AIR BLAST CIRCUIT

BREAKER
Principle of Arc Extinction
 In ABCB, an auxiliary compressed air system which
supplies air to the breaker air receiver is required.
 When CB opening is required, compressed air is
admitted into the arc extinction chamber. It
pushes the moving contact away and in doing so
the air takes away the ionized gases along with it
and assists in arc extinction.
 ABCB, extinguish the arc in one or two time cycles
and the arc chamber is filled with high pressure
air which prevents in further restrike of the arc.
Principle of Arc Extinction
 ABCB fall under the category of external
extinguishing energy type.
 The energy supplied for arc extinction is

obtained from high pressure air and is

independent of current to be interrupted.
 In the air reservoir the pressure of air is

maintained at 20 to 30 kg/cm2
 According to the flow of blast of compressed
air, ABCB are classified as:
1. Axial Blast – Air blast is directed along the
arc path
2. Cross Blast – Air blast is at right angle to
arc path
Axial Blast Circuit Breaker
Operation of Axial Blast CB
 Under normal operating conditions: 1.
The fixed and moving contacts are held in closed
position by spring pressure. 2.The air valve
connecting the arcing chamber and the air reservoir
is closed.
 Under fault condition, the tripping impulse from the
relay opens the air valve and high pressure air
gushes into the arching chamber.
 This high pressure accelerates the moving contact.
On separation arc is struck, cold air rushes around
the contact axially and the arc is blown out
Operation of Axial Blast CB
 In this CB the contact separation required for
interruption is very small about 1.75cm. Such
small gap may constitute inadequate
clearance for normal service voltage.
 Isolating switch is incorporated as a part of

this type of CB
Cross Blast Circuit Breaker
Cross Blast Circuit Breaker
 In this type of CB, air blast is directed at right angles to
the arc.
 When the moving contact is withdrawn then arc is struck.
The high pressure air forces the arc to pass through the
arc splitters.
 The arc splitters increase the length of the arc and the
cooling is improved. Thus arc is extinguished and the
current is interrupted.
 Blast pressure is same for all currents and thus the
inefficiency at low currents is eliminated.
 The final gap for interruption is large enough to give
normal insulation clearance so a isolating switch is not
required.
Applications
 Mainly used for protection of plants where
there are possibilities of fire hazards or
explosions.
 Can be used for AC/ DC up to 12KV