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Mitigating arc flash hazards in medium-voltage
switchgear
Engineers should be aware of design alternatives that can reduce arc
flash hazards in medium-voltage systems.
Syed M. Peeran, PhD, PE, CDM Smith, Cambridge, Mass.
12/09/2013

The term arc, which literally means part of a circle, is attributed to
Humphrey Davis, an English scientist. In 1802, Davis demonstrated
that electric current can flow between two carbon rods separated in air
by a short distance in the form of a band of ionized air that looks like
an upward bow. In fact, electrical science started with the study of the
electric arc. Soon, a number of inventions came forth, such as arc
lamps, arc furnaces, spark plugs, arc welders, and others. Today, the
electric arc is again a subject of great interest and study because of
the hazards it creates in electrical distribution systems due to its
intense heat, which can destroy equipment and cause severe or fatal
injuries to unprotected personnel who are unfortunate to be in close
proximity to it.
In all electrical equipment, a serious hazard exists for operating
personnel due to possible arcing between energized parts and
between energized parts and grounded metal enclosures. Hazardous
arcing can take place in electrical equipment because of one or more
of the following:
Accidentally dropping metal tools in energized parts
Incorrect alignment of contacts in draw-out circuit breakers
Loose connections can cause overheating and minor arcing,
which can escalate to an arcing fault
Rodents and vermin in switchgear enclosures
Defective cable and bus insulation.
The arc behaves like a flexible conductor and consists of ionized air at
very high temperature, in the order of 35,000 Fmore than three times
hotter than the surface of the sun. It can burn holes in copper bus bars.
It can vaporize copper, which when condensed on other parts can
cause secondary faults. It can cause pressure buildup and/or an
explosion in enclosed equipment. It can cause severe burns and can
ignite clothing.
OSHA and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) have
adopted specific requirements with regard to the arc flash hazard.
OSHA requires that all equipment be marked with a label that indicates
the arc flash boundary, the incident energy in the arc, the safe working
distance, and the category of clothing and other protective equipment
to be used by personnel. Article 110.16, which states that the
equipment be clearly and visibly labeled to warn personnel of the
potential arc-flash hazard, was introduced in NFPA 70: National
Electrical Code in 2002. In 2004, NFPA 70E: Standard for Electrical
Safety in the Workplace required that shock and arc-flash hazard
analyses be completed to determine the level of personal protective
equipment required in each location.
Incident energy, working distance, and hazard risk category
Incident energy is the measure of the severity of the hazard to workers.
This quantity is defined as the energy density in calories/cm
2
or
Joules/cm
2
to which the workers face or body is exposed in an arc
flash event at the working distance. The working distance is the typical
distance between a potential source of the arc in the equipment and
the face or body of the person performing the work on the equipment.
The value of the incident energy determines the type of mandatory
protective clothing to be worn by the worker. Typical working distances
defined by IEEE Std. 1584 include:
15kV switchgear: 36 in.
5kV switchgear: 36 in.
Low-voltage switchgear: 24 in.
Low-voltage motor control centers and panel boards: 18 in.
Cables: 18 in.
Arc flash hazard is quantified by a number called the hazard risk
category (HRC). According to NFPA 70E, the relationship between the
HRC, the available incident energy, and the type of protective
equipment is listed in Table 1.

Arc flash equations, solution
In 1982, Ralph H. Lee published a paper in the IEEE Transactions on
Industry Applications on calculation of the incident energy in open air
arcs, such as in outdoor substations. This paper triggered renewed
interest in the arc flash phenomenon. In 2002, the IEEE Industry
Applications Society published IEEE Standard 1584: IEEE Guide for
Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations and issued subsequent
amendments in 2004 and 2011 as 1584a and 1584b. The equations in
this standard are empirically derived using statistical analyses and
curve-fitting algorithms on a huge collection of experimental data (see
Calculating arcing faults). The equations can be used for systems
from 208 V to 15 kV, 50 to 60 Hz, available short-circuit current from
700 A to 106,000 A, and for arcing distances from 0.5 in. to 6.0 in.
For any electrical equipment, there are two significant parameters that
determine the incident energy and, therefore, the type of protective
clothing to be used. These parameters are the arcing fault current I
a

and the duration of the arc t. The arcing fault current I
a
is less than
the bolted fault current (I
bf
) because of the voltage drop across the arc
or because of the arc resistance. For a given arc length, the arc
voltage drop is almost constant for a wide range of current.
Consequently, the arc exhibits negative incremental resistance. The
term bolted signifies a fault through zero resistance, as when the 3-
phase wires are stripped, lugged, and bolted together.
Figure 1 simplifies the relationship between the arcing fault current and
the arc voltage drop. The drawing shows why the arcing fault current
I
a
is considerably less than the bolted fault current I
bf
in low-voltage
equipment, while it is about 90% of I
bf
in medium-voltage and high-
voltage equipment. This is because the arc voltage drop, which is
approximately 200 V for a 2-in. arc, is a significant part of the circuit
voltage in 480 V equipment, while it is less than 10% of the circuit
voltage in 4.16 kV and 13.8kV equipment.
The arc voltage drop depends on several factors including the
clearances in different classes of equipment. The relation between
I
a
and I
bf
and the relation between the incident energy E and I
a
and t are
given in Section 5 of IEEE 1584. These equations are programmed
into the arc flash evaluation programs of most distribution system
analysis software. These programs require that a short-circuit study be
performed first to determine I
bf
at the equipment in question.