600,000

500,000

400,000

300,000

200,000

100,000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

23,900 31,100 39,431 47,620 59,09173,957

93,924120,696

159,052

197,956

238,110

369,862

432,680

487,279

539,123

282,850318,697

Insulation breakdown

Equipment failure

Phase-to-phase or ground faults

SYSTEM VOLTAGE

Voltage as low as 120 volts produce enough current to cause an arc flash

INCIDENT ENERGY

Heat made up of a combination of the radiated heat and convection heat. The closer a person is, the more incident energy they will experience

What Determines Severity?

ARC CHARACTERISTICS

Dangers From An Arc Flash

Electrical Switchboard

Induction Generator

Global Cumulative Installed Wind Capacity 2001-2017*

Potential Areas Of Damage

What Causes Arc Flash?

Cost Of An Arc Flash

Mitigation of Arc Flash

Shrapnel traveling over 700 MPH

Blast pressure exceeding 2000 psi

Hotter than the sun

Fire hazards after the flash (Concentration of flammable materials)

Wind Turbines are far from medical help/meters above ground or sea level

Severe burns

Lung damage

Vision loss

Eardrum ruptures

Barotrauma Death

Equipment destroyed

Downtime/ Loss of revenue

Injury or death

The temperature is determined by the megawatts of power being consumed by the arc

Arc duration effects the amount of incident energy

which is proportional to time

A longer arc length creates more incident energy

than a shorter arc

CURRENT-LIMITING FUSESDo not react as quickly or at all if the arcingcurrent is less than their fault threshold

ARC-FLASH RELAYFaster clearing timeTrips in less than 1 millisecond

They can reduce the potentially damaging incident energy released. Different fuse classes affect how much current limitation they provide.

Learn more: Littelfuse.com/SafetyByDesign

While relays cannot prevent an arc-flash, they can limit the damage to equipment, downtime for repairs, and injury to workers.

Learn more: Littelfuse.com/ArcFlash

*Source: GWEC- Global Wind Energy Council http://gwec.net/global-figures/graphs/

Transformer Gearbox

PROTECT YOUR WIND TURBINE

FROM ARC-FLASH HAZARDS