ARC FLASH HAZARD

ANALYSIS/SHORT-CIRCUIT/COORDINATION STUDY

PART 1 GENERAL
1.01 SCOPE

A. The Engineer shall furnish short-circuit and protective device coordination studies report.

B. The contractor shall furnish an Arc Flash Hazard Analysis Study per the requirements set forth in
the current version of NFPA 70E -Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. The arc flash
hazard analysis shall be performed according to the IEEE Standard 1584 – 2002, the IEEE Guide
for Performing Arc-Flash Calculations.

1.02 REFERENCES

A. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE):

1. IEEE 141 – Recommended Practice for Electric Power Distribution and Coordination of
Industrial and Commercial Power Systems
2. IEEE 242 – Recommended Practice for Protection and Coordination of Industrial and
Commercial Power Systems
3. IEEE 399 – Recommended Practice for Industrial and Commercial Power System Analysis
4. IEEE 241 – Recommended Practice for Electric Power Systems in Commercial Buildings
5. IEEE 1015 – Recommended Practice for Applying Low-Voltage Circuit Breakers Used in
Industrial and Commercial Power Systems.
6. IEEE 1584 -Guide for Performing Arc-Flash Hazard Calculations

B. American National Standards Institute (ANSI):

1. ANSI C57.12.00 – Standard General Requirements for Liquid-Immersed Distribution, Power,

and Regulating Transformers
2. ANSI C37.13 – Standard for Low Voltage AC Power Circuit Breakers Used in Enclosures
3. ANSI C37.010 – Standard Application Guide for AC High Voltage Circuit Breakers Rated on
a Symmetrical Current Basis
4. ANSI C 37.41 – Standard Design Tests for High Voltage Fuses, Distribution Enclosed Single-
Pole Air Switches, Fuse Disconnecting Switches and Accessories.

C. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

1. NFPA 70 -National Electrical Code, latest edition

2. NFPA 70E – Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace

1.03 REPORT

A. The results of the short-circuit, protective device coordination and arc flash hazard analysis studies
shall be summarized in a final report. A minimum of five (2) bound copies of the complete final
report shall be submitted. Electronic PDF copies of the report shall be provided as well.

B. The report shall include the following sections:

1. Executive Summary including Introduction, Scope of Work and Results/Recommendations.

2. Short-Circuit Methodology Analysis Results and Recommendations
 3. Short-Circuit Device Evaluation Table
4. Protective Device Coordination Methodology Analysis Results and Recommendations
5. Protective Device Settings Table
6. Time-Current Coordination Graphs and Recommendations
7. Arc Flash Hazard Methodology Analysis Results and Recommendations including the details of
the incident energy and flash protection boundary calculations, along with Arc Flash boundary
distances, working distances, Incident Energy levels and Personal Protection Equipment levels.
8. Arc Flash Labeling section showing types of labels to be provided. Section will contain
descriptive information as well as typical label images.
9. One-line system diagram that shall be computer generated and will clearly identify individual
equipment buses, bus numbers used in the short-circuit analysis, cable and bus connections
between the equipment, calculated maximum short-circuit current at each bus location, device
numbers used in the time-current coordination analysis, and other information pertinent to the
computer analysis.

1.04 COMPUTER ANALYSIS SOFTWARE

A. The studies shall be performed using Easy Power 10 software program.

PART 2 PRODUCT
2.01 STUDIES

A. The Engineer shall furnish an Arc Flash Hazard Analysis Study per NFPA 70E -Standard for
Electrical Safety in the Workplace, reference Article 130.3 and Annex D. This study shall also
include short-circuit and protective device coordination studies.

2.02 DATA

A. Engineer shall collect all data as required for the power system studies.

2.03 SHORT-CIRCUIT ANALYSIS

A. Transformer design impedances shall be used when test impedances are not available.

B. The following shall be provided:

1. Calculation methods and assumptions

2. Selected base per unit quantities
3. One-line diagram of the system being evaluated that clearly identifies individual equipment
buses, bus numbers used in the short-circuit analysis, cable and bus connections between the
equipment, calculated maximum short-circuit current at each bus location and other
information pertinent to the computer analysis
4. The study shall include input circuit data including electric utility system characteristics,
source impedance data, conductor lengths, number of conductors per phase, conductor
impedance values, insulation types, transformer impedances and X/R ratios, motor
contributions, and other circuit information as related to the short-circuit calculations.
5. Tabulations of calculated quantities including short-circuit currents, X/R ratios, equipment
short-circuit interrupting or withstand current ratings and notes regarding adequacy or
inadequacy of the equipment rating.
6. Results, conclusions, and recommendations

D. Protective Device Evaluation:

1. Evaluate equipment and protective devices and compare to short circuit ratings
 2. Adequacy of switchgear, motor control centers, and panelboard bus bars to withstand short-
circuit stresses

2.04 ARC FLASH HAZARD ANALYSIS

A. The arc flash hazard analysis shall be performed according to the IEEE 1584 equations that are
presented in NFPA70E-2004, Annex D. The arc flash hazard analysis shall be performed in
conjunction with the short-circuit analysis (Section 2.03) and the protective device time-current
coordination analysis (Section 2.04)

B. The flash protection boundary and the incident energy shall be calculated at significant locations
in the electrical distribution system (switchboards, switchgear, motor-control centers,
panelboards, busway and splitters) where work could be performed on energized parts.

C. Circuits 240V or less where available bolted short circuit current is less than 10 kA may be
omitted from the computer model and will be assumed to have a hazard risk category 0 per NFPA
70E Table 130.7(C)(9)(a), including footnote 3.

D. Circuits 240V or less fed by transformers 112.5 kVA or less may be omitted from the computer
model and will be assumed to have a hazard risk category 0 per IEEE 1584.

E. Working distances shall be based on IEEE 1584. The calculated arc flash protection boundary
shall be determined using those working distances.

F. When appropriate, the short circuit calculations and the clearing times of the phase overcurrent
devices will be retrieved from the short-circuit and coordination study model. Ground overcurrent
relays shall not be taken into consideration when determining the clearing time when performing
incident energy calculations

G. The short-circuit calculations and the corresponding incident energy calculations for multiple
system scenarios will be compared and the greatest incident energy will be uniquely reported for
each equipment location in a single table. Calculations will be performed to represent the
maximum and minimum contributions of fault current magnitude for normal and emergency
operating conditions. The minimum calculation will assume that the utility contribution is at a
minimum. Conversely, the maximum calculation will assume a maximum contribution from the
utility. Calculations shall take into consideration the parallel operation of synchronous generators
with the electric utility, where applicable as well as any stand-by generator applications.

The Arc-Flash Hazard Analysis shall be performed utilizing mutually agreed upon facility
operational conditions, and the final report shall describe, when applicable, how these conditions
differ from worst-case bolted fault conditions.

H. The incident energy calculations will consider the accumulation of energy over time when
performing arc flash calculations on buses with multiple sources. Iterative calculations will take
into account the changing current contributions, as the sources are interrupted or decremented with
time.

I. For each piece of ANSI rated equipment with an enclosed main device, two calculations shall be
made. A calculation shall be made for the main cubicle, sides, or rear; and shall be based on a
device located upstream of the equipment to clear the arcing fault. A second calculation shall be
made for the front cubicles and shall be based on the equipment’s main device to clear the arcing
fault. For all other non-ANSI rated equipment, only one calculation shall be required and it shall
be based on a device located upstream of the equipment to clear the arcing fault.

J. When performing incident energy calculations on the line side of a main breaker (as required per
 above), the line side and load side contributions will be included in the fault calculation.

K. Mis-coordination shall be checked amongst all devices within the branch containing the
immediate protective device upstream of the calculation location and the calculation shall utilize
the fastest device to compute the incident energy for the corresponding location.

L. Arc Flash calculations shall be based on actual overcurrent protective device clearing time. A
maximum clearing time of 2 seconds will be used based on IEEE 1584-2002 section B.1.2.
Where it is not physically possible to move outside of the flash protection boundary in less than 2
seconds during an arc flash event, a maximum clearing time based on the specific location shall
be utilized.

M. The following shall be provided:

1. Results of the Arc-Flash Hazard Analysis shall be submitted in tabular form, and shall
include device or bus name, bolted fault and arcing fault current levels, flash protection
boundary distances, working distances, personal-protective equipment classes and AFIE (Arc
Flash Incident Energy) levels.
2. The Arc-Flash Hazard Analysis shall report incident energy values based on recommended
device settings for equipment within the scope of the study.
3. The Arc-Flash Hazard Analysis may include recommendations to reduce AFIE levels
and enhance worker safety.

PART 3 EXECUTION
3.01 FIELD ADJUSTMENT

A. Owner shall adjust relay and protective device settings according to the recommended settings
table provided by the coordination study.

3.02 ARC FLASH LABELS

A. Engineer shall provide a 4.0 in. x 4.0 in. Brady thermal transfer type label of high adhesion
polyester for each work location analyzed.

B. The labels shall be designed according to the following standards:

1. UL969 – Standard for Marking and Labeling Systems

2. ANSI Z535.4 – Product Safety Signs and Labels
3. NFPA 70 (National Electric Code) – Article 110.16

C. The label shall include the following information:

1. System Voltage
2. Flash protection boundary
3. Personal Protective Equipment category
4. Arc Flash Incident energy value (cal/cm²)
5. Limited, restricted, and prohibited Approach Boundaries
6. Study report number and issue date

D. Labels shall be printed by a thermal transfer type printer, with no field markings.