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Electrical & Electronics Engineering vocabulary · Wiring, Protection and Safety

Arc flash

Meaning in electrical & electronics engineering, with examples

nounCommon term

In electrical & electronics engineering, arc flash means: A sudden, extremely hot burst of light and energy caused by an electric arc between conductors or to ground. It can cause severe burns, blinding light and a pressure blast.

In Turkish: ark parlaması, ark patlaması

How it is used

Used in electrical safety, especially for work on switchgear and panels. Engineers carry out an arc flash study and label equipment with the incident energy, and workers wear arc-rated PPE. The arc flash boundary is the distance within which burns are possible.

Example sentences

  1. The arc flash label on the switchboard shows an incident energy of 8 cal/cm².

  2. Racking out a breaker is a high-risk task for arc flash.

Common collocations

  • arc flash hazard
  • arc flash study
  • arc flash boundary
  • arc-rated PPE
  • electric shockThe effect of electric current passing through the body when a person touches a live part. It can cause burns, muscle spasms or heart rhythm problems, and it can be fatal.
  • lockout/tagoutA safety procedure in which energy sources are switched off and isolated, then locked and tagged so that nobody can turn them back on while work is being done. It is often shortened to LOTO.
  • short circuitAn unwanted low-resistance connection between two points that should be kept apart, such as live and neutral. It causes a very large current that can damage equipment or start a fire.
  • distribution boardAn enclosure that divides an incoming supply into separate circuits, each protected by its own breaker or fuse. In North America it is usually called a panelboard or breaker panel.

More terms: Wiring, Protection and Safety

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