ORCID Identifier(s)

ORCID 0009-0008-2925-203X

Graduation Semester and Year

Spring 2025

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering

Department

Electrical Engineering

First Advisor

David A. Wetz

Abstract

The increasing rise in the use of electrochemical energy storage (ECES) like in the form of valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries, lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, electric double layer capacitors (EDLC), and metalized film, oil filled capacitors prompt new challenges concerning electric worker safety. The primary safety hazards associated with ECES are electric shock and arc flash. The electric shock hazard is well understood to the extent where it is known what potential and exposure duration will cause levels of pain and ultimately fatality. Various personal protective equipment (PPE) like insulating gloves allow electric workers to perform maintenance with sufficient protection from the high potential with classifications and standards designed to rate the level of electric insulation. Lastly, the arc flash hazard is well documented in its effect on humans primarily in AC systems where most electric work is performed. Multiple phenomena are projected from an arc flash with varying levels of severity. The impulse of pressure, extremely bright light, and intense heat released are all of concern for electrical systems. The most severe phenomenon is the heat released and is measured as incident energy (IE). To better understand and estimate the IE released, numerous experiments evaluated parameters that were thought to contribute to an arc flash hazard and standards formed from these results which have been widely adopted to address an arc flash hazard. However, these standards to estimate IE are only applicable to AC systems leaving ECES unaccounted for which operate in the DC domain. This is especially important because DC systems do not have an inherent zero-crossing that would allow for current to cut off and quickly extinguish an arc. Industry stakeholders recognized these short comings and through experimental work have begun to address arc flash in DC systems. Initial work utilized high current rectified DC sources spanning across a wide range of potentials and high current.

When applying these standards to ECES, they fall short in application largely due to the difference in stiffness of the rectified DC source and the energy storage. The marine industry is an example of a concerned party interested in increasing power density of their present technology. Li-ion batteries have been eyed for their qualities in power density but, these systems are often are installed in small quarters. Estimations from arc flash standards suggest extreme PPE resulting in the hesitancy and uncertainty for installation of ECES. Thus, to expand the field’s knowledge and understand the potential risk and hazards associated with ECES arc flash, empirical work with various battery chemistry and capacitor technologies needs to be conducted from which estimations of associated phenomena can be developed to determine the PPE required.

This article-based dissertation includes two manuscripts discussing the empirical development of IE models. Chapter 1 will introduce the concept of arc flash and delve more into the topic than what the manuscripts cover in their respective write-ups, specifically the methods used to measure the phenomena from arc flash. Chapter 2 will provide a literature review covering the initial work on arc flash, development of models, new work, and a collection of arc flash experiments. Chapter 3 contains the first manuscript that discusses the development of a VRLA model with experimental work covering multiple strings of VRLA batteries up to 1000 V. Estimations from available literature and standards will be used to document the conservative estimations from “state-of-the-art” models. A new model developed from the measurements will be documented to show the special considerations taken for ECES and how they should be applied to IE estimations. Chapter 4 will cover experimental work with Li-ion batteries and application of the development of the VRLA model with insights into the spread of IE throughout the inside of the enclosure. In that manuscript, a lithium iron phosphate and lithium titanate chemistry were explored up to 1000 V to understand the propensity at which the arc flash hazard exists. In Chapter 5, a manuscript covering capacitor sourced arc flash will cover novel models and techniques for estimation of hazards. This work was aimed at the field of pulsed power in regard to the large energy storage used in that field. Because of the rapid delivery of energy these systems require, the associated phenomena of over-pressure and its comparison to explosives is explored. Additionally, an empirical model will estimate IE for a given stored charge of a capacitor. This dissertation concludes with a discussion of the impact these models have on selecting appropriate PPE for the ECES and the ratings for which the utilization of the empirical models will be applied to determine the requisite PPE for an ECES.

Keywords

Arc Flash, Arc discharges, Electrochemical energy storage, Batteries, Capacitors, Pulsed Power, Incident Energy

Disciplines

Electrical and Electronics | Electromagnetics and Photonics | Power and Energy

Comments

Thank you to ONR for their financial support of this effort. UTA’s effort was funded through ONR Grant N00014-21-1-2783. EPRI’s support was funded through ONR and executed on Army C5ISR Contract DOTC-17-01-INIT1218. The opinions and findings here are those of the authors and may not reflect the views and opinions of ONR

Download

Available for download on Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Share

COinS