Everyone tenses up in anticipation as they hear the countdown, “three, two, one.” Then there’s an extremely loud BOOM and blinding light. Sparks fly everywhere, and smoke fills the test area. Laughter and perhaps even a high five frequently follow.
Edward Murphy is famous for his law that states: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” When performing an arc flash study, Murphy’s Law becomes very important if assumptions are made about this rare but potentially deadly event.
The first step in conducting an arc flash study is to obtain the data necessary to accurately represent the electrical system. Equations defined by IEEE 1584–IEEE Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations are at the heart of most studies and require a lot of data.