Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6734-4727

Date Available

4-17-2020

Year of Publication

2020

Degree Name

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE)

Document Type

Master's Thesis

College

Engineering

Department/School/Program

Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Joseph Sottile

Abstract

Arc-flash is a dangerous phenomenon that can occur during an arcing fault in an electrical system. People nearby may be subjected to extreme heat, light, pressure, and sound. Research regarding arc-flash has focused primarily on AC arc-flash due to the prevalence of AC electricity in the grid. However, the grid has begun to integrate more DC electrical sources as a result of decentralization efforts and environmental concerns. The increased proliferation of DC electrical sources demands research into DC arc-flash to assess the hazard as low-voltage DC sources have already become commonplace. Some DC arc-flash models have been produced to estimate incident energy. These models are either theoretical or semi-empirical in nature, as empirical research pertaining to DC arc-flash is scarce. The lack of empirical DC arc-flash data inspired a series of tests at American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) Dolan Technology Center (DTC) that were conducted in August 2018. These tests allowed the development of a limited empirical equation for incident energy. The research presented in this thesis is a continuation of the August 2018 DC arc-flash testing with the objective of generating an expanded incident energy equation. Furthermore, this research seeks to address the effects of some atmospheric conditions on the behavior of low-voltage DC arcs.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2020.117

Funding Information

American Electric Power (AEP) - 2018 - 2019

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