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Circuitbreakers 15121504

This document discusses circuit breakers and provides information on their operation and types. It contains the following key points: 1. A circuit breaker is a switch that automatically opens a circuit when it detects a fault, such as an overload or short circuit, to prevent damage. 2. When contacts open under a fault, an arc is produced that must be quickly extinguished. Common methods are increasing arc resistance or extinguishing the arc at current zero. 3. Major types of circuit breakers include oil, air-blast, SF6, and vacuum breakers that use different mediums to extinguish the arc.

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58 views35 pages

Circuitbreakers 15121504

This document discusses circuit breakers and provides information on their operation and types. It contains the following key points: 1. A circuit breaker is a switch that automatically opens a circuit when it detects a fault, such as an overload or short circuit, to prevent damage. 2. When contacts open under a fault, an arc is produced that must be quickly extinguished. Common methods are increasing arc resistance or extinguishing the arc at current zero. 3. Major types of circuit breakers include oil, air-blast, SF6, and vacuum breakers that use different mediums to extinguish the arc.

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MOHSIN_IIUI
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CIRCUIT BREAKERS

GROUP MEMBERS

ALI RAZA YASIN FA13-EPE-081


UMAIR BIN MUZAFFAR FA13-EPE-072
CIRCUIT BREAKERS
Definition:
A circuit breaker is an automatically operated electrical switch designed
to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit.
Its basic function is to detect a fault condition and interrupt current flow.
A circuit breaker is piece of equipment which can:

• Make or break a circuit either manually or by remote control under


normal conditions

• Break a circuit automatically under fault conditions

• Make a circuit either manually or by remote control under fault


conditions
Operation:
A circuit breaker essentially consist of fixed and moving
contacts called electrodes. Under normal operating condition these
contacts remain closed and will not open automatically until and unless
the system become faulty. Of course the contacts can be opened
manually or by remote control when ever desired. When a fault occurs on
any part of the system the trip coils of the circuit breakers get energized
and the moving contacts are pulled a part by some mechanism thus
opening the circuit
When the contacts of a circuit breaker are separated under
fault conditions and arc is struck between them. The current thus able to
continue until the discharge ceases. The production of arc not only delays
the current interruption process but it also generates enormous heat
which may cause damage to the system or to the circuit breaker it self.
Therefore , the main problem in a circuit beaker is to extinguish the arc
within the shortest possible time so that heat generated by it may not
reach a dangerous value.
ARC PHENOMENON
What is Arc ?
During opening of current carrying contacts in a circuit breaker the
medium in between opening contacts become highly ionized through which the
interrupting current gets low resistive path and continues to flow through this path
even the contacts are physically separated. During the flowing of current from one
contact to other the path becomes so heated that it glows. This is called arc.
Arc
Arc in Circuit Breaker
Whenever, on load current contacts of circuit breaker
open there is an arc in circuit breaker, established between the
separating contacts. As long as this arc is sustained in between the
contacts the current through the circuit breaker will not be interrupted
finally as because arc is itself a conductive path of electricity. For total
interruption of current the circuit breaker it is essential to quench the
arc as quick as possible. The main designing criteria of a circuit breaker
is to provide appropriate technology of arc quenching in circuit breaker
to fulfill quick and safe current interruption.
Methods of arc extinction

There are two methods of extinguishing the arc in circuit breakers viz.
1. High resistance method.
2. Low resistance or current zero method
1. High resistance method.
In this method, arc resistance is made to
increase with time so that current is reduced to a value insufficient to
maintain the arc. The principal disadvantage of this method is that
enormous energy is dissipated in the arc. Therefore, it is employed
only in d.c. circuit breakers and low-capacity a.c circuit breakers.
THE RESISTANCE OF THE ARC MAY BE INCREASED BY :
(I) LENGTHENING THE ARC:
THE RESISTANCE OF THE ARC IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO ITS LENGTH. THE LENGTH OF
THE ARC CAN BE INCREASED BY INCREASING THE GAP BETWEEN CONTACTS.
(II) COOLING THE ARC:
COOLING HELPS IN THE DEIONIZATION OF THE MEDIUM BETWEEN THE CONTACTS.
THIS INCREASES THE ARC RESISTANCE. EFFICIENT COOLING MAY BE OBTAINED BY A GAS
BLAST DIRECTED ALONG THE ARC.
(III) REDUCING X-SECTION OF THE ARC:
IF THE AREA OF X-SECTION OF THE ARC IS REDUCED, THE VOLTAGE
NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN THE ARC IS INCREASED. IN OTHER WORDS, THE RESISTANCE OF
THE ARC PATH IS INCREASED. THE CROSS-SECTION OF THE ARC CAN BE REDUCED BY LETTING
THE ARC PASS THROUGH A NARROW OPENING OR BY HAVING SMALLER AREA OF
CONTACTS.
(IV) SPLITTING THE ARC:
THE RESISTANCE OF THE ARC CAN BE INCREASED BY SPLITTING THE ARC INTO A
NUMBER OF SMALLER ARCS IN SERIES. EACH ONE OF THESE ARCS EXPERIENCES THE EFFECT
OF LENGTHENING AND COOLING. THE ARC MAY BE SPLIT BY INTRODUCING SOME
CONDUCTING PLATES BETWEEN THE CONTACTS.
2. LOW RESISTANCE OR CURRENT ZERO METHOD:
THIS METHOD IS EMPLOYED FOR ARC EXTINCTION IN A.C. CIRCUITS ONLY. IN THIS
METHOD, ARC RESISTANCE IS KEPT LOW UNTIL CURRENT IS ZERO WHERE THE ARC
EXTINGUISHES NATURALLY AND IS PREVENTED FROM RESTRIKING INSPITE OF THE
RISING VOLTAGE ACROSS THE CONTACTS. ALL MODERN HIGH POWER A.C. CIRCUIT
BREAKERS EMPLOY THIS METHOD FOR ARC EXTINCTION.
IN AN A.C. SYSTEM, CURRENT DROPS TO ZERO AFTER EVERY HALF-CYCLE. AT
EVERY CURRENT ZERO, THE ARC EXTINGUISHES FOR A BRIEF MOMENT. NOW THE
MEDIUM BETWEEN THE CONTACTS CONTAINS IONS AND ELECTRONS SO THAT IT
HAS SMALL DIELECTRIC STRENGTH AND CAN BE EASILY BROKEN DOWN BY THE
RISING CONTACT VOLTAGE KNOWN AS RESTRIKING VOLTAGE. IF SUCH A
BREAKDOWN DOES OCCUR, THE ARC WILL PERSIST FOR ANOTHER HALF CYCLE.
IF IMMEDIATELY AFTER CURRENT ZERO, THE DIELECTRIC STRENGTH OF THE
MEDIUM BETWEEN CONTACTS IS BUILT UP MORE RAPIDLY THAN THE VOLTAGE
ACROSS THE CONTACTS, THE ARC FAILS TO RESTRIKE AND THE CURRENT WILL BE
INTERRUPTED.
Classification of Circuit
Breakers
There are several ways of classification the circuit breakers however the most
common are based on the medium used for the circuit breakers. These are as
follow:

i) Oil circuit breakers


ii) Air-blast circuit breakers
iii) Sulphur hexafluoride circuit breakers
iv) Vacuum circuit breakers
TYPES OF
CIRCUIT
BREAKER

OIL AIR BLAST SF6 VACCUM


CIRCUIT CIRCUIT CIRCUIT CIRCUIT
BREAKER BREAKER BREAKER BREAKER
Oil circuit breakers
In such circuit breakers some
insulating oil (e.g transformer oil) is used
as and arc squinting medium. The contacts
are open under oil and an arc is struck
between them.
Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages:
i) It absorbs the arc energy to decompose the oil into gases which have
excellent cooling properties.
ii) It acts as an insulator and permits smaller Clarence between live
conductor and earthed components
iii) The surrounding oil presents cooling surface in close proximity to the
arc.
Disadvantages:
i) It is inflammable and there is a risk of a fire.
ii) It may form an explosive mixture with air.
iii) The arcing products (e.g carbon ) remain in the oil and its quality
deteriorates with successive operation. This necessitates periodic
checking and replacement of oil.
Types of oil circuit breaker
i) Bulk oil circuit breaker
a) Plain break oil circuit breakers
b) Arc control oil circuit breakers

ii) Low oil circuit breakers


Types of oil circuit breaker

i) Bulk oil circuit breakers:


Which use a large quantity of oil.
The oil has to serve two purposes. Firstly it
extinguishes the arc during the opening of
contacts and secondly it insulates
the current conducting parts
from one another and from
earthed tanks.
ii) Low oil circuit breakers:
Which use minimum amount of oil in such breakers oil is used only
for arc extinction the current conduction parts are insulted by air or porcelain or organic
insulation material.
Air-blast circuit breakers

Air-blast circuit breakers employ


a high pressure air blast as an arc
Quenching medium. The contacts are
Opened in a low of air blast established
By the opening of the blast wall. The
air blast cools the arc and sweeps
away the arcing product to the
atmosphere.
Types Of Air-Blast Circuit
Breakers
i) Axial-Blast Type
ii) Cross-Blast Type
iii) Radial-Blast Type
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages:
i) The risk of fire is eliminated.
ii) The arcing products are completely removed by the blast.
iii) The growth of dielectric strength is so rapid that final contact gap
needed for arc extinction is very small. This reduces the size of device.
iv) The arcing time is very small due to the rapid build up of dielectric
strength between contacts.
Disadvantages:
i) The air has relatively less arc extinguishing properties.
ii) Considerable maintenance is required for the compressor plant which
supply the air blast.
Sulphur hexafluoride circuit
breakers
In such circuit breakers sulphur hexafluoride gas is used as the arcing
quenching medium. The SF6 is an electro negative gas and has a strong tendency to
absorbs the electrons. The contacts of the breakers are opened in a high pressure
flow of sf6 gas and an arc is struck between them. The conducting free electrons in
the arc are rapidly captured by the gas to form relatively immobile negative ions.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages:
i) There in no risk of fire in such breaker because SF6 gas is non-
inflammable.
ii) Due to the superior arc quenching properties of sf6 such circuit breakers
have very short arcing time.
iii) Since the dielectric strength of sf6 gas is 2 to 3 times that of air such
breaker can interrupt much larger current.
iv) The SF6 circuit breakers give noise less operation due to its closed gas
circuit and no exhaust to the atmosphere unlike the air-blast circuit
breakers.
Disadvantages:
i) High cost.
ii) After every operation of breaker SF6 gas has to be recondition.
Additional equipment is required for this purpose.
Vacuum circuit breakers
In such breakers vacuum is used as the quenching medium. Since vacuum
offers the high insulating strength, it has far superior arc quenching properties than
any other medium. For example, when contacts of breakers are opened in vacuum,
the interruption occurs at first current zero with dielectric strength between the
contacts building up at a rate thousands of times higher than the other circuit
breakers.
Advantages

i) They are compact reliable and have longer


life.
ii) There are not fire hazards.
iii) They can interrupt any fault current.
iv) They require little maintenance.
v) They have low arc energy.
Conclusion:

• Therefore, we conclude that circuit breaker is the most


essential part of the electrical networks as it protects
every device from damage. It helps us to detect the fault
and area affected by it. Nowadays vacuum and SF6
circuit breakers are widely used due to their reliable and
fast operations.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION…!

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