Arc flash hazard mitigation and electrical safety considerations for LV adjustable speed drives

As arc flash awareness increases, one of the challenges in paper mills is how to deal with low voltage sectionalized drives from an electrical safety standpoint. Due to their nature, it is often infeasible to troubleshoot drives with the power off. Modifications to the power system can reduce the available arc energy, however current drive designs still have many exposed parts that create shock hazards. In addition, arc flash calculations are being used that were developed for AC power systems, not for controlled and uncontrolled DC rectified systems which are found in sectional adjustable speed drive systems.