Method for predicting arc flash energy and PPE category within a real-time monitoring system

1. A method for making real-time predictions about an arc flash event on an electrical system, comprising:

automatically and continuously updating a virtual system model of the electrical system with real-time data from a plurality of sensors located throughout the electrical system by comparing the real-time data from the plurality of sensors to expected values and automatically updating the virtual model of the electrical system based on the comparison of the real-time data from the plurality of sensors to the expected values;

modifying the virtual system model of the electrical system to introduce a short-circuit feature to an uninterrupted power supply bypass circuit branch;

choosing a standard to supply equations used for arc flash event simulation;

simulating an arc flash event utilizing the modified virtual system model and the real-time data;

calculating a quantity of arc energy released by the arc flash event using results from the simulation;

predicting at least one aspect of the arc flash event; and

communicating a prediction report for the arc flash event.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the standard applied is Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1584 or National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70E.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing a protective device study on a protective device; determining operational settings for the protective device; and calculating arcing current values based on the real-time data.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the protective device is a circuit breaker, a fuse, or a relay.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the arcing current values comprise a 100% arcing current value and an 85% arcing current value.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising determining a fault clearing time for a 100% arcing current in the protective device based on the operational settings and the 100% arcing current value; and determining a fault clearing time for an 85% arcing current in the protective device based on the operational settings and the 85% arcing current value.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising calculating a 100% arc energy based on the fault clearing time for the 100% arcing current in the protective device and the 100% arcing current value; and calculating an 85% arc energy based on the fault clearing time for the 85% arcing current in the protective device and the 85% arcing current value.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising predicting a required personal protective equipment (PPE) level and an arc flash protection boundary around the protective device based on both the real-time data and a greater value of the 100% arc energy and the 85% arc energy.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising predicting a required PPE level for personnel operating around a protective device and a safe working boundary distance based on the quantity of arc energy as determined from the real-time data.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the prediction report is communicated using graphics or text rendered on a terminal display.

11. A system for making real-time predictions about an arc flash event on an electrical system, comprising:

an analytics server communicatively connected via a network connection with a data acquisition hub and a virtual system model database; wherein the analytics sever comprises an arc flash simulation engine;

wherein the data acquisition hub is operable to continuously acquire real-time data from a plurality of sensors located throughout the electrical system;

wherein the virtual system model database is operable for providing a virtual system model for the electrical system and continuously update the virtual system model with the real-time data from the electrical system by comparing the real-time data from the plurality of sensors to expected values and automatically updating the virtual model of the electrical system based on the comparison of the real-time data from the plurality of sensors to the expected values;

wherein the arch flash simulation engine is operable to modify the virtual system model of the electrical system to introduce a short-circuit feature to an uninterrupted power supply bypass circuit branch; select a standard to supply equations used for arc flash event simulation; simulate an arc flash event utilizing the modified virtual system model based on the real-time data; calculate a quantity of arc energy released by the arc flash event using results from the simulation; predict at least one aspect of the arc flash event; and

communicate a prediction report for the arc flash event.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the standard applied is Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1584 or National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70E.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the arc flash simulation engine is further operable to perform a protective device study on a protective device; determine operational settings for the protective device; and calculate arcing current values based on the real-time data.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the protective device is a circuit breaker, a fuse, or a relay.

15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the arcing current values comprise a 100% arcing current value and an 85% arcing current value.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the arc flash simulation engine is further operable to determine a fault clearing time for a 100% arcing current in the protective device based on the operational settings and the 100% arcing current value; and determine a fault clearing time for an 85% arcing current in the protective device based on the operational settings and the 85% arcing current value.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the arc flash simulation engine is further operable to calculate a 100% arc energy based the fault clearing time for the 100% arcing current in the protective device and the 100% arcing current value; and calculate an 85% arc energy based on the fault clearing time for the 85% arcing current in the protective device and the 85% arcing current value.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the arc flash simulation engine is further operable to predict a minimum PPE level and an arc flash protection boundary around the protective device based on both the real-time data and a greater value of the 100% arc energy and the 85% arc energy.

19. The system of claim 11 , wherein the arc flash simulation engine is further operable to predict a required PPE level for personnel operating around a protective device and a safe working boundary distance based on the quantity of arc energy as determined from the real-time data.

20. The system of claim 11 , wherein the prediction report is communicated using graphics or text rendered on a terminal display.