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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.
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 3, 2025)