Circuit breakerCircuit breaker are mechanical devices design to close or open contact members, thus closing or opening of a electrical

circuit under normal or abnormal condition. Operating principle- the circuit is a switching and current interrupt device. It consist essentially fixed and moving contacts which are touching each other and carry a current under normal condition i.e. when circuit breaker is closed the current carrying contact called electrodes, engage each other under the pressure of a spring. During the normal operating condition the circuit breaker can be opened or closed by station operator for the purpose of switching and maintenance Classification of circuit breaker- There are the several way of classifying the circuit breaker. The most general way of classification is on the basis of medium used for arc extension. The medium used for arc extension is usually oil, air, vacucm and sulphur hexa floride 1234Oil circuit breakers Air blast circuit breakers Sulphur hexa floride circuit breaker (SF6) Vaccum circuit breakers

Oil circuit breaker- In such circuit breakers, some insulating oil is used as an arc quenching medium. The contact are open under oil and arc is struck between them. The heat arc of arc evaporates the oil surrounding and dissociates it into a substantial volume of gases, hydrogen at high pressure. The hydrogen gas occupies the volume about 1000times that of the oil decompose. The oil is, therefore, pushed away from the arc and an expanding hydrogen gas bubble surround the arc region and adjacent portion of the contacts

Advantages1. It absorb the arc energy to decompose the oil into gases which have excellent cooling properties 2. It acts as an insulator and permits smaller clearance between live conductor and earth component 3. The surrounding oil present cooling surface enclosed proximity to the arc Disadvantages1. It is inflammable and there is a risk of a fire 2. It may form an explosive mixture with air Types of oil circuit breakersBulk oil circuit breaker-

A. Plane break oil circuit breaker B. Arc control oil circuit breaker Low oil circuit breker Air blast circuit breaker- These breakers employed a high pressure air blast as an high quenching medium. The contact are opened in a flow of air blast established by the opening of blast value. The air blast cools the arcs and sweeps away the arcing product of atmosphere. This rapidly increase the electric strength of the medium between contact and prevent from re-establishing the arc. Consequently the arc is extinguish and flow of current is interrupted Advantages1. The risk of fire is eliminated 2. The arcing product are completely removed by the blast 3. The growth of dielectric strength is so rapid that final contact gap needed for arc extinction is very small. This reduce the size of the device. 4. The arcing time is very small due to the rapid build up the dielectric strength between the contacts 5. Due to lesser arc energy, air blast circuit breakers are very suitable for condition where frequent operation is required Disadvantages1. The air has relatively inferior arc extinguishing properties 2. The air blast circuit breaker are very sensitive to the variation in the rate of rise of re striking voltages 3. Considerable maintenance is required for the compressor plant which supply the air blast Types of air blast circuit breakera. Axial blast type b. Cross blast type c. Radial blast type

Sulphur hexa floride circuit breaker(SF6) In such circuit breaker, sulphur hexa floride gas is used as the arc quenching medium. The SF6 is an electro negative gas and has a strong tendency to absorb free electron. The contact of the circuit breaker are opened in a high pressure flow of SF6 gas and an arc is struck between them. The conducting free electron in the arc are rapidly captured by the gas to form relatively immobile negative ions. The SF6 circuit breaker have been found to be very effective for high power and high voltage service

Working- In the closed position of the circuit breaker, contact remaining surrounded by SF6 gas at a pressure of about 2.8 kg/cm2 . when the breaker operates the moving contact is pulled apart and an arc is struck between the contact. The movement of the moving contact is synchronized when the opening of a valve which permits SF6 gas at 14kg/cm2 Pressure from the reservoir to the arc interruption chamber. The high pressure flow of SF6 absorb the free electron in the arc path to form immobile negative ions which are ineffective as charge

carrier. The result is that the medium between the contact quickly build up high dielectric strength. Advantages1. Due to the superior arc quenching properties SF6, such circuit breaker have very short arcing time 2. Since the dielectric strength of SF gas is 2-3 times that of air, such breaker can interrupt much larger current 3. The SF6 circuit breaker gives noiseless operation 4. There is no risk of fire 5. The closed gas incloser keep the interior dry so that there is no gas problem 6. There is no carbon deposits so that tracking and insulation problems are eliminated Disadvantages1. SF6 breaker are costly due to the high cost of SF6 gas 2. Since SF6 gas has to be reconditioned after every operation of the breaker, additional equipment is required for this purpose ApplicationThe typical SF6 circuit breaker consist of interrupter units each capable of leading with current upto 60KA and voltage in the range of 50-80KV. A number of units are connected in series according to the system voltage. Vaccum circuit breaker- In such breaker vaccum is used as a arc quenching medium. Since vaccum offers the highest insulating strength, it has far superior arc quenching properties than any other medium. For example when contact of a breaker are open in vaccum, the interruption occur at first current 0 with dielectric strength between the contacts building up at rate 1000 of times higher than the obtained with other circuit breaker.

Working- when the breaker operates, the moving contact separates from the fixed contact and an arc is struck between the contact. The production of arc is due to the ionization of metal ions and depends very much upon the material of contact. The arc is quickly extinguished because the metal like vapour electron and ions produce during arc are diffused in a short time and seized by the surface of moving and fixed member. Since vaccum has a very fast rate of recovery of dielectric strength the arc extinction occur with a short contact separation Advantage1. They are compact, reliable and have a longer life 2. There are no fire hazards 3. There is no generation of gas during and after operation

4. They require little maintenance 5. They have low arc energy 6. They can successfully withstand lightening surges Application- For a country like INDIA, where distance are quite large and accessibility to remove area difficult, the installation of such outdoor, maintenance free circuit breaker should prove a definite advantage. Vaccum circuit are being employed for outdoor application ranging from 22KV-66KV