Development of arc fault interrupter laboratory testing for low voltage DC electricity

Arc faults are a fire-safety risk in both AC (alternating current) and DC wiring, but reliable detection of arc faults and determining the appropriate response is particularly difficult in DC plug-load circuits. This paper presents the development of AFCI testing for DC circuits operating at 24-80 volts. Protecting these circuits from arcing is more difficult than the more prevalent Photovoltaic circuits because of the diversity of loads that may be present. The AFCI testing described in this paper will allow us to identify an effective method to determine DC arcing occurrence. Once identified, an interrupter may then be designed to adequately eliminate the arc. Laboratory test setup and equipment for identifying DC arc will be detailed in this paper. Different scenarios for DC arcing occurrences in the development of the lab test setup will be explained. Several test results of the developed testing tool will also be presented.