AN INVESTIGATION OF LOW VOLTAGE ARC FLASH EXPOSURE
Copyright Material IEEE
Paper No. ESW2013-30
Albert M. Smoak, P.E.
Member, IEEE
Southwestern Electric Power Co.
428 Travis St.
Shreveport, LA 71101
USA
amsmoak@aep.com
Abstract – The distribution utility lineman, servicer, and
meter technician play an active role in the operation,
installation, and maintenance of 120-volt and 240-volt
equipment on a daily basis. The arc flash risks faced by utility
workers operating equipment energized at 240 V or less were
investigated for activities involving meter enclosures, meter
installations, meter maintenance, and the connection of
conductors in energized transformers and power pedestals.
The investigation led to conclusions regarding the likelihood of
an injury due to an arc flash exposure to utility workers
performing low voltage work. The investigation included tests
conducted at an installation located immediately adjacent to a
substation to achieve fault currents near 12,000 amps, more
than which is typically expected for the daily activities
performed by utility linemen on voltages 240 Volts and below. It
was concluded that the low voltage arc flash energy level to
which these workers are exposed is very low. The
methodology and results will be explained.
Index Terms — Arc hazard analysis, low voltage arc flash,
arc sustainability, utility worker.
I. INTRODUCTION
Utility linemen work in a specialized field where they are
exposed to many potential hazards to provide their service and
deliver a product that has become a necessity in today’s
society. Linemen are trained to use specialized tools, skills,
and techniques to safely mitigate many of these potential
hazards. Article 410 in the Work Rules section of the National
Electric Safety Code assigns employers the responsibility of
assessing arc flash exposure hazards associated with the
different systems on which employees work, and the
responsibility of requiring employees to wear a clothing system
that protects against those anticipated hazards [1]. Another
dangerous hazard faced by utility linemen is heat exhaustion,
so it too must be considered with arc flash hazards when
determining an appropriate clothing system.
Electrical distribution systems range in voltages from 50 volts
up to 35 kilovolts. The majority of a utility lineman’s low voltage
work is on 120 V, 208 V, and 240 V systems. Typical duties
associated with these systems include working in meter
sockets, installing and removing meters, checking voltage, and
connecting secondary conductors in power pedestals,
enclosures, and secondary compartments of transformers.
There are arc flash exposure hazards associated with these
distribution systems energized below 300 V.
978-1-4673-3039-8/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE
Adam J. Keeth
Southwestern Electric Power Co.
101 W. Township St.
Fayetteville, AR 72703
USA
ajkeeth@aep.com
Theoretically, arc flash energy intensity is a function of the
arc’s current, voltage, and clearing time [2]. Before a thorough
arc hazard analysis can be performed, it is important to
understand critical information concerning the clearing time of
the arc. The primary objective of this experiment was to create
actual scenarios allowing opportunities to observe these
characteristics, specifically the clearing time and self
sustainability of live arcs with different lengths in phase-to-
ground and phase-to-phase faults on 120-volt and 240-volt
electrical distribution systems.
II. TESTING METHODOLOGY
The intent of this investigation was to create and observe faults
and electric arcs while simulating typical low voltage work
activities, specifically, while working in an energized power
pedestal and meter socket. A small electrical distribution
system was constructed adjacent to a distribution substation for
the tests, and the major components of the system included a
7.2kV/240-120V transformer, a secondary power pedestal, and
a meter socket equipped with a bypass handle. The faults and
resulting arcs were created by connecting test apparatuses in
the power pedestal to act as electrodes, and then energizing
the system by closing the 7200 V riser fuse. The test
apparatuses used as electrodes to create arc gaps were
constructed of large 600-volt URD cable and 2-hole terminal
lugs. An insulating material was used between pairs of
terminals, which were connected with non-conductive nylon
bolts, to create precisely measured air gaps to regulate the
length of the arcs during the experiments. Teaser filaments
were placed between the terminals to trigger the fault since a
120-volt arc is not capable of overcoming the dielectric strength
of air within the gap widths considered in this experiment.
During the first series of tests, using a 50-kVA transformer, the
investigation began with a bolted 120-volt fault, and then
repeated the process with five air gap widths ranging from 1/24
of one inch (1.1mm) to 1 inch (25.4mm). The first series
concluded with two 240-volt tests, one of which was conducted
in the power pedestal, and the other in the meter socket.
Results are shown in Table I. A second series of tests followed,
using a larger transformer to allow even more fault current.
Instrumentation was reconfigured to also record arc gap voltage
for each test. These results are shown in Table II. Thirteen
tests were conducted in total, nine of which used precisely
measured air gaps between electrodes to create known arc
lengths during the fault conditions. Two tests were bolted fault
conditions, and two scenarios were nearly-bolted scenarios,
 TABLE I
Arc Fault Data with 50kVA Transformer
TABLE II
Arc Fault Data with 167kVA Transformer
whereby the bypass handles were used in meter sockets to
close in on 240-volt phase-to-phase fault conditions.
III. DATA ANALYSIS
A. Observed Characteristics
The data taken from these tests provided useful information
pertaining to the characteristics of the arcs created in the open-
air fault conditions. The test site’s layout and close proximity to
the distribution substation provided a substantial amount of fault
current, higher than that commonly found at 120-240 volts on
the electric distribution system. Despite this level of available
fault current, as well as the short air gaps considered, the data
show that the tests produced arcs that were unable to sustain
themselves long enough to trigger upstream fuse protection.
The longest arc duration observed, with an electrode separation
of 1/24-inch (1.1mm), lasted only 0.6 cycles (9.44ms). Fig. 1
illustrates the voltage waveform of the 120-volt rms arc with a
1/24-inch (1.1mm) length during Test 2 of Table II. The graph
illustrates the arc being initiated and self-extinguishing in 0.4
cycles (7.23ms). In Test 7 of Table I, the 240-volt, phase-to-
phase fault with an arc length of 1/8 of one inch (3.2mm) also
self-extinguished with a duration of less than half of one cycle.
All nine arcs created in the air gaps, and even one of the nearly
bolted fault conditions in the meter socket, self-extinguished in
half of one cycle or less.
Overall, data taken during the investigation showed that both
120-volt and 240-volt arcs are not self-sustainable for more
than half a cycle when they are initiated within short air gap
widths in open air. This information is useful when evaluating
Fig.1. Voltage waveform of a phase-to-ground fault with 1/24-
inch (1.1mm) controlled arc length (peak values shown).
arc flash exposure hazards and calculating incident energy
from the arc to which linemen and other electrical workers could
be exposed on low voltage systems.
B. Hazard Analysis
The intent of this investigation was to evaluate the arc flash
exposure hazard of 120-volt and 240-volt systems for utility
linemen in normal working conditions. Knowing incident energy
resulting from the arc is a desired result in an arc hazard
analysis [3], and industry has developed several methods for
calculating incident energy for higher voltage classes and
higher fault current values. However, these accepted methods
all have constraints and limits of application that prevent them
from being applied to the scenarios observed and data taken in
this investigation. For example, the “Arc in Open Air” formula,
commonly referred to as the NFPA 70E method, is only to be
used for short-circuit current greater than 16kA [4]. IEEE 1584,
another widely accepted method for calculating incident energy,
is constrained by constants derived from measured data, and is
only to be used for voltages above 0.208kV, with arc gaps
equal to or greater than 13mm [3]. Nevertheless, application of
these two methods with this investigation’s data, using IEEE
1584 for Test 7 from Table I, and NFPA 70E for Test 2 in Table
2
II, yields calculated incident energy levels of less than 1 cal/cm
at a radial distance of 18 inches from the arc. The incident
energy, and therefore the hazard, is greatly minimized by the
fact that the arc is not able to sustain itself and self-extinguishes
in one half of a cycle.
IV. CONCLUSION
The safety culture in the electric utility industry is evolving at
an accelerated pace due to advancements in technology and
the desire for every worker to go home safe every day. This
series of tests was conducted as part of a safety initiative, to
ensure that utility linemen and other electrical workers are
protected at lower voltages. This investigation demonstrated
conclusively that 120-volt and 240-volt arcs are not able to
sustain themselves and self extinguish very quickly in a utility
lineman’s normal low-voltage working environment, greatly
minimizing the resulting incident energy and its effect on the
worker.
 V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors wish to acknowledge the team of coworkers and
colleagues for their contributions to this study, which would not
have been possible without their assistance. The assistance
provided by Christopher R. Gray, P.E, Tom Russell, Mark Rath,
and Henry Brown of Southwestern Electric Power Company,
and Wayne P. Blackley, P.E., of Associated Training Corp., is
greatly appreciated.
VI. REFERENCES
[1] IEEE, National Electrical Safety Code, 2012 Edition, New
York, NY: IEEE.
[2] Neal, et al., “Protective Clothing Guidelines for Electric
Arc Exposure,” IEEE Transactions on Industry
Applications, vol 33-4, pp 1042-1043, Jul/Aug 1997.
[3] IEEE 1584, September 2002, IEEE Guide for Performing
Arc-Flash Hazard Calculations, New York, NY: IEEE.
[4] NFPA 70, Standard for Electrical Safety Requirements for
Employee Workplaces, 2004, Quincy, MA: NFPA.
VII. VITA
Albert M. (Malcolm) Smoak is Vice President, Distribution
Region Operations for Southwestern Electric Power Company
(SWEPCO), a subsidiary of American Electric Power. Smoak
holds a BSEE from Louisiana Tech University, and is a
registered professional engineer in the State of Louisiana.
His responsibilities include engineering and operations of
SWEPCO's distribution system, serving 523,000 customers in
Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana. During his career, he has
been devoted to improving the safety and working conditions of
SWEPCO employees. He represents NSPE on the NESC
Subcommittee 8. Smoak is a member IEEE and former
president of the IEEE Shreveport Chapter. He began his 28
year career in the utility industry as a distribution engineer in
Shreveport, Louisiana, and has served in various management
roles in the metering, operations, and engineering functions.
Adam J. Keeth received a BSEE from Louisiana Tech
University in 2004, and has since been employed by
Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), a
subsidiary of American Electric Power. He began his career as
a distribution engineer in Shreveport, Louisiana, and currently
works as the distribution engineering supervisor in SWEPCO’s
Fayetteville, Arkansas District. Keeth serves as a member of
the Louisiana Tech Electrical Engineering Industrial Advisory
Board.