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Thursday, October 18, 2007
Power Magazine Reports on Arc Flash Research
The title of the Power Magazine article is: "Arc flash protection should be job No. 1"
The opening paragraph of the article states:
"Arc flash is arguably the most deadly and least understood hazard faced daily by plant personnel. Research indicates that even the best safety plan, training regimen, and protective equipment may be no match for the heat and blast effects of an arc flash. Consider this article a wakeup call to retrofit every switchgear cubicle in your plant with a properly designed remote racking system. Forewarned is forearmed."
The first part of this article describes the mechanisms resulting from an arc flash that cause injuries or death. These range from the thermal energy, blast effects, high sound levels, toxic gases, shrapnel, electromagnetic radiation and other effects. This is probably the most complete description of arc flash effects that I've seen in a single article.
The second half of the article describes the research planned by the IEEE/NFPA Collaboration on Arc Flash Phenomena. The article states, "The IEEE/NFPA Arc Flash Collaborative Research Project is a multiyear effort encompassing more than 2,000 test protocols."
"The initial phase of the project will explore published and unpublished information on arc flash and blast to build a coherent picture of what is known about these phenomena. This will lead to a research and test plan that seeks to tie the electrical characteristics of equipment to arc-fault hazards. The program will go well beyond what was done in the past. For instance, most arc fault studies to date have involved controlled conditions and stabilized arcs between opposing electrodes. In real life, turbulent arcs often occur between parallel electrodes and vary by several orders of magnitude along their length and with time."
The above link goes to the online version of this article. The print version includes an excellent side-bar article about Wolf Creek Generating Station that is not provided in the online version. This short article describes the process the Wolf Creek Plant Safety Committee went through that resulted in their purchasing a remote-racking system for racking in breakers. The article stated:
"Plant management realized that safer work practices and buying higher-rated safety gear was no longer the answer: Somehow, technicians and bystanders had to be safely separated from the source of the arc flash."
The Wolf Creek plant chose the Safe-T-Rack (STR) remote racking system from Switchgear Solutions. The article gave this reason: "One of the key selection criteria was that the system required no internal switchgear cabinet rewiring. Because those cabinets are part of the plant's safety systems, the time and cost to design, approve, and update hundreds of drawings could exceed the capital cost of the STR system."
The opening paragraph of the article states:
"Arc flash is arguably the most deadly and least understood hazard faced daily by plant personnel. Research indicates that even the best safety plan, training regimen, and protective equipment may be no match for the heat and blast effects of an arc flash. Consider this article a wakeup call to retrofit every switchgear cubicle in your plant with a properly designed remote racking system. Forewarned is forearmed."
The first part of this article describes the mechanisms resulting from an arc flash that cause injuries or death. These range from the thermal energy, blast effects, high sound levels, toxic gases, shrapnel, electromagnetic radiation and other effects. This is probably the most complete description of arc flash effects that I've seen in a single article.
The second half of the article describes the research planned by the IEEE/NFPA Collaboration on Arc Flash Phenomena. The article states, "The IEEE/NFPA Arc Flash Collaborative Research Project is a multiyear effort encompassing more than 2,000 test protocols."
"The initial phase of the project will explore published and unpublished information on arc flash and blast to build a coherent picture of what is known about these phenomena. This will lead to a research and test plan that seeks to tie the electrical characteristics of equipment to arc-fault hazards. The program will go well beyond what was done in the past. For instance, most arc fault studies to date have involved controlled conditions and stabilized arcs between opposing electrodes. In real life, turbulent arcs often occur between parallel electrodes and vary by several orders of magnitude along their length and with time."
The above link goes to the online version of this article. The print version includes an excellent side-bar article about Wolf Creek Generating Station that is not provided in the online version. This short article describes the process the Wolf Creek Plant Safety Committee went through that resulted in their purchasing a remote-racking system for racking in breakers. The article stated:
"Plant management realized that safer work practices and buying higher-rated safety gear was no longer the answer: Somehow, technicians and bystanders had to be safely separated from the source of the arc flash."
The Wolf Creek plant chose the Safe-T-Rack (STR) remote racking system from Switchgear Solutions. The article gave this reason: "One of the key selection criteria was that the system required no internal switchgear cabinet rewiring. Because those cabinets are part of the plant's safety systems, the time and cost to design, approve, and update hundreds of drawings could exceed the capital cost of the STR system."
Labels: Arc Flash
posted by Steve Hudgik |
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