The safety benefits of arc resistant metalclad medium voltage switchgear

Abstract

One cause of serious injuries to electrical workers in the petrochemical industry is flash burns from arcing faults in medium voltage metalclad switchgear. First introduced in Europe, arc resistant switchgear designs are now being marketed in North America to eliminate this potential cause of injuries by containing the arc byproducts and venting the gases in a safe manner. This paper discusses current worker safety regulations, the arcing fault process, standards governing arc resistant switchgear, switchgear design, application and cost/benefit considerations. One manufacturer's experience testing a new arc resistant switchgear design is included.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>