 for the 208250 V, 400485 V, and 590687 V
supplies, respectively. The respective average short-cir-
cuit ratios are 0.565, 0.477, and 0.768. The relatively
small changes in gap width more significantly impact
the magnitudes of the arc voltage and current generat-
ed by low-voltage supplies in comparison with medi-
um-voltage supplies.
The large set of data has provided validation for
applying the maximum power transfer theory to arcing-
fault circuits. If the arc is assumed to be a passive linear
resistance, the maximum power, 50% of the short-cir-
cuit VA, is transferred to the arc when the arc resistance
equals a purely inductive system impedance [11]. The
maximum ratio of P
arc
to short-circuit VA (VA
sc
), listed
in Table 1, is 0.484. Furthermore, Figure 6 shows the
theoretical curve of P
arc
/VA
sc
as a function of the ratio
of arc resistance to a purely inductive system imped-
ance. The data points plotted on the same graph con-
firm that the theoretical maximum power curve is not
exceeded; moreover, the data points follow the same
general trend of decreasing P
arc
/VA
sc
as the arc resis-
tance increases with respect to the system impedance.
For the 400485 V and 590687 V tests, the average
P
arc
ratios are 0.303 and 0.348. These values are fairly
close to the ratios predicted for more inductive systems
by the 480-V current-dependent arc model in [10].
IEEE 1584ARC Current and Incident Energy
Accurately predicting arc current is important in
selecting and coordinating overcurrent protective
devices; accurately predicting incident E
arc
is impor-
tant in assessing an arc-flash hazard endangering a per-
son. Incident energy is defined as the amount of energy
(J/cm
2
or cal/cm
2
) impressed on a surface at a certain
TABLE 3. PPE CATEGORIES [12].
Risk Minimum PPE Rating
Category (cal/cm
2
) Clothing Required
0 Na 4.514 ounce/yard untreated cotton
1 4 Flame resistant (FR) shirt and pants
2 8 Cotton underclothing plus FR shirt and pants
3 25 Cotton underclothing plus FR shirt and pants, plus FR coverall
4 40 Cotton underclothing plus FR shirt and pants, plus multilayer
flash suit
TABLE 2. VARIABLE DEFINITIONS FOR (5), (6), AND (7).
K 0.153, open, or 0.097, box configurations
V Three-phase supply voltage in kV
g Distance between phase conductors in mm
IEn Normalized incident energy for an arc
duration of 200 ms and for a distance from
the arc of 610 mm (24 in.)
Cf Calculation factor; 1.5 on LV and 1.0 on MV
systems
t Time duration in seconds
D Distance from arc electrodes (phase
conductors)
x Distance factor. 2.000, LV & MV open air and
cable; 0.973, MV switchgear; 1.473, LV
switchgear; 1.641 LV motor control centers
and panels
K1 0.792, open, or 0.555, closed configuration
K2 0, ungrounded or high-resistance grounded
system; 0.113, grounded system
P
arc
/VA
scas
a function of R
arc
/Z
system
.
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
A
r
c

P
o
w
e
r

/

S
h
o
r
t
-
C
i
r
c
u
i
t

V
A
0 1 2 3 4
Arc Resistance / System Impedance
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distance from the source; the arc-flash hazard increases
at closer proximities to the source.
In IEEE 15842002, the following equation is used
to calculate the three-phase arc current on low-voltage
(LV, less than 1 kV) systems:
log( I
arc
) = K +0.662 log( I
sc
) +0.0966 V
+0.000526 g +0.5588 V log( I
sc
)
0.00304 g log( I
sc
). (4)
For medium-voltage (MV, 115 kV) systems, the fol-
lowing equation is used:
log( I
arc
) = 0.00402 +0.983 log( I
sc
). (5)
The arc power and total arc energy, intermediate steps
in finding the incident energy, are not explicitly for-
mulated in 1584. For LV and MV systems, the inci-
dent energy (IE) may be found from the following
IEEE 1584 equations:
IE =IEn Cf (t/0.2) (610
x
/D
x
) (6)
log(IEn) = K1 +K2 +1.081 log( I
arc
)
+0.00110 g. (7)
[See Table 2 for variable definitions for (5)(7).] The
units of incident energy match
those of the normalized incident
energy (J/cm
2
or cal/cm
2
), and
calories (cal) can be converted to
Joules (J) by multiplying by
4.184. To ease the process of a
short-circuit study and an arc-
flash hazard assessment, IEEE
15842002 Standard has includ-
ed bolted-fault and arc-flash cal-
culators. The arc-flash calculator
computes the incident energy
(which determines PPE class) as
well as a safe flash-protection
boundary (where no PPE is
required). The personal protec-
tive equipment risk categories are
defined in Table 3.
Table 4 lists the average devia-
tions of the calculated arc current
and incident energy with the
measured arc current and maxi-
mum incident energy (of the
seven calorimeters placed a dis-
tance D in front of the elec-
trodes). The percent deviation is
calculated as:
TABLE 4. AVERAGE % DEVIATIONS OF I
arc
AND IE.
Open Open Closed Both
>1 kV <1kV <1kV <1kV
Number of tests 70 21 141 162
I
arc
% Deviation 3 11 12 12
IE % Deviation 26 65 71 70
% Correct PPE 94 90 72 74
% >= Correct PPE 97 100 94 94
TABLE 5. PLAUSIBLE RANGES FOR I
arc
/I
sc
AND
P
arc
/VA
SC
.
Lower Upper
Mean Bound Bound %
I
arc
/I
sc
0.688 0.508 0.868 62.4
P
arc
/VA
sc
0.332 0.267 0.397 73.3
TABLE 6. RANGES FOR RATE OF IE (610 mm)/MVA
sc
.
Lower Upper
Mean Bound Bound %
Shallow 0.911 0.690 1.132 62.5
Cube 1.594 1.090 2.098 66.2
Open 0.616 0.442 0.790 68.4
TABLE 7. DATA SUMMARY USED FOR RESULTS IN TABLE 6.
V
oc
Supply I
sc
P
arc
/ Gap IE
rate
<1kV kV kA I
arc
/I
sc
VA
sc
mm MVA
sc
Shallow Box (40 tests) 305 356 191 mm
3
min
0.208 2.55 0.24 0.19 7.1 0.496
max 0.611 103.34 0.81 0.37 38.1 1.364
mean 0.477 49.17 0.55 0.30 22.6 0.911
median 0.405 53.61 0.54 0.30 19.1 0.912
stdev 0.105 39.80 0.15 0.04 10.1 0.221
Cubic Box (74 tests) 508 508 508 mm
3
min 0.250 0.67 0.38 0.26 10.0 0.835
max 0.759 51.19 0.96 0.48 40.0 3.192
mean 0.580 16.20 0.82 0.37 25.8 1.594
median 0.590 19.54 0.82 0.37 32.0 1.615
stdev 0.071 13.39 0.11 0.06 13.3 0.504
Open Air (19 tests)
min 0.450 16.30 0.24 0.22 19.1 0.303
max 0.768 79.60 0.71 0.37 76.2 0.916
mean 0.599 41.16 0.56 0.32 36.2 0.616
median 0.610 36.25 0.63 0.34 32.0 0.666
stdev 0.077 18.92 0.17 0.04 12.1 0.174
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%deviation = 100 |meas.calc.|/meas. (8)
The formulas adopted in IEEE 15842002 have been
developed from extensive statistical analysis; it can be
seen that the arc current formula is an excellent fit
since the average deviation is so low.
The arc current, duration, and distance from the arc
significantly impact the incident energy. In compari-
son with arc current, the energy incident on a surface
is more variable and more difficult to accurately quan-
tify. It would seem that the incident energy associated
with open-air tests would be more predictable, since
the arc plasma is not striking the box and being redi-
rected. The results seem to demonstrate this trend,
although the low-voltage tests are associated with a
much higher incident energy error. The 1.5 calculation
factor is a likely cause of the larger percent average
deviation of the low-voltage tests.
The calculation factor was introduced in 1584 to
reach a 95% confidence factor for predicting a PPE
based on incident energy levels of 1.2, 8, 25, 40, and
100 cal/cm
2
. The 95% confidence factor was applied to
165 low-voltage tests in 1584 with the following
results: 64% correct PPE ratings and 95% PPE ratings
that met or exceeded the requirement (in comparison
with the respective 74% and 94% ratings listed in
Table 4). The results presented in Table 4 may differ
somewhat from the results published in 1584 because
the distance factor in this analysis (selected as 1.641
for every box) may differ and/or because three fewer
tests were included in this analysis.
Although IEEE 15842002 is an excellent achieve-
ment in quantifying the arc-
flash hazard, two caveats must
be mentioned. The first is that
the equations are based on statis-
tical analysis. Real arc situations
and even arc tests performed by
independent groups may result
in arc currents and, especially,
arc incident energies that do not
conform well to the equations
presented in 1584. Furthermore,
the maximum arc incident ener-
gies have been recorded with the
calorimeters directly facing the
electrodes (for example, an elec-
trician standing directly in front
of and facing an open panel). If
the calorimeters had been placed
in-line with the electrodes (for
example, an electrical worker
working at the end of a long-run
of termi nati ng bus bars and
directly looking at the cross-sec-
tional area of the bus bars), the
recorded maxi mum i nci dent
energy may have been much
larger. Arcs tend to travel away
from (in the opposite direction
of) the voltage source [13]. The magnetic force, dri-
ving the natural direction of the arc movement, also
drives the plasma cloud and the convective energy
associated with the arc [8]. A more lengthy discussion
of this topic is beyond the scope of this work.
Arc Current, P
arc
,
and Incident Energy Estimates
Using simple estimations provides ballpark numbers
quickly and helps confirm whether plausible solutions
are obtained from complex formulas. In this section,
simple formulations are used to provide ballpark esti-
mates of arc current, arc power, and incident energy
for low-voltage systems, particularly 480-V systems.
Since the data used in this formulation included only
one 208-V test, these results cannot be applied to
208-V systems. Arc data on 208-V systems is scarce
because it is difficult to sustain arcs on 208-V systems
Ballpark and probable range for three-phase, 480-V, shallow-box incident energy
at 610 mm (24 in).
25
20
15
10
5
0
I
n
c
i
d
e
n
t

E
n
e
r
g
y

(
c
a
l
/
c
m


2
)
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Time (s)
Zsystem = 5 m
Zsystem = 10 m
Zsystem = 35 m
7
TABLE 8. TYPICAL 480-V BUILDING-SYSTEM
IMPEDANCES.
Z
system
MVA
sc
I
sc
I
load
I
rated
m MVA A A A
5 46.037 55,400 2,770 4,000
10 23.019 27,700 1,385 2,000
15 15.346 18,467 923 1,200
20 11.509 13,850 693 1,000
25 9.207 11,080 554 700
35 6.577 7,914 396 500
I
E
E
E

I
N
D
U
S
T
R
Y

A
P
P
L
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C
A
T
I
O
N
S

M
A
G
A
Z
I
N
E

J
A
N
|
F
E
B

2
0
0
5

W
W
W
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30
in laboratory test setups. One factor contributing to
this difficulty is that the arc voltage is such a large frac-
tion of the 208-V supply.
From the mean and the standard deviation listed for
the short-circuit and arc power ratios in Table 1 under
the heading of <1 kV Three-Phase Supply, a ballpark
number, as well as a ballpark range, can be calculated
for arc current and arc power. A
ballpark number can be found by
multiplying the appropriate mean
to the available three-phase short-
circuit current or VA. The upper
and lower bounds, determined by
respectively adding and subtract-
ing the standard deviation from
the mean, can be multiplied by
the short-circuit current or VA to
provide a likely range of values.
Table 5 lists the means, the lower
and upper bounds, and the per-
centages of test data falling with-
in this range.
In a similar manner, the prob-
able ranges for the rate of inci-
dent energy at a distance of 610
mm (24 in) from a three-phase
arc can be found using Table 6.
Table 7 lists the statistics regard-
ing the data used to predict the
means and upper and l ower
bounds for the rate of incident
energy as a fraction of the short-
circuit MVA. Table 7 is based on
arc tests generated from low-
voltage supplies and with mea-
sured i nci dent energi es at a
distance of 610 mm (24 in). The 610-mm distance
represents a likely distance of an electrical worker to a
panel. The rate of incident energy in cal/(cm
2
-s) as a
ratio of the short-circuit MVA listed in Table 6 has
been determined as follows:
IE rate = IE/t. (9)
Ratio of IE rate = IE rate/MVA
sc
. (10)
The arc duration time, t, is expressed in seconds. The
rate of incident energy cal/(cm
2
-s) can be converted to
a quantity measured in W/cm
2
by multiplying (9) by
4.184.
To determine a ballpark incident energy and the
probable range of likely values for incident energy, the
following equation and relationship may be used:
IE (at 610 mm) = MVA
sc
mean t. (11)
MVA
sc
LB t < IE (at 610 mm) < MVA
sc
UB t.
(12)
The mean, lower bound (LB), and upper bound (UB)
can be found in Table 6, which provides statistics for
open air, shallow-box, and cubic-box configurations.
TABLE 9. ARC CURRENT, P
ARC
,
AND INCIDENT ENERGY CALCULATIONS.
Parameter Equation Result
Arc Current
Ballpark 0.688 55,400 38.1 kA
Lower Bound 0.508 55,400 28.1 kA
Upper Bound 0.868 55,400 48.1 kA
Arc Power
Ballpark 0.332 46.037 15.3 MVA
Lower Bound 0.267 46.037 12.3 MVA
Upper Bound 0.397 46.037 18.3 MVA
Rate of Incident Energy for Shallow Box, 610 mm
Ballpark 0.911 46.037 41.9 cal/(cm
2
-s)
Lower Bound 0.690 46.037 31.8 cal/(cm
2
-s)
Upper Bound 1.132 46.037 52.1 cal/(cm
2
-s)
Incident Energy, t == = 0.1 seconds
Ballpark 41.9 0.1 4.19 cal/cm
2
Lower Bound 31.8 0.1 3.18 cal/cm
2
Upper Bound 52.1 0.1 5.21 cal/cm
2
Ballpark and probable range for three-phase, 480-V, 5-m system impedance inci-
dent energy at 610 mm (24 in).
50
40
30
20
10
0
I
n
c
i
d
e
n
t

E
n
e
r
g
y

(
c
a
l
/
c
m


2
)
Cubic Box (20 20 20 in)
Shallow Box (12 14.5 7.5 in)
Open Air
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Times (s)
8
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J
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2
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5

W
W
W
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31
Since many arcing-fault accidents occur when elec-
trical maintenance workers are performing routine
work on panels, shallow-box calculations are featured
in the remainder of this section. Some typical system
impedance values in a 480Y/277 V system are listed
in Table 8. The short-circuit current and MVA can be
found from a known system impedance. The load cur-
rent is assumed to equal 5% of the short-circuit cur-
rent. Typical overcurrent-protective-device ratings,
assumed to be at least 1.25 times the load current, are
also listed in Table 8. Figures 7 and 8 show the ball-
park and probable range of the incident energy as a
function of time. The incident energies associated
with a shallow box for 5-, 10-, and 35-m system
impedances are graphed in Figure 7. The 5-m sys-
tem impedance energies associated with a shallow box,
a cubic box, and open air are graphed in Figure 8.
As an example, likely values and ranges of values for
the 5-m system impedance are calculated. The avail-
able three-phase short-circuit current and short-circuit
MVA are
I
sc
= 277/0.005 = 55, 400 A. (13)
MVA
sc
= 3 277 I
sc
= 46.037 MVA. (14)
The multipliers found in Table 5 and Table 6 are used
to predict the ballpark and probable range for arc cur-
rent, arc power, and incident energy. The computations
are shown in Table 9. For the 5-m system imped-
ance, the ballpark arc current is around 38.1 kA and
the probable range is 28.148.1 kA. The ballpark arc
power is around 15.3 MVA and the probable range is
12.318.3 MVA.
The shallow-box configuration from Table 6 has
been used to calculate the ballpark and probable range
for the rate of incident energy at 610 mm (24 in.) as a
ratio to the short-circuit MVA. The response time for
an overcurrent protective device determines the dura-
tion of arcing; in this example, the arc duration is
assumed to equal 0.1 s. As listed in Table 9, ballpark
incident energy is around 4.19 cal/cm
2
and the proba-
ble range is 3.185.21 cal/cm
2
. These numbers can be
verified from Figure 7 or Figure 8.
Conclusions
IEEE 15842002 was developed to help protect peo-
ple from arc-flash hazard dangers. The predicted arc
current and incident energy are used in selecting
appropriate overcurrent protective devices and person-
al protective equipment, as well as defining safe work-
ing distances. Since the magnitude of the arc current
is inherently linked with the degree of arc hazard, the
arc is examined as a circuit parameter in this work.
From a circuit perspective, the magnitude of the arc
voltage determines the arc current in a given system.
Therefore, the 1584 data set has been used to illus-
trate how several parameters influence the arc voltage;
larger gap widths, higher supply voltages, and open-
air configurations have been associated with greater
arc voltages.
A summary of statistical information regarding the
1584 data set has been provided to promote a better
understanding of the origin of the numbers predicted
by the 1584 arc-flash calculator. The analysis also
independently lends confidence to the accuracy of the
1584 arc current and incident energy equations. Fur-
thermore, since estimations are often useful, simple
equations for predicting ballpark arc current, arc
power, and incident energy values and probable ranges
are presented in this work.
References
[1] IEEE 15842002, New York: IEEE, 2002.
[2] T. Neal, A. Bingham, and R. Doughty, Protective clothing guide-
lines for electric arc exposure, IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat., vol. 33,
no. 4, pp. 10411054, July/Aug 1997.
[3] R. Doughty, T. Neal, T. Dear, and A. Bingham, Testing update on
protective clothing & equipment for electric arc exposure, IEEE
Ind. Applicat. Mag., vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 3749, Jan/Feb 1999.
[4] R. Doughty, T. Neal, and H. Floyd, Predicting energy to better
manage the electric arc hazard on 600 v power distribution sys-
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Jan/Feb 2000.
[5] R. Jones, M. Capelli-Schellpfeffer, R. Downey, S. Jamil, D. Liggett,
T. Macalady, L. McClung, V. Saporita, L. Saunders, and A. Smith,
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equipment, IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat., vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 659667,
Mar/Apr 2000.
[6] S. Jamil, R. Jones, and L. McClung, Arc and flash burn hazards at
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vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 359366, Mar/Apr 1997.
[7] D. Stokes and W.T. Oppenlander, Electric arcs in open air, J.
Phys. D, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 2635, Jan. 14, 1991.
[8] D. Stokes and D.K. Sweeting, Electric arcing burn hazards, in
Proc. 7th Int. Conf. Electric Fuses and their Applications, Gdansk,
Poland, Sept. 2003.
[9] T. Gammon and J. Matthews, Instantaneous arcing-fault models
developed for building system analysis, IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat.,
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[10] T. Gammon and J. Matthews, Conventional and recommended
arc power and energy calculations and arc damage assessment,
I EEE Tr ans . I nd. Appl i c at . , vol . 39, no. 3, pp. 594599,
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[11] R.H. Lee, The other electrical hazard: Electric arc blast burns,
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[12] NFPA 70E-2004, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace,
Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Agency, 2004.
[13] L. Fisher, Resistance of low-voltage ac arcs, IEEE Trans. Ind. Gen.
Applicat., vol. IGA-6, pp. 607616, Nov./Dec. 1970.
Tammy L. Gammon ([email protected]) and John H.
Mat t he ws (j omat t he ws @i nf oave . ne t ) are wi t h John
Matthews & Associates in Cookeville, Tennessee. This arti-
cle first appeared in its original form at the 2004 Indus-
trial & Commercial Power Systems Technical Conference.