Lorraine
Carli, NFPA Public Affairs Office +1 617-984-7275; lcarli@nfpa.org
PISCATAWAY, N.J., USA, 13 February 2007 The IEEE/NFPA Arc Flash Collaborative Research and Testing Project has filled two key positions: project manager and research manager. The project manager is a joint appointment involving Dr. P.K. Sen and Ravel Ammerman under contract to the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Tammy L. Gammon was named research manager.
As joint project managers, Sen and Ammerman will oversee all day-to-day activities of this multi-year initiative to gain greater understanding of electrical arc flash and arc blast hazards and how to protect workers against them. As research manager, Gammon will conduct a global search of engineering databases and literature, and issue a report on information relevant to the project, and provide input on developing an engineering model for arc flash. Both positions report to the IEEE/NFPA Steering Committee on Arc Flash Hazards.
In addition to building an understanding of what is known about arc flash phenomena worldwide, the flash program will involve more than 2,000 test protocols. These will measure thermal, pressure, sound, shrapnel, toxicity and radiative phenomena generated in arc flashes, as well as how enclosures affect the energy released.
Dr. Sen is Professor and Site Director of the Power Systems Engineering Research Center at the Colorado School of Mines. He has more than 40 years of teaching, research and consulting engineering experience across the field of power engineering. He has published over 120 papers on power-related topics and is a Senior Member of IEEE and a Registered Professional Engineer in Colorado.
Ravel F. Ammerman is a lecturer and PhD candidate in the Engineering Division at the Colorado School of Mines. He has over 25 years of teaching and industrial experience in the power industry. His research includes arc flash hazards, electrical safety, and computer applications in power systems.
Dr. Gammon has been a senior electrical engineer in industry and was a visiting assistant professor at the University of North Carolina - Ashville. She has broad arc flash experience, having published widely and organized seminars on this topic and serving on an IEEE/NFPA Joint Task Force on Arc Flash and the IEEE 1584 Arc-Flash Hazard Working Group. She is a Registered Professional Electrical Engineer in North Carolina.
The IEEE/NFPA Arc Flash Program is intended to provide a wide range of benefits to industry, including improved worker safety and operating efficiency and reduced workers’ compensation claims and premiums. It also should help improve IEEE and NFPA safety standards and create safer electrical equipment and more effective personal protective equipment. For more information on the program, visit: http://standards.ieee.org/esrc/arcflash/index.html.
About
the National Fire Protection Association
The National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) has been a worldwide leader in providing fire, electrical, building, and life
safety to the public since 1896. The mission of the international nonprofit organization
is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of
life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training,
and education. For more information on NFPA, see: http://www.nfpa.org/.
About the IEEE Standards Association
The IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards-setting body,
develops consensus standards through an open process that brings diverse parts
of an industry together. These standards set specifications and procedures based
on current scientific consensus. The IEEE-SA has a portfolio of more than 870
completed standards and more than 400 standards in development. For information
on IEEE-SA see: http://standards.ieee.org/.
About the IEEE The IEEE has more than 375,000 members in approximately
150 countries. Through its members, the organization is a leading authority on
areas ranging from aerospace, computers and telecommunications to biomedicine,
electric power and consumer electronics. The IEEE produces nearly 30 percent of
the world's literature in the electrical and electronics engineering, computing
and control technology fields. This nonprofit organization also sponsors or cosponsors
more than 300 technical conferences each year. Additional information about the
IEEE can be found at http://www.ieee.org.
