Arc Flash Hazard Assessment

Greg Shirek, P.E. Milsoft Utility Solutions, Inc.

All information contained within this document is considered confidential and proprietary. Contents of this document may not be reproduced or distributed without prior written consent from Milsoft Utility Solutions, Inc. Under no circumstances shall Milsoft Utility Solutions, Inc. be liable for any incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages that result from the use of this document or the information contained herein.

Introduction The 2007 revision of the National Electric Safety Code includes flame retardant clothing as a requirement. Rule 410A3 states, Effective January 1, 2009, the employer shall ensure that an assessment is performed to determine potential exposure to an electric arc for employees who work on or near energized parts or equipment. If the assessment determines a potential employee exposure greater than 2 cal/cm2 exists, the employer shall require the employee to wear clothing or a clothing system that has an effective rating at least equal to the anticipated level of arc energy. This requirement poses significant challenges to electric utilities, which begin with conducting the detailed arc flash assessment, and then implementing the safety program by receiving input and getting workers to agree on the programs requirements within their company. In order to assist electric utilities with the completion of this detailed arc flash assessment, WindMil includes an arc flash utility with the base WindMil software. This feature allows the user to analyze any and all elements within the WindMil model, and also contains the freedom to modify arc flash input variables to see what effect they have on the calculated energy levels and minimum working distances. Standards A few of the most commonly referenced standards that establish safe practices to protect electrical workers from the hazards of shock, electrocution, arc flash, and arc blast include: OSHA 29 Code of Federal Regulations Part 1910, Subpart S NFPA 70-2005, National Electrical Code NFPA 70E-2004, Standard for Electrical Safety Requirements for Employee Workplaces 2007 NESC 410A3 IEEE Standard 1584-2002, Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations

The 2007 NESC Tables in Section 410 were created by using commercially available arc flash software. The user must be aware that the values in the tables abide to a set of criteria listed in the footnotes such as working distance, arc gap, and arc clearing time. For values experienced in the real-world outside of these limits, some other industry accepted standard must be used to calculate the arc flash energies. Test cases on some typical utility systems have proven that these footnote conditions are many times
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not met, such as the maximum clearing times of overcurrent protection devices since utilities system protection philosophies may differ significantly. Furthermore, when working on or near voltages below 1000 volts, a minimum of 4 calorie FR clothing must be worn according to the NESC tables. When this rule was written by the subcommittee they believed the 4 calories was not adequate, but had no other technical data for a different requirement. The subcommittee is aiming to provide better guidance for low voltage work in the NESC revision. NFPA 70E-2004, Standard for Electrical Safety Requirements for Employee Workplaces, also contains a variety of tables showing PPE (personal protective equipment) requirements according to the employees type of work, from racking a breaker to taking voltage measurements. This is referred to as the HRC (Hazard-Risk Category) table. Similar to the NESC Tables in Section 410, the NFPA 70E tables are for specific arc gaps and working distances, and also a limit is imposed on fault currents and clearing times. Therefore, for situations outside these ranges, the utility is required to consult another industry accepted calculation method. The IEEE Standard 1584-2002, Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations includes the most informative and prescriptive calculation methods. Results from the various testing methods and statistical analyses are contained in this document that describes how the equations were developed. This standard allows the user to determine the arc flash hazard boundaries and accompanying incident energy levels that personnel could be exposed to while performing work on energized lines or equipment. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) One of the main reasons to complete the arc flash assessment is to determine the proper PPE the employee needs to wear at various distances from the potential arc flash source. Flame resistant clothing has incident energy ATPV (Arc Thermal Performance Value) ratings and is measured in calories per square centimeter (cal/cm2) or joules per square centimeter (J/cm2). For reference, the conversion factor is 4.184 Joules = 1 calorie. Since arc flash events can potentially produce energies across the entire spectrum, the industry has adopted a rating category to simplify the process of exactly what should be worn when working around energized lines or equipment. This also helps with the labeling requirements on equipment such that the category can be listed and the minimum rating of PPE also shown. The following table shows the category of clothing, along with the description and minimum required arc rating or the PPE. In addition to clothing requirements, various levels of face, head, eye and ear protection is required at each category.

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Table 1 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Hazard Risk Category (HRC)

0 1

Required Minimum Required Minimum Clothing Description (Typical number of clothing layers is Arc Rating of PPE Arc Rating of PPE 2 2 given in parentheses) (cal/cm ) (J/cm ) Non-melting flammable materials (i.e. untreated cotton, wool, rayon, or silk, or blends of these materials) with fabric 2 weight at least 4.5 oz/yd N/A N/A FR shirt and FR pants or FR coverall (1) Cotton Underwear - conventional short sleeve and brief/shorts, plus FR shirt and FR pants (1 or 2) Cotton Underwear plus FR shirt and FR pants pluse FR coverall, or cotton underwear plus two FR coveralls (2 or 3) Cotton underwear plus FR shirt and FR pants plus multilayer flash suit (3 or more) 4 16.7

33.5

25

104.6

40

167.4

Flash Protection Boundary According to NFPA 70E, this boundary is the distance at which the worker is exposed to 1.2 cal/cm2, or the level of arc energy at which a person could receive a second degree burn. For situations where a worker may be within this boundary, the arc flash analysis will indicate the PPE rating needed at the working distance. The WindMil arc flash analysis determines the distances that correspond to the categories of NFPA 70E PPE industry levels, which were previously indicated in Table 1. Data Needed for WindMil Arc Flash Utility The WindMil Arc Flash Utility algorithms follow the IEEE Std. 1584-2002. The data needed by WindMil to complete a detailed arc flash assessment are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. System Voltage Bolted Fault Current Arc Fault Current Clearing Time of Upline Protective Device Equipment Type Arc Gap Length Is Arc in box or open air Grounding Type Distance from Arc to Person (Working Distance)

How is this data collected?

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The above items 1 through 8 can be obtained directly from the WindMil model as long as each element is configured correctly according to true system configuration of the utility system. If the WindMil model is linked with LightTable, the arc fault clearing times can be directly obtained from the LightTable time-current-curves to populate the clearing time values needed in Item 4. Item 9, the working distance, is the only needed user defined input. System Voltage This input value is obtained directly from WindMil at the arc flash point of interest. Bolted Fault Current As long as the WindMil system model has proper impedance definitions, the fault current utility will determine RMS bolted fault currents at all elements. Arcing Current This value is directly obtained from the bolted fault current. On higher voltage systems, the arcing current will be comparable in magnitude to the bolted fault current. On lower voltage systems under 1 kV, the arcing current will be lower than the bolted due to the high arc impedance. WindMil also calculates the incident energy at 85% arcing current according to IEEE 1584 methods. As a result, the arc fault calculator indicates if 100% or 85% arcing current produces the highest incident energy. Clearing Time of Protective Device Like other input parameters, this value can either be manually entered, or obtained from the WindMil to LightTable protective device coordination link. In order to calculate the arc energy at every point on the system, each overcurrent device in the model will need to be defined and linked to the LightTable curve database. Keep in mind that the arc duration is based on total clearing times. That is, for electronically controlled reclosers and relays with breakers, be sure to enter the device operating times. Equipment Type By default, each type of element has been predefined an equipment type. See Table 3 for the element type and default equipment.

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Table 2 Element and Equipment Type

Element Type OH UG Overcurrent (kV>1.0) Overcurrent(kV<=1.0) Switch Transformer (OH parent) Transformer (UG parent) Regulators (OH parent) Regulators (UG parent) Capacitors (OH parent) Capacitors (UG parent) Nodes (OH parent) Nodes (UG parent) Customers (OH parent) Customers (UG parent) Source All others (OHparent) All others (UGparent)

Equipment Type Open Air Cable Switch Gear MCC and Panels Switch Gear Open Air Switch Gear Open Air Switch Gear Open Air Switch Gear Open Air Switch Gear Open Air Switch Gear Open Air Open Air Switch Gear

"in Box" FALSE FALSE TRUE TRUE TRUE FALSE TRUE FALSE TRUE FALSE TRUE FALSE TRUE FALSE TRUE FALSE FALSE TRUE

Arc Gap Length This value is the length of arc between energized parts during the arc flash event and is based on voltage level. This value is defaulted according to the equipment type directly from IEEE 1584, as can be seen in Table 4.
Table 3 Typical Arc Gaps

kV 0.208 to 1

1 to 5

5 to 15

Equipment Type Open air Switchgear MCC and Panels Cable Open air Switchgear Cable Open air Switchgear Cable

Typical Gap Between Conductors (mm) 10 32 25 13 102 13 13 13 153 13

Distance X Factor 2 1.473 1.641 2 2 0.973 2 2 0.973 2

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Is Arc in Open Air or Box Laboratory tests have verified that arcs occurring in a box, such as any type of enclosure, will have a more severe release of energy since the arc blast reflects on the walls of the enclosure and then forces the energy in one direction, outwards towards the worker. Conversely, arc flash in open air allows the energy to dissipate spherically therefore releasing energy in all directions. Table 5 reflects the defaults currently set for various equipment types and if they are considered in a box. Grounding Type If a transformer is wye connected or a center tapped transformer, then algorithm assumes a solidly grounded connection. All other configurations are considered ungrounded. Working Distance This is defined as the working distance from the possible arcing point to the workers face or torso, not the hands or arms. Keep in mind this working distance is from the point of the arc, not from the entrance to a piece of equipment for example. There is also a suggested working distance value to be used based on voltage level in the IEEE 1584 standard, however since this variable may differ significantly dependent upon the type of live line work, such as rubber gloving and hot stick work variances, the WindMil Arc Flash utility is set up so that it is a mandatory assignment by the user. Range of Model The IEEE Standard 1584 equations are based on a limited amount of laboratory testing which could not cover the entire range of input parameters. The algorithms are based upon measured arc current incident energy under a specific set of test conditions as well as theoretical work conducted in the 1980s by Ralph Lee. The following picture references the limitations to the arc flash utility, which is a window that appears prior to running the utility. Whenever the arc flash tool encounters situation where the input parameters are outside the range of the model, an OOR will appear in the report indicating Out Of Range. If OOR is encountered, either the Lee method theoretical equations will be used, which is always the case for situations over 15 kV L-L, or the calculator will indicate which variable needs to be modified to perform the arc flash calculations. As an example, for bolted fault values less than 700 amps, there will be no calculations.

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Figure 1 Range of Arc Flash Model

Arc Flash Calculator To run the arc flash calculator, select Arc Flash Calculator from the Utility drop-down menu. WindMils an arc flash calculator, or arc flash analysis, enables the user to determine incident energies at a selected element within the current model. The user can also use this calculator to input any values of interest for any situation with the results reflecting the calculated incident energy at the user selected working distance. Furthermore, the working distance that corresponds to the crossover points between PPE categories are also listed. See the Figure below.

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Figure 2 Arc Flash Analysis Input Screen

7 4 1

5 2

3 6

1. Circuit element to evaluate. Depressing the button to the right will re-sync the fields to the WindMil models parameters. The note will indicate if a higher energy was found by using 100% of maximum arcing amps or 85% arcing amps. 2. The base voltage of the element being evaluated. 3. The custom field at the bottom will be defaulted when the user re-syncs the fields to the element. This gap will be the default field from Table 4. The user has the option of selecting the equipment type, which will change the gap based on the voltage in item 2. 4. Directly obtained from WindMil according to Table 3. 5. The Bolted Fault Current is the three-phase LLL for delta or LLLG for grounded Y systems. The Arcing Current is a calculated value dependent upon fault current, voltage, and equipment type. The Arcing Time is directly obtained from the LightTable curve database when these devices are linked with WindMil. This value is the total clearing time. 6. User must enter in the Distance from Arc to Person in inches or centimeters. The calculated incident energy will then be shown below. 7. The report portion shows the distances that would cause the worker to crossover between the various PPE categories, or hazard levels. Arc Flash Report To run the arc flash report, select Arc Flash from the Utility drop-down menu.

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The arc flash utility will determine the amount of incident energy at every element throughout the WindMil model and create a report showing the various input parameters used, as well as the calculation results for all elements. The following figure shows the input parameter screen. As previously mentioned, WindMils defaults for all the other necessary variables are all inherent within the WindMil model.
Figure 3 Arc Flash Report Input Screen

1. This is the working distance from the workers face or torso to the location of the arc flash. 2. Click on the folder icon to point to a location to save the arc flash text report. 3. If checked, the arc flash levels will be calculated according to the worst case arc gap. The algorithm will find the largest arc gap by considering all the element types and their corresponding voltages within the entire model. For example, if the model only contains elements less than 1000 volts, then the worst case arc gap will be 32 mm if at least one element is defined as switchgear within the model. Refer to tables 3 and 4 for the equipment types, voltages, and default arc gap lengths. The user can also manually change the gap, but must also remember to change the distance X factor accordingly as shown in Table 3. Arc Flash Report This report will show the same input variables and arc flash results as the calculator, but will be a listing of all elements within the model. Currently, the arc gap is set to be the same for all elements, but will be changed in future versions so that each elements arc gap will pertain to the values from Table 4. Examples Following are some cases explaining the steps needed to use the arc flash calculator and arc flash utility.

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Case 1: 12.5 kV Arc on Riser Consider a case with a 500 MCM underground feeder exit which traverses up a riser with a UC2-1 assembly outside the substation fence. There are no fuses at the riser since the substation feeder reclosers will clear faults within the first zone of protection. That is, for an arc flash event on the riser pole at the underground to overhead terminators, the source feeder reclosers will interrupt the arc, which are electronically controlled devices with the following settings: Phase setting 300 amp minimum trip, curve 133, 0(101)-3(133) operations Ground setting 135 amp minimum trip, curve 140, 0(101)-3(140) operations

Figure 4 - Case 1 Diagram

In the Arc Flash Analysis Manager, copy and paste the element being analyzed from the model into field 1 as shown below. The notes below the circuit element will indicate if the calculation is using 85% or 100% of the arcing current which is 2105 arcing amps in this case. The algorithm also considers 85% of the arcing current (85% of 2105 amps, or 1,790 amps) in the calculation of incident energy. From this point both these arcing values are used to determine worst case incident energy.

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Figure 5 Case 1 Calculator

7 4 1

5 2

3 6

To verify the results, the WindMil-LightTable DDU is used. The TCCs for the substation electronic reclosers shown below indicate that the arcing time of 0.42 seconds is accurate according to the clearing time of the phase curve.

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Figure 6 TCC for Case 1

Case 2 Distribution Transformer Analysis Arc flash exposure analysis on both the 480 volt secondary and 12.5 kV primary of a large distribution transformer are shown in cases 2a and 2b, respectively. The following figure illustrates the system being analyzed along with the fault current values. The customer is located about two miles from the substation.

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Figure 7 Case 2a and 2b Arc Locations

Case 2a - 480 V

Case 2b - 12.5 kV

Case 2a 480 V Arc on Transformer Secondary Consider a three-phase padmount transformer serving a large industrial customer, and the utility wants to know the potential energy exposure when working at the secondary voltage. Assume the transformer has the following specifications 12.5/7.2 kV 480/277 V Y-Y grounded connection 1,000 kVA base 5.75% impedance C12 - 40A High-Side Bayonet Fuses

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WindMil calculates the 480V three-phase bolted fault and arcing current. The arc energy at this location may need to be known for situations where workers are terminating connections or taking voltage measurements near the low voltage bushings. To be conservative, a working distance of 12 inches is assumed. Since the winding ratio from the high to low voltage is 12,470/480 = 26, the arcing current on the low voltage terminals must be transformed across the windings to find the clearing time of the high side fuse, such as a bayonet in this example. A current limiting fuse could be used under oil in series with the bayonet to extinguish higher fault currents such as internal winding faults. However, a current limiting fuse would not sense the low magnitude arcing faults. From the arc flash calculator option, the 12.5 kV 480 V transformer details are shown below for the arc at the 480 V secondary.
Figure 8 - 480 V Arc Analysis

Notice that the dialogue box underneath the circuit element name indicates that the calculated incident energy is higher when using 85 percent of the arcing fault in the calculations. This is due to the inverse nature of the high side bayonet fuse. The arc flash summary area indicates that a 12 inch working distance would most likely necessitate a de-energized working condition since the calculated energies are extremely severe at this distance. The report portion of the calculator to the right lists the working distances for each hazard level from zero to four. For this case, 85 percent of the arcing fault current on the secondary equates to 7,117 amps, as seen in the second line of the report. That value transferred to the primary is 7,117/26 or 273 amps. Therefore, the bayonet fuse clearing time for a 273 amp arcing current is 4.1 seconds which was found through the WindMil-LightTable DDU interface. Refer to the following figure.

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Figure 9 480 V Curves

Case 2b - 12.5 kV Arc on Transformer Primary Using the same model and parameters as in Case 2a, an arc flash at the primary bushings of the transformer will be determined as was shown previously in Figure 9. In WindMil, the arc flash utility calculates energies at the load side of the element, which is consistent to how WindMil handles fault current calculations and displays the results. In case 2a, this location was at the secondary voltage of the transformer. For Case 2b, the parent element of the high side bayonet fuse will therefore need to be addressed which is node XFMR Primary since an arc flash event could occur at the primary bushings when 200 amp loadbreak elbows are used. This event would be sensed by the next source side overcurrent device and not the bayonet fuses. This node element needs to be added to default the arc

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gap to 153 mm and also to consider that the arc will occur in a Box. If the node element were not inserted, the arc gap would have to be considered at the load end of the underground line section UG Tap2, which would then default the arc gap to 13 mm and furthermore the arc would not be in a box. Refer to Table 3 for these arc gap and in a box rules. Like Case 2a, a 12 inch working distance is considered. Since no fuses are used on the underground tap, the substation reclosers would sense the arc occurring at the transformer primary bushings. The substation reclosers are 100 amp, Type L, on a 0(A)-3(C) operation. The following figures show the arc flash calculator and time current curve verification from LightTable. Notice from figure 13 that the C curve is not as inverse at the arc current magnitude being analyzed, therefore the calculation at 100% arcing current results in a higher energy than at 85%. This is opposite to Case 2a where the inverse-type bayonet fuse was evaluated.
Figure 10 - Case 2b Calculator

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Figure 11 Case 2b TCC

Notice that the arc energy levels are significantly higher at the low voltage side in Case 2a. This is due to a much longer arc clearing time and much higher arcing current on the secondary. Case 3 Low Side Bus Arc at 12.47 and 24.9 kV This case illustrates the difference between the empirical method and the theoretical Lee method. The Lee method delivers much higher arc energy values when compared to the empirical formulas as will be shown here. For an arc on the low side bus of a typical 69-12.47 kV substation, the parameters most likely will meet the range of the empirical model, as long as the power transformer is large enough to
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enable the system to meet the 700 amp minimum fault requirement. For a 69-24.9 kV substation, the Lee method will be used since the line-to-line voltage exceeds the 15 kV limit. For both examples, consider the following: 5 MVA substation transformer 7% impedance -Y grounded X/R of 4.9 Southern States 60 amp type PF high side fuses

Case 3a - 12.5 kV Bus Analysis The following figure illustrates the WindMil model used for the 12.5 kV case.
Figure 12 Case 3a - 12.5 kV

Figure 15 indicates that the energy calculated considering 85 percent of the arcing current at the 12.5 kV level is higher. Therefore 1848 arc amps are transposed to the 69 kV high side through the transformer turns ratio of 12.47/69, resulting in 335 amps on the primary. The WindMil-LightTable DDU indicates that this 335 amp value correlates to a clearing time of 2.38 seconds by the 60 amp high side fuse, resulting in incident energy of 20.18 cal/cm2 at a 12 inch working distance.

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Figure 13 - Case 3a Calculator

Figure 14 Case 3a TCC

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Case 3b - 24.9 kV Bus Analysis The following figure illustrates the WindMil model used for the 24.9 kV case.
Figure 15 Case 3b - 25 kV

Notice that the calculator indicates that the fault and arcing current at the low side bus is 50 percent of the values from the 12.5 kV case. Also note the clearing time of the high side fuse is the same since the turns ratio is also 50 percent from the previous case. The resulting energy in this case is 354 cal/cm2.

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Figure 16 Case 3b Calculator

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Figure 17 Case 3b TCC

Take notice of the difference between both examples. Even though the arcing current was 50 percent lower in the 24.9 kV case, but had the same clearing time as the 12.5 kV case, the calculated energy was over 17 times greater when the Lee method was used. Summary The WindMil Arc Flash calculator and utility creates the capability for users to complete a detailed arc flash analysis on their utility system to meet new and existing code requirements. The Arc Flash calculator can be used to assess individual circuit elements according to the inherent WindMil model specifications, but also allows the user to adjust input parameters such as arc gap and working distance to see the effect on incident energy levels. WindMils detailed arc flash report utility also calculates energy levels at every circuit element and working distances pertaining to each clothing category. With this report feature, the WindMil-LightTable DDU must be used so that the clearing time of all source side overcurrent elements can be obtained.

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References

IEEE Standard 1584-2002, Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations 2007 NESC 410A3 OSHA 29 Code of Federal Regulations Part 1910, Subpart S NFPA 70-2005, National Electrical Code NFPA 70E-2004, Standard for Electrical Safety Requirements for Employee Workplaces

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