Designing, operating, and maintenance strategies to limit arc flash energy exposure

Author

Hill, Dennis J. ; Bruehler, Larry W. ; Chmura, Patrick E.

Author_Institution

Washington Group Int., Cleveland, OH, USA

fYear

2004

fDate

13-15 Sept. 2004

Firstpage

339

Lastpage

349

Abstract

Recent focus on measures to protect workers from the hazards related to arc flash and arc blast have resulted in an abundance of research and published papers on this topic. Updated arc flash calculation methods have recently been developed. This paper provides specific examples from petrochemical, automotive, and pharmaceutical arc flash studies of the challenges encountered when designing, operating, and maintaining facility electrical systems to limit arc flash dangers. It details common industry design and operating practices that yield high arc flash energy values. It offers lessons learned and suggestions to lower incident energy values on new and existing systems.

Keywords

arcs (electric); electrical safety; facilities; flashover; maintenance engineering; arc blast; arc flash calculation methods; arc flash energy exposure; electrical systems; incident energy values; maintenance strategies; overcurrent protection; Circuit faults; Electrical safety; Explosion protection; Fault currents; Hazards; IEEE members; Petrochemicals; Power cables; Testing; USA Councils;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Petroleum and Chemical Industry Technical Conference, 2004. Fifty-First Annual Conference 2004

ISSN

0090-3507

Print_ISBN

0-7803-8698-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PCICON.2004.1352819

Filename

1352819