Arc flash visible light intensity as viewed from human eyes

From the extremely high intensity visible light emitted during an arc flash event, human delicate eye structures may be damaged by the sudden brightness unless appropriate personal protective equipment is worn. Though it is certain that high intensity visible light will be emitted during an arc flash event, there is limited research that provides quantitative light intensity estimation during different arcing incidents as viewed from human eyes. To provide better understanding of the light intensity during arc flash events, this paper proposes an arc flash light intensity model based on around 1500 measurement data from arc flash tests using ambient light sensors, which are capable of measuring the light intensity of the arc flash as perceived by the human eyes. The proposed light intensity estimation model can be used to evaluate the potential impact of an arc flash on the human eyes. In addition, the auto darkening welding lens is used in the arc flash testing to explore its effectiveness in attenuating the light intensity and mitigating the exposure to the light hazard during an arc flash event.