TO: Professor Ellis
FROM: Michael Lin
DATE: 09/20/2020
SUBJECT: 500-word summary
This article will talk about how to protect electrician from the electric arc’s thermal hazard. The first Part of the article will talk about the different type of electric arc. Talks about their behavior and methods of thermal energy dissipation. The second Part 2 talks about how statistical are used for future improvement. The company will use the information to improve their PPE equipment but information on electric arc incident is hard to find in government statistical review. The last will talk about different way protecting from electric arc.
During the past 15 year, the availability of different fabric and other material used in PPE help to protect electrical worker from electric arc. But the most important is studying and analysis experience, so understanding the electric arc incident data will help us improve. Then they will test the PPE equipment to make sure it will happen to protect worker from electric arc. The range that the heat generated by the electric arc are very wide, so some use of PPE alone will not provide absolute protection, and there are many factors can affect the amount of thermal energy, like the distance ,type of arc, and the equipment that the worker is wearing at the time
Several organizations are involved in standards development and maintenance related to the electric arc safely and PPE. What is electric arc, some states that eclectic arc is a discharge of electricity from voltage, etc. Not all electric arcs in electrical equipment used in industry are the same, there are five different type of electric arcs and it is classification is based on several differentiating factors.
The first type of electric arc is Open air electric arc, it is median or high voltage that burn in open air without any thing that cover the arc. It could be cause by bushing flashover at high and medium voltage transformer (power and instrument) or breaker. Second type of electric are Arc in a box, and it is a low-voltage electric arc in an enclosure. It can happen in panels, motor control centers (MCC), or electrical meters. The third type of electric are Moving arc, is a medium or high-voltage arc in open air, and it is between two parallel conductors. The fourth type of electric are Ejected Arc, ejected arc is a medium- or high-voltage arc formed at the tips of parallel conductors or electrodes. This type of arc was not common but it it’s the most dangerous because it can cause large scale of burn on human skin. The last type of electric arc is Tracking arc, Tracking arc is very different from the other electric arc, it can happen on a person’s skin under their cloth when they have a direct or indirect contact with the energized part. Knowing the different type of electric are very important for electrician, and to create a safe environment for those who work in that environment.
References
Golovkov, M., Schau, H., & Burdge, G. (2017). Protecting Against Thermal Effect: Part 1: Types of Electric Arc. Professional Safety, 62(7), 49–54.
