ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT

SWITCHGEAR AND PROTECTION

Dr./ Hesham Said

Dr./ Hesham Said
CIRCUIT BREAKERS Dr./ Hesham Said
 Circuit breaker is a switching device which can be operated manually
and automatically for controlling and protecting an electrical power
system.

 Circuit breakers have been classified into a number of types, based on

different categories they have been subdivided into.

 According to the voltage level:

o Low Voltage Circuit Breakers (upto 1kV).
o Medium Voltage Circuit Breakers (upto 66kV).
o High Voltage Circuit Breakers (more than 66kV).

 According to the mechanism of operation:

o Hydraulic Circuit Breakers.
o Pneumatic Circuit Breakers.
o Spring operated Circuit Breakers.
TYPES OF CIRCUIT BREAKERS Dr./ Hesham Said

 According to the installation location:

o Outdoor Circuit Breakers.
o Indoor Circuit Breakers.

 According to the arc quenching medium:

o Vacuum Circuit Breakers.
o SF6 Circuit Breakers.
o Oil Circuit Breakers.
o Air blast Circuit Breakers.
o Air Circuit Breakers.

 According to the tripping type:

o Magnetic trip Circuit Breakers.
o Thermal trip Circuit Breakers.
o Hybrid trip Circuit Breakers.
TYPES OF CIRCUIT BREAKERS Dr./ Hesham Said
RATINGS OF CIRCUIT BREAKERS Dr./ Hesham Said

Types Voltage Level Current Rating

ABCB 735kV 6300A
OCB 66kV 6300A
SF6 1200 kV 6300A
VCB 66kV 4000A
ACB 690V 4000A
MCCB 440V 630A
MCB 440V 100A
ELCB 440V 63A, 300mA
RCCB 440V 63A, 30mA
OVERCURRENT, OVERLOAD AND SHORT CIRCUIT
Dr./ Hesham Said
Overcurrent:
NEC defines overcurrent as any current in excess of the rated current of equipment
of the ampacity of a conductor. An over current is the result of an overload, short
circuit, arc or ground fault. Effects of overcurrent include fires, conductor
insulation damage and equipment damage.

Overload:
According to NEC, overload is the operation of equipment in excess of normal,
full-load rating, or of a conductor in excess of rated ampacity that, when it persists
for a sufficient length of time would cause damage or dangerous overheating. An
overload is NOT a short circuit, ground or arc fault.

Short Circuit:
According to NEC, short circuit is an overcurrent which greatly exceeds the normal
full load current of the circuit. Also, as the name infers, a short circuit leaves the
normal current carrying path of the circuit and takes a short-cut around the load
and back to the power source. A short circuit is an overcurrent but not an overload.
 MOLDED CASE CB (MCCB) COMPONENTS Dr./ Hesham Said
Although low and medium voltage circuit breakers have unique designs that are
specific to amperage, voltage and application, there are five main components that are
universal across the different types of circuit breakers;
1) Frame: Protects internal parts of the circuit breaker from outside materials.
2) Operating mechanism: Provides a means of opening and closing the circuit breaker.
3) Contacts: Allows the current to flow through the circuit breaker when closed.
4) Arc extinguisher: Extinguishes an arc when the circuit breaker interrupts a fault.
5) Trip unit: Opens the operating mechanism in the event of overload or short circuit.
 CIRCUIT BREAKERS FRAMES Dr./ Hesham Said
The circuit breaker frame provides the rigidity and strength required to successfully
deal with the interruption process and achieve the desired interrupting ratings. It
insulates and isolates the electrical current in order to protect people and equipment
during use or operation. Frames can be made from metal or molded insulating
materials.

o Metal Frame
A metal frame is assembled from precise
metal pieces that are bolted and welded
together to form the frame.

o Molded Insulated Frame

Molded case frames are made from strong
insulating materials such as glass-polyester
or thermoset composite resins (plastic
frames).
 CIRCUIT BREAKERS OPERATING MECHANISM Dr./ Hesham Said
The opening and closing processes of the circuit breaker can be classified as two types
of operating mechanisms, over toggle and two step stored energy.
o Over toggle mechanism:
• This toggle mechanism is the quick-make, quick-break type,
meaning that the speed with which the contacts snap open or
close is independent of how fast the handle is moved.
• In addition to indicating whether the breaker is ON or OFF,
the operating mechanism handle indicates when the breaker is
tripped by mobbing to a position midway between the ON
and OFF.
o Two step stored energy mechanism:
• The two-step stored energy process is designed to charge the
closing spring and release energy to close the circuit breaker.
It uses separate opening and closing springs.
• The springs can be charged (or recharged) manually via a
charging handle or electrically via a motor. The motor can be
operated remotely, allowing maximum safety for the operator.
 CIRCUIT BREAKER CONTACTS Dr./ Hesham Said

• Contacts are found in the arc interruption chamber. The contact assembly consists
of the movable contact, the movable contact arm, the stationary contact and the
stationary conductor.

• As the circuit breaker opens or closes, the movable contact moves to close (make)
or open (break) the circuit. The contacts are designed to protect against two fault
conditions:

 Overload (thermal trip)

 Short Circuit (magnetic trip)
 ARC EXTINGUISHING (ARC QUENCHING) Dr./ Hesham Said

• An arc is a discharge of electric current crossing a gap between two contacts. An

arc extinguisher is the component of the circuit breaker that extinguishes an arc
when the contacts are opened. Circuit breakers must be designed to control them
because arcs cannot be prevented.

• There are many methods used in the

electrical industry to manage electrical arcs
to make the arc extinguishing process:

 Arc chute
 Vacuum interrupter
 SF6
 Minimum oil
 ARC EXTINGUISHING (ARC CHUTE) Dr./ Hesham Said

• Arc chute is a set of parallel arranged metal plates which extinguishes the arc
formed when the circuit breaker interrupts the fault current. It is also known as arc
dividers or arc splitters.

• These plates cause the arc to spread and further splits into small parts. This will
increase the arc length and lead the arc to cool down. Finally the arc
extinguishes.
 ARC EXTINGUISHING (VACUUM INTERRUPTER) Dr./ Hesham Said

• The Vacuum Circuit Breakers (VCB) are particularly advantageous for use in the
voltage range 3 kV to 38 kV. In the Vacuum Circuit Breaker the arc interruption
takes place in vacuum in the interrupter.
• The pressure inside the vacuum interrupter is maintained below 10-4 torr. At this
low pressure very few molecules are available inside the interrupter chamber.
This is one desired characteristic of the interrupting medium for more efficient
arc quenching.
• For opening the circuit breaker, the operating mechanism separates the moving
contact from the fixed contact inside the interrupter. Just at the point of contact
separation, a very small amount of metal vaporizes from contact tip and arc is
drawn between the contacts. Current flows between the contacts through this arc.
• Due to the sinusoidal nature of the AC current,
the current after reaching the maximum value
decreases so reducing the vapor emission. Near
zero value of the sinusoidal current wave the
arc is extinguished.
 ARC EXTINGUISHING (SF6) Dr./ Hesham Said

• SF6 circuit breaker uses SF6 (Sulfur Hexafluoride) gas as an air quenching
medium. This gas is electro-negative and it has high dielectric strength to absorb
free electrons. This is very effective for high voltage applications ranging from
33kV to 800kV.
• It consists of moving and fixed contacts enclosed in a chamber called an arc
interruption chamber filled with SF6 gas. The connection is given to an SF6 gas
reservoir. A valve mechanism allows the flow of gas from the reservoir to flow
towards the arc interruption chamber.

• Properties of SF6 Circuit Breaker

 No color, no odor, non-toxic and
noninflammable gas
 Excellent heat transfer property.
 Chemically inert and chemically stable.
 Non-corrosive on all metals.
 High dielectric strength (2.5 times > air)
 ARC EXTINGUISHING (MINIMUM OIL) Dr./ Hesham Said

• When a fault occurs, the moving contact and fixed contact are get separated as the
current is flowing through the circuit; an arc is struck between them. The oil in the
arcing chamber attains a high temperature and vaporizes.

• The gases (mostly Hydrogen) are generated

due to the vaporization of oil. Due to the
cooling effect of hydrogen arc cools down
and its pressure splits it into small arcs.

• As oil between the contacts gets vaporized

in this process, some fresh oil is filled
between the contacts. This new oil also
gets vaporized and generates gases, and
again fresh oil is filled. This cycle
continues until the arc is extinguished near
the current zero instant.
 CIRCUIT BREAKER TRIP UNIT Dr./ Hesham Said

• The term trip unit only applies to low voltage circuit breakers. Circuit breakers
designed for medium and high voltage operation do not have trip units rather they
use external protective relays as the “brains” of the circuit breaker.

• The function of a trip unit is to trip or open the operating mechanism in the event
of a prolonged overload or short circuit fault condition such as thermal overload,
short circuit currents and specialty faults. To accomplish this, an
electromechanical (thermal magnetic) or a solid state (electronic) trip unit is
provided.

 Electromechanical trip units

This trip unit utilizes bimetals and electromagnets to provide overload and short
circuit protection and does not include any specialty protection such as ground
fault.
 Electronic trip units
This trip unit offers capabilities such as programming, monitoring, diagnostics
communications system coordination and testing that are not available on
electromagnetic trip unit.
 TIME DELAYED OVERLOAD PROTECTION Dr./ Hesham Said

• The thermal element in a thermal magnetic trip breaker is a bimetallic strip which
bends in proportion to its temperature.

• When the temperature becomes high enough the bending strip will actuate a “trip
bar” which releases the opening springs of the circuit breaker and opens the
breaker contacts.
 INSTANTANEOUS SHORT CIRCUIT PROTECTION Dr./ Hesham Said
• The magnetic element of a thermal magnetic circuit breaker is a coil of wire
wrapped around a plunger (solenoid).

• The magnitude of current through the coil causes the plunger to release the trip
bar thus tripping the breaker. The magnetic element is an instantaneous trip
element as it is not delayed and will only operate at a fixed level of current.
TIME CURRENT CURVE OF CIRCUIT BREAKERS
Dr./ Hesham Said
MAIN PARAMETERS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF CB
Dr./ Hesham Said

 Rated working voltage (Ue): is the voltage at which the circuit breaker
works under normal (uninterrupted) conditions.

 Rated current (In): is the maximum value of current that a circuit

breaker, can carry indefinitely at an ambient temperature designed by the
manufacturer, without any interruption.

 Overload Trip Setting (Ir): It is used for the continuous ampere rating
according to current. Moreover, It has different set of multiples in the
adjustable knob ranging from 0.4 to 1 of nominal or rated current of
circuit breaker which can be represented by In, where Ir= multiple *In.
MAIN PARAMETERS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF CB
Dr./ Hesham Said
 Overload Trip Setting (Ir):
• Let suppose we have a circuit breaker having rating of 2000 A which has
a current load of 1000A so we will set it 1000A by moving the knob at
0.5 which means (Ir= 0.5*2000) i.e. (Ir = 1000A).
• Hence, After exceeding 1000A of load it will trip the Circuit Breaker
and will disconnect the load.

 Short Circuit Trip Setting (Im): It is used to quickly (instantaneous)

trip the circuit breaker when a high fault current value occurs, and its trip
limit Im.
MAIN PARAMETERS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF CB
Dr./ Hesham Said
 IEC 60947-2 recommends many requirements to ensure CB reliability:
• Ultimate breaking capacity (Icu)
• Service breaking capacity (Ics)
• Short circuit withstand capacity (Icw)
• Rated making capacity (Icm)
• Rated operating sequence
 Ultimate breaking capacity (Icu) or (Icn): is the maximum fault
current that the circuit breaker can interrupt successfully without
damaged (6kA, 10kA, 18kA, 25kA, ………). The breaker must be able
to break this current two times without causing damage. The breaker
must be changed or tested after two short circuit @ Icu.

 Service breaking capacity (Ics): is the service fault current that the
circuit breaker can interrupt successfully without damaged as a
percentage of Icu (from 20% to 100%). The breaker must be able to
break this current three times without causing damage. The breaker must
be able to conduct its rated current without maintenance.
MAIN PARAMETERS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF CB
Dr./ Hesham Said

 Short circuit withstand capacity (Icw): is the short circuit current, that
the circuit breaker should withstand it for 0.1 sec to 3 sec continuously
without changing its temperature integrity.

 Rated making capacity (Icm): is the maximum instantaneous value of

current that the circuit breaker is designed at rated voltage in specific
conditions (It is the max fault current it can carry during closing of
breaker, e.g. You are closing a breaker on a fault). In AC power system
Icm is having the relationship with Icu (Ultimate breaking capacity) by
the factor k, which depends on the power factor (cos φ) of the short-
circuit current loop
MAIN PARAMETERS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF CB
Dr./ Hesham Said
 Rated operating sequence:

The sequence of rated operating duty of a circuit breaker has been specified
as O – t – CO – t’– CO

• O indicates opening operation of CB.

• t is 0.3 sec for circuit breaker intended for first auto re-closing duty, if
not otherwise specified.

• CO represents closing operation immediately followed by an opening

operation without any intentional time delay.

• t’ is time between two operations which is necessary to restore the initial

conditions and/or to prevent undue heating of conducting parts of CB.
MAIN PARAMETERS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF CB
Dr./ Hesham Said

 Rated operating sequence:

• Due to a fault, CB Trips its contacts, which is indicated by “O” in the

Duty Cycle.
• Then CB will remain open for some time (0.3 sec) to complete the Arc
Quenching which is called as Dead Time and is indicated by “0.3Sec” in
the Duty Cycle.
• After 0.3 sec, a Reclose will be attempted, and if the fault persists, CB
Trips immediately which is indicated by “CO” in the duty cycle.
• After CO, there is a Reclaim Time of 3 minutes, in which the CB gets
ready for Closing, which includes CB Spring Charging Time, indicated
by “3Min” in the Duty Cycle.
• After the Reclaim Time has completed, Second Reclose “CO” will be
attempted. if the fault is cleared it will remain close, but if the fault is
still, the breaker will open immediately, and now breaker will remain
open until it is closed manually.
HOW TO READ NAMEPLATE OF CB?
Dr./ Hesham Said
HOW TO READ NAMEPLATE OF CB?
Dr./ Hesham Said

 Model Number: All manufacturer has a particular code of each device

type. It will be very easy to communicate with seller or manufacturer, if
you quote the model no., in case of any service complaint.
 MCB Current and Curve Rating: As shown in example, it is
mentioned C20. There are three characteristics curves (B and C and D).
 B curve indicates that short circuit rating of device is of 3-5 times of
standard rated current.
 C curve indicates that short circuit rating of device is of 5-10 times
of standard rated current.
 D curve indicates that short circuit rating of device is of 10-20 times
of standard rated current.
Note that: On a resistive load (say heater, normal lighting load) it will B Curve,
for inductive load (Like pump, Motors etc.) it will be C curve and for highly
inductive or capacitive load it will be D curve. The numeral part indicates rating of
CB in Ampere. In the given example it is 20A.
HOW TO READ NAMEPLATE OF CB?
Dr./ Hesham Said

 Energy Class: fault current will create some energy which will exist in
system. This energy is termed as let through energy. For efficient MCB
operation it should be limited. On basis of amount of energy it is
classified in class 1, class 2 and class 3. Here Class 3 is best which
allows maximum joule/second more than class 2 more than class 1.

 Catalog No: Most of the MCB manufactures put the catalog number of
the MCB products. This code provide the overall information on the
manufacture website such as MCB specification and Datasheet.

 Status Indicator: It shows the ON-Off Indication while in operation.

Never buy an MCB which don’t have clear status indicator because
serious damage may be occurred with ON-OFF confusion of the device.
Dr./ Hesham Said