Avaliação do risco de arco elétrico série em corrente contínua em usina fotovoltaica: aplicação no Campus UTFPR - Medianeira

Abstract

The growth of photovoltaic (PV) systems has introduced new safety challenges, highlighting the series direct current (DC) arc fault as a severe risk and a main cause of fires, given the difficulty of its self-extinction. This work's main objective was to validate the electrical safety calculations of the photovoltaic (PV) plant at the Federal University of Technology - Paraná (UTFPR), Medianeira campus. Using a case study methodology, the system was modeled in ETAPdemo software to simulate short-circuit currents (I_cc) and arc currents (I_arc), and to determine and thermal incident energy. The results validated Ralph Lee's theory, demonstrating that the arc current is approximately half the short-circuit current: It was concluded that, for the standard working distance of 60,96cm to 63,5cm (24-25 inches), the incident energy (0.419 cal/cm²) is below the threshold for Hazard Risk Category 1 (HRC 1), not requiring arcrated (AR) apparel. The study also simulated closer proximity scenarios 15,24cm to 2,54cm (1 to 6 inches) to define the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required for each risk category. Finally, the work reinforces the importance of Arc Fault Detection Devices (AFDD) and Rapid Shutdown technologies (MLPE) for the effective mitigation of the arc source.