‘These technicet papers are a collection of documents intended for people in the sdustry who are looking for information in greater depth in order to complement {nat given In technical specifications and catalogues. Certain papers go beyond the information stage and constitute practical training tools for executives and technictans In the industry and for trainee engineers. They contain dela giving a botter understanding of the technical and economic problems presented by electrotechnical equipment, by industrial electronics and by electricity transmission and distribution. A til list of the technical papers produced can be obtained on application from: MERLIN GERIN Service information 38050 GRENOBLE CEDEX Reproduction of this artiale is not allowed without MG's authorization and mention of: “cahiers techniques Merlin Gerin n° -.."fault arcs on busbar sets and switchboards G. Bouvier A Oucluzaux robabillty of appearance of a fault arc on a set of bushars cannot be considered as non-existant. The behaviour and speed of arcs have been analy- sed by a high-speed photography system. It appears that the damage produ- ced by the arc is inversely proportional to its spead and its freedom of move- ment, Switchboards manufacturers, contractors and operators must take all possible precautions to reduce the possibility of ares occuring, and th consequences. 1 The origin oF faut ares pe 2. Fault are behaviour Ba 3 How fo reduce arcing probability 28 4 Gimiting’ the consequences of arcing p. 8 Bibliography pe If the electrical instatlation is correctly designed, built and maintained. the appearance of a fauk arc between Switchboard busbars is an extremely low probability accident ‘The statistical data collected aver a long period and tor a larga number of instal> lations in service demonstrate that this probability is net, hawever, nul. Because of the grave consequences rasulting from are-overin a switchboard plant production shutdown, repair costs and accidents to personnal, it is the ‘switchboard designer's, installer’s and ‘operator's responsibilty to (ako all mea- ures to ensure thatthe possioiity of arcs originating is very low, and, in such ‘events, that the consequences of the incident are reduced to the possible minimum, cobs tacholguas Morin Sara 9” 8p.1. the origins of a fault arc ‘The causes for the occurrence of a fault rein an installation can be broken dows into three categories : 1m evolutive causes ; mechanical causos ; @ voltage surges, cahora1e2lauee Mexn Get n° 38/9 2 evolutive causes ‘Those result from a gradual decrease in the inter-phase or inter phase to ground ingulation resistance. ‘This docroasa can be the result of dapo- sits whicn, subsequent to exceptional humidity conditions, can result: the for- rmalion of a suparficial resistance bridge such that a conductive path on the sur- face of insulators can be created Depending on the type of insulators, this inkial fault may be soit-aliminating, or become worse, resulting in the creation af a faut arc, This phenomenon is sometimes obsor- ved when an installation is switched on again alter boing shut down for @ period of several days, during which condansa- tion may have occurred due to the fact thal the Installation tomperatura s no longar highar than ambiant temperature, In particular, this applies to glass-meking installations, in which the atmosphora carries sodium carbonate dust, and in which the risks of hygroscopic variations are high. ‘The final resutt will bo the samo sf the superficial pollution of the insuiators ‘osults trom splashes of fds containing electrolytes. The accident may pass unperosived, and occur during transport and handling of the installation compo- nents, The defect will be reveaied later during operation under exceptional hygroscopic conditions. This also apoies to candensatian on equipment storad in ‘coastal areas, and which is meorrectly protected. ‘The gradvat degradation of the insulation may elso result from accidental ‘ocal heating dus, for example, t0 incorrect tightening oF gradual loosening ot acon- nection. The increase in temperature immediately round the defective point can entail decomposition and progres- sive eartanization of the adjacent insu lators, rasuiting in a fault arc, fist of al bbstween phases, or benween chases and ground, ané degenerating into a three- phase faut mechanical causes ‘These result from the presence of a con- ductive element foreign to the structure ‘of the instalialion itselt. An example of this is Incorrect work offected by operating staff: the insiruc- tions concerning the precautions to be taken during work effected on low vol. tage parls are nol always strictly ob- sorved. For example, iLhas been observed that, in order not to distur overall operation of an installation, an otectrician desiring to perlorm a chock opens the back panels of a switchboard, and considers ‘that itis possible to workcon the busbars rendered accessible, taking adoquate precautions. It simply requires a tool to Sip of ascape from his hands, or a tes- tar ight (prohibited) 0 explode, resulting ingeneraiare-over, risking serious burns for the imprudent technician. Tho result would be identical i a « for- gotten » conductive abject in the top part Of a switchboard (tea), portion of busbar. nui, washer, metal shim, aic.) moved gradually due to the effect of vibrations and fell between two bars, or between two cable attaching bolts. Similar inck dents would result from the prevence of an animal inside a switchboard (cat, bird, ral. etc.) voltage surges Only high vaiue votage surges cause arcover in 2 swllonboard whieh fas been correty designed and insted. However. such exeoptional imeicents may occur, in petiovar with LV Voltage surges reaching 810 10KV have been detected on LV networks, These result from transmission 9¢ normal vo! tage surges via the MVILV Wanslormor {apactaness, occuring in MY, for exact pie my the event of curot of A magnet ing curt on an ottoad Wanstormer. instalation of sutge arrester on the LV terminals ofthe ‘ranstormer is te boat method of preventing’ this. type of Inoidont2. arc fault behaviour The movement of a faull are along the busbars of a switchboard is totally ran ‘dom, However, genera! laws can be def nod to explain and forecast are 90 haviour. are characteristics First ofall. itis the vory nature of the are tsa which provides an xalanation ot is behaviour an electric arc consists of a column of conducting gases (plasma) taken to high tomporature | 6 19 12.000" K tor arcs involved in switches, and in faults Its form, which is random, generally does fot have the shape of an are, as might ‘be supposed fram its name; is cross soction can be considered as eizoular in the absence of external strass. It resuits from a balance between ihe internat pressure of the hot gages in the column {and the magnetic striction due to currant fow, ‘Transmission of the current is provided within the are by trae electrons moving Inthe opposite direction to thal of con ventional current flow. ‘The postive ionized particles in tho column, which are almost equal in num: ber to that of the electrons, carry only & very smal par ofthe eurrant, due ‘0 theit mass which Is much higher than that of ‘lectrons. Thesa have sho effect at com- Ponsating the space charges of the slectrons The arc can therefore be assimilated to 2.988 conductor. the shape of which adpats instantaneousty to the electeody- namic foros acting upon it : mobility is very high dui to its very low mass. oth ends of an arc column are always connected to sold (er fluid} conductors by he arc roots. These are cathodic and anodic areas of vary low langih (10 cm) which are the location of phe nomena essential in maintaining tne are process. ‘These arc roots form extremely mobile electrical connections on the surface of the conductors carrying the current, and rosuit ip superficial fusion of the conductors, ‘The are is an electrical conductor. the inherent resistance of whieh is high and righty fluctuating, in particular as a tune- tion of the current flowing through i. t is more practical io ealcuiate the arc vol. tage, or voltage drop across the are, than iis resistanoe : the arc vottage, the mini- mum value of which s of he order af 20, {0 90 ¥, reaches values of between 100 and 900 V for fault arcs. An atc can be expressed by the formula Ua = Ue + 8E, In which 1 Ue is the sum of the cathodic ané ‘anodic voltage drops. on average 20 V m2 is the length of the aro fem) @ E is the potential gradient (Viem) of the are column. For an arc in quiescent, naturally cooled air, Eis 15 to 20 V ger cm, but cae roach 50\V per em as son as the arc 's cooled. arc movements Propagation ota faut arc along.a switch: board busbar set is the result of alec {rogynaiical forces applied to the are by the conductors along vinieh it moves, or by ary other adjacent Algh field conductor ‘Tha direction of movement ofthe are is such thal he fix coveres by tne fog for- med by the arc and its conductors tend towards 2 maximurr (i. 1). ‘Thus, as a general rule, the are runs slong the bars away from the source, even it this movement obliges it to descend vertical bars, ‘The thermal chimney effec, which tends to maka the arc risa, is ganeraly n9g) gible wit respect tothe slectrodynamic iorces which are proportional 10 the square of the current The electrodynamic force F apptied to an RIC across two paraliel conductors is o ev (228) oF oT Due to force F, the are attains a speed V limitad by the resistanca Fof the air in whieh it moves. This resistanco R is of the form R= K. V2, in whieh Kis & coefficient depanding an are geometry, assimilated to a solid boy. ‘The movement rapidly becomos uniform when F = R, are speed being then vid ae ES) 1 It should be noted that the speed of movement of the arc is proportional to the instantaneous current flowing through It; this speed decreases slightly when the length of te arc incvea- S86, 1.0. with bar spacing, itself a fune- tion of working voltage (4). cabins tashnenies Matin 9 3810.3experimental checks ‘Measurement ofthe speed of arce along ‘busbar sets, together with their bena- viour with respect to changes in busbar rection or isolating obstacies encoun tored along their paths have been the ‘subjact of & series of tests (fig. 2). In order to collect as much information as possible, an optical recording system was used in addition 10 conventional oseinagraphs, Rather than use a high spoed motion picx hire camera (& to 8.00 frames per second) whien would, however, have given satisfactory information, it was pre ferred to use high-speed photographic methods, due to the ease with which this method can be used anc resulls analy sod, for a high number of successive tests, This mathod consisis in superimposing a series of images recorded at @ high rate, of the same subject, the set of auS- bars, on the sama negative ; when the are moves sapidly, its position, at the location in which it's found, is photogra pphed every 100 th of a second. Simply by examining the photo obtained, Iris easy to determine average speed, and to interpret the behaviour of the arc with respect 1o mutiple busbar set con- figurations and obstacies placed along its path, In paricutar, colar nagativas offer a cleac ditlarantiation between the are colume itself, the ionized clouds and smoke sur- rounding it From the practical view point, photogra- phic recording is simple - aconventional camera covers the visual field In which tho phenomenon to be recorded, the arc, takes place, The normal shutter is ope red a fow Instanis bafore tha test, and closed shortly afterwards, Ducing this fporied, a shutter disk, deiven al 50 emp ‘bya small synchronous mater, ro:ates in front of the lens. Stats are cut radially in the disk, the passage of which belore the Jens corresponds to taking of a photo, ‘whila the exposure time corresponds to the width of the sot. Several dicks onabled photography at ‘ies of $0 t0 300 exposures per sacond, the exposure times of which varied from 0.5 t0 2 miliseconds, ‘ahirstecolgues Nara Garin 9879.4 speed of movement The arc moves ai high speeds of the order of 200 to 260 motres per second {or cutronis of approximately 15 10 20 kA ims, along a set of LV busbars senara- ted by 300 mm of air For AC, this is the average speed. 19 practice, the inertia of the arc is $0 iow ‘hat the instantaneous speed cancels out lat the same time as tho currant passes ‘through zero for extinguishes momenta- rily, then increases again to reach a maximum corresponding to the peak imensity of the current sinewave. This phenomenon sas hightighted by photo Draphs taken at @ high rate (200 fo 300, exposuras par second) during single phase AC tests, damage due to the arc Ifthe fault arc # propagated freely along bbusnars without any discontinuity oF ex- cessively sudden changes in plane, without encountering motal obstactes or insulators, its passage causes aimost no damage. The ars roots move in suc: sessive jumps, leaving insignificant traces, in the form of small circular stains 2 few mm in diameter. onvarsaly ifthe arc is hindered or stop ped in ils travel, even for a fow nun- dredths of a second, it then causes serious damage : fusion of metal and ‘sombustion of insuistors, obstacles along the arc path ‘The behaviour ofthe arc with respact to digcontiautties in the bars along which is propagated is, howaver,eolatvaly ran- dom, in the samo manner as the obsta- cies ‘f encounters. Thus, a sudden change in diction along fa set of Inear bars can cause the arc clings to stabilize on the sharp edge for- ‘med by the bars, or continue propagation along a new direction imposed on i To halt arc propagation, the most appro- priate process Js to run the busbars through an insulating screon. This wil fulfils funtion correctly oniy ist forms ‘veritable feedthrough moulded around the conducting bars. A clearance of the ‘order of one milimetre between the ingulating sereen and the bar matat is sufficient to anabie ionized gases to cause arc-over again on the other side of the screen, the various effects of arc ‘The thermal effect : this is the most Important manifestation of the electric are ‘The calorific energy Ea = Ua loo. tis proportional {0 the arc voltage Ua, of 100 Volts or f@ to the rms current of the fault tsc, generally some tens of thousands of amperes for LV, while tess for MV 1 the duration df the fault t, controbied by the intervention time of the associated protection relays and circuit breaker. “The neal givon off motts the metal. car onizos insulators, heats the surroun ding ar, the pressure of whieh increases suddenly if the surrounding volume is restricted. Too offen, the enormous ‘quantity of heat given off by fault arcsis ‘underestimated. As an example. a fault current of 10,000 Amperes for a peried (of onectenth of a second is ali that is required to melt Ratt a #50 sq.mm cross: section cable ‘The presaure effect ; this resutts trom Very fapic heating of a limited volume of air, ‘causing those who have witnessed Ito compare a short-ciccut to an oxplo~ sion, Few enclosures or switchboard doors witistand euch internat pressures, resulting in increased damage to installa tions. An are flashover is also accom- panied by impressive noise, resulting from the sudden variation in pressure, For AG, this noise would be even a roar. The luminous effect of an arc is well raw, but, in addition to its extreme ine tensily. its consists partly of uttravioiet radiation liabla to affect the vision of a person located nearby, but above all in creases the surrounding ionization ‘The ionization effect can cause sepea: ted arcover betwoen parts under vol lage, separated by an insulating interval which, under normal atmospreric condi ‘vans, would be correct. These repeated ro-overs result in secondary arcs, Inde pponcant ofthe intial arc, which are pra pagated along different portions, This explains the mubipie arcovers observed alter a strike in a switchboard, cendering ‘tdlificult te lana the exact originof the faultm7 ape | ‘set of busbars : 6 metres | | ba I 7 ! | | photo rate | 10 ms \ | ‘Sepoaura tima: 1 ma ' + , ' I'm 14000 A rms (ciroult) sr we 300° V ems ION EN NES S 00 EOs tm: fig. 2 oscitogram ant photograph coresponcing te an ate propagalon test on a 14 000-A a SV eeu ‘cavers tachniqun Marin Geia ne9975. 53. reducing the probability of arcing ‘The steps to be takon must meet the cor responding risks ; these are cf three ‘types: wm type 1 risks : “These regutt from the actual construction ‘of tho overall installation: insulator qua- lity, minimum insulating distances, effi- cient tightening of connections, rigicity ff bars botweon mountings, bar beha- ‘Your Inthe avent of eventual current su 90s joverneating, resonance), access of animais to parts under voltage. wm type 2 asks: ‘Those result from more or less foreseex- bie accidents : sucden ingress of wator ‘oF waler vapour in a switchboard, shock from vehicles or loads, resulting from mishandling, excessive vibrations due to the proximity of certain machines, wm type 3 risks : ‘Those rosult from work carried out by personnel, ‘Type t risks can be eliminated by care- ful construction and by compiete checks atend of construction a the manufactu- rer's works and again prior to energizing on sito. For these risks, the importance af the ‘actual design of the oquipmont should be noted ; the oporational safety of insial- lations depends on the techical value and knowhow of the design office personnel. Type 2 risks, although impossible to of sminate totaly, can, however, be reduced by choosing the layout of the various parts of the instatiation, ‘The special case of switchboards instal led aboard ships should also be noted : arc faults due to the arrival of sea water fon the bars through ventilation ducts, or due to abundant condensation cosulting ‘rom a heavy steam leakage have been observed Those accidents can be avoided by a complete preliminary survey of these ‘external risks and the methods used to eliminate them 4), Type 3 risks aro directly related to the drawing up and respect of personne! maintenance and operating instructions ‘The competence ofthe porsonnel auttio- rized to work on the equipment should be guaranteed, The overall safely of tre insiallation sell, or a plant, and of ‘course, personne’ safety depend directly ‘on the Seriousness with whien personnel ‘approach their work. Wis aluays possible to design and pro ‘duce suitchboards whose busbars and branch circuits can be protected trom unwanted tampering by personnel ‘One method consists in placing all bars Lundor vottage in metal sheaths, thus ena biing personne! to work salaty on adja ‘cent contrat circuits. ‘The safest method, but aiso the most expensive (widely practiced in the Unk tad States) consists in completely shea- thing al busbar, connections and con- nection parts by coating the conductors inan insulator such as Filsas. and wan- ping all other parts under tension with Insulators after installation 4. limiting the consequences of an arc In spite of all the precautions taken, itis, possible that a fault arc may occur, but with a very low probably ; #50, it is necessary to reduce the damage that ‘may be caused, so as to be capable of rapidly and inexpensively re-establishing ‘energy distribution, ‘Various methods can be applied to this, resulting either from switchboard cons- ltucton methods. or the design of the diagram or protective devices used, cones totnlaues Morin Garin n* 38/6 reducing the fault current ‘The thermal elfests are proportionat to this short-circuit current lee, which often, in LV applications, can be considerably reduced by the use of biting circult breakers (8) (10). Itis therefore recommended to use this ‘equipment for switchboard incomer ‘rout breakers, where their charactoris- ‘08 (range, partial selectivity) are com- palibla with the installation But, in LV networks inwhich high power is provided by several transformers or generators connected in parallel, the short-circuit current vaiue on the busbar ‘seis can reach or even exceed 100,000 Arms, This involves a risk of heavy ‘damago in the event of 2 switchboard aun, ‘This tisk can be considerably reduced by adopting distribution diagrams simiar to those Used aboard ships, and whose high degree of safety is woll-known,couplenimitor feeders fig. 4. ra highsoeed coualeimitor OURT 6000 nstaloc in he contalner sho FORT DESAIK The generators are distributed over per- manently connoctod hall busbar sets, for ‘operational requirements, rough a cou- pling circuit-breaker (hig. 3} This high rating deviee, 3 000 10 6 000 A, is generally highly fmiling, cating for & design princiola much different from that used in conventional limiters, In act, he lining capabity of convontionai limiters decraases as tho rating increases : here |s fo equipment of this type deyona 2.000 A. Therefore, to resolve shis pro- blem, Merlin Garin have developed an uitta high-speed limiter cireuitbreaker DURT. the opening time of which fs Fess than one milisecond {fig. 4), ‘The short-circuit current on the busbar Set is reduced almost ta half of ts calcu fated value with all sovsces operating in parallel. This ceducas cisks in the event of a maior switchboard incident Moreover, this major decrease in short: iteut current proportionally reduces the break eapabilty of all feeder circuit breakers , ne economy thus abtainéd on ‘the equipment compensates the supoie- mentary cost of 3 limiting coupling cireult-breaker reducing fault duration ‘The thorma fects are also proportional to this duration t, which is attempted to be reduced by eliminating the fault 2s rapidly a5 possibie. Sut, the aquioment used for this purpose 1s source circut- broakars. the selectivity requlveman's of which often cal for time delays. The least that can be done iso ensure that the delay settings are as low as possibie, without withdrawing apparent safety ‘margins Irom these times, which would bbe rogrenabie in the event of short rcults on a set of busbars. tt has boon domonsirated that a fault of 20,000 &, whichis relatively ow for LV, propagatas a! 300 matras par second, ‘lost atthe speed of sound; therelor, the are can cover 45 mettes over the frst 150 milisaconds of tho time eolay. in order to remedy tis stuation, Merin Gorin hava developed a naw systorn< lagle selectivity (2), enabling conserva: tion of absolute Selectivity without being obliged to increase arcu breaker delay, insofar 28 these are installed further ua system, @ princigle already used in cchronometie saioctivity consumable screens and arc traps Its possibie to conceive a busbar arran- ‘gemeri suon, that alter a certain travel the arc remains « locked onto » one end, without propagating any further : then, the consumable screen, the thickness. of which is determined aa a function of the probable power to be absorbed, 16 Ingerted in front of the are, This screen may be either metalic : the arc wil then be absorbed in melting the ‘metal, of a mineral insulator with sufti- lent resistance to heal. By combustion, an organic insulato: will produce gases having dangerous effects. Its also pos. siplo to place parts of appropriate shape ‘an the bars, the purpose of which is to tect the arc in a direction in which its consequences wili cause lass damage and will, atleast, be controlled by acon sumable screen, These devices ae known as ware traps ». ahi techrianes Mevtn Gav 22.38/97feedthrough, screens Division of a set of busbars into several sections, as described above, can be ad vantageously accompanied by officient physi¢al insulation berween the various sections, Faodthroughs of this type form ‘sereens against which the ares stop, but their composition must be such that they withstane arc heal for she requirad time. advantage of enclosed unit cel It sometimes happons that a faut arc o°- curs on an item of equipment subse- ‘quent to a tool or piece of metal boing lett on the surfaces of the equipment Generally, the arc thus created finds ace ‘quate conditions fer loca! persistence, and remains « locked » the equipment Involved, while strongly ionizing adjacent zones, The result of ths is that, the item ff equipament is iocated on a framework fr sizucture, ionization can entail arct ‘overs on adjacent circult-oteakers and bbusbars resulting in generai arc-over throughout the instalation. Conversely. if gach item of equigmont is eeparated {rom the remainder of the installation by ‘matal walls the risk of fault generaliza- tion is eliminated, Each operation dovicw is installed in a unitary ceil, which nevertheless contains @ neutral zone enabling expansion of gases 10 provent pressure surges. The Input and faeder terminal feod- throughs are made by means of in- sulating feedthroughs, imiting the con- sequences of an are 10 the inside of tha Collin which it ancurred, or protecting the ‘col! against arcs of external origin. Devies operating manoeuvres (opening: Closing), as its line and ioad side discon. ection (withdrawing), are made with tho door closed. Since withdrawing precedes oponing of ‘cell door, the personne! working direct- ly on the equipment (fer maintenance, testing or roplacement) is thorotore out tf range of the busbars and protected {rom flashes from a cutout device loeatod in an adjacent cell resistance of HV switch- boards to internal arcs For high safety installations. it has become nacossary to design prolabricated HV switchioards capabie of withstanding an internal arc, without affecting the eafety of personnel in the cabs tectrigues Marin Gee n° 28°. 8 proximity of the switchboard, either due to burns or jection of switchboard ‘components, “The design of such special switchboards involves real power tests, followed by ‘simulation using computer programs. “The process of evolution of an originating in an enclosed volume equipped with the sequired prossure reliat valves involves ‘complex phenomena during the fetiow- ing phases = compression phase (6 io 15 ms), du. ing which the pressure rises between 1.2 and 1.8 bars, 18 the expansion phase (about 10 me}. followed by opening ofthe pressure raat ‘aps, and coinciding with a pressure sop, 1 the emission phase (200 to 300 ms), during which not gasos ara quasistabitiz- fed mode evacuated, 1m thermal phase {200 ms, up to severat seconds}, during which the arc burns plating and maulators up to perforation. For example, 4 mm plating is punctured bby a5 KA are in 300 ms, Verification of the internal are bahaviour was first of all classified by a PEHLA (German test organization) directive and, since 1978 , by modification No. 2 ‘of CE! 298, suasequent fo the work of subcommittee 176. opto-electronic detection A noticeable reduction in the destructive offects of ares can be obtained by reduc- ing their duration below the conventional limit of 9n@ second ; this limit cor responds to an often fong time for pro tection device to act, for selectivity re quirements. This reduction in aro dura- tion is rendered possible by installing optovelectronic detectors, which cause the master citcultbreaker (input or coupl- ing} to open in lass than 100 ms. The thermal phase is practically nonexistent, resulting in @ notable reduction in damage, with a rapid raturn to normal service. bibliography (1) A. Hochratner Movement of short-clroult ares in high voltage installations. E12 ABO 77 11/505 (2) E. Eidinger and W. Rioder Behaviour of arce in transverse magnetic fields. Arehiv. F. elect. BD 43 1987 (3) L. Matter Propagation of short high current Electrizitatsw. H8 4/58. {4) L. Fechant ‘Speed of movement of arcs in air. REG 9.59 (5) L Chaineaux and C. Gagniéres Puncturing of cabinets by arcs. Revue induste. | minérale 8162, (8) @. Bouvier Incldents ocoutring on electrical in- Stallations aborard ships. ATMA 1971. (7) A, Duciuzaux Electrodynamic forces. Cahier tech. MG n° 7 2176. (8) R. Calvas and F. Sautriau rotection of networks by logic Selectivity systema. Ganior toch. MG n° 2 178. (9) P. Schueller Low voltage breaking by current Umiting. ahler tech. MG n° 103 6/80. (10) ©. Albertin Compact limiter circuit-breakers, ‘towards unlimited break capability. Cahior tech. MG n° 131 6/81.