Arc-Blast calc's

[mpparent]

http://www.ieee-pcic.org/Subcommittees/safety/2000agenda.htm

I know there has been some discussions about arc blast calcuations, etc. The above link will take you to a Power Point presentation done by Dick Doughty. It's very good, and it's what I used to base my calculations on. I hope it helps out..

Mike

 

[dpc]

This is good information, but circa 2000 and things are moving pretty quickly in this area.

There is a new NFPA 70E -2003 in pre-print and IEEE 1584 was issued late last year.

IEEE 1584 has some changes in calculation procedures that may impact any ongoing or new work.

If you're in need of the most current regulatory information, you probably need to get the latest standards.

 

[mpparent]

Thanks dpc,

I wasn't aware of IEEE 1584. I was aware of the NFPA 70E reprint, but I wasn't sure about it's availability.

Mike

 

[mpparent]

dpc,

I just looked at the NFPA pre-print for 70E, and it actually sites the 1998 paper Doughty did. My assumption then is that the 2000 paper above is as current as anything else. Of course, if IEEE1584 is more current, I'll have to defer to you on that.

Mike

 

[wbd]

Some of the computer modeling programs for load flow and circuit now have an Arc Flash module. In particular I know EasyPower has that capability although I have not bought or used that module yet. Their website is

http://www.esa.com.

 

[mpparent]

wbd,

SKM has the same module. We haven't purchased it at our site, even though we use SKM. It was just as easy to create a spreadsheet that does the same thing.

Mike

 

[DanDel]

ETAP also provides arc-flash analysis with it's short-circuit module.

 

[dpc]

I have a bias because I work for a company that sells analysis software but....

If you are interested in doing arc-flash calculations with analysis software, you need to take a really close look at how the values are being calculated. Some programs use the worst-case NFPA 70E default values. Others do the NFPA 70E calcs and some do IEEE 1584. And some give you a choice.

Don't assume they are all equivalent or will give the same result.

Caveat Emptor.

 

[DanDel]

At this point, ETAP provides only NFPA 70E-2000 as a choice.