Testing the Performance of AFCBs

July 16, 2018 Michael Traskos

Arc Fault Circuit Protection has been a technology that dates back to the 1990s. Despite this not being a new technology, the breath of its implementation is still limited. The device owes its inception to arcing events that occurred on in-service aircraft. Because of these events, the wiring community sought to create wiring that was arc track resistant, and the circuit protection community sought to cut off the arcing event before too much energy was released. This has been captured in the requirements of AS5692 for AC circuit protection, and AS6019 for DC protection Read more

Nuisance Trips

December 16, 2016 Michael Traskos

Circuit protection devices are primarily responsible for protection of electrical circuits from low impedance faults. These device types may be thermal, arc fault circuit breaker (AFCB), or integrated within a solid-state power distribution. Regardless of type, their role remains the same. But circuit protection devices are not error free. In the cases when the circuit […] Read more

Avoiding Fuel Tank Ignition

November 21, 2016 Michael Traskos

The number of aircraft accidents involving fuel tank ignition has thankfully been very low. However, the growing use of electrical power in aircraft has increased the number of wires and the likelihood of being routed near fuel system components. The increased electrical component density comes with a higher probability of a failure event occurring. In […] Read more

What do advanced arc fault circuit protection devices protect?

March 16, 2016 Michael Traskos

The use of circuit protection devices is a fundamental part of circuit design; it is difficult to think of systems without them. For the aircraft industry, thermal circuit protection devices have been the primary circuit protection components for decades, and there is good reason for this: flight crew and maintenance personnel are familiar with their operation, and they are reliable and relatively low cost. Read more

Arc Fault Circuit Breaker (AFCB)