Arc-Flash & Partial-Discharge Precursor Listening

A failing electrical joint gives off two quiet warnings: tiny sparks that add crackle to the radio environment, and a loose, warming connection that makes the panel buzz and rattle slightly. The system listens for both growing together, load cycle after load cycle, and flags the cabinet before it becomes dangerous.

In the physics: Two coupled observables: (1) partial discharge and micro-arcing emit broadband impulsive RF that raises the CSI noise floor and injects non-thermal amplitude outliers correlated with load cycles; (2) loose, overheating busbar connections and magnetostrictive panel buzz produce in-band structural micro-vibration (panel rattle sub-40Hz) that grows as the joint degrades. Neither is visible to thermal imaging until late.