Arc Discharge Detection Caused by Short-Circuit in Ac Power Supply Cord

Unintentional arc discharge caused by short-circuit of element conductors in power supply cords with electrically and/or mechanically damaged electrical insulation can lead to fire accidents. It is difficult to detect this type of short-circuit with a conventional circuit breaker installed in a distribution panel, because the duration of arc discharge is rather short and the magnitude of the short-circuit current is smaller than the threshold value required for operation of the breaker. A hazard prevention system is strongly required in residential areas and plants. This paper proposes a promising detection method of this kind of arc discharge based on features extracted from a series of laboratory experiments, which characterize the distortion of voltage waveform at the time of arc discharge.