ANSI C37.

51a-2010

American National Standard

for Switchgear—

Metal-Enclosed Low-Voltage
AC Power Circuit Breaker
Switchgear Assemblies—
Conformance Test Procedures—
Amendment 1: Short-Time
Withstand Current Tests
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ANSI C37.51a-2010

American National Standard

for Switchgear—

Metal-Enclosed Low-Voltage
AC Power Circuit Breaker
Switchgear Assemblies—
Conformance Test Procedures—
Amendment 1: Short-Time Withstand Current Tests

Secretariat:

National Electrical Manufacturers Association

Approved November 16, 2010

American National Standards Institute, Inc.

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 ANSI C37.51a-2010

NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER

The information in this publication was considered technically sound by the consensus of persons
engaged in the development and approval of the document at the time it was developed. Consensus
does not necessarily mean that there is unanimous agreement among every person participating in the
development of this document.

ANSI standards and guideline publications, of which the document contained herein is one, are
developed through a voluntary consensus standards development process. This process brings together
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 ANSI C37.51a-2010

Approval of an American National Standard requires verification by

AMERICAN ANSI that the requirements for due process, consensus, and other
NATIONAL criteria for approval have been met by the standards developer.

STANDARD Consensus is established when, in the judgment of the ANSI Board of

Standards Review, substantial agreement has been reached by directly
and materially affected interests. Substantial agreement means much
more than a simple majority, but not necessarily unanimity. Consensus
requires that all views and objections be considered, and that a
concerted effort be made toward their resolution.

The use of American National Standards is completely voluntary; their

existence does not in any respect preclude anyone, whether he has
approved the standards or not, from manufacturing, marketing,
purchasing, or using products, processes, or procedures not
conforming to the standards.

The American National Standards Institute does not develop standards

and will in no circumstances give an interpretation of any American
National Standard. Moreover, no person shall have the right or authority
to issue an interpretation of an American National Standard in the name
of the American National Standards Institute. Requests for
interpretations should be addressed to the secretariat or sponsor
whose name appears on the title page of this standard.

Caution Notice: This American National Standard may be revised or

withdrawn at any time. The procedures of the American National
Standards Institute require that action be taken periodically to reaffirm,
revise, or withdraw this standard. Purchasers of American National
Standards may receive current information on all standards by calling or
writing the American National Standards Institute.

Published by

National Electrical Manufacturers Association

1300 North 17th Street, Rosslyn, VA 22209

© Copyright 2010 by National Electrical Manufacturers Association

All rights reserved including translation into other languages, reserved under the Universal Copyright
Convention, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and the International
and Pan American Copyright Conventions.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, in an electronic retrieval system or otherwise, without the
prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

i
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 ANSI C37.51a-2010
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 ANSI C37.51a-2010

CONTENTS

Foreword .......................................................................................................................................................iv
Section 2 REFERENCED STANDARDS...................................................................................................... 1
5.6.1.2 Circuit breaker compartment NOT represented by the circuit breaker test enclosure .................... 2

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 ANSI C37.51a-2010

Foreword

(This Foreword is not part of American National Standard C37.51a-2010.)

This amendment has been developed to coordinate selected conformance tests and procedures with
ANSI/IEEE C37.20.1-2002 Metal-Enclosed Low-Voltage AC Power Circuit Breaker Switchgear, and
particularly, to recognize the amendment C37.20.1a-2005. C37.51 is published separately from
ANSI/IEEE C37.20.1-2002 and C37.20.1a-2005 to facilitate its use and to permit timely revisions based
on experience.

This standard has been prepared by a Working Group sponsored by the Power Switchgear Assemblies
Technical Committee of the Switchgear Section of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association
(NEMA 8-SG-V). During the course of its preparation, coordination has been maintained with the
Switchgear Committee of the Power Engineering Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers.

Proposed or recommended revisions should be submitted to:

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Vice President, Technical Services

National Electrical Manufacturers Association
1300 North 17th Street
Rosslyn, VA 22209

This standard was processed and approved for submittal to ANSI by Accredited Standards Committee on
Power Switchgear C37. Committee approval of the standard does not necessarily imply that all
committee members voted for its approval. At the time of its approval, the C37 Committee had the
following members:

T. Olsen, Chair
Gerard Winstanley, Secretary

Organization Represented: Name of Representative:

Electric Light and Power Group Dave Galicia

Joseph Koepfinger
Yasin Musa
Rod Sauls

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Michael Wactor

John Leach
Anne Morgan

National Electrical Manufacturers Association Ted Olsen

Charles Ball
Keith Flowers
R. W. Long
Carl Schneider
Richard York

iv
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 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD ANSI C37.51a-2010

For Switchgear—Metal-Enclosed Low-Voltage AC Power Circuit Breaker

Switchgear Assemblies—Conformance Test Procedures

Amendment 1: Short-Time Withstand Current Tests

NOTE—The editing instructions contained in this amendment define how to merge the material contained
herein into the existing base standard and its amendments to form the comprehensive standard.

The editing instructions are shown in bold italic. Four editing instructions are used: change, delete,
insert, and replace. Change is used to make small corrections in existing text or tables. The editing
instruction specifies the location of the change and describes what is being changed by using
strikethrough (to remove old material) and underscore (to add new material). Delete removes existing
material. Insert adds new material without disturbing the existing material. Insertions may require
renumbering. If so, renumbering instructions are given in the editing instruction. Replace is used to make
large changes in existing text, subclauses, tables, or figures by removing existing material and replacing it
with new material. Editorial notes will not be carried over into future editions because the changes will be
incorporated into the base standard.

Section 2
REFERENCED STANDARDS

Change Section 2 as follows:

When there is a conflict between this standard and these referenced standards, this standard shall apply.
This standard is intended to be used in conjunction with the following American National Standards.
When these referenced standards are superseded by a revision approved by the American National
Standards Institute, Inc., the revisions shall apply.

ANSI C37.16-2000 Switchgear—Low-Voltage Power Circuit Breakers and AC Power Circuit Protectors—
Preferred Ratings, Related Requirements, and Application Recommendations

ANSI C37.50-1989 (R2000) Switchgear—Low-Voltage AC Power Circuit Breakers Used in Enclosures—

Test Procedures

ANSI/IEEE C37.09-1999 Test Procedure for AC High-Voltage Circuit Breakers Rated on a Symmetrical
Current Basis

ANSI/IEEE C37.13-1990 (R1995) Low-Voltage AC Power Circuit Breakers Used in Enclosures

ANSI/IEEE C37.20.1-2002 Metal-Enclosed Low-Voltage Power Circuit Breaker Switchgear

ANSI/IEEE C37.20.1a-2005 Metal-Enclosed Low-Voltage Power Circuit Breaker Switchgear—

Amendment 1: Short-Time and Short-Circuit Withstand Current Tests—Minimum Areas for Multiple Cable
Connections

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1
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 ANSI C37.51a-2010

ANSI/IEEE C37.26-2003 Standard Guide for Methods of Power Factor Measurement for Low-Voltage
Inductive Test Circuits

ANSI/IEEE C37.100-1992 (R2000) Definitions for Power Switchgear

ANSI/IEEE Std 4-1995 Standard Techniques for High Voltage Testing, including ANSI/IEEE Std 4a-2001,
Amendment to IEEE Standard Techniques for High-Voltage Testing

5.6.1.2 Circuit breaker compartment NOT represented by the circuit breaker test enclosure

Change 5.6.1.2 as follows:

If the circuit breaker compartment is not physically equivalent to the circuit breaker test enclosure, the
withstand current tests shall include a circuit breaker and compartment. The test shall be made under the
same conditions that resulted in the highest let-through current during the circuit breaker short-circuit
current tests described in ANSI C37.50-1989. The circuit breaker shall be of a type that has previously
met the design test performance requirements as specified in ANSI C37.50-1989, and shall be one of the
following:
a. a circuit breaker without direct acting trip devices
b. a circuit breaker in which the overcurrent trip device has been made inoperative
c. an equivalently sized dummy breaker – provided its primary disconnecting devices are identical
to the circuit breaker, and the circuit breaker has been qualified by previous testing.

The circuit breaker shall be located in the uppermost compartment, and for the tests, the circuit breaker
compartment outgoing terminals shall be connected together by a shorting bar or bars.

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