Low cost arc fault detection in aerospace applications

The protection of electrical plant, equipment, and components in aerospace applications is currently a hot research topic, with particular attention being paid to parallel arc fault detection. It is well known that many conventional thermal magnetic breakers do not offer adequate protection against arc faults, and the results can be similar to those produced by a short-circuit; electric faults are one of the main causes of failures in aircrafts, and their effects can be even catastrophic. For these reasons, it is mandatory to employ effective protection devices in order to quickly detect and isolate the failures. Overcurrent and overload protection is well carried out by conventional thermal and magnetic breakers; unfortunately, reliability is not assured when the fault is due to an arc.