Abstract
This paper dealt with the detection algorithm of series arcing, which is a cause of electric fires in low-voltage wiring systems. To find the distinguished electrical features of series arc, we simulated series arcing by the arc generator specified in UL1699. An electric heater, an inverter-controlled vacuum cleaner, and a phase-controlled incandescent lamp were used as loads to generate series arcing. A high-pass filter (HPF) with the low cut-off frequency of 3 kHz at -3 dB was fabricated and applied to separate the series arc signal from the AC voltage source. The experiment showed that the high frequency signal generates randomly during series arcing, and the phase-controlled incandescent lamp produces high frequency pulses even in normal state. In this case, the magnitude, the width, and the randomness of high frequency signal should be analyzed to estimate series arcing precisely.