3D modeling of AC electric arc on 60 Hz and 400Hz

Current studies and standards such as the IEEE 1584–2002 Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations, NFPA 70E and OSHA standards only focus on arc flash events on 50Hz/60Hz three phase electrical power systems. The single phase AC system and other frequencies such as 400 Hz are not covered in current studies and standards. Since the di/dt (change of current with respect to rime) is different for various frequencies, the arc flash event may behave differently. Thus an exploration of arc flash event at 400 Hz and for single phase electrical power systems is highly needed. In this paper we present 3D simulation of electric arc event at 400 Hz and 60 Hz (single phase and three phase electric systems) and compare the model results to existing experimental results. The simulation is performed by Code Saturne Software which uses the theory of magnetohydrodynamics to simulate electric arc.