Shipboard Creepage and Clearance Analysis

Naval electrical power systems and associated high power combat systems are increasingly employing medium voltage (MV) power in the range of 1 to 35 kV (AC/DC). Creepage and clearance requirements are a major driver in the power density of MV equipment.  Setting these values too conservatively results in excessively large equipment, and setting them too low results in flashover equipment failures. MVDC requirements have not yet been established.  Arcing fault flashovers have caused significant damage and lost operational time for USN vessels.  TRI Austin, the University of Texas at Arlington, and TezlaTec (experts in flashover and the effects of pulsed power), will team to use modeling/simulations and experiments on existing equipment to begin determining appropriate values for clearance and creepage for different shipboard scenarios.  Contaminants common to naval vessels will be examined to quantify their effects on creepage and clearance.  Two measurement systems will be prototyped that will be further developed in Phase II: one to predict and analyze prior to a flashover, and a forensic system for after an accident has happened.