Australian Power Quality & Reliability Centre

Biography

David holds Ph.D, B.Sc and B.E.(Hons) degrees from Sydney University. He is an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia, a Senior Member of IEEE (IAS and PES), and a member of Electric Energy Society of Australia, Consult Australia and CIGRÉ.

After finishing his PhD on "The Electric Arc" David worked for Brown Boveri in Switzerland for 4 years working on circuit breaker development, testing and switching transients. On returning to Australia he joined the Sydney County Council, now Ausgrid, where he held positions in substations, overhead transmissions, the Testing Branch and ran the Lane Cove High Power Testing Station now Testing and Certification Australia.

In 1980 he joined the consulting firm Bassett and Partners where he became an Associate Director and then in 1989 he began Sweeting Consulting Pty Ltd specialising in High Voltage Electrical Engineering, solving difficult problems.

David has over 40 years experience in HV electrical distribution, power quality reviews for both distributors and customers, and being an expert witness.

He has been and still is involved on many National and International Standards Committees covering short circuit currents, standard voltages, power quality and arcing hazards.

David is internationally recognised for his work on electric arc hazards.

In 2018 David was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to electrical engineering.

He has published 74 papers on circuit breakers, electric arcs, testing, switching over voltages, cable fault locations, motor failures, computer aided design, standards, safety, standard voltages, power quality and electric arc burn hazards, as well as hundreds of reports and is the author of 3 patents relating to the measurement of electrical quantities.

Publications

1. Synthetic Testing using Capacitive Current and Voltage Sources, by H.K.Messerle and D.K.Sweeting, Transactions I.E.Aust. Sept 1968 Pages 179-188.
2. The Arc under Crossed Flow and Magnetic Field Conditions, by D.K.Sweeting. I.E.E.Conference on Gas Discharges 15-18 Sept. 1970 Pages 333-337
3. Overvoltages produced when Energising Transmission Lines, by D.K.Sweeting Electra No. 22-2 May 1972 pages 63-107
4. Group 13 (Circuit Breakers) Discussion, by D.K.Sweeting, CIGRE 1972 Volume 1 Pages 23-24.
5. Group 33 (Insulation Co-ordination) Discussion, by D.K. Sweeting, CIGRE 1972 Volume 2 Pages 15-16.
6. A Comparison of Field Tests and TNA Studies with Calculations according to 13-72 (WG-02) 05 IWD of the CIGRE Working Group 13-02.
7. The occurrence and Withstand of Switching Overvoltages in UHV Systems, by D.K.Sweeting, E.G.Maier and W.O.Rowan IEEE Canadian Communications and EHV Conference Nov. 1972 Pages 105-106.
8. Line Energization Overvoltages in 765 kV and 1100 kV AC Systems, by D.K.Sweeting and E.Ruoss. I.E.E. Conference Publication 107, 19-23 November 1973, Pages 201-206.
9. The Calculation of Switching Surges, II: Network Representation for Energization and Re-energization Studies on Lines Fed by an Inductive Source, by CIGRE Working Group 13-05, Electra No.32 January 1974 Pages 17-42.
10. Switching Overvoltages in EHV and UHV Systems with Special Reference to Closing and Reclosing Transmission Lines, by CIGRE Working Group 13-02, Electra No. 30 October 1973 Pages 70-122.
11. Test Station Circuits, by D.K.Sweeting, Symposium on Circuit Interruption and Power Testing, 15-19 May 1976, University of Sydney, Pages IV.1.1-IV.1.4
12. Fault Finding in URD Systems, by D.K.Sweeting, E.S.A.A. URD Symposium, March 1977 Sydney, Pages P4.1-P4.15
13. The Location of Insulation Faults in Buried 415V Tee-jointed Power Cables, by D.K.Sweeting and R.I.Ferrier, I.E.Aust. Electric Energy Conference, October 1980, Sydney.
14. Interruption of Small Inductive Currents, Chapters 1 and 2, By CIGRE Working Group 13-02, Electra No. 72 October 1980 Pages 73-103.
15. Interruption of Small Inductive Currents, Chapter 3 Part A, High Voltage Motors, by CIGRE Working Group 13-02, Electra No. 75, March 1982, Pages 5-30.
16. Switching Induced Failures of H.V.Motors, Survey of Australian Experience, by D.K.Sweeting, A.N.Bird, J.S.Frith, A.E.Gascoigne, S.C.Haydon, H.Waring, and J.Wilson. CIGRE SC 13 Colloquium 8-10 September 1981, Helsinki Pages 1-11.
17. Interruption of Small Inductive Currents, Chapter 3 Part B, by CIGRE Working Group 13-02. Electra No. 95 July 1984 Pages 31-45.
18. A Proposal for the Organisation of Electric Power Research in Australia, by D.K.Sweeting, I.E.Aust. Annual Engineering Conference, March 1985, Pages 356-360.
19. Interruption of Small Inductive Currents, Chapter 4 Part A, By CIGRE Working Group 13-02, Electra No. 101, July 1985 Pages 13-39.
20. A Proposed Impulse Test on H.V. Motors, by D.K. Sweeting, I.E.Aust. Electric Energy Conference, October 1986, Pages 77-80
21. A Users View of CAD, by Dr.D.K.Sweeting, Ausgraph ‘89 Sydney, July 1989, Pages 103-106. Organised by Australian Computer Graphics Association Inc.
22. Report on Research and Development in the Electrical Energy Industry, by I.E.Aust. Task Force, E.A. Books, Crows Nest, 1990. Pages 1-35.
23. Australia's Voltage Dilemma, 230 or 240 Volts? by Dr. D.K. Sweeting. Special Public Interest Seminar, September 1993, I.E.Aust. National Conference Publication No. 93/14 pages 1-2, plus summary of seminar.
24. Australia's Voltage Dilemma, 230 or 240 Volts? The current position, by Dr.D.K.Sweeting, ESEA 1994 Annual Conference August 1994, pages 2-1 to 2-10.
25. Australia's Voltage Dilemma, 230 or 240 Volts? The Way Ahead, by Dr.D.K.Sweeting, I.E.Aust. Electrical Engineering Congress, November 1994, I.E.Aust. National Conference Publication No 94/11, pages 345-352.
26. Proposed amendments to IEC38 and AS2926, Standard Voltages, by Dr.D.K.Sweeting, I.E.Aust. Electric Energy Conference Eecon95, September 1995, Adelaide, pages 78-83
27. Interruption of small inductive currents by CIGRE Working Group 13.02 (D.K.Sweeting all chapters) CIGRE Brochure 50 December 1995 232 pages
28. Proposed amendments to IEC38 and AS2926, Standard Voltages, by Dr. D. K. Sweeting, AEEMA Seminar on Changes in Electricity Industry Regulatory Environment, 17 June 1996, Airport Hilton Sydney, pages 1-12.
29. The Joule Integral of short circuit currents, by Dr. D.K. Sweeting, 7th International Symposium on Short Circuit Currents in Power Systems, Warsaw, Poland, 10-12 September 1996, paper 1.3
30. The influence of arc voltage on 230/400V short-circuit currents, by Dr.D.K.Sweeting, 7th International Symposium on Short Circuit Currents in Power Systems, Warsaw Poland, 10-12 September 1996, paper 4.3.
31. Transformer secondary faults after one HV fuse has operated, by Dr.D.K.Sweeting. 7th International Symposium on Short Circuit Currents in Power Systems, Warsaw, Poland, 10-12 September 1996, paper 4.2.
32. 230 Volt standardisation, the next step, by Dr. D.K. Sweeting, ESEA 1997 Annual Conference June 1997, pages 12-1 to 12-9.
33. Matching the supply to the customer's installation by Dr.D.K.Sweeting. I.B.C. Quality of supply Melbourne 14 July 1998 I.E.Aust Quality of Supply Sydney 7 August 1998 I.E.Aust Quality of Supply Brisbane 6 Nov 1998 I.E.Aust Quality of Supply Melbourne 23 April 1999 I.E.Aust Quality of Supply Adelaide 23 July 1999 I.E.Aust Quality of Supply Perth 3 September 1999
34. 230 volt standardisation – The next steps by Dr.D.K.Sweeting, CIRED NICE'99 Conference 1-4th June 1999 Nice France
35. 230 Volt Standardisation- The Australian situation by Dr.D.K.Sweeting D2000 Conference Brisbane 9-12 November 99
36. How Distributors will need to react to the 230 Volt Standard. By Dr.D.K.Sweeting The Electric Energy Society of Australia's Electricity 2000 Conference, Canberra 4th –5th August 2000
37. How the 230 Volt Standard affects you. By Dr.D.K.Sweeting, The Electric Energy Society of Australia, Brisbane 10th May 2000, Melbourne 31st October 2000, Newcastle 3rd October 2001
38. Where are the real greenhouse gains by Dr.D.K.Sweeting, The Electric Energy Society of Australia's Electricity 2002 Conference Canberra 9-10 August 2002
39. Voltage Sag impacts on customers by Dr.D.K.Sweeting, EESA power quality forum, Sydney 12 February 2003, Adelaide 5 March 2003, Newcastle 18 March 2004
40. Flammable clothing in the electrical environment by Dr.D.K.Sweeting and Professor A.D.stokes, Electricity Supply Industry Field Days Sydney 25-26 March 2003
41. New concepts for a Voltage Sag Immunity Standard by Dr.Robert Barr, Dr. David Sweeting, Prof. Vic Gosbell, EESA Annual Conference, Sydney, 8-9 August 2003, Winner of the EESA Conway prize 2003 Engineers Association of New Zealand Annual Conference, Christchurch New Zealand 17-19 June 2004 Power transmission and Distribution October 2003 p9, 10, 14
42. Practical Voltage Sag Immunity Standards by Dr. David Sweeting EESA Annual Conference Sydney, 8-9 August 2003
43. Electric Arc Burn Hazards by Prof. A.D.Stokes and Dr.D.K.Sweeting 7th International Conference on Electric Fuses and their Applications Gdansk Poland 8-10 September 2003 p 215-222
44. Electrical Arcing hazards by Dr. David Sweeting and Professor Tony Stokes, EESA 80th Annual Conference Sydney 12-13 August 2004, Winner of EESA Conway prize 2004 Power Transmission and Distribution September 2004 p 18-24 Electric Energy WA 2005, Perth 11 March 2005 Electrical Inspectors conference, Perth, July 2005 EESA seminar Port McQuarie 3 November 2005
45. Educating Electrical Power Engineers by Dr. David Sweeting, The release report for "Assessing the Future of Electrical Power Engineering" by Professor Vic Gosbell and Duane Robinson, Engineers Australia August 2004.
46. The realities of Producing Electrical power Engineers by Dr. David Sweeting, EESA 80th Annual conference Sydney 12-13 August 2004. EESA road show on shortage of electrical power engineers, Brisbane 14th December 2004, Townsville 15th December 2004, Adelaide 16th February 2005, Perth 10th March 2005, Sydney 13th April 2005, Melbourne 12 October 2005, Hobart 13 October 2005
47. Electric arcing burn hazards by Professor Tony Stokes and Dr. David Sweeting, IEEE PCIC Conference September 2004 San Francisco pages 351-359 Printed together with discussion in: IEEE Transactions on Industrial Applications Volume 42 Number 1 January/February 2006 pages 134 to 147.
48. Voltage Sags-Customer Needs Verses What Distributors Can Deliver by Dr. Robert Barr, Professor Vic Gosbell, Dr. David Sweeting, Asia pacific Regional PQ Seminar 28-31 march 2005, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
49. The Final Distribution Voltage, 230 Volts post 2003 By Dr.D.K.Sweeting, The Electric Energy Society of Australia, Newcastle 6th April 2005, Brisbane 20th April 2005
50. Customer Focused Power Quality Design Data by Dr. David Sweeting, Electricity 2005, 81st EESA Annual Conference Sydney, 17-18 November 2005
51. Attracting and Producing sufficient engineers by Dr. David Sweeting, Bulk Materials Handling 2006, IIR Conferences, Brisbane 6-7 June 2006
52. Power Quality and Embedded Wind Generators by Dr. David Sweeting, Successfully Integrating Wind Energy into Networks Seminar, The Electric Energy Society of Australia Sydney 23rd June 2006
53. Producing electrical engineers to rebuild the electrical infrastructure by Dr. David Sweeting, Electricity Substations 2006, IIR Conferences, Brisbane 24-25 July 2006
54. National Electricity Rule's Performance Standards and Embedded Wind Generation. By Dr. David Sweeting, 82nd EESA Annual Conference, Melbourne 17-18 August 2006
55. Performing Electrical Arc hazard Assessment By Dr. David Sweeting and Professor Tony Stokes, 82nd EESA Annual Conference, Melbourne 17-18 August 2006 Winner EESA 2006 Conway Prize Also presented to SIRF round table National Forum on Electrical Maintenance and Safety, Melbourne, 13-14 September 2006 Also presented to EESA-SA Chapter Adelaide 8 May 2007 Also presented to New Zealand Electrical Engineers Association arc flash hazards workshop 7 May 2008
56. Energy Transfers within Arcing Faults in Electrical Equipment by Dr. D.K.Sweeting and Professor A.D.Stokes, 8th International Conference on Electric Fuses and their Applications, Clermont-Ferrand, France 10-12 September 2007 Also presented to EESA-VicTas Chapter Melbourne 18 October 2007. Also presented to New Zealand Electrical Engineers Association arc flash hazards workshop 7 May 2008. Also presented to Switchgear, Circuit Breaker & Transformers Operations & Maintenance Melbourne, 19-20 May 2008. Also presented with changes to SIRF Rt Electrical maintenance and Safety National Forum Sydney 1 and 2 September 2008.
57. Electrocutions and Arcs by Dr. David Sweeting Energy NSW 2008 The [R]Evolution in Networks, NSW Chapter of Electric Energy Society of Australia, Sydney October 2008
58. Arcing Hazards in Electrical Equipment (physics of the hazards) by Dr. David Sweeting, EESA WA Chapter in Perth on 12 May 2009. Engineers Australia, Victorian Electrical Branch 15 June 2009.
59. Arcing Hazards in Electrical Equipment (Standards development) by Dr. David Sweeting, SIRF Industrial Maintenance Roundtable Perth 12 May 2009
60. Testing PPE for Arc Hazard Protection, IEC 61482-1 Test Rig Evaluation by Dr. David Sweeting, EESA National Conference Gold Coast Queensland 6 August 2009. Winner of the EESA Conway prize 2009. EEA Annual Conference, Christchurch New Zealand 18 June 2010
61. Arcing Faults in Electrical Equipment by Dr. David Sweeting, IEEE PCIC 2009 Anaheim, Los Angeles USA 14 September 2009 IEEE Transactions on Industrial Applications Volume 47 Number 1 Jan/Feb 2011 pages 387 to 397.
62. Arc Hazards and Standards, A timely Update, by Dr. David Sweeting, Energy NSW 2009, The Winds of Change, NSW Chapter of Electric Energy Society of Australia, Sydney October 2009
63. Arcing Hazard Physics (A 3.5 hour workshop) by Dr. David Sweeting, IDC Technologies Arc Flash Forum Melbourne 14-15 April 2010 IDC Technologies Hazards Conference Perth 26-28 October 2010 IDC Technologies Hazards Conference Auckland New Zealand 9-10 August 2011 IDC Technologies Arc Flash Forum Sydney 19-20 October 2011
64. Arcing Hazard Standards by Dr. David Sweeting, IDC Technologies Arc Flash Forum Melbourne 14-15 April 2010 IDC Technologies Hazards Conference Perth 26-28 October 2010
65. Testing PPE for Arc Hazard Protection, IEC 61482-1 Test Rig Evaluation including proposed changes by Dr. David Sweeting, IEEE PCIC 2010 San Antonio USA 20-22 September 2010
66. Issues with Arc Blast Calculations by Dr. David Sweeting, NSW Government Industry & Investment 20th Electrical Engineering (Mining)Safety Seminar, Sydney 10-11 November 2010
67. Protection from arcing hazards by Dr. David Sweeting, EA/IET/IEEE Joint Institutions lecture Sydney 24 March 2011
68. Protecting your staff from arcing hazards by Dr. David Sweeting, EECON2011 87th EESA National Conference, Hobart 7-8 April 2011, EESA South Australia, Adelaide, 23June 2011 IDC Technologies Hazards Conference Auckland New Zealand, 9-10 August 2011 IDC Technologies Arc Flash Forum Sydney 19-20 October 2011 Revised and updated for IEEE Electrical safety Workshop Dallas Texas 11-15 March 2013
69. Implications of the 230V voltage profile by Dr. David Sweeting Australian Power Technologies Publications Pty Ltd Industrial Electrix April/June 2011pages 60-63 Transmission and Distribution July/June 2011 pages 76-79
70. Electrocutions and Arcs, Electrical Incidents and their Stages by Dr. David Sweeting, Australian Power Technologies Publications Pty Ltd, Industrial Electrix April/June 2011pages 52-55
71. Applying IEC60909, short-circuit current calculations by Dr. D. K. Sweeting IEEE PCIC Conference Toronto Canada, 19-21September, paper PCIC-2011-22
72. Arcing Hazard Physics and Protecting your Staff by Dr. David Sweeting IEEE-PES Powercon 2012 Auckland New Zealand 30 October - 2 November 2012 (presentation only)
73. Arcing Hazard Physics, Hazards and Protection plus Electrical Protection Involving Arcing (a 4 hour tutorial) by Dr. David Sweeting IEEE Electrical Safety Workshop Dallas Texas 11-15 March 2013 (presentation only)
74. Protecting your staff from arcing hazards by Dr. David Sweeting IEEE Electrical Safety Workshop Dallas Texas 11-15 March 2013 ESW2013-27