Understanding Arc Flash

Waveforms

Lloyd B. Gordon
Los Alamos National Laboratory
[email protected]

2011 EFCOG/DOE Electrical 1

Safety Workshop
 A Complete Approach to
Electrical Hazard Classification
Electrical Shock, Part I
• Three years ago, at the IEEE Electrical Safety Workshop,
the Electrical Safety subgroup presented an approach for a
complete electrical shock hazard classification system that
included AC, DC, RF, sub RF, and impulse shocks.
• The review paper published was based on the review of
research from 1880 to 2007, covering all research on the
effects of electrical shock.
• The hazard classification system is based on the published
works of Dalziel, Geddes, and 60 more researchers.
• This complete system is now in use at many national
research institutions, including DOE and DOD.
• Elements (DC) are in the 2012 NFPA 70E and more
(capacitor) will be proposed at this workshop for the 2015
NFPA 70E.
 A Complete Approach to
Electrical Hazard Classification
Electrical Shock, Part I - cont.
• Elements (DC) are in the 2012 NFPA 70E and more
(capacitor) will be proposed at this workshop for the 2015
NFPA 70E.
• The standards in the U.S. (70E and IEEE 1584) lead the
world in arc flash standards and classification.
• The U.S. lags the world in shock standards (IEC is far
better)
• This hazard classification system, based on the review of
200 papers AND the IEC standards has been hindered in
publication in DOE for both the DOE Electrical Safety
Handbook and the Electrical Severity Measurement Tool.
• DOE and DOD sites will continue to use these Electrical
Safety subgroup products despite setbacks.
• The Electrical Safety subgroup is leading the country.
 A Complete Approach to
Electrical Hazard Classification
Arc Flash
• Now it is time to follow with a more complete method of
classifying all forms of arc hazards, including arcs, arc
flash, and arc blast, for all forms of electricity.
• History
– 2010 Electrical Safety Workshop - Arc physics presentation
– 2011 IEEE Electrical Safety Workshop - Expanded arc physics
presentation
– 2011 Electrical Safety Workship - Arc Waveforms
– 2012 IEEE Electrical Safety Workshop - 4 hour tutorial on research,
modeling, and classification of all arc hazards
 “Burning” Arc Flash Questions

• At what voltages do arcs result in significant arc

flash hazards?
• At what short circuit currents should we begin to
worry about arc flash hazards?
• How is electrical energy converted into arc, arc
flash, and arc blast hazards?
• What are the differences in arc flash thresholds
and characteristics for AC, DC, and impulse
arcs?
 From Arcs to Arc Flash

• The physics of arcs

• Conversion of arc energy to arc flash energy
• Comparing waveforms
• A complete arc hazard classification system

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 What is an Electric Arc?

• An arc is a high current, low resistance electric

discharge.
• It is formed from the ionization of gas, conductor and
insulator material creating a high density, very high
temperature plasma.
• Electrical energy is converted into:
– heating, melting vaporization, and ionization of material
– acoustic expansion
– radiant energy (IR, visible and UV)
– magnetic forces
– acceleration of parts, if the forces break up the materials
• Arcs can form inside of solid, liquid, or gaseous
dielectrics, and even in a vacuum.
 The Physics of Arcs
• For 100 years, substantial research has been conducted
to understand the science of dielectric breakdown,
plasmas and arcs for:
– Technological development
• Very little research has been done to understand the
science of the arc flash hazard, for safety.
• Today’s understanding of arc flash and subsequent code
requirements are largely based on “empirical” data:
– Measurements taken, and empirical equations developed
– Lots of data for ac arc flash, some new data on dc arc flash,
some historical data on impulse arcs

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 What is Arc Flash?

• Arc Flash is a rather general term to describe

the hazard that injures from heat.
• The heat may be from several sources:
– Radiant heat (UV electromagnetic radiation)
– Contact with hot gas and plasma (ionized gas)
– Contact from molten and hot metal
 The Physics of Arc Flash
• Although we have data and models for the formation and character
of arcs, very little has been done to understand and model the
conversion of the arc electrical energy into the arc flash and arc
blast energies.
• To understand the degree of hazard, and what parameters control
this hazard, we must understand this conversion process.
• To compensate, currently, we “skip” from
– Existing knowledge of physics and models of arcs
– TO
– Empirical data of energy deposited
• There are very few models and theoretical analysis of the energy
conversion process, especially as a function of wave shape

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 What is an Arc Blast?

• Arc Blast is somewhat a loose term used to describe

additional hazards beyond the thermal hazard of arc
flash, but primarily, the:
• Acoustical shock wave created by the deposition of
significant electrical energy in a small volume,
accompanied by
– Shrapnel
– Magnetic forces on conductors
• NFPA 70E and manufacturers are beginning to address
some of the arc “blast” hazards, e.g., hearing protection
and impact resistant face shields
 How arcs begin

• Arcs are formed when the voltage is high

enough to break down a dielectric (electrical
insulator) and current/energy is sufficient to fuel
the arc, continuing to vaporize and ionize gas
and solid material (both dielectric and
conductor), or
• Arcs can also be initiated by direct contact
between two conductors of different potential
– intentionally as in an arc welder
– Accidentally, as with a tool dropped across two
conductors
 Arc initiation through dielectric
breakdown
• Any electrical insulator (dielectric) can fail at a high
enough voltage, i.e., the voltage breakdown threshold.
• If sufficient voltage and current are available, an arc is
formed composed of insulator and conductor plasma.
• Once a breakdown arc occurs, lower voltage is required
to sustain the arc.
• Breakdown processes occur in 10-6 to 10-9 s
• Arc risetime is HIGHLY dependant upon the circuit
impedance
– Facility power circuits, risetimes are in milliseconds (slow !)
– Capacitor circuits, risetimes are in microseconds (fast !)
 What is a spark?

• “Spark” is a term sometimes used for a

short lived arc.
• The short life may be due to:
– Running out of energy: spark plug, lightning,
capacitor discharge
– Insufficient voltage to sustain an arc: car
battery
 Diffuse plasmas
• Other types of conductive plasmas include:
– Glow discharge - fluorescent light (low pressure)
– Corona - high resistance ionization of a gas, a partial breakdown
• Such diffuse plasmas have characteristics, compared to arcs
– Diffuse plasma
• High resistance
• Low temperature
• Low energy transport
– Arcs
• Low resistance
• High temperature
• High energy transport
 The electric arc at atmospheric
pressure
• Low voltage drop
• Capable of high currents
• Small (1 - 2 mm) intensely brilliant core
– Very high temperature
• Surrounded by a cooler region of flaming gases
(aureole)
– Region of intense chemical activity
 What is arc flash?

• The expanding cloud (aureole) of relatively

cooler material consisting of
– Plasma (ionized material from air, conductor
and insulator)
– Hot gases
– Molten metal droplets
Arc Flash Events in Electrical Equipment

Note: Copper expands 30,000 times

when vaporized!
 Molten Metal !
• Caution must be used in developing universal
arc flash boundary models.
• From the previous photo, note the large number
of molten metal droplets
• Ejection of molten metal is a relatively slow
process and is highly dependant upon:
– Current risetime
– Magnitude of current
– Energy deposited in a short time
 Arc Extinction

• Arcs will extinguish if:

1) The source voltage is not sufficient to sustain a
longer arc, and the arc lengthens due to:
• Melting of the electrodes
• Separating the two electrodes
• Thermal forces (Jacob’s ladder effect)
• Magnetic forces (pushes the arc away from the circuit)
2) The source runs out of energy (e.g., a capacitor)
3) Overcurrent protection interrupts the current
 1) Arc extinction - low voltage

• There is a voltage drop (a resistance) in an arc

• If the voltage is low (approximately less than 250 V ac
rms), and the electrodes (the two conductors) spread
apart the arc will break
• The hazard is local heat, some vaporized metal and
ejected metal droplets
• PPE is typically to protect the eyes and hands
• If substantial energy is delivered quickly, then shrapnel is
a hazard
• Examples:
– most 120 and 240 V circuits
– batteries
– arc welder
– magnet, electroplating, and filament supplies
 1) Arc extinction - low voltage

• The voltage threshold for rapid arc extinction is

strongly dependant upon the initial arc length
between the two conductors AND the waveform:
• Examples:
– 1/4 inch gap (125 V ac extinguishes, 130 V DC sustains)
– 1 inch gap (480 V ac sustains, 260 V DC sustains)
• The extinction process is accelerated if the current
goes through current zeros, allowing plasma
recombination and cooling,
– Single phase AC arcs
 Special problem - Inductance

• If there is substantial inductance (a large motor or a

large magnet) the voltage can increase well beyond the
normal operating level, as the magnetic field decays.
This will continue to fuel a growing arc until the magnetic
field energy is exhausted.
• To adequately assess the arc flash hazard the energy
stored in the inductor must be added
• The potential arc flash hazard of an inductive system,
even low voltage, must be considered
 2) Arc extinction - limited energy

• An arc has a very low resistance (ohms)

• This “short circuit” will drain the energy of most electrical
equipment immediately (not facility power delivery
circuits)
• If the energy is limited the arc will quickly extinguish,
even though the fault current can briefly be very high
• Power distribution systems, however, essentially have
an infinite energy source, only limited by the overcurrent
protection action
• Examples of limited energy equipment:
– dc power supplies
– capacitors
– inductors
3) Arc extinction - overcurrent protection

• An arc with sufficient voltage (> 250 V) and sufficient

current (> 500 A) will continue to grow until the fault
current is interrupted
• Energy into the arc is determined by the power and the
time that the arc exists
• Current interruption time is critical to limiting the arc
energy
V = voltage in Volts
• E=Pxt=VxIxt I = current in Amps
P = power in Watts
• Energy is measured in Joules (J) E = energy in Joules
t = time in seconds
 Arc extinguishing processes

• If the source of energy for ionization and heating is

removed, the arc quickly “dies” due to:
– Recombination
– Deionization
• These processes take place in 10-3 to 10-6 s.

• To re “ignite” the arc, requires another breakdown process

• In a 60 Hz, single phase arc, the current is zero every 8 ms

 Converting Arc Energy into Arc Flash
Energy
• The bulk of the electrical energy in a “slow”
arc goes into thermal processes:
– Melting of the conductor
– Vaporization of the conductor
– Ionization of the conductor
– Ionization of surrounding gas
– Melting, vaporization and ionization of insulator

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 Arcs feed the arc flash
• The arc remains small (a few mm) but the surrounding
plasma grows as energy (current) continues to vaporize
and ionize material, and the voltage sustains the
“feeding” of the arc V = voltage in Volts
• Arc energy (V x I x t) is converted to: I = current in Amps
– Noise (acoustic shock wave) t = time in seconds
– expansion (pressure)
– acceleration of parts
– vaporization of metal and dielectrics (turning solids into gases)
– ionization of subsequent gases (tearing the electrons off of the
atoms)
• An ionized gas (plasma) is a conductor and continues to
carry the current leading to rapid plasma expansion and
further vaporization and ionization
 Energy Into an Arc

• The real issue for arc flash injury is how much

energy is deposited into the arc and
subsequently could reach the worker. V = voltage in Volts
I = current in Amps
P = power in Watts
• E=Pxt=VxIxt E = energy in Joules
t = time in seconds

• V is usually well known

• I is determined by fault calculations
• t is determined by current interruption, or
exhaustion of the energy
 Comparing Waveforms

• Single phase 50/60 Hz

• Three phase 50/60 Hz
• DC
– Limited energy (DC power supplies)
– High energy (battery banks)
• Impulse
– Capacitive (fast)
– Inductive (slow)
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 Comparing Waveforms

• Single phase 50/60 Hz

• Three phase 50/60 Hz
• DC
– Limited energy (DC power supplies)
– High energy (battery banks)
• Impulse
– Capacitive (fast)
– Inductive (slow)
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 Arc Flash, as a Function of Waveform

• Waveform will have a significant effect on:

– Conversion into various forms of energy
– Thresholds for plasma cloud expansion
– Acoustic shock wave
– Creation and ejection of molten metal droplets
– Plasma sustaining processes
– Extinction processes

– Significance and magnitude of the arc flash

 AC vs DC arcs
• An 60 Hz arc passes through a current zero every 8 ms.
– Thus, substantial cooling from recombination and deionization
occurs between current peaks.
– More voltage is needed to “reignite” the arc after each current
zero than a DC arc.
– This effect is somewhat cancelled, however, in inductive circuits,
as a voltage appears across the gap during a current zero.
• DC arcs do not pass through current zeros and sustain
ionization at lower voltages
• Three phase AC arcs will behave more like DC arcs,
since the average current flow is more constant, and
there are no total current and voltage zeros.

• Note that IEEE 1584 does not cover single phase arcs
 What is the voltage threshold for arc
flash?
• AC
– Often self extinguishes below about 250 V rms, for typical gaps
• Especially true for single phase arcs
• Less true for three phase arcs
– For less than 125 kVA systems, not enough energy is deposited
in the arc to create a substantial arc flash hazard before the
overcurrent protection operates
• DC
– Under investigation
– May result in hotter plasmas for equivalent AC voltages
• One paper reported DC heat flux = 1.25 x AC heat flux
– May result in arc flash hazards at lower voltage thresholds
• 130 V DC for short gaps
• 260 V DC for 1 inch gaps
 Welding arcs
• Characteristics of welding arcs
– 1 - 3 mm in length
– 50 to 1000 A (200 - 600 A for welding, 400 - 1000 A for cutting)
– DC or AC
• DC welders
– 40 - 60 V open circuit
– 20 V operating
• AC welders
– Arc must be reignited every half cycle
– 70 to 120 V open circuit
– Inductors are used to compensate for plasma decay
Energy into Facility Arcs (60 Hz power)

• Essentially unlimited energy.

• The energy deposited into the arc is limited only by
interruption of the current (overcurrent protection or
fusing of the conductors).
• The speed of delivery (power) is determined by V and I
during the fault, and by impedance.

• Critical parameters are:

– fault current
– overcurrent protection times
– impedance
Boundaries for Facility Electric Hazards
Equipment
enclosure

ARC FLASH BOUNDARY Open side of

enclosure

Exposed,
energized
conductor or
Limited Restricted Prohibited circuit part
For most space space space
facility sources
the flash
protection
boundary is
greater than the
shock
boundaries.

Zero distance

prohibited approach boundary (Shock)

restricted approach boundary (Shock)

Limited approach boundary (Shock)

Example Energies in facility system arcs
Bus voltage Short Circuit Power Clearing Energy in Typical Arc
Current (peak) Time of Arc Flash
Fault Boundary
120 V, 1  3,000 A 360 kW 0.1 s 36 kJ

240 V, 1  10,000 A 2.4 MW 0.1 s 0.2 MJ

480 V, 3  15,000 A 7.2 MW 0.1 s 0.7 MJ 1m

4160 V, 3  25,000 A 104 MW 0.1 s 10 MJ 2.2 m

13.8 kV, 1  31,000 A 430 MW 0.1 s 42 MJ 4m

Note 1: Clearing time can be reduced by fast acting fuses

Note 2: Clearing time can be longer, if overcurrent protection fails to operate, or if
it operates slowly for coordination purposes.
 Energy into DC Equipment Arcs

• There is usually a finite energy available in DC equipment.

• Overcurrent protection upstream, to protect the equipment, and impedance
of branch circuits, power cords, and transformers usually limits the fault
currents to well below those in facility circuits.
• Impedance of equipment transformers can be much larger than that of
facility transformers.

• Critical parameters are:

– stored energy
– overcurrent protection
– impedance
Boundaries for DC Electric Hazards
Equipment For most DC
enclosure Equipment the
flash protection
boundary is
Open side of less than the
enclosure shock
boundaries.
ARC FLASH BOUNDARY

Exposed,
energized
conductor or
Limited Restricted Prohibited circuit part
space space space

Zero distance

prohibited approach boundary (Shock)

restricted approach boundary (Shock)

Limited approach boundary (Shock)

Available energy in DC power supplies

• Once past the transformer, the available

fault energy is determined by:
– energy stored in the capacitors
– energy delivered through the transformer,
limited by
• transformer impedance
• fast overcurrent protection in the primary
• impedance of the power feed
• The majority of the energy available to the
fault is determined by the output capacitor.
 Method for Arc Flash Boundary
Calculations for Capacitors
• Assume all of energy is converted into radiant
heat (worst case, will not be true)
• Energy in a box (x 3 energy of free space)
• 5 J/cm2 limit for 2nd degree burn
• energy density = 3 x E/ 4πr2
• Arc Flash Boundary for 5 J/cm2, r = (0.05 x E)1/2,
where E is the total available energy in J

• Does not account for acoustic, light, magnetic

and shrapnel hazards E = energy in Joules
r = distance in cm
 Impulse Arcs

• Characteristics of impulse arcs from a low

inductance capacitor discharge
– Risetime 0.5 - 1 µs
– Pulsewidth few µs
– 26,000 - 33,000 K core temperature
– Shock wave peak initially at Mach 4.2
– Maximum arc radius at current peak
– Arc diameter 3 - 7 mm
 Impulse Arcs - variations

• Faster risetime
– Smaller current radius
– Increase in temperature
• Pressure
– Arc temperature not a strong function of pressure
 Impulse Arc - Energy Conversion

• A strong blast wave is created by

depositing significant energy into a small
volume very quickly
• Energy conversion
– 25 - 50 % energy into motion (shock wave)
– 2.5 % into light
Examples of Energies and Arc Flash
Boundaries for various capacitors
The arc flash boundary for the ac input power must be calculated
separately
Type Voltage Energy Arc Flash
Boundary
Cathode Ray Tube 40,000 V 0.1 J 0.1 mm

High Pot Tester 60,000 V 0.1 J 0.1 mm

Microwave Oven 4,000 V 10 J 0.7 cm

High Power Laser 10,000 V 1000 J 7 cm

X-ray Source 100,000 V 10 J 0.7 cm

Energy storage Cap 60,000 V 200 kJ 1m

Capacitor Bank 60,000 V 1 MJ 2m

Note: most of these are well within the Prohibited Approach Boundary
 Summary
• The conversion of electrical energy into
– Thermal energy
– Acoustical energy
– Mechanical energy
• in an arc is a strong function of
– Risetime
– Peak current
– Current zeros
– Energy deposited
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 Conclusions
• A complete electrical arc hazard classification
system should be developed that covers all
classes of electrical arcs, including:
– AC, single phase
– AC, three phase
– DC, low energy (equipment)
– DC, high energy (batteries, huge systems)
– Impulse, fast (capacitor driven)
– Impulse, slow (inductor driven)

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 The Past and the Future
• Efforts in the past 10 years has broadened
our understanding and protection against
ALL forms of electric shock
• Efforts in the next few years will broaden
our understanding and protection against
ALL forms of arc hazards

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 Arcs to Arc Flash

• More to come

For More Information, Contact:

Lloyd B. Gordon
Los Alamos National Laboratory
[email protected]

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