Ensaio de Arco Elétrico para Determinação da Energia Incidente Conforme a Norma IEEE Std 1584-2018

Abstract

The arc flash is a dangerous electrical hazard event to workers and equipment, due to the high incident energy associated with it. Yet, there are few laboratories in the world that perform experimental tests related to it, due to the complexities and high costs involved in their composition. Thereby, the Smart Grid Institute (UFSM) together with CPFL Energy developed a high-current laboratory for arc flash tests with the goal to investigate conditions of arc flash related to the national electrical context, that are not approached in the international standards, such as the guide IEEE Std 1584-2018. But, for laboratory’s validation, it is necessary that the tests produce analogue results in relation to the mathematical model of the guide IEEE Std 1584- 2018, so in the future will be possible to explore situations that are not in standard’s scope. Thus, this paper presents the main details related to the construction of the arc flash laboratory, as well as demonstrates the results obtained through an initial test. From the experiment carried out, it is possible to realize that the laboratory has a structure capable of generating a safe and high-current arc flash and measure the respective incident energy, but there are still several matters to explore and improve in the laboratory.