An arc-flash fault can occur due to loose or loose connections, mechanical failures, pollution, animals, and human errors when switching the electrical system.



Burns caused to workers by the incident energy of the electric arc represent a significant portion of injuries caused by electricity in the workplace. For workers who constantly operate on energized electrical systems, it represents one of the main dangers and requires extremely careful measures, as well as the use of PPE and clothing capable of withstanding the heat released. In this study, PWM Automation and Protection, presents the evaluations and protection measures against the electric arc.



For the incident energy analysis, short-circuit and protection selectivity studies are used to determine the ANSI 50ARC function, and from the results obtained, the incident energy of an arc is calculated for Low and Medium Voltage panels and respective Capacitor Banks. With these values in hand, suitable protective clothing for workers in the electrical system is specified, depending on the effects of the electric arc caused by a short circuit and the characteristics of the protection devices that are operating inside electrical panels, dynamic and thermal. . We also present the characteristics of clothing and other PPE.



We dimensioned the rapid detection of arc flash and the tripping time of the protections, evaluating the detection of incident energy and the safety distances, as well as the necessary PPE.



The analysis of an arc detection system considers the technical standards IEEE Standard 1584-2018 (latest version), NFPA 70E, NEC (National Electrical Code) Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection, ABNT NBR 14039:2021 and NR-10 .



The study combines each arc type and detection schemes to avoid nuisance triggering that can affect the overall stability of the low and medium voltage system.