UTILITY CONTRIBUTION TO ARC FLASH STUDIES

Copyright Material IEEE

Paper No. ESW2024-40

Tracy Roberts Drew Thomas

Member, IEEE Member, IEEE
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Hanford Mission Integration Solutions
P.O. Box 999 P.O. Box 943
2024 IEEE IAS Electrical Safety Workshop (ESW) | 979-8-3503-6367-8/24/$31.00 ©2024 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ESW52258.2024.10752781

Richland, WA 99352 Richland, WA 99352

USA USA
[email protected] [email protected]

Abstract – The utility contribution input to an arc flash study has accidentally or intentionally, between two or more points of
a significant effect on the output incident energy. Accurate input different potential).” [2]
data can be difficult to obtain from serving utilities or is not Short circuit current is calculated based on the fault current
consistently available. Defaulting to infinite bus can provide non- input to the electrical system and the system impedances
conservative results. This focus session poster will discuss the between the sources and equipment location. Common fault
challenges with utility contribution with examples and suggest current sources include utility, motors, and generators.
approaches to calculate conservative incident energy when the Available fault current is “the largest amount of current capable
utility contribution data is not made available. of being delivered at a point on the system during a short-circuit
condition.” [2]
Index Terms — Arc flash study, utility contribution data, Short circuit current is calculated using the following
incident energy, short-circuit current, infinite bus. equations:
𝑘𝑉𝐴 × 1000
𝐼!.#.$. =
I. INTRODUCTION 𝐸## × 1.732

Utility short circuit current contribution data is frequently not 100

available. In the absence of a known value, infinite bus is 𝐼%.&. = 𝐼!.#.$. ×
%𝑍
assumed on the transformer primary to calculate the maximum
short circuit current in the system. This produces a conservative Where:
value that can be used to ensure equipment is adequately rated 𝐼!.#.$. = transformer secondary full load current (A)
for the available fault current. However, due to the relationship 𝐸## = line-to-line voltage (V)
between current and time for different overcurrent protective 𝐼%.&. = short circuit current (A)
devices, the maximum fault current will not always produce the %𝑍 = transformer impedance
worst case arc flash incident energy values.
IEEE Paper PCIC-2009-16, “Impact of Available Fault Current B. Arc Flash Incident Energy
Variations on Arc-Flash Calculations” [4] provides a method for Incident energy is “the amount of thermal energy impressed
estimating worst case AFIE by calculating the value for infinite on a surface, a certain distance from the source, generated
bus and 50% of infinite bus, and choosing the worst of the two. during an electrical arc event. Incident energy is typically
The calculation is based on equations in IEEE 1584-2002. Four expressed in calories per square centimeter (cal/cm^2).” [3]
sample systems were modeled, two of which were low voltage Arc flash incident energy is calculated using the short circuit
(<1000V). Incident energies were calculated for different current as well as time, voltage, and distance to estimate the
available utility fault currents in increments of 10%. The final worst case arcing energy that can be released at a location in the
recommendation was to calculate infinite bus and 50% infinite system. AFIE is proportional to current and time, and is inversely
bus, and use the worst case. proportional to distance.
This paper will perform calculations in 10% increments from Arc flash incident energy for systems 208V ≤ Voc ≤ 600V is
10-100% bolted fault current at the transformer secondary, and calculated using the following equations:
1% increments at the point of discontinuity, for higher resolution
results.Various 3-phase electrical system configurations <1000V Intermediate arcing current:
will be modeled using the equations in IEEE 1584-2018. [1] +
𝐼'()_+,, = 10(./0.1 234 5!"0.6 234 7) 0𝑘4𝐼9: ;
+ 𝑘5𝐼9: <
+ 𝑘6𝐼9:
6 1
+ 𝑘47𝐼9: + 𝑘8𝐼9: + 𝑘9𝐼9: + 𝑘107
II. SHORT CIRCUIT CURRENT AND INCIDENT
Where:
ENERGY 𝐼9: = bolted fault short circuit current 𝐼%.&. (kA)
𝐼'()_+,, = average RMS arcing current at 𝑉=) = 600𝑉 (kA)
A. Short Circuit and Available Fault Current
Short circuit current is current due to “an abnormal connection 𝐺 = gap distance between electrodes (mm)
(including an arc) of relatively low impedance, whether made 𝑘1 to 𝑘10 = coefficients provided in IEEE 1584-2018 Table 1

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 breakers and fuses will be sized per NEC using typical
components. Enclosure type is assumed to be VOA. Time
Final arcing current: current curves will be provided for OCPD’s. Sample systems will
1 be similar to those shown in Figure 1.
𝐼'() =
0.6 1 1 0.61 − 𝑉=)1
9:𝑉 ; × < 1 =−? 1 1 @
=) 𝐼'()_+,, 0.6 × 𝐼9:

Where:
𝑉=) = open-circuit voltage (kV)
𝐼9: = bolted fault short circuit current 𝐼%.&. (kA)
𝐼'()_+,, = average RMS arcing current at 𝑉=) = 600𝑉 (kA)
𝐼'() = final rms arcing current at 𝑉=) (kA)

Intermediate incident energy (E):

Where:
𝐸+,, = incident energy at 𝑉=) = 600𝑉 (J/cm2)
𝑇 = arc duration (ms)
𝐺 = gap distance between electrodes (mm)
𝐼'()_+,, = average RMS arcing current at 𝑉=) = 600𝑉 (kA)
𝐼'() = final rms arcing current for 𝑉=) ≤ 600𝑉 (kA)
𝐼9: = bolted fault short circuit current 𝐼%.&. (kA)
𝐷 = working distance (mm)
𝐶𝐹 = correction factor for enclosure size (𝐶𝐹 = 1 for VOA)
𝑘1 to 𝑘10 = coefficients provided in IEEE 1584-2018 Table 1
Fig. 1 Sample System Formats
Final incident energy:
𝐸 = 𝐸>+,, IV. RESULTS
Where: Calculations are currently in progress. Results from the
𝐸>+,, = incident energy for 𝑉=) ≤ 600𝑉 (J/cm2) calculations for the systems to be provided. The following tables
𝐸 = final incident energy at specified 𝑉=) (J/cm2) (or similar) and results summaries will be provided:
• Maximum AFIE and associated % Bolted Fault
C. Requirements
Current for each sample system.
Short circuit current and incident energy are calculated to
• AFIE at % Bolted Fault Current for each sample
ensure equipment is properly rated for the electrical system, and
system.
to allow workers to choose appropriate PPE to protect against
arc flash hazards.
The following figures will be provided:
NFPA 70 article 408.6 requires switchboards, switchgear, and
panelboards to be rated for the available fault current, and for the • Time current curves for typical overcurrent protective
AFC to be marked on the enclosure at the point of supply. When devices
input data is not available from the utility, infinite bus can be • Graphs of maximum AFIE vs % bolted fault current
assumed on the transformer primary to calculate the maximum for select systems.
short circuit current that can be output on the transformer
secondary. NOMENCLATURE
NFPA 70E requires the selection of PPE to protect against arc
flash hazards. Two methods are permitted: PPE category table Nomenclature to be provided.
method, which uses parameters of available short circuit current,
overcurrent protective device trip time, and voltage to determine V. CONCLUSIONS
PPE level; and the arc flash incident energy calculation method,
which calculates the worst case arc flash incident energy based Based on calculated values, the average percentage of infinite
on system inputs and components that is used to choose PPE bus short circuit current that produces worst-case values is
with an arc flash rating greater than or equal to the calculated (TBD). The paper will also take into account variations in the
value. percentage based on secondary voltage and transformer size
range to determine if larger vs smaller transformers have a
III. SAMPLE SYSTEMS significantly different percentage.
10-20 sample systems <1000V will be modeled. Systems will
consist of various size transformers and overcurrent protective
devices. Transformer impedances will be typical for size. Circuit

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 VI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Balasubramanian PE and A. Graham PE, Copyright IEEE,
New York, NY
Thank you to Angel Farias Carrillo, Jaime Mireles, Alex
Ramirez, and Martin Iedema for technical contributions to this VIII. VITAE
paper.
Tracy Roberts graduated from Washington State University in
VII. REFERENCES 2016 with a MSEE degree. She has been an electrical design
engineer for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory since 2021.
[1] IEEE Std 1584-2018, IEEE Guide for Performing Arc-Flash Previously she was an electrical engineer and electrical safety
Hazard Calculations,. subject matter expert at Mission Support Alliance, Hanford. She
[2] NFPA 70, 2023 National Electrical Code, Quincy, MA: is a member of IEEE and EFCOG.
NFPA. Drew Thomas graduated from Washington State University in
[3] NFPA 70E, 2024 Standard for Electrical Safety in the 2015 with a BSEE degree. He is Engineering Director and NFPA
Workplace, Quincy, MA: NFPA. 70 Authority Having Jurisdiction at Hanford Mission Integration
[4] IEEE Paper PCIC-2009-16, “Impact of Available Fault Solutions. He is a member of IEEE and EFCOG.
Current Variations on Arc-Flash Calculations”, by I.

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