Arc Flash Study of IEEE 8 Bus Test System using Digital Simulation and Electrical Network Analysis Platform

Nowadays, electricity plays an important role in our life and in our industries. However, when an arc fault occurs, it creates an incident that can cause a serious damage to the equipment and can cause serious injury to the workers. Arc fault is generated when electric current passes through air from one uncovered live conductor to another or to ground in electrical system. Analyzing the level of arc flash and providing a good protection to the workers is paramount. In this work DigSILENT software was used to study the Arc Flash of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 8 Bus Test System. Firstly, a model of system was created in the DigSILENT environment and then arc flash study of all the buses in the system was carried out. Based on the simulation results obtained, Personnel protective equipment and labels were generated to inform the workers about the level of danger they are exposed to in the course of doing their work. The risk category for buses numbers 3 and 7 are cat 2 and 3 respectively while for buses 1and 5 and for buses 2,4,6 and 8 are cat 4 and 5 respectively. The results showed that there is a need for the personnel to equip themselves with the appropriate Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) as suggested before access. Because, arc flash faults have significant effect on personnel and equipment. It’s really important for stability, energy continuity, human life and economy. &nbsp