Arc pressure wave
Arc pressure wave
(OP)
Can anybody offer any direction on calculating the pressure wave that would be produced by an electric arc? As an example, if I have a 10 kA fault current that is cleared in 1/2 sec, is it possible to calculate or are their general guidelines for determining what the pressure will be?






RE: Arc pressure wave
I would just treat the arc as a sustained ignition source, and see how the arc energy affects the surroundings. But it all depends a s much on the surroundings as on the arc itself.
Bung
Life is non-linear...
RE: Arc pressure wave
The only paper I have seen that addresses that topic was written by Ralph Lee. It offers some guidance for calculating pressures developed by arcs. The paper is titled Pressures Developed by Arcs and was published in IEEE Transactoions on Industry Applications, Vol IA-23, NO. 4, July/August 1987.
RE: Arc pressure wave
working where the arc flash hazard exceeds 40 cal/cm2. One of the prinicipal reasons it does not do so is because while you can protect against greater radiated heat energy, it is unknown what damage would be done by the mechanical blast forces such arcs will produce. The NFPA Research Foundation has a task force investigating that and other related phenomenon. I don't know if there is any good source of information available at present. For your example, depending on working distance, arc electrode spacing, size of the "box" where the arc occurs, and 30 cycles duration you probably have a "blow the doors off" type situation.
RE: Arc pressure wave
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RE: Arc pressure wave
RE: Arc pressure wave
RE: Arc pressure wave
A Calculation Method for Pressure Waves Due to Arc Faults, Dasbach and Pietsch (source unknown)
Pressure Waves Due to Arcing Faults in a Substation, Drouet and Nadeau, IEEE Trans. Power Apparatus and Systems, Sep/Oct 1979
The Calculation of Overpressure in Metal-Enclosed Switchgear Due to Internal Arcing, Lutz and Pietsch, IEEE Trans. Power Apparatus and Systems, Nov 1982