NDLI: Conditions for series arcing phenomena in PVC wiring

Content Provider	IEEE Xplore Digital Library
Author	Shea, J.J.
Copyright Year	2005
Description	Author affiliation: Eaton Corp., Pittsburgh, PA, USA (Shea, J.J.)
Abstract	Under certain circumstances, unintentional series arcing, caused from damaged line cords and loose connections, can pose a serious fire and safety hazard. This work, focusing on residential 115 V/sub ac/ applications, shows how continuous bursts of ignited gases can be created from overheated PVC insulation created from glowing contacts with subsequent series arcing, or surface breakdown with subsequent series arcing. Also, surprisingly, these potentially hazardous fire conditions were created with currents as low as 0.9 A/sub rms/, at 115 V/sub ac/ (100 W lamp load). Little research is available about the interaction of glowing contacts, formed from loose or broken copper conductors in wiring (outlets, switches, line conductors, etc.), with electrical insulation. This work shows how glowing contacts and surface arcing can decompose PVC insulation, form ignitable gases, and that it is possible for the subsequent series arc to ignite, and burn insulation. Two conditions are identified that can create an overheated connection - a glowing contact and/or breakdown over a charred insulation surface. Mechanisms are discussed along with data for glowing contact voltage drop, photographs of glowing connections, and a gas chromatograph analysis of the evolved gases emitted from overheated PVC wiring. Selected high-speed video frames (1000 fps) taken from videos of the series arc and bursts of ignitable gasses along with synchronized current and voltage waveforms over a current range of 0.9 A/sub rms/ to 5 A/sub rms/ are presented. These findings are useful for advancing the state-of-the-art in fire protection by providing a better understanding of how electrical fires can initiate.
Sponsorship	Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technol. Soc. of the Instit. of Electr. and Electron. Eng. Inc
Starting Page	167
Ending Page	175
File Size	951961
Page Count	9
File Format	PDF
ISBN	0780391136
DOI	10.1109/HOLM.2005.1518240
Language	English
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Publisher Date	2005-09-26
Publisher Place	USA
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Rights Holder	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subject Keyword	Wiring Fires Gases Gas insulation Contacts Electric breakdown Conductors Voltage Safety Hazards
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

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