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ProcedureforIEEE1584basedarcflashcalculations.

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Normalizedincidentenergycanbefoundusingtheequationbelow:
lgEn=K1+K2+1.081*lgIa+0.0011*G(1)
EnincidentenergyJ/cm2normalizedfortimeanddistance.
Theequationaboveisbasedondatanormalizedforadistance
fromthepossiblearcpointtothepersonof610mm.andan
arcingtimeof0.2sec.
K1=0.792foropenconfigurations,andis0.555forbox
configurations/enclosedequipment.
K2=0forungroundedandhighresistancegroundedsystems,
andequals0.113forgroundedsystems.
Ggapbetweenconductorsinmillimeters.
IapredictedthreephasearcingcurrentinkA.Itisfoundby
usingformula2a)orb)sotheoperatingtimeforprotective
devicescanbedetermined.
For1000Vandlowersystems:
lgIa=K+0.662*lgIbf+0.0966*V+0.000526*G+0.5588*V*
lgIbf0.00304*G*lgIbf(2a)

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lgislogarithmbase10(log10).
IaarcingcurrentinkA.
EnnormalizedincidentenergyinJ/cm2ascalculatedby(1).
Kequals0.153foropenconfigurations.and0.097forbox
configurations.
IbfboltedfaultcurrentforthreephasefaultsinkA
symmetricalrms.
VsystemvoltageinkV.
Ggapbetweencondactorsinmillimeters.

Solve
lgIa=0.00402+0.983*lgIbf(2b)
forapplicationswithasystemvoltagerangingfrom1upto15kV.
Incidentenergycanbefoundusingtheequationbelow:
E=4.184*Cf*En*(t/0.2)*(610x/Dx)(3)
EincidentenergyexposureinJ/cm2.
Cfcalculationfactorequalto1.0forvoltagesabove1kV,and

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1.5forvoltagesbelow1kV.
EnnormalizedincidentenergyinJ/cm2ascalculatedby(1)
above.
tarcingtimeinseconds.
Ddistancefrompossiblearcingpointtothepersonin
millimeters.
xdistanceexponent.
Forcaseswherevoltageisover15kV,orgapisoutsidetherangeofthe
model,thetheoreticallyderivedLeemethodcanbeapplied,andincident
energycanbedeterminedusingtheequationbelow:
E=2.142*106*V*Ibf*(t/D2)(4)
EisincidentenergyinJ/cm2
VissystemvoltageinkV
tisaarcingtimeinseconds
Disdistancefrompossiblearcpointtopersoninmm.
Ibfisboltedfaultcurrent
FortheIEEEStd15842002empiricallyderivedmodel,arcflash
boundaryiscalculatedusingtheequationbelow:
DB=[4.184*Cf*En*(t/0.2)*(610x/EB)]1/x(5)
FortheLeemethod:
DB=[2.142*106*V*Ibf*(t/EB)]1/2(6)
DBdistanceoftheboundaryfromthearcpointinmillimeters.
Cfcalculationfactorequalto1.0forvoltagesabove1kV,and
1.5forvoltagesbelow1kV.
EnnormalizedincidentenergyinJ/cm2ascalculatedby(1).
EBincidentenergyinJ/cm2attheboundarydistance.
IbfboltedfaultcurrentforthreephasefaultsinkA
symmetricalrms.
tarcingtimeinseconds.
xdistanceexponent.
Ibfboltedfaultcurrent
EBisusualysetat5J/cm2(1.2cal/cm2)forbareskin,orattheratingof
proposedpersonalprotectionequipment.

ArcFlashTerminology
IncidentEnergyExposure
Thisistheamountofthermalincidentenergytowhichtheworker'sface
andchestcouldbeexposedatworkingdistanceduringanelectricalarc
event. Incident energy is measured in joules per centimeter squared

(J/cm2)orcaloriespercentimetersquared(cal/cm2).Minimum reported
incident energy is 0.25 cal/cm2 which is the accuracy limit of the test
equipment.

IncidentEnergyatArcFlashBoundary
A value in cal/cm^2 to determinearcflashboundary(AFB)distanceat
thatIncidentEnergy.TheIncidentEnergyof1.2cal/cm^2forbareskin
is used in solving equation for arc flash boundary in IEEE 1584 Guide
for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations. However, the Guide
equationforarcflashboundarycanbesolvedwithotherincidentenergy
levels as well such as the rating of proposed personal protective
equipment (PPE). The Incident Energy at Arc Flash Boundary value
shouldbeequaloraboveincidentenergytoseconddegreeburnforbare
skinexposure.

ArcFlashBoundary
Thearcflashboundaryisanapproachlimitatadistancefromexposed
livepartsorenclosedlivepartsifoperation,manipulation,ortestingof
equipmentcreatesapotentialflashhazard,withinwhichapersoncould
receiveaseconddegreeburnifanelectricalarcflashweretooccur.A
worker entering the arc flash boundary must be qualified and must be
wearing appropriate PPE. The arc flash boundary is required to be
calculatedbyNFPA70E.

HazardLevel
ThisistheminimumlevelofPersonalProtectiveEquipmentincalories
per centimeter squared, as evaluated in IEEE Standard 1584, with the
intent to protect the worker from the thermal effects of the arc flashat
workingdistancefromthesourceofthearc.

MinIncident
MaxIncident
RequiredMin
Energy,
Energy,
HazardLevel RatingofPPE,
cal/cm^2
cal/cm^2
cal/cm^2
0
Eb
0

Eb+0.001
4
1
4
4.001
8
2
8
8.001
25
3
25
25.001
40
4
40
40.001
andabove
Consult
NotAvailable

RecommendedPersonalProtectiveEquipment(PPE)
Hazard
Level

PersonalProtectiveEquipment(PPE)

Untreatednaturalfiberlongsleeveshirt&pantswithafabric
weightofatleast4.5oz/yd^2,safetyglasses,earcanalinserts,
heavydutyleathergloves.

Arcrated(AR)shirtandARpantsorARcoverall,ARface
shield,ARjacket,safetyglasses,hardhat,earcanalinserts,
heavydutyleathergloves,leatherfootwear.
Arcrated(AR)shirtandARpantsorARcoverall,ARflash
suithood,ARjacket,safetyglasses,hardhat,earcanalinserts,
heavydutyleathergloves,leatherfootwear.
Arcrated(AR)coveralloverARshirtandARpants,ARflash
suit,ARhood,safetyglasses,hardhat,earcanalinserts,AR
gloves,leatherfootwear.
Multilayerarcrated(AR)flashsuitoverARcoveralloverAR
shirtandARpants,ARflashsuithood,safetyglasses,hard
hat,earcanalinserts,ARgloves,leatherworkshoes.

EquipmentClass
Classes of equipment included in IEEE 1584 and typical bus gaps are
shownintablebelow:
Classesofequipment
OpenAir
Lowvoltageswitchgear
15kVswitchgear
5kVswitchgear
LowvoltageMCCsand
panelboards
Cable

Typicalbusgaps,mm
1040
32
152
104
25
13

GapbetweenConductors
Equipment bus gap in mm. Gaps of 3 to 40 mm were used for low
voltage testing to simulate gaps between conductors in low voltage
equipment and cables. Gaps 13, 104 and 152 mm. were used in 5 and
15kVequipmenttestings.Forcaseswheregapisoutsidetherangeofthe
Empirical model, the theoretically derived Lee method can be applied
anditisnowincludedinARCAD'sarcflashassessmentsoftware.

GroundingType
TwogroundingclassesareappliedintheIEEE1584procedure,as
follows:
a)Ungrounded,whichincludedungrounded,highresistancegrounding
andlowresistancegrounding.
b)Solidlygrounded.

WorkingDistance
Typicalworkingdistanceisthesumofthedistancebetweentheworker
standinginfrontoftheequipment,andfromthefrontoftheequipmentto
thepotentialarcsourceinsidetheequipment.

Arcfashprotection isalways based ontheincidentenergylevel onthe

person's face and body at the working distance, not the incident energy
on the hands or arms. The degree of injury in a burn depends on the
percentage of a person's skin that is burned. The head and body are a
large percentage of total skin surface area and injury to these areas is
much more life threatening than burns on the extremities. Typical
workingdistancesareshownintablebelow:
Classesofequipment
Lowvoltageswitchgear
15kV/5kVswitchgear
LowvoltageMCCsandpanelboards
Cable

Typicalworking
distance,mm
610
910
455
455

ArcDuration/TotalClearingTime
Use protective device characteristics, which can be found in
manufacturer's data. For fuses, the manufacturer's timecurrent curves
mayincludebothmeltingandclearingtime.Ifso,usetheclearingtime.
Iftheyshowonlytheaveragemelttime,addtothattime15%,upto0.03
seconds,and10%above0.03secondstodeterminetotalclearingtime.If
thearcingfaultcurrent is above the total clearingtimeatthebottom of
thecurve(0.01seconds),use0.01secondsforthetime.
For circuit breakers with integral trip units, the manufacturer's time
currentcurvesincludebothtrippingtimeandclearingtime.
Forrelayoperatedcircuitbreakers,therelaycurvesshowonlytherelay
operating time in the timedelay region. For relays operating in their
instantaneous region, allow 16 milliseconds on 60 Hz systems for
operation. The circuit breaker opening time must be added. Opening
times for particular circuit breakers can be verifed by consulting the
manufacturer'sliterature.

Available3PhaseBoltedFaultCurrent
Available3phaseboltedfaultcurrentfortherangeof700Ato106kAat
thepointwhereworkistobeperformedisenteredintothisboxinkA.
Example: if 42,350 amps are available, enter 42.35 into this box. If
16,000 amps are available, enter 16 into this box. Please consider
ARCAD's short circuit calculation software to determine the available
faultcurrentsinyourpowerdistributionsystem.

Predicted3PhaseArcingCurrent
Thearcingcurrentdependsontheavailable3phaseboltedfaultcurrent
for the range of 700A to 106kA at the point where work is to be
performed, configuration, system voltage and gap between conductors.
Leave the field blank, the program calculates the value based on the
systemparameters.Thearcdurationshouldbedeterminedbasedonthe
predictedarcingcurrent.


SystemVoltage
SystemLinetoLineVoltagefortherangeof208Vto15000Visentered
into the box in Volts. For cases where voltage is over 15kV, the
theoreticallyderivedLeemethodcanbeappliedanditisnowincludedin
ARCAD'sarcflashassessmentsoftware.

Effectofarccurrentvariationondeterminationofclearing
time
Forprotectivedevicesoperatinginthesteepportionoftheirtimecurrent
curves,asmallchangeincurrentcausesabigchangeinoperatingtime.
Incidentenergy islinear with time,so arccurrent variation may have a
bigeffectonincidentenergy.Thesolutionistomaketwoarccurrentand
energy calculations one using the calculated expected arc current and
oneusingareducedarccurrentthatis15%lower.
ARCAD's arc flash assessment software makes possible both
calculations for each case considered. It requires that an operating time
be determined for both the expected arc current and the reduced arc
current. Incident energy is calculated for both sets of arc currents and
operating times and the larger incident energy is taken as the model
result. This solution was developed by comparing the results of arc
current calculations using the best available arc current equation with
actualmeasuredarccurrentinthetestdatabase.

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