Arc Flash Presentation

The Science of Thermal
Protection
“Arc Flash Hazards
&
Simulated Flash Fire
Demonstration”
PART ONE OF THREE
Wisconsin Safety & Health Congress
DuPont Personal Protection
Hamid M. Ghorashi, Ph.D.
Topics
• Typical Thermal Hazards
– “Arc Flash”
• Need for FR
• Thermal Protective Evaluation
• FR Mechanism
• Demo-Man® Flash Fire Simulation Demonstrations

Typical Thermal
Hazards
• Electric Arc
• Fire
– Flash Fire
– Structural Fire
– Wildland Fire
• Molten Metal Splash

• Arc Welding Splatter
• Exposure To Hot Materials
Hazard Safety Program
Personal Protective Equipment
-Clothing
-Eye Protection
-Hearing Protection
-Hand Protection
PPE -Head Protection
-Foot Protection
Work Practices – Proper Tools

Proper Grounds, Proper Procedures
Engineering –
Technical solutions to make equipment safer
Culture – Attitudes, Beliefs, Understanding

DuPont Safety 2002
A 200 Year History
1802
What Is An Electric
Arc?
• The Passage of Substantial
Electric Current Through Ionized
Air
• Typically Lasts Less Than 1
Second
• Core Temperature ~Twice The
Surface Of The Sun
• Extremely High Radiant Energy
• Explosive In Nature
• Can Ignite and/or Melt Everyday
Clothing
High Speed Video
Electric Arc Discharge
Duration = 10 cycles
(20 pulses)
0.17 seconds total time
Reality of arc flash hazard
A dangerous condition associated with the
release of energy caused by an electric arc.
Arc currents create: A brilliant flash of light, a loud noise, intense

heat, a fast moving pressure wave
Products of arcing faults are: Ionized gases, metal vapors, molten
metal droplets, shrapnel
740 mph 670,000,000 mph
Visible
< 740 mph
UV
22000C 165 db
1000 °C
IR
2000 psf 50 cal/cm2

Electric Arc Blast
5.7 oz/yd2 Untreated Cotton Shirt
Before Electric Arc Blast During Electric Arc Blast After Electric Arc Blast
Electric Arc Blast
4.5 oz/yd2 Nomex® IIIA Shirt
Before Electric Arc Blast During Electric Arc Blast After Electric Arc Blast
Electric Arc Hazard
& Burn Injury
• Severe burns can be caused by ignited 5.7 oz/yd2 Untreated Cotton
clothing, even more than by the
original electric arc flash
• Everyday fabrics can ignite and burn

and possibly melt when exposed to an
electric arc
• These clothed areas can be burned

more severely than exposed skin
• The level and extent of burn injury can

Electric Arc Blast Simulation
impact the victim’s chance of survival ~5 cal/cm2
An arc flash can be traumatic
People can be affected for life
• Immediate skin burns
• Lung damage can be more serious than burns
• Short/long term hearing and vision loss
• Short term memory loss
• Disability/changing jobs
• Depression and family strife
• Slow/painful death
The Need For Arc & Flame
Resistant Clothing
• Each Year Thousands of Workplace Injuries

Occur Due to Exposure to Fires and Arcs
– Numerous Fatalities Result (1994-1997 US )
• Fatalities 30 Hospitalization 153 Non-Hospitalization 34
• The Most Severe Burns are Caused by Ignited
Clothing, Not by the Original Flame and/or Arc
Exposure
• Everyday Clothing Which Ignites and/or Melts
Can Cause Clothed Areas To Be More Severely
Burned Than Bare Skin Areas
Costs of electrical injuries
at one utility
• Total annual loss for all injuries > $50 million/year
• Electrical injuries
– 2% of number of injuries
– 28% to 52% of cost – $14 to $26 million
• Direct and indirect costs – Lost time, medical
payments, productivity, equipment damage,
replacement employee hiring and training, accident
investigation, overhead
New York Academy of Science, Vol 888, Wyzga et al. 1999

Arc Flash Timeline
1968 Dow implements arc flash PPE program
1981 Ralph Lee publishes theory for hazard calculations
1986 DuPont implements arc flash PPE program
1994 OSHA 1910.269 addresses clothing hazards
1995 NFPA70E defines arc flash boundary
1996 DuPont arc flash research published
1997 DuPont protective clothing research published
1998 ASTM standards for PPE testing
2002 NEC requires arc flash hazard warning
2002 IEEE 1584 enables arc flash calculations
The Past:
• No standard methods to determine incident
energy of a potential arc hazard.
• No standard methods to rate PPE performance.
Today:
• Technology and standards exist to determine
incident energy and establish PPE ratings.
– NFPA 70E; IEEE 1584; Various Programs.
• ASTM standards for garments.

Arc Flashes and Flash
Fires Are Always
Separate…
….. Or Are They?
Exposure Energy Basics
• Heat Flux Is The “Flow Rate” Of Energy Onto A
Surface (cal/cm2-sec)
• Exposure Energy Is Expressed in “cal/cm2”
• Exposure Energy = Heat Flux x Exposure Time
(cal/cm2) (cal/cm2-sec) (sec)
• 1 cal/cm2 Is Equivalent to the Energy Produced
By A Cigarette Lighter in One Second On the Tip
Of A Finger
An Exposure Energy of 1- 2 cal/cm2 Will
Cause a 2nd Degree Burn on
Human Skin
Arc Incident Causing Flash Fire

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The Science of Thermal

• Demo-Man® Flash Fire Simulation Demonstrations

• Molten Metal Splash

Work Practices – Proper Tools

Culture – Attitudes, Beliefs, Understanding

Arc currents create: A brilliant flash of light, a loud noise, intense

2000 psf 50 cal/cm2

• Everyday fabrics can ignite and burn

• These clothed areas can be burned

• The level and extent of burn injury can

• Each Year Thousands of Workplace Injuries

New York Academy of Science, Vol 888, Wyzga et al. 1999

• ASTM standards for garments.

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