A study of arc fault current in low voltage switchboard

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the behavior and characteristic of the arc fault in low voltage (LV) switchboard. The causes and effects of the occurrence of arc fault in the low voltage switchboard are determined and an arc current sensor is designed to isolate the power supply from the LV switchboard once it detects an arc current. By monitoring the supply current waveform with the arc current sensor, the possibility of the occurrence arc fault can be reduced to minimum through an early detection on the fault by the mean of detecting the arc current. The simulation and experimental results show that the arc current sensor is able to detect an arc current waveform and send a signal to trip the circuit breaker and avoid the possibility of arc flash.