Arc Fault Detection and Discrimination Methods

Carlos E. Restrepo
Siemens Energy and Automation
Residential Product Division
5400 Triangle Parkway
Norcross, GA 30092
[email protected]

ABSTRACT–Arc waveform characteristics can be evaluated and Urban Development (HUD), and National Electric
with various methods to recognize the presence of hazardous Manufacturers Association (NEMA) to promote the imple-
arc fault conditions. Discussion covers the arc phenomena and mentation of higher safety requirements, such as Arc Fault
how it is generated in a low voltage electrical distribution cir- Circuit Interrupters (AFCI). HUD has even recommended
cuit, as well as the isolation of the presence of hazardous condi- AFCI’s as one of many devices that can be used to prevent
tions versus conditions that could falsely mimic the presence of fire related, citing a 1999 CPSC report that recommends the
an arc fault. Many waveform characteristics and conditions use of AFCI’s to “prohibit or reduce potential electrical fires
support the detection of hazardous arc faults and foster a more from happening”. [2] Beginning with the 1999 National
robust design, capable of withstanding unwanted tripping con-
Electrical Code (NEC), there have been requirements for the
ditions.
use of AFCI’s, capable of detecting arc faults limited by an
Keywords: Arc Fault, Arcing, AFCI, Power Line Noise, Resi- available current of 75A or higher.
dential Circuit Breaker.
The adoption of AFCI has been challenged by groups and
institutions such as the National Home Builders Association
I. INTRODUCTION (NHBA) claiming that the technology has not been proven to
be an effective solution to residential electric fires. [3] Nev-
Electrical arcing conditions occur regularly in many elec- ertheless, arc fault detection technology has found accep-
trical circuits. The majority of these conditions can be con- tance as states and municipalities start to see the benefits of
sidered to be “safe” or controlled, occurring in environments having AFCI's required in new construction. Per the 2005
designed to operate safely and withstand such arcs. Arcing NEC, AFCI combination devices will be required in bed-
defined by UL under the 1699 Standard is “a luminous dis- room circuits beginning January 1, 2008. [4].
charge of electricity across an insulating medium, usually ac-
companied by the partial volatilization of the electrodes”. As the new requirements demand a combination device
UL also defines an arcing fault as “an unintentional arcing capable of detecting both series and parallel arcing, the oper-
condition in a circuit” so as to distinguish this from devices ating environment of the branch circuit becomes an increas-
that arc as part of their normal operation. ingly important consideration.
Common loads and components found in a typical resi-
TypicalTypical
Series Arc Faults
Series Arc Faults
Typical Parallel Arc Faults
Typical Parallel Arc Faults

dential branch circuit manifest arcing conditions. For exam-

Branch Circuit Operating Range
ple, there are visible small and repetitive bursts of sparks in
loads with brush motors and relays, such as drills and vac- New Combination Arc Fault Current Detection Range

uum cleaners. The intensity of those arcs becomes greater as 0.2A 5A 5A 30A
30A 40A
40A 75A
75A 500A
the motor is conditioned and exercised towards its end of
life. On the other hand, there are situations that could poten- Figure 1. Comparison of Current Levels of Typical Series and Parallel
tially lead to serious arcing conditions, causing fires through Arc Faults, Normal Operation Range, and Combination AFCI Device
the ignition of combustible materials or gases present while Range.
an arc fault is occurring.
The considerations for a branch/feeder AFCI require only
In 2006 the United States Fire Administration (USFA), a that the device detect conditions that could be considered
part of the Department of Homeland Security, reported that above its operating range of 0 to 20 Amperes. In the pres-
67,800 residential fires were related to electrical problems ence of a parallel arc fault the amount of current drawn by
resulting in 485 deaths, over 2,300 injuries and $868 million the branch circuit could be typically of 75A or higher, de-
in property losses. The USFA also states that home electrical pending on the amount of current that is supplied to the en-
wiring causes twice as many fires as electrical appliances [1]. tire house by the line source. Certain characteristics of these
One of the major reasons for such issues arcing faults. These arc faults, such as sudden current transitions due to arc igni-
arcing faults can be generated from loose wire connections, tion after a zero-crossing of the AC source, can be shared
cut insulation, etc. The need to improve the level of safety in with common devices in the home, like dimmer switches.
the home has prompted institutions like the Consumer Prod- The only difference is that the dimmers operate with currents
uct Safety Commission (CPSC), National Association of below 30 Amperes while a parallel arc fault will tend to have
State Fire Marshals (NASFM), the Department of Housing
3 to 4 times that amount of current. The scenarios that could and a receptacle or an accidental breach in the conductor dur-
potentially make a branch/feeder design generate a nuisance ing installation are two examples of precipitating situations.
tripping condition are restricted by high currents, such as in- In some cases a single arc event may be harmless (in terms
rush conditions present in loads like compressors and lights. of causing a fire), but the repetition and sustainability of
those conditions could provide all the right elements to create
The case of a Combination Type AFCI device requires a hazardous condition and cause a fire.
having more intelligence to detect such arc faults. Series arc-
ing current is bound by the loads connected to the branch cir- On the other hand, there are arcing conditions that are
cuit. This means that your faults could be as much as 110% expected and considered to be controlled, such as the opera-
of the rating of the particular branch. Therefore your device tion of a light switch which generates arcing as it opens and
must be capable of properly discerning true arc faults versus closes a circuit. The severity of the arc depends on the me-
potential nuisance conditions within a range of 5 to 30 Am- chanics of the design (opening and closing speeds, contact
peres, which covers everything you can plug in an outlet. As bouncing, contact material, etc.) and the load that the switch
the normal operating range and portion of the detection range is operating. Even so, a switch mechanism beyond its useful
overlaps (Fig. 1), it becomes more of a challenge to dis- life could be a precursor to a hazardous condition due to arc-
criminate between arc faults and nuisance conditions as well ing.
as potential situations where arcs could be masked by the
presence of noisy loads. In an effort to effectively detect potential safety hazards
due to arcing, it is important to monitor those building condi-
Avoiding false positive reactions becomes important to tions before they become hazardous. Duration of the arcing
the homeowner if the reaction causes loss of power to the en- and its ability to self-sustain are critical aspects. Breakdown
tire branch circuit. Having to go down to the basement every of the insulation and the generation of combustible gases can
time the living room lights and the vacuum cleaner are ener- be caused by the increase in temperature due to arcing faults
gized becomes bothersome quickly. [7]. The temperature rise rate is also impacted by the amount
of current flowing through the arcing connection.
This rigorous balance can be achieved by understanding
general aspects of arc faults (both series and parallel) and The generation of a hazardous arcing condition results
how they can be used to effectively discern when such haz- from a situation with developing stages from buildup to
ardous conditions occur. Further discrimination based on flame burnout. There has to be an initial source of arcing
specific aspects of arc faults and common loads can be im- that will allow for a hazardous condition to originate.
plemented. These aspects will be discussed in further detail.
The fault root cause is the single point that marks the ini-
tiation of a buildup that could lead to a hazardous arc fault.
II. ARC CONDITIONS [ARC CONDITIONS AND The root could be related to a loose connection or an acci-
SAFETY] dental cut on the insulation while driving a nail through the
wall. Other conditions could be the cause of stressing an ex-
Arcing is a well known phenomenon that can be de- tension cord by pressing on a single point with a heavy ob-
scribed by Paschen’s Law in most circumstances [5]. Two ject and shearing strands of the wire. In addition these and
of the most important factors Paschen investigated in relation other scenarios could all be propagated by misuse or abuse of
to the breakdown voltage needed to generate an arc were gas the branch circuit. Situations like these could be easily over-
pressure and the gap distance between the electrodes. Some looked or not noticeable which leads to the fact that they can
have found this empirical evaluation to be reflective of a be hard to detect initially. Applying best practices at the time
very controlled environment. An alternating current (AC) of installation and proper use of the branch circuits in the
environment has proven to depart significantly from home is important but cannot always be a guarantee that the
Paschen’s empirical analysis. Other aspects, like tempera- possibility of arcing faults is eliminated.
ture, humidity and the condition of the electrodes, have also
shown to be significant in affecting the generation of an arc During the buildup/conditioning stage, the weak point is
fault [6]. Nevertheless, the conditions for sustainability of an conditioned mainly by the utilization of the branch circuit. A
arc can be established with less than an Ampere’s worth of loose connection will tend to become looser as the thermal
current. cycling expands and contracts the connection. A cut in a
wire could start breaking down the insulation and potentially
Arc conditions can lead to an electric fire caused by ex- create carbon buildup around the conductors. The frequency
posing combustible material to the energy generated by the and the amount of time the branch circuit is providing power
arc. This energy can be sufficient to cause wire insulation to will directly reduce (impact) the amount of time it will take
decompose and char, generating combustible gases which for a hazardous condition to occur.
become readily available to ignite. This chain reaction can
be caused by as little as 200mA of current on a 120VAC cir- Once all the elements are in place and the circuit has been
cuit [7]. As arcing occurs, carbon deposits from the insula- conditioned, the fault can manifest itself. A sustained arc
tion can reside in the conductor and facilitate arcing to be fault will continue to overheat and generate a combustion
more sustainable. that will consume all of the byproducts until arcing is inter-
rupted or the flames have depleted all combustible resources.
Situations occur that can lead to exposed line voltage ca-
pable of breaching the minimum air gap in a residential
branch circuit. Poor connections between the conductor wire
 III. TYPES OF ARC FAULTS IN
RESIDENTIAL CIRCUITS
As referred to earlier, arc faults in a branch circuit can be
divided into two categories: series and parallel. A series arc
fault occurs due to the interruption in the path of a conductor
that is part of a circuit while a parallel arc fault occurs be-
tween conductors. Although the behavior of both faults is
dictated by the same equations, the differences arise from the
amount of current flowing through the arc. In a series arc
fault, the amount of current available is dependent on the im-
pedance (load). In a parallel arc fault, power source, not the
load, dictates the amount of current capable of passing
through the arc.

Figure 3. Description of the Frequency Spectrum of an Arc Fault through

time [3]

In Fig. 3, A describes the broadband frequency spectrum

generated by an arc fault. Broadband frequency noise gener-
ated by an arc fault follows a PINK noise pattern. As fre-
Figure 2. Description of Series and Parallel Arc Faults in a Residential quency increases the noise energy decreases. B indicates
Branch Circuit.
samples of discrete RF carriers along the spectrum that could
The amount of current passing through the circuit is suf- be present in the branch circuit. C points out gaps in the fre-
ficient to differentiate the behavior between the two types of quency spectrum as a byproduct of the arc extinguishing near
faults which allows us to examine them separately. A paral- the zero-crossings region of the AC voltage. As the voltage
lel arc fault carries currents of approximately 75 Amperes or approaches the zero crossing, the arc extinguishes itself and
higher. Parallel arc faults will conduct all the current avail- re-ignites when there is enough voltage to reestablish the arc
able from the supply side, limited only by the impedance of across the conductors. D is a representation of the AC cur-
the conductors and elements that are part of the branch cir- rent waveform. Notice the correlation between the absence
cuit. This also takes into account the impedance added by of current across the zero-crossings region and the absence of
the thermal magnetic breaker designed to protect a 15-30 broadband energy across the spectrum.
Amperes branch circuit. A series arc fault will typically carry Arc faults occurring in an AC environment (like a resi-
currents within the margins of a branch circuit, limited by the dential branch circuit) add an extra dimension that can be
impedance of the wires making the branch circuit and any used to detect such conditions. An AC source changes with
load that is connected to the branch circuit. The arc faults time periodically. For a residential circuit in the United
that go across one conductor to the ground conductor are States, the change is 120 Volts AC with a periodicity of 60
considered parallel faults. Hz.
The ability for an arc to sustain itself depends on the
IV. CHARACTERISTICS presence of certain resources. If we consider all the aspects
Arcing in the line can generate broadband noise as a needed for an arc fault to take place and add a variable power
product of the current flowing through. The broadband noise source, we find that the arc can change due to this variation.
can propagate from the tens of hertz to 1GHz. The pattern of In a residential circuit, the arc will extinguish itself at the
energy of that noise will seem more to fit that of pink noise zero crossing of the AC source. Once there is not enough
[8]. power, the arc will break and the flow of current will be in-
terrupted. This interruption tends to be periodic, matching
the periodicity of the AC source.
 Information about the broadband noise and the periodic- A. Lights and Dimmers
ity of the source is significant in determining the presence of
Lights that have not been energized and are at room
arcing conditions in a residential branch circuit. In addition
temperature, once turned ON, can generate large amounts of
there are other sources of noise which can be used to further
current until they settle to the normal power consumption.
increase the robustness of the design by reducing the ten-
Typically 1000 Watts can generate 100A of peak current in
dency to detect false positives. One such source is a radio
the first couple of half-cycles and then decay to a steady state
frequency (RF) coupled to a circuit.
over 8 A RMS in an exponential fashion. A dimmer will af-
fect the level of inrush and the rate of exponential decay of
A. Broadband Noise
those lights to their steady-state value.
Arc faults generate broadband noise during current con-
duction. The spectrum of noise ranges from the tens of kilo-
hertz to about 1GHz. In very consistent behavior, this noise
is only present during the conduction of current while the arc
is sustained, and the broadband noise disappears as soon as
the arc is extinguished. Observations show that the level of
energy contained in the broadband noise spectrum can be af-
fected by the medium carrying the noise (the branch circuit)
as well as by the amount of current that flows through the arc
fault. The loss due to the branch circuit itself is about 60 db
per 50 feet. The type of attenuation due to the amount of
current is more indirect; the higher current is more violent Figure 4. Current waveforms of (A) Dimmer Inrush and (B) Air
and self-sustained arcs are more difficult to support. Also, Compressor.
higher currents create more ionization in the air gap, reduc-
ing the amount of broadband noise. In the case of a dimmer load causing an inrush (Fig. 4A),
the AFCI device considers the first couple of half-cycles
B. Arc Fault Interruption and Periodicity since they meet the sudden interruption and the required am-
plitude criteria. Once the current amplitude is below ap-
Broadband noise disappears as the AC source approaches proximately 75A, those half-cycle events are not considered
the zero crossings. Once there is enough power, the arc can to be related to a high current parallel fault. In the case of
re-establish and re-extinguish based on the periodicity. This high current arc fault of approximately 100 Amperes peak, a
is an important discriminator since there is the possibility for minimum of 5 half-cycle events is required in order to con-
noise in the line that is completely uncorrelated to the 60Hz. sider it an arcing fault. Due to the nature of the behavior,
broadband noise is not used as the sole discriminator.
C. Arc Fault Current
All arc faults are dangerous and could potentially cause a B. Air Compressors
residential fire. The higher the current the less time the cir- An air compressor is a typical motor load with initial
cuit should be exposed to it before a fire can occur. As the startup inrush. The inrush tends to be roughly 150 Amperes
current flowing through the arc increases, the chances of peak and holds for about 200 to 500 milliseconds. Minimum
having a more aggressive arc fault condition increases. amount of broadband noise is generated during the operation
Large current arc faults are usually more violent and tend to of this device. The peak current, however, is maintained for
disrupt the amount of time a fault can last. For example, a a significant amount of time even though it is not enough to
500A arc fault could only last a couple of half-cycles while a be considered an over current condition which may take sec-
30A fault could last a couple of seconds. onds to be detected by a thermal magnetic circuit breaker.
The major difference from a true parallel arc fault is that
V. NON-HAZARDOUS ARCING there are no interruptions (purely sinusoidal) of the current.
The ability for a device to detect series arc faults de-
mands also the ability to separate true arc faults and potential C. Vacuum Cleaners
false positives that can come from normal operation of the Typically vacuum cleaners have an inrush of approxi-
branch circuit. Typical household load can generate broad- mately 50 Amperes peak with an exponential decay that will
band noise correlated to 60Hz with enough current to meet reach a steady state within the 20 Amperes RMS. Regular
all the criteria explained above and still not present any dan- vacuum cleaners carry one motor responsible for generating
ger to the circuit. the suction power. These units rarely produce any consistent
broadband noise and usually are not an issue because the in-
In the case of parallel arc faults, the predominant condi- rush is low enough to avoid any confusion to an AFCI.
tions are related to the amount of inrush current produced by Newer models have features that come with scrubbing
a particular load and further impacted by the ability of that mechanisms that employ very cost-effective and extremely
load to “chop” the current like a triac would. The best load noisy motors. The broadband noise is modulated by the pe-
example to illustrate both conditions is the addition of 1000 riodicity of the line as an arc would be, but the persistence
watts of lights in a circuit which is controlled by a dimmer noise is not as uniform as that of an arc fault.
switch.
 Vacuum Cleaner E. Homeplug / Broadband over the Power Line
Vacuum Cleaner
(BPL)
Arc Fault
Communication over the power line presents a huge chal-
lenge. This detection scheme employs high frequency/ high
bit transmission strategies such as Orthogonal Frequency Di-
vision Modulation (OFDM) in the same frequency range (4-
27MHz). Such interest in the same frequency range is driven
by the impedance characteristics of the medium in addition
to the availability of the frequency band. Information being
RSSI

broadcast in that frequency range could travel through the

power line wire network of a home without significant deg-
8.3 ms Period radation (150 – 200 ft).
TIME Homeplug / BPL
Homeplug
Figure 5. Description of a Vacuum Cleaner Load in Comparison to an
Arc Fault
Arc Fault
In the case of a noisy load like a vacuum cleaner, the per-
sistence of broadband noise does not last through the whole
half-cycle period of the line power. Series arc faults have the
tendency to conduct fully until the power is not available to
maintain it (at the zero-crossing regions) and to generate sus-
tained broadband noise as a result of conducting current

RSSI
through the arc.
D. Electric Drills 2 ms Period 8.3 ms Period

Drills are the most common arcing loads available. The

TIME
fact that drills arc during operation offers a challenge to
AFCI devices, particularly those capable of detecting arc Figure 7. Description of Homeplug/Broadband over the power line vs.
faults below 30A. Similar to genuine arc fault conditions, that of a typical series arc fault
arcing inside the drill generates noise in the line strong
enough to be detected by the broadband RF receiver. The As part of the specifications of the Homeplug standard,
major difference is that the arcing that takes place inside the there is a restriction with regard to utilization time that
drill is established and extinguished at a rate relevant to the avoids medium contention between nodes that are part of the
revolutions per minute of the drill. The internal arcing does Homeplug network. The maximum amount of packets
not have a direct correlation to the AC source since the arc transmitted without interruption by a node can amount to no
breaks at each gap in the stator. When the speed of the drill more than 2ms of utilization time. After that there is a brief
is slow (closer to 60Hz), the arcs are extremely short lived release period, and the next node has a chance to transmit.
and produce broadband noise that is not sustained through This period (or interruption) differs from that of an arcing
the longer portion of a 60Hz half-cycle. When the trigger is condition since the Homeplug burst (during high traffic) can
squeezed and the drill shows enough arcing, the correlation have a period of not more than 2ms and is not correlated to
of the arcs is tightly coupled to RPM's and not to the perio- the line period.
dicity of the line.
F. RF Carriers in the Line
Electric Drill
Electric Drill
Single carriers picked by the wire connections in the
home can easily be detected by the broadband RF receiver.
Arc Fault
The bandwidth of these carriers can be expected to be within
400 KHz and considered narrowband. The ability of the re-
ceiver to monitor the line across a wider band allows for
these carriers to show momentarily as the receiver sweeps
across a wideband for the presence of noise. The sweep rate
is much higher than the periodicity of the line allowing for
multiple sweeps across the wideband. Arc fault conditions
RSSI

tend to have a longer persistence while the receiver sweeps

across the band since the presence of noise is broadband
8.3 ms Period covering the whole spectrum. Single tone carriers can show
momentarily as the receiver scans but disappear as the re-
TIME ceiver is moving away from the fundamental carrier fre-
Figure 6. Description of the Broadband Energy of an Arc Fault and of an quency.
Electric Drill
 VI. POTENTIAL MASKING
CONDITIONS
Beyond the need for a device that distinguishes between
a real arc fault and a load that mimics such behavior, it is ex-
tremely important to address those conditions that could
completely shadow a hazardous situation. The challenge ap-
plies more to those scenarios involving the presence of a se-
ries arc fault than parallel arc fault situations. The amplitude
of current cannot be used as a strong differentiating charac-
teristic since the amount of current in the circuit is within
normal operation. The presence and periodicity of the noise
become the factors to consider.
Noise in the line is expected but not to the extent of satu-
rating the receiver at all frequencies selected within a detec-
tion spectrum bandwidth. FCC requires that electronic de-
vices do not radiate or conduct emissions above a specified
requirement. As long as this requirement is met, the amount
of noise in the home should not present a masking condition.

A. RF Behavior in the Line

The power line is not the optimal environment to transmit
RF information. There have been multiple studies attempt-
ing to establish an impedance characteristic of home wiring.
The characteristics of the impedance of home wiring circuits
has been shown extremely variable, depending on the type of
loads connected to it and the nature of the wiring itself. The
variation of the RF (greater than 1MHz) impedance in the
line ranges from 80 to 120 Ohms. Figure 8. Description of Series Arc Faults being detected by this method.
RF attenuation through the line is not uniform across the
frequency spectrum. Even though an arc is capable of gener- Another signal representative of the energy of broadband
ating high frequency noise up to 1 GHz, a branch circuit will RF present in the line is also provided by the RF receiver in
attenuate most above 50 MHz if the source of the arc is 50 the form of a voltage. This is known as the Received Signal
feet away from the location of the AFCI. The optimum Strength Indicator (RSSI) signal.
range is within 5-50 MHz which shows that it is not coinci- Due to potential noise issues this signal will have a base-
dence that Broadband over Power Line (BPL) operates in line DC noise level associated with factors like electronics,
this range. AC line quality and other random conditions (Fig. 8E). Be-
cause of this variation, a portion of the analog circuitry takes
the incoming RSSI signal and removes the DC Offset by the
VII. ARC FAULT DETECTION following method:
A. Series Arc Fault Detection 1. While inside the zero crossing region, track the mini-
mum value and store it (or remember such value).
The detection method used for detecting series arcing This can be done with the use of a capacitor or a vari-
consists of using AC load current information at 60Hz and its able/register in software (if desired, inside a logic con-
broadband RF content. Analog signal processing is done by trol unit).
an analog block (op-amps and transistors), and the output is a
series of logic signals that are interpreted by a logic unit like 2. Outside of the zero crossing region, subtract the re-
a microcontroller. corded/memorized minimum to the original RSSI sig-
nal. Output of this operation is shown on Fig. 8F.
A signal representative of the AC current from the line 3. Reset minimum value inside the zero crossing region
(Fig.8A) is used to generate a mask depicting the “zero for the first time and repeat step 1.
crossing” region. The signal takes one logic state (1 or 0)
when it is inside the zero crossing region, and it will take its This approach helps to differentiate signals that could
inverse when the AC current is out of this region. The zero- cause nuisance trips. Some appliances can generate broad-
crossing region can be defined as a time-bound region (or band RF that does not present gaps around the zero cross-
referenced) around the time where the AC current value is ings. If the signal has a high RSSI level with no gaps or the
zero. The permanence inside this region can be limited to + gaps are not aligned with the zero crossing region mask sig-
or – ½ a half-cycle. (See Fig. 8D.) nal, the minimum signal level tracked is close to the high
RSSI values. Additionally, the difference between the RSSI
values and the minimum level will be considered smaller
(Fig. 9F(4)) than that of a signal with arc-like characteristics the contact points (due to the high temperatures) allow for
(See Fig. 9F(2)). small attenuation of the broadband RF byproduct of the arc.
The numbers of interruptions allowed are set differently for
each threshold. When the number of interruptions allowed is
exceeded, the integrator is reset to an initial value which can
be zero.
An arc fault is considered to be present in the protected
branch when this integrator (counter) reaches above a set trip
threshold.
There are two other logical outputs generated by this
block. Both of them take the information of the RSSI, its
first derivative, and a peak hold of that first derivative.
These two signals are compared to thresholds, and each of
them affects the counter in different ways. (See Fig. 4.)

Figure 9. Signal Description of Nuisance Waveforms being tracked by

this invention.

The RSSI without DC offset is then compared to three

different threshold levels. Two levels are relative to the
overall dynamic range of this RSSI signal, and one is an ab-
solute reference. The absolute reference is used to make sure
that the dynamic range of the modified RSSI is above a
minimum set value. If this condition is not met, the evalua-
tion of the other two thresholds will be meaningless. Only
when this condition is met, the relative threshold compari-
sons’ outputs will be based on the outcome of those compari-
sons. The last two thresholds represent a percentage
(roughly 60% and 25% of the dynamic range). These com- Figure 10. Slope Waveforms and how they affect the trip counter
parisons are used to generate logical outputs that reflect
whether the modified RSSI signal is above or below the re- If the peak hold signal of the first derivative of the RSSI is
spective threshold. below a set threshold, then the counter is only allowed to
decrement. If the first derivative signal is higher than the set
A condition that shows that the RSSI is above a given threshold ONLY outside of the zero-crossing regions, then
threshold will result in allowing an integrator (counter) to in- the integrator is set to an initial value (zero).
crement. If the condition shows that the RSSI is below such
threshold, the counter will be decremented. In addition, a B. Parallel Arc Detection
persistent transition from above to below the threshold will This portion of the arc fault detection circuit focuses on
be considered “an interruption” of the RSSI signal outside extracting information from the AC Load Current through
the zero-crossing region. This interruption can be used as a the current sensor. In the case of parallel (i.e., high energy)
further differentiator between arc faults and nuisance condi- arcs, their level of severity is determined by the available
tions. current of the branch circuit and not from load downstream.
An arc is considered to have a small number of “interrup- Arc faults of this kind tend to show characteristics such as
tions”. The chaotic nature of the arc and the volatilization of sudden interruption of the current followed by high surge of
current (steep di/dt) and peak current amplitudes above nor-
mal operation levels. Here is a brief description of the major ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
sub-blocks of this methodology of detection. The author would like to thank Siemens Energy and
The load current signal is compared to a threshold. If the Automation, in particular the Residential Product Division
signal is above a threshold (75A and above), then this is con- for their support and commitment to the completion of this
sidered as a characteristic of arc faults. The second charac- work.
teristic used is the sudden interruption in arcing due to the
extinguishing of the arc during the zero crossings. This can REFERENCES
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tial current sensor used to determine the imbalance in the line 167-175, Sept. 2005.
which will generate a trip signal accordingly. [8] F. Blades, “Method and Apparatus for Detecting Arcing in AC Power
Systems by Monitoring High Frequency Noise,” United States Patent,
Series and parallel arc fault detection can be very differ- 5,729,145, Mar. 17 1998.
ent from each other. While the series arc fault heavily relies [9] UL Standard for Safety for Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters, UL 1699,
on broadband RF, the parallel arc fault involves high currents 2nd Edition. April 7 2006.
which provide less RF energy. The periodicity of the broad- [10] R. Dollar and W. Strickland, “Circuit interrupter including an electric
arc monitoring circuit,” United States Patent, 5,706,159, Jan. 6, 1998.
band noise follows the gaps of zero crossings. If related to
the zero crossings, it is more likely that there is an arc fault
present rather than a nuisance or a load that could resemble
an arc fault. With parallel arc faults, we look for the pres- AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
ence of sharp edges on the current and high levels of current Carlos Restrepo received a B.E.E. (1998)
exceeding 75 A. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering (2000)
from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
VIII. CONCLUSIONS Prior to joining Siemens Energy and Automa-
As new safety requirements demand a more capable tion he was involved in the Optical
technology, there is an inherent challenge to evaluate the Telecommunications Industry developing
presence of arc fault conditions. The evaluative device must purely optical re-transmission devices. He
not be overly sensitive to conditions that could mimic arcing joined Siemens in 2001 as a product engineer
or those that actually arc without hazard. There are certain responsible for developing electronic circuit
characteristics of true arc faults that can be used to ensure a breakers for the residential market. Currently he is an Engineering
Manager for the Residential Product Division working on the de-
proper methodology of detection. Sudden and periodic inter-
velopment of new technology used for residential circuit protec-
ruptions of current can be attributed to arc faults; the amount tion, specifically, arc fault detection methodologies and applica-
of current depends on whether the fault is series or parallel. tions.
The presence of broadband noise during arc faults is a key
differentiator, and this condition diminishes as the amount of
current through the arc fault increases, causing a higher level
of ionization in the arc column. Further discrimination can
be achieved by detecting interruptions that are not synchro-
nous to the line power zero crossings.