Arc flash analysis using ETAP platform

Abstract Arc flash analysis during short circuit failure is an exciting issue that has significant implications for electrical design, management, maintenance, and operation of power systems. In this paper, a typical power system of a milk factory with voltage levels of 33kV, 11kV, and 0.4kV are considered for arc flash analysis on the platform of ETAP. The computation results show that the arc flash incident energies at some buses of the system are very high with the index of personal protective equipment (PPE) at the extreme danger level, and hence, the remedial procedure is inevitable. The two mitigation solutions of using low arc mode and arc flash detection relay are then verified. The latter strategy is demonstrated to be able to reduce the incident energy of arc flash at the dangerous buses to the level 2 of PPE, and hence, this method is recommended to apply for handling the arc flash hazard in this power system.