Modeling High-Current Electrical Arcs: A Volt-Ampere Characteristic Perspective for AC and DC Systems

The development of models used to represent electrical arcs has been the focus of numerous research studies through the years. A variety of models, ranging from the simplistic to the elaborate, have been proposed by the international scientific community for DC, single-phase AC, and three-phase AC system calculations. This paper features volt-ampere characteristics of high-current electrical arcs, compiling information and providing an appraisal of some of the different models that utilize this approach. Given the highly chaotic and non-linear behavior of arcing phenomena, as well as the number of variables involved, the models summarized in this paper provide consistent results.