Sensitivity Analysis of Epri Overhead Hv Line Arc Flash Model

Abstract

The availability of various methods of arc flash such as IEEE 1584–2018 and Ralph Lee methods have voltage, current and configuration limitations and hence do not provide a good estimate of incident energy under some conditions such as systems above 15kV. This was confirmed for higher voltages from tests conducted by the Electric Power Research Institute [1]. With the experimental data available from these tests, empirical equations were derived in simplified forms by using the average values of voltage gradient and incident thermal energy flux. These equations provide a suitable tool in estimating incident energy in high voltage systems. This paper describes those equations, analyzes the results produced with different input parameters and identifies resultant patterns to help engineers minimize incident energy and improve safety of the personnel.