How does a automatic self-test work on AFCI?

[samuelr]

Just wondering how an automatic self-test can perform and work on AFCI units. I can understand the push button test but for the unit to on its own create an arcing simulation or am I missing something here on the self-test part?

 

[dick_freebird]

Self test means what people choose it to mean. In this
case I suspect it means a proxy stimulus is applied to
the arc detection circuit (hopefully, this is realistic in
relation to real-world stimuli) as far upstream as practical
so as to test the majority of the fault protection chain.

But this bears checking, if you care enough.