Safety benefits of arc-resistant metalclad medium-voltage switchgear

Author

Kalkstein, Edward W. ; Doughty, Richard L. ; Paullin, Alfred E. ; Jackson, James M. ; Ryner, Jerry L.

Author_Institution

E.I.duPont deNemours & Co., Wilmington, DE, USA

Volume

31

Issue

6

fYear

1995

Firstpage

1402

Lastpage

1411

Abstract

One cause of serious injuries to electrical workers in the petrochemical industry is flash burns from arcing faults in medium-voltage metalclad switchgear. First introduced in Europe, arc-resistant switchgear designs are now being marketed in North America to eliminate this potential cause of injuries by containing the arc by-products and venting the gases in a safe manner. This paper discusses worker safety regulations, the arcing fault process, standards governing arc-resistant switchgear, and switchgear design, application, and cost/benefit considerations. One manufacturer´s experience testing a new arc-resistant switchgear design is included

Keywords

chemical industry; cost-benefit analysis; legislation; petroleum industry; safety; standards; switchgear; Europe; North America; arc-resistant metalclad medium-voltage switchgear; arc-resistant switchgear; arcing fault process; cost/benefit considerations; gas venting; petrochemical industry; safety benefits; standards; worker safety regulations; Chemical industry; Europe; Gases; Injuries; Medium voltage; Metals industry; North America; Petrochemicals; Safety; Switchgear;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Industry Applications, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-9994

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/28.475733

Filename

475733