Insight - How MCB Works

Insight - How MCB works
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Insight - How MCB works

2. Tripping mechanism of MCB
3. Connections of the coil
4. Switching Mechanism
5. Role of Plunger
6. Mechanical Assembly
7. Structure of Plunger
8. Arrangement of mechanical parts
9. Parts of MCB
10. Arc quenching
11. Arc Chutes
12. Over heat protection
13. Free TI Design & Simulation Tools
Written By:
Arpit Jain
MCBs or Miniature Circuit Breakers are electromechanical devices which protect an electrical circuit from an
overcurrent. The overcurrent, in an electrical circuit, may result from short circuit, overload or faulty design. An MCB
is a better alternative to a Fuse since it does not require replacement once an overload is detected. Unlike fuse, an
MCB can be easily reset and thus offers improved operational safety and greater convenience without incurring large
operating cost.

The principal of operation is simple. An MCB functions by interrupting the continuity of electrical flow through the
circuit once a fault is detected. In simple terms MCB is a switch which automatically turns off when the current flowing
through it passes the maximum allowable limit. Generally MCB are designed to protect against over current and over
temperature faults (over heating).

There are two contacts one is fixed and the other moveable. When the current exceeds the predefined limit a
solenoid forces the moveable contact to open (i.e., disconnect from the fixed contact) and the MCB turns off thereby
stopping the current to flow in the circuit. In order to restart the flow of current the MCB is manually turned on. This
mechanism is used to protect from the faults arising due to over current or over load.

To protect against fault arising due to over heating or increase in temperature a bi-metallic strip is used. MCBs are
generally designed to trip within 2.5 millisecond when an over current fault arises. In case of temperature rise or over
heating it may take 2 seconds to 2 minutes for the MCB to trip.

This article covers the insight of a single pole MCB commonly used in the house hold. The following image shows the
different internal parts of an MCB with top casing removed. The subsequent sections will examine each part and its
function.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

5. Role of Plunger
9. Parts of MCB
10. Arc quenching
11. Arc Chutes
Written By:
Arpit Jain

The following image illustrates the tripping mechanism of the MCB. The circuit breaker contacts and the position of
the knob can easily be seen in both, ON and OFF, state. In the ON state the moveable contact touches the fixed
contact as shown in the image.

The path of the current in the ON state is shown in the image below. The live wire is screwed at the input terminal.
From the input terminal the current flows to the fixed contact which is touching the input terminal. The current then
moves to the moving contact (since in the ON state it is touching the fixed contact). The moving contact is connected
to the electromagnetic coil of the solenoid by means of a thick wire. The current from the moving contacts enters the
electromagnetic coil. The current from the coil goes to the bimetallic strip by means of another thick wire and finally to
the output terminal where it is collected by the neutral wire of the line.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

5. Role of Plunger
9. Parts of MCB
10. Arc quenching
11. Arc Chutes
Written By:
Arpit Jain

The following images clearly show the connection of the endpoints of the coil with the other parts of the circuit and
how the current enters and exits the coil.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

5. Role of Plunger
9. Parts of MCB
10. Arc quenching
11. Arc Chutes
Written By:
Arpit Jain

The switching or the tripping mechanism can be closely observed in the following images. This mechanism is used to
automatically cut off the supply of the current when the current exceeds the permissible limits thereby preventing any
damage to the appliances.

Let us understand this system in further detail. The image below shows a closure look of the different parts of the
tripping mechanism. The moving part of the solenoid is called the plunger. It is like a solid semi cylinder connected to
a hammer at one end. The moveable contact is positioned slightly above the plunger and moves axially along the
plunger. It does not touch the plunger.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

5. Role of Plunger
9. Parts of MCB
10. Arc quenching
11. Arc Chutes
Written By:
Arpit Jain

The heart of this mechanism is the solenoid which works on the principle of electro mechanism. As mentioned earlier
one end of the coil is connected to the moveable contact by means of a thick wire for current to pass through it in the
ON state. The coil of the solenoid is designed in such a way that when current passing through it is within the
permissible value, the magnetic force produced is not enough to pull the plunger. When the current exceeds the
permissible value, the magnetic force also increases and this magnetic force pulls the plunger inside towards the
center of the coil.

When the plunger moves it also pulls the moveable contact and forces it to separate from the fixed contact thereby
tripping the circuit. The moveable contact is connected to the knob by means of mechanical arrangement and forces
the MCB knob to fall down. The plunger is connected to a spring from inside the electromagnetic coil and as the
plunger moves towards the center of the coil, the spring gets loaded. After the MCB trips (i.e., the moveable contact
separates from the fixed contact and the current stops flowing) the spring forces the plunger back to its normal state
without disturbing the moveable contact.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

5. Role of Plunger
9. Parts of MCB
10. Arc quenching
11. Arc Chutes
Written By:
Arpit Jain

On further disassembling, different parts of this mechanical system can be seen. The images below shows all the
parts of the switching mechanism which are further detailed in the subsequent images.

The following image shows the connection of the moveable contact with the coil. A thick wire carries the current from
the movable contact to the coil.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

5. Role of Plunger
9. Parts of MCB
10. Arc quenching
11. Arc Chutes
Written By:
Arpit Jain

The image shows how the spring loaded mechanism works. The spring which is connected to the rod of the plunger
pushes the plunger back to its rest position once the tripping has taken place.

The image below shows the structure and arrangement of plunger, the moveable contact and the spring.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

5. Role of Plunger
9. Parts of MCB
10. Arc quenching
11. Arc Chutes
Written By:
Arpit Jain

The dismantled mechanical parts used to pull the knob when the tripping takes place. When the MCB gets tripped the
moveable contact which is connected to the knob using these mechanical parts pulls the knob to the off position.

The following image shows the arrangement of the plunger, coil and the spring.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

5. Role of Plunger
9. Parts of MCB
10. Arc quenching
11. Arc Chutes
Written By:
Arpit Jain

The outgoing and incoming terminals have been shown in the following image.

All the parts of this single pole MCB have been shown together in the following image.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

5. Role of Plunger
9. Parts of MCB
10. Arc quenching
11. Arc Chutes
Written By:
Arpit Jain
Arc quenching in MCB (Miniature Circuit Breakers)
Another important point to be considered in the design of circuit breakers is Arc quenching. To understand how MCB
carries out the arc quenching, it is important to know about the electric arc and how is it produced. When an
overcurrent is interrupted by the circuit breaker by opening its contacts, current tries to bridge the gap. In an attempt
to maintain the circuit, the air heats up and becomes a conductor. As a result an arc forms. In general, when air and
gases are heated, they become electric conductors. The hotter they get, the better they conduct. The following image
shows how an electric arc looks like.

The heat from an uncontrolled arc in a circuit breaker can cause a rapid and violent expansion of the nearby air and
could severely damage the circuit breaker. Therefore, besides separating the electrical contacts, a circuit breaker
also has to quickly extinguish the arc. A number of factors can be employed for quenching the arc, such as, speed,
distance, dielectric strength, cooling etc.
a) Speed : When the contacts separate rapidly, there is less time for the arc to form
and maintain itself.
b) Distance : When the distance between opened contacts is more, the arc has to
stretch more to maintain the current flow which requires more voltage.
c) Cooling : When the arc is forced against a cold material, it absorbs and dissipates
the heat.
d) Dielectric Strength : When the arc is submerged in a medium with higher dielectric
strength than air (sulfur hexafluoride, SF6), the insulating nature of the medium helps in
quenching the arc.

In an MCB, arc chutes or arc dividers are used for arc quenching. When the contacts of
an MCB separate, generating an electrical arc between them through air, the arc is
moved into the arch chute where it is divided into small segments. The overall energy
level of the arc gets split up which is not sufficient to sustain the arc and therefore it gets
dissipated.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

5. Role of Plunger
9. Parts of MCB
10. Arc quenching
11. Arc Chutes
Written By:
Arpit Jain
The image below shows the arc chute used in the MCB for arc quenching purposes.

Finally the next images shows how the arc chute is positioned in the MCB. The fixed contact is extended to the arc
chute. This is done so as to transfer the arc to the interior of the breaker. The arc is broken into smaller arc by the arc
chute. These segmented smaller arc have a very small potential and hence get naturally dissipated.

On removing the holder which holds the arc chute, the mechanical structure and arrangement of the arc chute is
visible in the next image.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

5. Role of Plunger
9. Parts of MCB
10. Arc quenching
11. Arc Chutes
Written By:
Arpit Jain
Over heat protection
The MCB’s also provide protection against overheating. It uses a bimetallic strip for the same. The arrangement of
the bimetallic strip is shown in the image below. The bimetallic strip is made up of two metals with different
temperature coefficients. When the current flows through the bimetallic strip, it gets heated. The heating results in
bending of the bimetallic strip. The more is the heating, the more is the bending. The bimetallic strip is mechanically
connected to the tripping mechanism by means of a metal strip as shown in the image. When the bimetallic strip
bends it forces the metal strip to pull the plastic flap which in turn triggers the tripping mechanism after certain
allowed temperature limit for which the bimetallic strip is designed.

Insight - How MCB Works

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Insight - How MCB works

1. Insight - How MCB works

1. Insight - How MCB works

1. Insight - How MCB works

1. Insight - How MCB works

1. Insight - How MCB works

1. Insight - How MCB works

1. Insight - How MCB works

1. Insight - How MCB works

1. Insight - How MCB works

1. Insight - How MCB works

Arc quenching in MCB (Miniature Circuit Breakers)

shows how an electric arc looks like.

distance, dielectric strength, cooling etc.

1. Insight - How MCB works

visible in the next image.

1. Insight - How MCB works

Over heat protection

allowed temperature limit for which the bimetallic strip is designed.

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