Methods for Evaluating DC Arc-Flash Incident Energy in Battery Energy Storage Systems

Renewable energy systems continue to be one of the fastest growing segments of the energy industry. This paper focuses on the understanding of how energy storage technology behaves under direct current (dc) arc conditions. Because of the fast proliferation of renewable energy systems and the lack of formal dc equivalent calculation guidelines such as IEEE 1584 for alternating current (ac) systems, it has been necessary to rely on different equations and models presented by various researchers when calculating arc-flash (AF) incident energy (IE) for dc systems. This paper discusses the behavior of energy storage systems under arcing conditions and presents the results of available methods to estimate the dc arc-flash incident energy. This paper provides a comparative analysis of a proposed arc-flash incident energy calculation method against available laboratory tests. Explanations are provided regarding the effect the various types of batteries may have under short-circuit (SC) and arcing conditions. Comparisons of the proposed calculation method simulation results and laboratory dc arc test measurements are included.