DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN ARCING AND MELTING DAMAGE IN ELECTRICAL RECEPTACLES
Matthew Benfer and Daniel Gottuk
Hughes Associates Inc., USA
Presented at International Symposium on Fire Investigation, 2014
ABSTRACT
The majority of fire-investigation related literature on electrical arcing focuses on copper wiring, both stranded and solid, with some attention paid to steel (i.e., conduit), and relatively little mention of brass. This is despite the relatively equal presence of copper, steel, and brass in receptacles and similar electrical devices. Changes to NFPA 921 in the 2014 edition of the guide expand upon the characteristic traits which can be used to assess whether arcing or melting is present in a conductor. However, most of the characteristic traits of arcing and melting are qualitative and not well defined in NFPA 921, which leads to more subjective evaluations. In addition, a myopic examination of evidence with respect to the presence of one or two characteristic traits can lead to a false indication of arcing. In cases such as this, other evidence of melting (i.e., in close proximity to the area in question) could preclude confirmation of arcing.
The purpose of this work was to determine which characteristic traits are effective in assessing potential arcing damage on receptacle components and wiring. A total of 86 receptacles were evaluated in this study. Thirty-nine receptacles failed as a result of an overheating connection resulting in arcing damage; this included 95 individual conductors. Forty-seven receptacles with fire-induced arcing were also evaluated; this included 87 individual conductors. All of the evaluated receptacles with fire-induced arcing were energized or energized with a load during testing. In contrast, thirty-seven non-energized receptacles with fire induced melting were evaluated with 57 individual conductors.
The characteristic arcing traits which were evaluated include: corresponding damage on the opposing conductor; localized point of contact with a sharp line of demarcation between undamaged and damaged areas; round, smooth shape; resolidification waves; tooling marks visible outside the area of damage; internal porosity; spatter deposits; and small beads and divots over a limited area. The characteristic traits of melting which were evaluated include: visible effects of gravity; gradual necking of the conductor; and pitting, thinning, and presence of holes in the conductor. These traits were taken from the literature (e.g., NFPA 921) and from observations made during the forensic examinations of receptacles and wiring conducted as part of this work. For each characteristic, there were three possible outcomes: Yes, No, and Possible. Yes indicated that the characteristic was judged to be present on the particular conductor; no indicated that the characteristic was judged not to be present on the conductor. Possible indicated that confirmation could not be made either for or against the presence of the characteristic. All of the evaluations were conducted by the same person.
Corresponding damage on the opposing conductor, localized damage with a sharp line of demarcation, and tooling marks outside of the area of damage were observed on significant portions of arc damaged conductors and small numbers of conductors with melting damage; these characteristics were found to be strong indicators of arcing.
Using multiple characteristic traits and contextual information for determination of arcing vs. fire-melting provides greater confidence in the evaluation of damage. In addition, visual examinations were found to be reliable indicators of both arcing and fire-melting for most conductors. However, there are some cases which would benefit from more advanced examination techniques including SEM/EDS examinations, X-ray, CT scanning (X-ray computed tomography), cross-sectioning and polishing, or other metallurgical methods.
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