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PUBLICATIONS

Thermal Exposure of Objects Near Burning Electrical Enclosures

Published

Author(s)

Kevin McGrattan, Isaac Leventon, Scott Bareham, Gabriel Taylor

Abstract

This report documents a series of fire experiments performed within steel electrical enclosures and on open "ladder back" cable trays. The first objective is to measure the heat release rates and qualitatively understand the burning behavior of circuit breaker fires within closed steel enclosures when ignited by a source representative of a high energy arc fault (HEAF). The second objective of this report is to quantify the thermal exposure of electrical cables that typically are installed in trays above an enclosure.
Citation
Technical Note (NIST TN) - 2320r1
Report Number
2320r1
NIST Pub Series
Technical Note (NIST TN)
Pub Type
NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.2320r1
Local Download

Keywords

Circuit Breaker, Electrical enclosures, Electrical fires, High Energy Arc Fault (HEAF), Switchgear.
Materials flammability and Fire dynamics and science

Citation

McGrattan, K. , Leventon, I. , Bareham, S. and Taylor, G. (2025), Thermal Exposure of Objects Near Burning Electrical Enclosures, Technical Note (NIST TN), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.2320r1, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=960596 (Accessed October 22, 2025)

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact [email protected].

Created September 11, 2025
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