SWITCHGEARS &

PROTECTION DEVICES-
FUSES , CIRCUIT BREAKERS
P r e s e n t e d b y A s s t . P r o f e s s o r – A r. J a s p e r. S
 MODULE 3

Electrical Services -
Protection Systems

SWITCHGEAR & PROTECTION

DEVICES – FUSES, BREAKERS:
M I N I AT U R E C I R C U I T
BREAKERS; EARTH LEAKAGE
CIRCUIT BREAKERS; MOLDED
CASE CIRCUIT BREAKERS &
AIR CIRCUIT BREAKERS AND
P R O T E C T I O N R E L AY S

Presented By : Ar.Jasper.S– Asst Prof BGSSAP 2

 SWITCHGEAR
SUBTITLE GOES HERE

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 SWITCHGEAR

In Large Industrial Installations, with a 11 kv supply or above

it will be necessary for the consumer to provide space for
switchgear and a transformer on their Premises.

Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP 4

 SWITCHGEAR
• Integrated components to switch ,protect, meter and
Control power flow. switchgear

• It is used to de-energize equipment & Clear faults.

Switching Control & Protection
• A switchgear is a generic term which includes all the devices sensing devices devices
switching devices associated with power system protection.
It also includes all devices associated with control, metering Protection
Circuit Breakers
and regulating of electrical power systems. relays

• Assembly of such devices in a logical manner forms

Lightning
switchgear. Isolators
Arresters

In other words systems used for switching, controlling and

protecting the electrical power circuits and different types of Switches Fuses
electrical equipment are known as switchgear. This is very basic
definition of switchgear.

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 Protection Systems:
A series of devices whose main
NEED FOR PROTECTION SYSTEM
• The power system must maintain acceptable operation 24 hours a day.
Purpose is to Protect persons and
primary electric power equipment • Voltage and frequency must stay within certain limits
from the effects of fault
• Protect the Public

• Improve system stability.

• Minimize damage to the equipment.

• Protect against overloads.

Why System needs Protection?

• We are all familiar with low voltage switches and re-wirable fuses in our home.

• The switch is used to manually open and close the electrical circuit in our home and
electrical fuse is used to protect our household electrical circuit from over current and
• Switchgear protection plays a vital role in
modern power system network, right from short circuit faults.
generation through transmission to
distribution end. • Collectively from commercial point of view every electrical power system needs
measuring, controlling and regulating arrangement the whole system is called switchgear
• The switchgear has to perform the function and protection of power system.
of carrying, making and breaking the
normal load current like a switch and it has
to perform the function of clearing the fault
in the power system
Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP 6
 COMPONENTS OF SWITCH GEAR

Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP 7

 TYPES OF PROTECTIVE
DEVICES
• Fuses

• Circuit Breakers
• Constituent parts of a typical fuse are –
• Earthing Systems

• Lightning Protection System 1. Fuse Holder/Base

2. Fixed Contacts
FUSE
3. Fuse Carrier
A Fuse is a device for protecting a circuit against
damage from an excessive current flowing in it, by 4. Carrier Contacts
opening the circuit on heating and melting of the
fuse element by the excessive current in case of 5. Fuse Element/ Fuse Wire / Fuse link
short circuit.

Fuse is the safety valve and the weakest part of the

electrical system.

Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP 8

 WORKING OF A FUSE
The operation of fuse depends upon the heating effect of an electriccurrent

Electric current is increased in the circuit due to

short-circuit or over load

Rate of heat generation is increased which increases

the temperature of the fuse wire

Rate of heat dissipation increases

Rate of heat generation = Rate of Heat dissipation

Fuse wire temperature reaches melting point

Fuse operates

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 Types of fuse

High voltage
Low voltage Drop out Striker fuse Switch fuse
HRC fuses

Rewireable Cartridge type

Cartridge fuse
fuse HV HRC Fuse

Liquid type HV
D-TYPE
HRC fuse

High Rupturing
device

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 Video -
REWIRABLE TYPE FUSE OR KIT-KAT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmwdSoGBIlg
FUSES : MERITS & DEMERITS
• It is one of the most important & common type
of fuse unit used for all day-to-work in Advantages
domestic installations.
• Cheap
• It can be rewired, even if the cut – out terminals are
energised, without taking any safety precautions.
• Current limiting in case of short circuits
• a) Fuse carrier : The part fuse carrier which
holds the fuse wire is a separate unit and can be • Easily rewirable
taken out or inserted with care in base to which the
• Requires minimal maintenance
incoming and outgoing live wire is permanently
connected.
Disadvantages
• The removable parts which hold fuse wire • Unreliable operation –

&fit into the base when inserted is known as • Due to Oxidation of fuse wire

‘Fuse carrier”. • Loose connection

• b) Fuse Base : The unit in which the incoming • Lack of selectivity

and outgoing line or phase wire is connected
• Small Time Lag
• permanently with the help of connecting terminals is
known as ‘Base ‘. • Easy to misuse

• Low rupturing capacity

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 Working of Rewireable fuse
• The metallic part of the fuse carrier when
inserted in the base touches metallic terminal
of the base, thus, making continuity from one
base of the terminal to the second base
terminal through the fuse wire and keeps the
continuity.

• The cut outs are made of china-clay and are rated

for 15amp to 300 amp current values.
• It can be rewired, even if the cut – out terminals
are energised, without taking any safety
precautions.
a) Fuse wire : It is that part of the fuse which melts
when an excessive current flows in the circuit and
thus isolates the device from the supply mains.
• Materials used : The materials which can be
used in fuse are tin, lead, zinc, silver, copper,
aluminium etc.Copper or lead, tin alloy is most
used in ordinary fuse wire.

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 CARTRIDGE FUSE

• Fuse of any shape similar to that of bullet

containing some enclosed material. Cartridge fuse
• In cartridge type fuse the fuse wire is
enclosed in a tube, bulb or case of some good
insulating heat resistance material the whole
High Rupturing
unit is sealed off. D-type
device
• In case the fuse blows out due to some fault or
overload it is replaced by a fresh unit as the
cartridge cannot be rewired due to its sealing..

• These are also fixed in fuse carrier like kit-kat

fuses.
• It’s a low voltage fuse

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 D-TYPE CARTRIDGE FUSE
• It is an non-interchangeable fuse comprising a fuse
base , adapter ring , cartridge and a base cap.

HRC FUSE

• It is called High rupturing capacity fuse.

• It is similar in construction to the cartridge type with

the exception that the fuse wire (material ) can carry

short – circuit heavy current for a known time

period. • It consists of a ceramic body having metal

• During this time if the fault is removed; then it does end caps to which are welded fusible silver
(or bimetallic) current carrying elements.
not blow off, otherwise it blows off (melts) and
• The space within the body surrounding the
breaks the continuity of the circuit.
elements is completely packed with a filing
• The cartridge ( enclosure of H.R.C.) unit is either of powder.
glass or some other chemical compound that is air
• HRC fuses are used up to 33kV
• tight construction to avoid the effect of
• They may be used for voltage transformer,
atmosphere on the fuse material. This effect may
protection or for circuits up to about
lower its related capacity due to the continuous 400amp.
slow oxidation of the wire material H.R.C.
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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 CIRCUIT BREAKERS
• A circuit breaker is an automatically operated electrical
switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from
damage caused by excess current from an overload or
short circuit. Its basic function is to interrupt current flow
after a fault is detected.
• Low Voltage Circuit Breakers – Less than 1KV application

• MCB – rated current not morethan 100 A

• MCCB - rated current up to 2,500 A

• Medium Voltage Circuit Breaker – Till 40.5KV

application MCB
• Vacuum circuit breakers—With rated current
up to 6,300 A

• Air circuit breakers—Rated current up to 6,300 A

• SF6 circuit breakers

ACB
VCB
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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 CIRCUIT BREAKERS
• High Voltage Circuit Breakers – Above 66KV
application

• High-voltage breakers are broadly classified

by the medium used to extinguish the arc:
• Bulk oil
• Minimum oil RCCB
• Air blast
ELCB

• Vacuum
• SF6
• CO2

• Other Special Use Circuit Breakers

• RCCB – Residual Current Circuit Breakers
• VCB – Vacuum Circuit Breakers
• ELCB – Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers

MCCB
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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 MCB-MINIATURE CIRCUIT BREAKERS
• A miniature circuit breaker is an electro-
mechanical device which operates &
disconnects the circuit
• when the current reaches a pre-determined
value.
• It provides both overload & short – circuit
protection.

• MCB normally operates at 12.5 times its

rated current i.e. a 20 Amp MCB operates
at 25 Amp compared with 30 Amp for a
cartridge fuse or 40 Amp for a rewireable
fuse of the same rating.

• Automatic switch off in case of overload of

short – circuit.
• Simply restored by switching ON again- No
fuses to replace or rewire after rectifying the
fault

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 OPERATIONS OF MCB
• A MCB is a high fault capacity thermal / magnetic , current
limiting trip free automatic switching device with just magnetic
tripping.
• There are two main operations i.e. thermal operation with inverse

time current characteristics for overload protection and hammer trip

assisted magnetic operation for short circuit operation.

• The thermal operation is achieved with a bimetallic strip, which

deflects when heated by any over current flowing through it. In doing

so, releases the latch mechanism and causes the contacts to open.

• Greater the inverse currents, shorter the time required to operate

the MCB.

• When short – circuit fault occurs, the rising current energizes the
solenoid operating the plunger to strike the trip lever causing
immediate release of the latch mechanism.

• Rapidity of the magnetic solenoid operation causes instantaneous

opening of contacts.

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 ADVANTAGES – MCB OVER
SWITCHFUSES
• MCB limits over-load as well as protects against short circuit,
whereas fuse protects against short circuit alone.

• MCB is essentially tamper – proof as it has sealed enclosure

• Due to narrowly controlled tripping factor i.e., ratio of

minimum trip current / rated current, MCB provides closer
protection

• Replacement is easy as these can be pushed into the bus-bas

circuit even in energized condition, as it is also available in
plug-in design.

• Modular in design thus can be used in various combinations.

• MCB can assume function of a switch to control on-off

function as well

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 AIR CIRCUIT BREAKER
• Air Circuit Breaker (ACB) is an electrical device used to
provide Overcurrent and short-circuit protection for
electric circuits over 800 Amps to 10K Amps. These are
usually used in low voltage applications below 450V.

• The air circuit breakers have completely replaced

oil circuit breakers.

• Air circuit breaker is circuit operation breaker that

operates in the air as an arc extinguishing medium, at
a given atmospheric pressure.

• The main function of air circuit breaker is to:

• – Open the circuit automatically when a fault occurs.

Faults can be of various types – under or over voltage,
under or over frequency, short circuit, reverse power,
earth fault etc. – The main feature of ACB is that it
dampens or quenches the arcing during overloading

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 APPLICATIONS OF AIR CIRCUIT BREAKERS

• Air Circuit Breakers are used for controlling the

power station auxiliaries and industrial plants. They
offer protection to industrial plants, electrical
machines like the transformers, capacitors, and
generators.

• They are mainly used for protection of plants,

where there are possibilities of fire or explosion
hazards.

• The air brake principle of the air breaker circuit arc

is used in DC circuits and AC circuits up to 12KV.

• The air circuit breakers have high resistance power

that helps in increasing the resistance of the arc by
splitting, cooling and lengthening.

• Air circuit breaker is also used in the Electricity

sharing system and NGD about 15kV

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 VACUUM CIRCUIT BREAKER.
• A vacuum circuit breaker is a kind of circuit
breaker where the arc quenching takes place
in vacuum medium. The operation of switching on and
closing of current carrying contacts and interrelated arc
interruption takes place in a vacuum chamber in
the breaker which is called vacuum interrupter.

• It is designed for medium voltage range (3.3-33kv).

• This consists of vacuum of pressure (1*10-6) inside arc

extinction chamber.

• The arc burns in metal vapour when the contacts are

disconnected.

• At high voltage , it’s rate of dielectric strength recovery

is very high.

• Due to vacuum arc extinction is very fast.

• The contacts loose metals gradually due to formation

of metal vapours.

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 DISADVANTAGES:
ADVANTAGES:
• High initial cost due to creation of vacuum.
• Free from arc and fire hazards.
• Surface of contacts are depleted due to metal vapours.
• Low cost for maintenance & simpler • High cost & size required for high voltage breakers.
mechanism.

• Low arcing time & high contact life.

• Silent and less vibrational operation.

• Due to vacuum contacts remain free from

corrosion.

• No byproducts formed

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 MOLDED CASE CIRCUIT BREAKERS

• An MCCB provides protection by combining a

temperature sensitive device with a current
sensitive electromagnetic device.

• The traditional molded-case circuit breaker uses

electromechanical (thermal magnetic) trip units
that may be fixed or interchangeable.

• To stop this current flow .

• The circuit breaker trips when too much electricity

flows through it or when it cannot handle the
excess current load. This means that the flow of
electricity is cut off to keep your circuits from
overheating or causing more damage.
What is the difference between MCCB and MCB?
“MCB” stands for “Miniature Circuit Breakers”, while “MCCB” is
“Molded Case Circuit Breaker.” ... Judging from their power capacities,
the MCB is mainly used for low-energy requirements, like home wiring
or small electronic circuits. On the other hand, the MCCB is more suited
in providing energy for high-power equipment

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MCB AND MCCB

• An MCB has less than 100 amps, while an MCCB

goes as high as 2,500 amps.

• The interrupting rating for an MCB is 18,000

amps, and up to 200,000 amps for an MCCB.

• Normally, trip characteristics are not adjustable in

MCB where as Trip current may be adjusted for

• an MCCB

• MCBs are mostly installed for home use, while

an MCCB is generally utilized for commercial or
industrial purposes.

• Both are low-voltage circuit breakers created to

meet IEC 947 standards.
• Some MCCB units are specially made to respond
to remote control signals, usually as standby
power.

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 ELCB OR RCCB
• Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers (ELCB) or Residual Current
Circuit Breaker (RCCB) are the devices designed to provide
protection against accidents by rapidly interrupting dangerous contact
voltages which may be present in faulty electrical equipment as a result
of ground faults, insufficient insulation, insulation failure or misuse and
sabotage.
Types

1. Voltage Operated ELCB

2. Current Operated RCCB

Operation
Components
• One of the Primary Windings is connected in series to the main phase line
and the other is connected in series to the neutral.
The essential parts of an ELCB are –
• As long as there is no leakage current, the phase line current is equal to the
1. Toroid core transformer with two opposed primary windings. neutral current >> the magnetic flux produced by the two primary windings
is equal and opposite >> Flux cancel each other >> Secondary winding
2. Secondary winding (Search Coil) connected to the trip/operating connected to the trip coil does not have voltage induced in it.
coil. • When there is leakage in current >> the line current differs from the
3. Test winding connected to the test button neutral current >> Voltage is
induced in the secondary winding >>Trip coil opens the switch in the circuit.
4. Protected Metal Cover

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 RELAYS
The electrical power system is designed to work
under specified normal conditions. However, some
abnormal conditions may occur due to short
circuit, overload and earth fault. The abnormal
conditions in the power distribution system may
also occur due to :
• Over voltage due to wrong switching.

• Over voltage due to direct or indirect lightning

strokes.

• Breakdown of insulation due to decrease in

dielectric strength.

• Mechanical damage due to faulty handling of

equipment.

• Bridging of conductors by birds.

• Breakage of insulators on the distribution or

transmission lines.

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 PROTECTIVE RELAY

• A relay is automatic device which senses an

abnormal condition of electrical circuit and
closes its contacts

• A relay is automatic device which senses an

abnormal condition of electrical circuit and
closes its contacts. These contacts in turns close
and complete the circuit breaker trip coil circuit
hence make the circuit breaker tripped for
disconnecting the faulty portion of the electrical
circuit from rest of the healthy circuit

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Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP
 IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

1. What is fuse? Explain different type of fuses

with sketches
2. What is circuit breaker ? Explain its type
3. Difference between MCB & MCCB
4. Write Short notes on
• MCB
• RCCB
• ELCB
• ACB
5. Advantages of MCB over Fuses

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 REFERENCES
https://www.electrical4u.com/electrical-switchgear-protection/
https://www.electrical4u.com/electrical-circuit-breaker-operation-and-types-of-circuit-breaker/

Basic Electrical Engineering, M.L.Anwani

ELCB vs RCCB -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IpozVxYW2M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfQoBpQdQ1o&list=PLcw
p2fRcIXJWOOA1wJGXbRRWKUPXqS7Fd&index=9
https://cselectric.co.in/blog/mccb-uses-applications-
advantages/

Presented by Ar.Jasper.S Asst.Prof BGSSAP 32

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 THANK YOU
S U BT I T L E G O E S H E R E

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