| US 7,580,232 B2 | ||
| Arc detection system and method | ||
| Robert J. Caggiano, Wolcott, Conn. (US); Thangavelu Asokan, Bangalore (India); Satyanarayana Murphy Ungarala, Andhra Pradesh (India); and George William Roscoe, West Hartford, Conn. (US) | ||
| Assigned to General Electric Company, Niskayuna, N.Y. (US) | ||
| Filed on Dec. 21, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/962,384. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2009/0161272 A1, Jun. 25, 2009 | ||
| Int. Cl. H02H 3/00 (2006.01); H02H 7/00 (2006.01); H02H 9/08 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 361—5 [361/2; 361/3; 361/42; 361/78] | 25 Claims |
| 8. An arc detection system for identifying an arcing event within an electrical distribution system comprising:
a plurality of optical sensors disposed proximate to the electrical distribution system and configured to sense an ultraviolet
light and to generate a first signal indicative of the arcing event in the electrical distribution system;
a plurality of radio frequency sensors disposed proximate to the electrical distribution system and configured to sense a
radio frequency signal indicative of the arcing event generated in the electrical distribution system;
a processor coupled to the optical sensors and to the radio frequency sensors, the processor being configured to extract an
ultraviolet light characteristic from first signal, and a radio frequency characteristic from the radio frequency signal,
and to compare the extracted ultraviolet light characteristic and the extracted radio frequency characteristic to a pre-determined
characteristic to identify occurrence of the arcing event, and to generate an arc fault signal; and
a protective device configured to receive the arc fault signal and to mitigate the arcing event in the electrical distribution
system.
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