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Protection of Electrical
Machinery

Subject: Electrical Power and Machines

Code: EPE491/KJK559/KJK529
By: D. Johari

Overview
1. Protection against Faults
2. Overcurrent Protection
3. Fuses
4. Miniature Circuit Breaker
5. Under Voltage Protection of Motors

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Protection Against Faults

What is overcurrent?
 It is any current above normal current that
flows:
 Within its intended path (overload) or
 Outside its intended path (faults current)
 Can be caused by overload or faults current.
 It can potentially reach thousands of amperes.

Protection Against Faults

Overload
 Any current above normal current that stays
within its intended path.
 Occurs when electrical equipment is operated
in excess of its rated current.
 For e.g. when 22 A is connected to a 20 A circuit,
the circuit is overloaded.
 Not a fault current.

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Protection Against Faults

Types of faults
 Direct short
 Occurs when a line conductor is connected to line
or neutral
 Causes by accidental connection
 Ground short
 Occurs when a line conductor is connected to
ground
 Causes by insulation loss between a live conductor
and an exposed conductive part
Both types of faults will cause fault current to flow

Protection Against Faults

Main causes of insulation loss:
 Time decay of dielectric properties
 Cracks in the insulating rubbers etc
 Mechanical breakdown
 For e.g. cable being cut off in the ground
 Aggressive environment
 Dust, humidity etc
 Overvoltages
 Due to lightning or switching activity

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Overloaded Circuit

Electrical
-HV line falls on LV conductor.
-LV conductor insulation subjected to
HV.
-Its insulation starts to balloon until
breaking point.

Magnetic
-High fault current induces strong
magnetic field in circuit.
-Have north and south poles that will
either attract or repel each other.

Mechanical
-Push & pull bus bars from their
insulating mountings or conductors out
of their lugs

Thermal
-Higher fault current, higher the heat
-Equipment may start fire

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Protection Against Faults

The need for protection
 To protect personnel against the effects of
electric shock due to direct or indirect
contact
 To protect equipment and cables from over
heating
FOR SAFETY !

Overcurrent Protection
Overcurrent protection

Overload Fault current

protection protection

Overload Direct Ground

short fault

Since there is a possibility of either a direct short or a

ground fault to occur, both types of faults should be
considered when selecting overcurrent protective device.

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Overcurrent Protection
Protection against Overload
 Function
 To break any overload current flowing in a circuit
before such current causes a temperature rise
 Must clear the fault before extensive damage occurs
 Must have an adequate interrupting rating to safely clear a
fault
 Types of device
 Current-limiting fuses
 Regular circuit breakers
 Current-limiting circuit breakers
 Residual current device

Overcurrent Protection
Protection against Fault Current
 Function
 To break any fault current flowing in a circuit before
it causes any danger
 Types of device
 Current-limiting fuses
 Regular circuit breakers
 Current-limiting circuit breakers
 Residual current device
 Ground fault current interrupter (GFCI)

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Fuses
What is a fuse?
 A device designed to protect an electrical apparatus from
overcurrent.
 Will interrupt the circuit when excessive current flow
 Has a metal strip that will melt when too much
current flow
 Current will be interrupted and equipment safe from
damage
 Operates once and then has to be replaced before put into
service.

Example of Fuses Swiss electric fuse

Fuse box

20 mm 200 mA glass cartridge fuse

used inside equipment and 1 inch 13 A
ceramic British plug fuse.

Fuse marking
200 A industrial fuse with
80 kA breaking capacity.

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Fuses

Types of fuses

Rewireable Cartridge High rupturing

fuse fuse capacity fuse
Commonly used in Used in 13 A For high breaking
domestic applications plug in domestic capacity
or low load current in appliances (BS 1361 & BS 88)
industrial (BS 3036) (BS 1362)

Rewireable Fuse
Fuse filament Source contact
Contact blade

Fuse connection Fuse base

Advantages
- Cheaper fuse element wire
- Easy to replace
Disadvantages
- Produce arcing and loud noise
- Could be replaced with incorrect fuse
element
- Low breaking capacity and will
deteriorate

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Cartridge Fuse
Fuse filament
End

Mineral powder Ceramic tube/glass

Advantages
- Nominal rate current is known exactly
- No deterioration in breaking capacity
- Able to avoid arcing and loud noise
- Colour coded for different size
Disadvantages
- Once break, whole
cartridge cannot be used
- Fuse holder only for
certain cartridge size

High-Rupturing Capacity Fuse

Filament pointer
Marker powder Fuse element
Connector

End
Silicon

Ceramic tube

Advantages
- Able to avoid arcing and loud noise
- Can control high current
- High breaking capacity Disadvantages
- Has breaking marking - Most expensive
- Longer time to replace to new fuse
- Only suitable for certain fuse
connection and fuse base

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Miniature Circuit Breaker

What is miniature circuit breaker?
 Also known as MCB
 An automatically-operated electrical switch
designed to protect a circuit from overcurrent
 Can be reset manually or automatically to
resume normal operation
 Have a button or lever that can be flicked to
reset it.

Mechanisms of MCB

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Cross-section View of MCB

1. Actuator lever
2. Actuator mechanism
Force the contacts together or
apart.
3. Contacts
Allow current to flow when
touching and break the flow of
current when moved apart.
4. Terminals
5. Bimetallic strip
6. Calibration screw
7. Solenoid
8. Arc divider / extinguisher

Miniature Circuit Breaker

Types of
circuit breakers

Low voltage High voltage

MCB MCCB Vacuum Air

Less than 1000 V domestic More than 1000 V

and commercial applications applications

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Miniature Circuit Breaker

Low Voltage Application
 Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB)
 Rated current not more than 100 A
 Thermal or thermal-magnetic operation
 Moulded Case Circuit breaker (MCCB)
 Rated current up to 1000 A
 Thermal or thermal-magnetic operation
 Trip current adjustable

Miniature Circuit Breaker

High Voltage Application
 Vacuum Circuit Breaker
 Rated current up to 3000 A
 Interrupt the current by creating an arc in a vacuum
container.
 Practical for voltages up to 35,000 V
 Air Circuit Breaker
 Rated current up to 10,000 A
 Trip thresholds and delays fully adjustable
 Usually electronically or microprocessor controlled
 Often used for main power distribution in large
industrial plant

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Example of MCBs

A 3-pole common trip breaker with

2 A rating for supplying a 3-phase device.

A 2 pole MCB

Moulded case circuit breaker

High-Voltage Circuit Breakers

A 1200 A 3-pole 115,000 V breaker Generator circuit breaker

at a generating station rated for 17.5 kV and 63 kA

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Miniature Circuit Breaker

Advantages of MCB compared to fuse
 Only break the circuit when a real short circuit
or overload occurs, not during temporary
overload
 Operating current and time can be set
 Can be replaced quickly
 Not easy to damage and durable

Undervoltage Protection of Motors

Function
 To protect equipment from a reduction in voltage or the
danger of loss and subsequent restoration of voltage
Effects to Motor
 Will reduce the flux and hence reduce the magnetising
current and the maximum torque capacity of the motor.
 Will cause the work component of the current drawn by the
motor to be increased.
 Will increase the running slip of the motor.

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Undervoltage Protection of Motors

Motor may begin to stall due to lack of

torque.
This can be picked up by over current
protection.

THE END

THANK YOU

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