Abstract
The purpose of this project is to investigate arc flash hazards and methods of mitigation. The definition of arc flash will be presented and, the parameters that must be determined during arc flash studies will be discussed. These parameters include incident energy levels, circuit breaker clearing times, distance to the energized equipment, and magnitude of fault current. The standards used for arc flash studies such as: National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), National Electrical Code (NEC), and related documents will also be identified and discussed. These standards are used for proper determination of workable boundary limits and Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) worn and needed for safe operation of energized electrical equipment. Addition of Distributed Generation (DG) to a system will affect some of the arc flash parameters, thus influencing the study results. These effects are greatly influenced and depend on the locations where the DG is interconnected to the system. Two scenarios will be examined, analyzed, and discussed. Commercial arc flash analysis software is used for modeling and simulation of the two arc flash studies. Study models, simulations, results and supporting conclusions derived from the commercial software will be summarized and presented. Recommendations for further mitigation and enhancement of arc flash studies will also be addressed and presented in this project.