Photovoltaic (PV) DC Arc Library

Arc faults are a significant cause of failure in photovoltaic (PV) system and can arise due to component deterioration, installation problems, rodents chewing on wires, abrasion of insulation, or other root causes. Undetected, incipient arc faults can propagate into electrical fires. Consequently, arc-fault detectors, now mandated in many jurisdictions, are essential for safe operation of PV systems. Developing effective detectors necessitates a deep understanding of the electrical characteristics of PV arcs, which requires analyzing a large sample of arc voltage and current waveforms. However, there is a scarcity of such data publicly available to support research, development, and verification. This dataset was generated using an automated mechatronics arc generator using the pull-apart method as described in UL 1699B. Arc voltage and current waveforms were curated considering a variety of factors including: electrode geometry, electrode material, voltage and current, and electrode gap distance and rate of separation. The initial library dataset contains 2,352 arc datasets, each containing voltage and current waveforms and notes detailing the setup parameters.