534 Power System Protection and Switchgear

When the moving contact starts separat- Fixed contact Moving contact
ing, the insulating fluid between the two
contacts experiences a vary high electric
Circuit Breakers
14
stress. The electric stress is almost inversely Fault
Arc
proportional to the distance between two
electrodes, i.e., between two contacts. Fig. 14.2 Separation of the contacts
Thus, at the instant of contact separation, of circuit breaker
the insulating medium between the contacts is subjected to extremely high electric
stress leading to breakdown. The breakdown of the insulating medium between the
contacts results in formation of a conducting channel or an arc between the contacts.
As the moving contact moves further away, the arc is also drawn along with it. The
14.1 INTRODUCTION arc which is in the plasma form continues to carry the pre-opening current. In spite
of physical separation of the two contacts, current continues to flow through the arc
Circuit breaker is a mechanical switching device capable of making, carrying and
and thus, the interruption is not effective. The interruption of the current takes place
breaking currents under normal circuit conditions and also making, carrying for a
only when the arc is finally quenched (extinguished) and ceases to exist. Thus, circuit
specified time, and automatically breaking currents under specified abnormal circuit
breaking may be called an art of arc quenching.
conditions such as those of short-circuits (faults). The insulating medium in which
circuit interruption is performed is designated by suitable prefix, such as oil circuit
breaker, air-break circuit breaker, air blast circuit breaker, sulphur hexafluorid (SF6) 14.2 FAULT CLEARING TIME OF A CIRCUIT BREAKER
circuit breaker, vacuum circuit breaker, etc.
A circuit breaker is required in the power system to give rapid fault clearance, in
The function of a circuit breaker is to isolate the faulty part of the power system order to avoid overcurrent damage to equipment and loss of system stability. The
in case of abnormal conditions such as faults. A protective relay detects abnormal fault tripping signal to the circuit breaker is derived from the protective relay via the
conditions and sends a tripping signal to the circuit breaker. After receiving the trip trip circuit. After fault inception, the relay senses the fault and closes its contacts to
command from the relay, the circuit breaker isolates the faulty part of the power sys- complete the trip circuit as shown in Fig. 14.1. The relay takes some time to close
tem. The simplified diagram of circuit breaker control for opening operation is shown its contacts. After closing of the contacts of the trip circuit, the trip coil of the circuit
in Fig. 14.1. When a fault occurs in the protected circuit (i.e. the line in this case), the breaker is energized and the operating mechanism of the breaker comes into opera-
relay connected to the CT and VT detects the fault, actuates and closes its contacts to tion. The contacts of the circuit breaker start separating to clear the fault. On the
complete the trip circuit. Current flows from the battery in the trip circuit. As the trip separation of the contacts, an arc is formed between them and the current continues
coil of the circuit breaker is energized, the circuit breaker operating mechanism is to flow through the arc. The fault is cleared when the arc is finally extinguished.
actuated and it operates for the opening operation to disconnect the faulty element.
Figure 14.3 shows the various components of fault clearing time of a circuit
A circuit breaker has two contacts – a fixed contact and a moving contact. The breaker. The fault clearing time is the sum of relaying time and breaker interrupting
contacts are placed in a closed cham- time.
Busbar
ber containing a fluid insulating medium
(either liquid or gas) which quenches Instant of Instant of energizing Instant of opening Instant of
VT
(extinguishes) the arc formed between fault inception the trip coil of CB of arcing contacts arc extinction
the contacts. Under normal conditions the
CT Relay
contacts remain in closed position. When
the circuit breaker is required to isolate Circuit Trip Trip
the faulty part, the moving contact moves Breaker coil circuit
(CB)
to interrupt the circuit. On the separation Breaker
Relaying time Arcing time
of the contacts, an arc is formed between Battery opening time
them and the current continues to flow Line Breaker interrupting time
from one contact to the other through the
Fig. 14.1 Simplified diagram of circuit Fault clearing time
arc as shown in Fig. 14.2. The circuit is
interrupted (isolated) when the arc is breaker control for opening
operation Fig. 14.3 Fault clearing time of a circuit breaker
finally extinguished.

Circuit Breakers 535 536 Power System Protection and Switchgear

The various components of the fault clearing time of the circuit breaker are defined energy associated with its magnetic field appears in the form of electrostatic energy.
as follows: A high voltage appears across the contacts of the circuit breaker. If this voltage is
very high and more than the withstanding capacity of the gap between the contacts,
Relaying time = Time from fault inception to the closure of trip
the arc will strike again. Therefore, this method is not suitable for a large-current
circuit of CB.
interruption. This can be employed for low power ac and dc circuit breakers.
Breaker opening time = Time from closure of the trip circuit to the opening
of the contacts of the circuit breaker. 14.4.2 Current Zero Interruption
Arcing time = Time from opening of the contacts of CB to final This method is applicable only in case of ac circuit breakers. In case of ac supply,
arc extinction. the current wave passes through a zero point, 100 times per second at the supply
Breaker interrupting time = Breaker opening time + arcing time frequency of 50 Hz. This feature of ac is utilised for arc interruption. The current
Fault clearing time = Relaying time + breaker interrupting time is not interrupted at any point other than the zero current instant, otherwise a high
transient voltage will occur across the contact gap. The current is not allowed to rise
The relaying time for electromechanical relays can vary from about one cycle to again after a zero current occurs. There are two theories to explain the zero current
five cycles. Static relays are faster than electromechanical relays. Numerical relays interruption of the arc.
give very fast operation and their relaying time is within one cycle. The contact (i) Recovery rate theory (Slepain’s Theory)
opening time of the circuit breaker may be between about one and three cycles. The
(ii) Energy balance theory (Cassie’s Theory)
arcing time is now generally between one and two half-cycles, depending upon the
instant in the current half-cycles at which the contacts part. Therefore, fast relays Recovery Rate Theory
and modern circuit breakers make it possible to achieve fault clearance in as little as The arc is a column of ionised gases. To extinguish the arc, the electrons and ions are
about three cycles of 50 Hz current, but the time varies considerably from system to to be removed from the gap immediately after the current reaches a natural zero. Ions
system and in some cases in different parts of one system. and electrons can be removed either by recombining them into neutral molecules
or by sweeping them away by inserting insulating medium (gas or liquid) into the
14.3 ARC VOLTAGE gap. The arc is interrupted if ions are removed from the gap at a rate faster than the
rate of ionisation. In this method, the rate at which the gap recovers its dielectric
Figure 14.4 shows the wave shape of strength is compared with the rate at which the gap recovers its dielectric strength is
arc voltage. The voltage drop across Arc voltage Short circuit compared with the rate at which the restriking voltage (transient voltage) across the
the arc is called arc voltage. As the current gap rises. If the dielectric strength increases more rapidly than the restriking voltage,
arc path is purely resistive, the arc the arc is extinguished. If the restriking voltage rises more rapidly than the dielectric
voltage is in phase with the arc cur- strength, the ionisation persists and breakdown of the gap occurs, resulting in an arc
rent. The magnitude of the arc volt- for another half cycle. Figure 14.5 explains the principle of recovery rate theory.
age is very low, amounting to only
a few per cent of the rated voltage. Dielectric Restriking
A typical value may be about 3 per Fig. 14.4 Short circuit current and arc voltage strength voltage
cent of the rated voltage. Restriking Dielectric
Voltage

Voltage

voltage strength

14.4 ARC INTERRUPTION

There are two methods of arc interruption:
(i) High Resistance Interruption Time Time

(ii) Current Zero Interruption (a) Arc extinguishes (b) Arc does not extinguish

14.4.1 High Resistance Interruption Fig. 14.5 Recovery rate theory

In this method of arc interruption, its resistance is increased so as to reduce the current to
a value insufficient to maintain the arc. The arc resistance can be increased by cool- Energy Balance Theory
ing, lengthening, constraining and splitting the arc. When current is interrupted the The space between the contacts contains some ionised gas immediately after
current zero and hence, it has a finite post-zero resistance. At the current zero moment,
 Circuit Breakers 537 538 Power System Protection and Switchgear

power is zero because restricking volt- breaker, the capacitance C being short-circuited by the fault. Hence, the circuit of
age is zero. When the arc is finally Fig. 14.8(b) becomes completely reactive and the fault current is limited entirely by
extinguished, the power again becomes inductance of the system.

Power
zero, the gap is fully de-ionised and its
resistance is infinitely high. In between CB
L
these two limits, first the power CB
i
increases, reaches a maximum value, vc C Fault
v = Vm cos w t
then decreases and finally reaches zero t=0 Time R=• Fault
value as shown in Fig. 14.6. Due to the Fig. 14.6 Energy balance theory
rise of restriking voltage and associated
current, energy is generated in the space between the contacts. The energy appears (a) (b)
in the form of heat. The circuit breaker is designed to remove this generated heat as
early as possible by cooling the gap, giving a blast of air or flow of oil at high veloc- Fig. 14.8 (a) Fault on a feeder near circuit breaker (b) Equivalent electrical circuit
ity and pressure. If the rate of removal of heat is faster than the rate of heat generation for analysis of restriking voltage
the arc is extinguished. If the rate of heat generation is more than the rate of heat dis-
sipation, the space breaks down again resulting in an arc for another half cycle. The fault is cleared by the opening of the circuit breaker contacts. The parting of
the circuit breaker contacts does not in itself interrupt the current because an arc is
established between the parting contacts and the current continues to flow through
14.5 RESTRIKING VOLTAGE AND RECOVERY VOLTAGE the arc. Successful interruption depends upon controlling and finally extinguish-
ing the arc. Extinction of the arc takes place at the instant when the current passes
The voltage across the contacts of the circuit breaker is arc voltage when the arc per-
through zero.
sists. This voltage becomes the system voltage when the arc is extinguished. The arc
is extinguished at the instant of current zero. After the arc has been extinguished, the Since the circuit of Fig. 14.8(b) is completely reactive, the voltage at the instant
voltage across the breaker terminals does not normalise instantaneously but it oscil- of current zero will be at its peak. The voltage across the circuit breaker contacts,
lates and there is a transient condition. The transient voltage which appears across and therefore across the capacitor C, is the arc voltage. In high-voltage circuits it is
the breaker contacts at the instant of arc being extinguished is known as restriking usually only a small percentage of the system voltage. Hence, the arc voltage may be
voltage. The power frequency rms voltage, which appears across the breaker contacts assumed to be negligible.
after the arc is finally extinguished and transient oscillations die out is called recov- For the analysis of this circuit, the time is measured form the instant of interrup-
ery voltage. Figure 14.7 shows the restriking and recovery voltage. tion (arc extinction), when the fault current comes to zero. Since the voltage is a
sinusoidally varying quantity and is at its peak at the moment of current zero, it is
Restriking voltage expressed as ‘Vm cos w t’.
When the circuit-breaker contacts are opened and the arc is extinguished, the
Recovery voltage current i is diverted through the capacitance C, resulting in a transient condition.
The inductance and the capacitance form a series oscillatory circuit. The voltage
Instant of Arc extinction across the capacitance which is restriking voltage, rises and oscillates, as shown in
Current Fig. 14.7.
System voltage Arc voltage The natural frequency of oscillation is given by
Fig. 14.7 Restriking and recovery voltage 1 ___1
fn = ___ ____ (14.1)
2p ÷LC
14.5.1 Expression for Restriking Voltage and RRRV and the natural angular frequency is
Figure 14.8(a) shows a short circuit (fault) on a feeder beyond the location of the 1
wn = ____
___ (14.2)
circuit breaker. Figure 14.8(b) shows an equivalent electrical circuit where L and ÷LC
C are the inductance and capacitance per phase of the system up to the point of The voltage across the capacitance which is the voltage across the contacts of the
circuit breaker location, respectively. The resistance of the circuit has been neglected. circuit breaker can be calculated in terms of L, C, fn and system voltage.
During the time of fault a heavy fault current flows in the circuit. When the circuit
breaker is closed, the fault current flows through L and the contacts of the circuit

Circuit Breakers 539 540 Power System Protection and Switchgear

The mathematical expression for the transient condition is as follows: – cos wnt t

di 1
[
= wnVm ________
wn ]0
dt c Ú
L __ + __ i dt = Vm cos w t (14.3)
As vc(t) = 0 at t = 0, constant = 0.
Immediately after the instant of arc extinction, the voltage across the capacitance or vc(t) = Vm (1 – cos wn t) (14.10)
(vc) which is the restriking voltage, oscillates at the natural frequency given by Eq. This is the expression for the restriking voltage.
(14.1). Since the natural frequency oscillation is a fast phenomenon, it persists for p ___
only a small period of time. During this short period which is of interest, the change The maximum value of the restriking voltage occurs at t = ___ = p ÷LC
wn
in the power frequency term is very little and, hence negligible, because cos w t ª 1.
Hence, the maximum value of restriking voltage = 2Vm
Hence the sinusoidally varying voltage Vm cos w t in Eq. (14.3) can be assumed to
remain constant at Vm during this short interval of time i.e., the transient period. = 2 × peak value of the system voltage
Substituting Vm cos w t ª Vm, the Eq. (14.3) can be written as The amplitude factor of the restriking voltage is defined as the ratio of the peak of
di 1 the transient voltage to the peak value of the system frequency voltage. If losses are
dt c Ú
L __ + __ i dt = Vm (14.4)
ignored, this factor becomes 2.
dq d(cvc) The Rate of Rise of Restriking Voltage (RRRV)
i = ___ = _____ (14.5)
dt dt d
= __ [Vm (1 – cos wn t)]
where, vc = voltage across the capacitor = Restriking voltage dt
d2(cvc)
di ______ d2vc or RRRV = Vmwn sin wn t (14.11)
Therefore, __ = = c ____ (14.6) The maximum value of RRRV occurs when wn t = p/2 i.e., when t = p/2wn,
dt dt2 dt2
q Hence, the maximum value of RRRV = Vmwn
1
c Ú i dt = c = vc
__ __ (14.7)
Example 14.1 For a 132 kV system, the reactance and capacitance up to the
Substituting these values in Eq. (14.4), we get location of the circuit breaker is 3 ohms and 0.015 m F, respectively. Calculate
d2vc the following:
LC ____ + vc = Vm (14.8)
dt2 (a) The frequency of transient oscillation
Taking Laplace Transform of both sides of Eq. (14.8), we get (b) The maximum value of restriking voltage across the contacts of the circuit
breaker
Vm
LCS2vc(s) + vc(s) = ___
s (c) The maximum value of RRRV

where, vc(s) is the Laplace Transform of vc. Solution:

Other terms are zero as initially q = 0 at t = 0 (a) The frequency of transient oscillation
3
Vm L = _____, f = 50, the system frequency
or vc(s) [LCS2 + 1] = ___
s
2p 50
3
_____
Vm Vm = = 0.00954 H
or vc(s) = __________ = _____________ 100 p
s(LCS2 + 1) LCS s2 + ___1
LC ( ) 1 ___
fn = _______
2p ÷LC
1
____ 1
___ 2
wn = ___ , therefore, = wn 1
÷LC LC = _______________________
___________________

w2n Vm wnVm ______

wn 2p ÷0.00954 × 0.015 × 10–6
or vc(s) = ________
s(s2 + w2n)
= _____
s (
s2 + w2n ) (14.9) 105 105
= __________ = ______ = 13.291 kHz
2p × 1.1962 7.5241
Taking the inverse Laplace of Eq. (14.9), we get (b) The restriking voltage
t
vc = Vm [1 – cos wn t]
vc(t) = wnVm Ú sin wn t
0
 Circuit Breakers 541 542 Power System Protection and Switchgear

The maximum value of the restriking voltage = 2Vm Hence, the voltage equation is given by
132 __
= 2 × ____
__ ÷2 = 215.56 kV di 1
L __ + __ Ú iC dt = Vm and i = ic + iR
÷3 dt C
(c) The maximum value of RRRV = wnVm Therefore, the above equation becomes
132 __
= 2p fn × ____
__ × ÷2 × 1000 d(ic + iR)
÷3 L ________ + vc = Vm
dt
132 __
= 2p × 13.291 × 1000 × ______ × ÷2 × 1000 V/s dic diR
÷3 or L ___ + L ___ + vc = Vm (14.12)
dt dt
= 9010.45 × 106 V/s = 9.01045 kV/m s dq d(Cvc)
ic = ___ = ______
dt dt
14.6 RESISTANCE SWITCHING
d2(Cvc)
dic _______
___ d2vc
Therefore, = = C ____ (14.13)
To reduce the restriking voltage, RRRV and severity of the transient oscillations, dt dt2 dt2
a resistance is connected across the contacts of the circuit breaker. This is known
d(vc /R) __
diR ______
___ 1 dvc
as resistance switching. The resistance is in parallel with the arc. A part of the arc = = ___ (14.14)
current flows through this resistance resulting in a dt dt R dt
Sphere gap resistance
decrease in the arc current and increase in the deion- Substituting these values in Eq. (14.12), we get
isation of the arc path and resistance of the arc. This d2vc __L dvc
process continues and the current through the shunt LC ____ + ___ + vc = Vm (14.15)
resistance increases and arc current decreases. Due dt2 R dt
to the decrease in the arc current, restriking volt- Taking Laplace Transform, of both sides of Eq. (14.15), we get
age and RRRV are reduced. The resistance may be L Vm
automatically switched in with the help of a sphere LCS2vc (S) + __ S vc(S) + vc(S) = ___
s
Contacts of the circuit breaker R
gap as shown in Fig. 14.9. The resistance switching
Other terms are zero, as vc = 0 at t = 0
is of great help in switching out capacitive current Fig. 14.9 Resistance switching
or low inductive current. Vm
The analysis of resistance switching can be made to find out the critical value of
or [ 1
RC
1
LCvc(S) S2 + ___ S + ___ = ___
LC s ]
the shunt resistance to obtain complete damping of transient oscillations. Figure 14.10 Vm
shows the equivalent electrical circuit for such an analysis. or vc(S) = ___________________ (14.16)

R iR
1
[
SLC S2 + ___ S + ___
RC
1
LC ]
L
For no transient oscillation, all the roots of the equation should be real. One root
is zero, i.e. S = 0 which is real. For the other two roots to be real, the roots of the qua-
V = Vm cos wt

i dratic equation in the denominator should be real. For this, the following condition
C ic Fault
Vc should be satisfied.

[( )
1
____
2RC
2 1
]
– ___ ≥ 0
LC
or
1
______ 1
≥ ___
4R2C2 LC
Fig. 14.10 Circuit for analysis of resistance switching 4 1 LC
or ___ £ _____ or R2 £ ____2
LC R2C2 4C
As the period of transient oscillations is very small, the change in the power __

÷
frequency term during this short period is very little and hence negligible, because 1 L 1 L
or R2 £ __ . __ or R £ __ __ (14.17)
cos w t ª 1. Hence, the sinusoidally varying voltage Vm cos w t can be assumed to 4 C 2 C
remain constant at Vm during the transient periods, i.e., Vm cos w t = Vm.

Circuit Breakers 543 544 Power System Protection and Switchgear

__________________________________________

÷
1 1 1
R=• Voltage 1 L = ___ ___________________ – _____________________
R> 2p 0.02544 × 0.025 × 10–6 4(0.025 × 10–6)2 × (600)2
across 2 C
the gap __________

÷
1 1010 1010
= ___ ____ – ____ = 3.413 kHz
2p 6.36 9
(i) (ii) (iii) The value of critical resistance
__ ___________

÷ ÷
1 L 1 0.02544
R<
1 L R = __ __ = __ ___________ = 504.35 W
2 C 2 C 2 0.025 × 10–6
(iv) The damped frequency of oscillation is
1
__ × 6.304 kHz = 1576 Hz
(iii) 4 __________

÷
1 1 1
Fig. 14.11 Transient oscillations for different values of R 1576 = ___ ___ – ______
2p LC 4C2R2
_______________________________________
Therefore, if the value of the resistance____connected across the contacts of the
÷
1 1 1
= ___ ___________________ – __________________
____ is equal to or less than ½ ÷L/C there
circuit breaker ____ will be no transient oscillation. 2p 0.02544 × 0.025 × 10–6 4(0.025 × 10–6)2 × R2
If R > ½ ÷L/C , there will be oscillation. R = ½ ÷L/C is known as critical resistance.
__________
Figure 14.11 shows the transient conditions for three different values of R. The fre-
÷
1 1010 1016
quency of damped oscillation is given by or 1576 = ___ ____ – _____2
__________ 2p 6.36 25R

÷
1 1 1
f = ___ ___ – ______ (14.18) Therefore, R = 520.8 W.
2p LC 4C2R2

Example 14.2 In a 220 kV system, the reactance and capacitance up to the loca- 14.7 CURRENT CHOPPING
tion of circuit breaker is 8 W and 0.025 m F, respectively. A resistance of 600 ohms
is connected across the contacts of the circuit breaker. Determine the following: When low inductive current is being interrupted and the arc quenching force of the
(a) Natural frequency of oscillation circuit breaker is more than necessary to interrupt a low magnitude of current, the cur-
(b) Damped frequency of oscillation rent will be interrupted before its natural zero instant. In such a situation, the energy
stored in the magnetic field appears in the form of high voltage across the stray
(c) Critical value of resistance which will give no transient oscillation
capacitance, which will cause restriking of the arc. The energy stored in the magnetic
(d) The value of resistance which will give damped frequency of oscillation, field is ½ L i2, if i is the instantaneous value of the current which is interrupted. This
one-fourth of the natural frequency of oscillation will appear in the form of electrostatic energy equal to ½ Cv2. As these two energies
Solution: are equal, they can be related as follows.
8 8
L = _____ = _____ = 0.02544 H 1 2 __
__ Li = Cv2
1
2p 50 100 p 2 2
___ ____
\
÷
1 1
(i) Natural frequency of oscillation = ___ ___ v = i ÷L/C (14.19)
2p LC Figure 14.12 shows the current chop- i
____________________
Recovery

÷
1 1 ping phenomenon. If the value of v is
= ___ ___________________ voltage
2p 0.02544 × 0.025 × 10–6 more than the withstanding capacity of
Arc voltage
the gap between the contacts, the arc
= 6.304 kHz Gap with stand
appears again. Since the quenching force capacity
(ii) Frequency of damped oscillation is given by is more, the current is again chopped.
__________ Prospective values
This phenomenon continues till the value
÷
1 1 1 of the voltage
f = ___ ___ – ______ of v becomes less than the withstanding
2p LC 4C2R2 Fig. 14.12 Current chopping
capacity of the gap. The theoretical value
of v is called the prospective value of the voltage.
 Circuit Breakers 545 546 Power System Protection and Switchgear

Example 14.3 A circuit breaker interrupts the magnetising current of a 100 MVA VR
transformer at 220 kV. The magnetising current of the transformer is 5% of the L
full load current. Determine the maximum voltage which may appear across the
gap of the breaker when the magnetising current is interrupted at 53% of its peak
value. The stray capacitance is 2500 m F. The inductance is 30 H. v C VC CL VCL

Solution: The full load current of the transformer

100 × 106
= _____________
__ = 262.44 A
÷3 × 220 × 103 (a) Electrical circuit of a simple power system
5
____ Q 5 vmax
Magnetising current = × 262.44 = 34.44 A
100
__
Current chopping occurs at 0.53 × 34.44 ÷2 = 25.83 A
1 2 __
__ 1
Li = Cv2
2 2 v i
1 1
__ × 30 × (25.83)2 = __
\ × 2500 × 10–6 v2 i M N
2 2 T
v
\ v = 2829 kV

A
14.8 INTERRUPTION OF CAPACITIVE CURRENT
The interruption of capacitive current produces high voltage transients across the S
v
gap of the circuit breaker. This occurs when an unloaded long transmission line or a
capacitor bank is switched off. Figure 14.13(a) shows an equivalent electrical circuit
of a simple power system. C represents stray capacitance of the circuit breaker. CL
represents line capacitance. The value of CL is much more than C. Figure 14.13(b) R 3 vmax P
shows transient voltage across the gap of the circuit breaker when capacitive current (b) Transient voltage across the gap of the circuit breaker
is interrupted.
At the instance M, the capacitive current is zero and the system voltage is maxi- Fig. 14.13 Interruption of capacitive current
mum. If an interruption occurs, the capacitor CL remains charged at the maximum
value of the system voltage. After instant M, the voltage across the breaker gap is the
difference of VC and VCL. At instant N, i.e. half-cycle from A, the voltage across the 14.9 CLASSIFICATION OF CIRCUIT BREAKERS
gap is twice the maximum value of VC. At this moment, the breaker may restrike.
If the arc restrikes, the voltage across the gap becomes practically zero. Thus, the Circuit breakers can be classified using the different criteria such as, intended voltage
voltage across the gap falls from 2VC max to zero. A severe high frequency oscillation application, location of installation, their external design characteristics, insulating
occurs. The voltage oscillates about point S between R and N, i.e. between –3Vmax medium used for arc quenching, etc.
and Vmax. When restriking current reaches zero, the arc may be interrupted again. 14.9.1 Classification Based on Voltage
At this stage, the capacitor CL. remains charged at the voltage –3Vmax. At instant P,
the system voltage reaches its positive maximum shown by the point T in the figure, Circuit breakers can be classified into the following categories depending on the
and at this moment the voltage across the gap becomes 4Vmax. The capacitive current intended voltage application.
reaches zero again and there may be an interruption. If the interruption occurs at this (i) Low Voltage Circuit Breaker (less than 1 kV)
moment, the transient voltage oscillates between P (–3Vmax) and Q (+5Vmax). In this (ii) Medium Voltage Circuit Breaker (1 kV to 52 kV)
way, the voltage across the gap goes on increasing. But in practice, it is limited to (iii) High Voltage Circuit Breakers (66 kV to 220 kV)
4 times the peak value of the system voltage. Thus, it is seen that there is a problem (iv) Extra High Voltage (EHV) Circuit Breaker (300 kV to 765 kV)
of high transient voltage while interrupting a capacitive current.
(v) Ultra High Voltage (UHV) Circuit Breaker (above 765 kV)

Circuit Breakers 547 548 Power System Protection and Switchgear

14.9.2 Classification Based on Location In air-break circuit breakers,

Arc
Circuit breakers based on their location are classified as the principle of high resistance is chute
Arc splitter
employed for arc interruption. The plates
(i) Indoor type
arc resistance is increased by length-
(ii) Outdoor type ening, splitting and cooling the arc.
Arc Runners Arc
Low and medium voltage switchgears, and high voltage Gas Insulated Switchgears The arc length is rapidly increased
(GIS) are categorised as Indoor Switchgears, whereas the Switchgears which have employing arc runners and arc
air as an external insulating medium, i.e. Air-Insulated Switchgear (AIS), are Arcing
chutes. The arc moves upward by contacts
categorised as outdoor Switchgears. both electromagnetic and thermal
effects. It moves along the arc run-
14.9.3 Classification Based on External Design
ner and then it is forced into a chute.
Circuit breakers can be classified into following categories depending on their It is split by arc splitters. A blow-out Main contacts
external design. coil is employed to provide magnetic
(i) Dead tank type field to speed up arc movement and
(ii) Live-tank type to direct the arc into arc splitters.
This clascification is for outdoor circuit breakers from the point of view of their The blow-out coil is not connected
physical structural design. in the circuit permanently. It comes
in the circuit by the arc automati- Fig. 14.14 Air-break circuit breaker
14.9.4 Classification Based on Medium Used for Arc Quenching cally during the breaking process. The arc interruption is assisted by current zero in
Out of the various ways of classification of circuit breakers, the general way and the case of ac air break circuit breakers. High resistance is obtained near current zero.
most important method of classification is on the basis of medium used for insulating AC air-break circuit breakers are available in the voltage range 400 to 12 kV.
and arc quenching. Depending on the arc quenching medium employed, the follow- They are widely used in low and medium voltage system. They are extensively used
ing are important types of circuit breakers with electric furnaces, with large motors requiring frequent starting, in a place where
(i) Air-break circuit breakers: chances of fire hazard exist, etc. Air-break circuit breakers are also used in dc circuit
(ii) Oil circuit breakers up to 12 kV.
(iii) Air blast circuit breakers
(iv) Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) circuit breakers 14.11 OIL CIRCUIT BREAKERS
(v) Vacuum circuit breakers Mineral oil has better insulating properties than air. Due to this very reason it is
The development of circuit breakers outlined above has taken place chronologi- employed in many electrical equipment including circuit breakers. Oil has also good
cally in order to meet two important requirements of the power system which has cooling property. In a circuit breaker when arc is formed, it decomposes oil into
progressively grown in size. Firstly, higher and higher fault currents need to be inter- gases. Hence, the arc energy is absorbed in decomposing the oil. The main disadvan-
rupted, i.e., breakers need to have larger and larger breaking capacity. Secondly, tage of oil is that it is inflammable and may pose a fire hazard. Other disadvantages
the fault interruption time needs to be smaller and smaller for maintaining system included the possibility of forming explosive mixture with air and the production of
stability. carbon particles in the oil due to heating, which reduces its dielectric strength. Hence,
oil circuit breakers are not suitable for heavy current interruption at low voltages due
14.10 AIR-BREAK CIRCUIT BREAKERS to carbonisation of oil. There are various types of oil circuit breakers developed for
use in different situations. Some important types are discussed below.
Air-break circuit breakers are quite suitable for high current interruption at low volt-
age. In this type of a circuit breaker, air at atmospheric pressure is used as an arc 14.11.1 Plain-break Oil Circuit Breakers
extinguishing medium. Figure 14.14 shows an air-break circuit breaker. It employs In a plain-break oil circuit breaker there is a fixed and a moving contact immersed in
two pairs of contacts—main contacts and arcing contacts. The main contacts carry oil. The metal tank is strong, weather tight and earthed. Figure 14.15 shows a double
current when the breaker is in closed position. They have low contact resistance. break plain oil circuit breaker. When contacts separate there is a severe arc which
When contacts are opened, the main contacts separate first, the arcing contacts still decomposes the oil into gases. The gas obtained from the oil is mainly hydrogen. The
remain closed. Therefore, the current is shifted from the main contacts to the arcing volume of gases produced is about one thousand times that of the oil decomposed.
contacts. The arcing contacts separate later on and the arc is drawn between them. Hence, the oil is pushed away from arc and the gaseous medium surrounds the arc.
 Circuit Breakers 549 550 Power System Protection and Switchgear

The arc quenching factors are as V1 + V2 _____

3+1
_______ = =4
follows. V2 1
(i) Elongation of the arc.
Air cushion V1 + V2 = V = system voltage
(ii) Formation of gaseous me-
dium in between the fixed V2 = 25% of the system voltage
and moving contacts. This
Oil level
V1 = 75% of the system voltage
has a high heat conductivity
and high dielectric strength. To equalise the voltage distribution across the breaks, non-linear resistors are
Fixed contact
connected across each break.
(iii) Turbulent motion of the oil, First Second break
break Moving contact The plain-break circuit breakers are employed for breaking of low current at
resulting from the gases
passing through it. comparatively lower voltages. They are used on low voltage dc circuits and on low
voltage ac distribution circuits. Their size becomes unduly large for higher voltages.
A large gaseous pressure is Fig. 14.15 Plain-break oil circuit breaker Also, they require large amount of transformer oil. They are not suitable for
developed because a large amount
autoreclosing. Their speed is slow. They can be used up to 11 kV with an interrupt-
of energy is dissipated within the tank. Therefore, the tank of the circuit breaker is
ing capacity up to 250 MVA.
made strong to withstand such a large pressure. When gas is formed around the arc,
the oil is displaced. To accommodate the displaced oil, an air cushion between the oil 14.11.2 Self-generated Pressure Oil Circuit-breaker
surface and the tank is essential. The air cushion also absorbs the mechanical shock In this type of circuit-breakers, arc energy is utilised to generate a high pressure in a
produced due to upward oil movement. It is necessary to provide some form of vent chamber known as explosion pot or pressure chamber or arc controlling device. The
fitted in the tank cover for the gas outlet. A sufficient level of oil above the contacts contacts are enclosed within the pot. The pot is made of insulating material and it is
is required to provide substantial oil pressure at the arc. placed in the tank. Such breakers have high interrupting capacity. The arcing time is
Certain gap between the contacts must be created before the arc interruption reduced.
occurs. To achieve this, the speed of the break should be as high as possible. The two Since the pressure is developed by the arc itself, it depends upon the magnitude
breaks in series provide rapid arc elongation with- of the current. Therefore, the pressure will be low at low current and high at high
out the need for a specially fast contact. The double Fault values of the current. This creates a problem in designing a suitable explosion pot. At
break also provides ample gap distance before arc low current, pressure generated should be sufficient to extinguish the arc. At heavy
interruption. But this arrangement has the disad- currents, the pressure should not be too high so as to burst the pot. Various types of
vantage of unequal voltage distribution across the explosion pots have been developed to suit various requirements. A few of them have
breaks. been discussed below.
V1 V2
Figure 14.16 shows voltage distribution across C C
breaks. C is the capacitance between the fixed Plain Explosion Pot
Fixed
contact and moving contact, C ¢ is the capacitance Figure 14.17 shows a plain explosion pot. This is contact
C¢
between the moving contact and earth. V1 is the the simplest form of an explosion pot. When the
Arc
voltage across the first contact and V2 across the moving contact separates a severs arc is formed.
second contact. Suppose the fault current is i. The Fig. 14.16 Voltage distribution The oil is decomposed and gas is produced. It
Pot
across breaks generates a high pressure within the pot because
voltages V1 and V2 will be expressed as follows.
there is a close fitting throat at the lower end of the
i i
V1 = ___ (14.20) and V2 = _________ (14.21) pot. The high pressure developed causes turbulent
wC w(C + C ¢)
flow of streams of the gas into the arc resulting in
The capacitance between the moving contact and earth C ¢ is in parallel with C, the arc-extinction. If the arc extinction does not occur
Moving
capacitance of the second break. within the pot, it occurs immediately after the mov- contact
C + C¢
V1 ______ ing contact leaves the pot, due to the high velocity
___ = (14.22)
V2 C axial blast of the gas which is released through the
Fig. 14.17 Plain explosion pot
throat. Since the arc extinction in the plain explo-
Taking C = 8 pF and C ¢ = 16 pF, we get sion pot is performed axially, it is also known as an axial extinction pot. This type
___ C + C ¢ ______
V1 ______ 8 + 16 ___
24 of a pot is not suitable for breaking of heavy currents. The pot may burst due to very
= = = =3
V2 C 8 8

Circuit Breakers 551 552 Power System Protection and Switchgear

large pressure. At low currents, the arcing time is more. Hence, this type of an explo- is a cross-explosion pot, and the lower Fixed contact
sion pot is suitable for the interruption of currents of medium range. portion a plain explosion pot. On heavy
currents the rate of gas generation is Arc
Cross-jet Explosion Pot
very high and consequently, the pres-
Figure 14.18 shows a cross-jet explosion pot. It is suitable for high current interrup- sure produced is also very high. The arc
tions. Arc splitters are used to obtain an increased arc length for a given amount of
extinction takes place when the first or Lateral
contact travel. When the moving contact is separated from the fixed contact, an arc is second lateral orifice of the arc splitter Orfices
formed, as shown in Fig. 14.18(a). The arc is pushed into the arc splitters as shown in is uncovered by the moving contact. The
Fig. 14.18(b), and finally it is extinguished, as in Fig. 14.18(c). In this type of a pot,
pot operates as a cross-jet explosion pot.
the oil blast is across the arc and hence it is known as a cross-jet explosion pot.
When the current is low, the pressure is
Explosion also low in the beginning. So the arc
chamber is not extinguished when the tip of the Moving contact
moving contact is in the upper portion
Fixed of the pot. By the time the moving con- Fig. 14.19 Self-compensated explosion pot
contact tact reaches the orifice at the bottom of
Oil
Arc the pot, sufficient pressure is developed. The arc is extinguished when the tip of the
moving contact comes out of the throat. The arc is extinguished by the plain explo-
sion pot action. Thus, it is seen that the pot is suitable for low as well as high current
Arc Moving interruptions.
splitters contact
14.11.3 Double Break Oil Circuit Breaker
To obtain high speed arc interruption, particularly at low currents, various improved
designs of the explosion pot have been presented. Double break oil circuit breaker is
Throat also one of them. It employs an intermediate contact between the fixed and moving
contact. When the moving contact separates, the intermediate contact also follows it.
(a)
The arc first appears between the fixed contact and the intermediate contact. Soon
after, the intermediate contact stops and a second arc appears between the interme-
diate contact and the moving contact. The second arc is extinguished quickly by
employing gas pressure and oil momentum developed by the first arc. Figure 14.20(a)
Gas
shows an axial blast pot and Fig. 14.20(b) shows a cross blast pot.
Arc
14.11.4 Bulk Oil and Minimum Oil Circuit Breakers
In bulk oil circuit breakers, oil performs two functions. It acts as an arc extinguish-
ing medium and it also serves as insulation between the live terminals and earth. The
tank of a bulk oil circuit breaker is earthed. Its main drawback is that it requires a
huge amount of oil at higher voltages. Due to this very reason it is not used at higher
voltages.
A minimum content oil circuit breaker does not employ a steel tank. Its container
is made of porcelain or other insulating material. This type of a circuit breaker con-
(b) (c) sists of two sections, namely an upper chamber and a lower chamber. The upper
chamber contains an arc control device, fixed and a moving contact. The lower cham-
Fig. 14.18 Cross-jet explosion pot ber acts as an insulating support and it contains the operating mechanism. These two
chambers are filled with oil but they are physically separated form each other. The
Self-compensated Explosion Pot arc control device is placed in a resin bounded glass fiber cylinder (or backelised
This type of a pot is a combination of a cross-jet explosion pot and a plain explo- paper encloser). This cylinder is also filled with oil. The fiber glass cylinder is then
sion pot. Figure 14.19 shows a self-compensated explosion pot. Its upper portion placed in a porcelain cylinder. The annular space between the fiber-glass cylinder
and the porcelain insulator is also filled with oil.
 Circuit Breakers 553 554 Power System Protection and Switchgear

Minimum oil circuit breakers are available in the voltage range of 3.3 kV to (ii) High speed operation
420 kV. Nowadays they are superseded by SF6 circuit breakers. (iii) Elimination of fire hazard
One of the important advantages that the bulk oil circuit breaker has over both (iv) Short and consistent arcing time and therefore, less burning of contacts
the low content oil circuit breakers and air blast circuit breakers is that the protective (v) Less maintenance
current transformers can be accommodated on the bushings instead of being supplied
(vi) Suitability for frequent operation
as a separated piece of apparatus.
(vii) Facility for high speed reclosure
The number of interrupter units contained in a tank depends upon the fault
current to be interrupted, and the system voltage. Up to 11 kV voltage, the mini- The disadvantages of an air blast circuit breaker are as follows
mum oil circuit breakers generally employ a single interrupter per phase. The typical (i) An air compressor plant has to be installed and maintained
figures for higher voltages are, two per phase at 132 kV, and six per phase at 275 kV. (ii) Upon arc interruption the air blast circuit breaker produces a high-level noise
Each interrupter has a provision of resistance switching (a typical value being 1200 W, when air is discharged to the open atmosphere. In residential areas, silencers
linear wire wound resistor) to damp restriking voltage. need to be provided to reduce the noise level to an acceptable level
(iii) Problem of current chopping
Fixed contact
(iv) Problem of restriking voltage
Switching resistors and equalising capacitors are generally connected across
the interrupters. The switching resistors reduce transient overvoltages and help arc
Intermediate interruption. Capacitors are employed to equalise the voltage across the breaks. The
contact number of breaks depends upon the system voltage. For example, there are 2 for
66 kV, 2 to 4 for 132 kV, 2 to 6 for 220 kV, 4 to 12 for 400 kV, 8 to 12 for 750 kV.
The breaking capacities are, 5000 MVA at 66 kV, 10,000 MVA at 132 kV, 20,000
MVA at 220 kV; 35000 MVA at 400 kV, 40,000 MVA at 500 kV; 60,000 MVA at
750 kV. Circuit breakers for higher interrupting capacity have also been designed for
1000 kV and 1100 kV systems.
An air-blast circuit breaker may be either of the following two types.
(i) Cross-blast Circuit Breakers
(ii) Axial-blast Circuit Breakers
14.12.1 Cross-blast Circuit Breakers
Moving
contact In a cross-blast type circuit breaker, a high-pressure blast of air is directed
perpendicularly to the arc for its interruption. Figure 14.21(a) shows a schematic
(a) Axial-blast pot (b) Cross-blast pot
diagram of a cross-blast type circuit breaker. The arc is forced into a suitable chute.
Fig. 14.20 Double break oil circuit breakers Sufficient lengthening of the arc is obtained, resulting in the introduction of appre-
ciable resistance in the arc itself. Therefore, resistance switching is not common in
this type of circuit breakers. Cross-blast circuit breakers are suitable for interrupting
14.12 AIR BLAST CIRCUIT BREAKERS high current (up to 100 kA) at comparatively lower voltages.
In air blast circuit breakers, compressed air at a pressure of 20-30 kg/cm2 is employed 14.12.2 Axial-blast Circuit Breakers
as an arc quenching medium. Air blast circuit breakers are suitable for operating
In an axial-blast type circuit breaker, a high-pressure blast of air is directed
voltage of 132 kV and above. They have also been used in 11 kV–33 kV range for
longitudinally, i.e. in line with the arc. Figure 14.21(b) and (c) show axial-blast type
certain applications. At present, SF6 circuit breakers are preferred for 132 kV and
circuit breakers. Figure 14.2.1(b) shows a single blast type. Whereas Fig. 14.21(c)
above. Vacuum circuit breakers are preferred for 11 kV–33 kV range. Therefore, the
shows a double blast type or radial blast type. Axial blast circuit breakers are suitable
air blast circuit breakers are becoming obsolete.
for EHV and super high voltage application. This is because interrupting chambers
The advantages of air blast circuit breakers over oil circuit breakers are: can be fully enclosed in porcelain tubes. Resistance switching is employed to reduce
(i) Cheapness and free availability of the interrupting medium, chemical stability the transient overvoltages. The number of breaks depends upon the system voltage,
and inertness of air for example, 4 at 220 kV and 8 at 750 kV. Air-blast circuit breakers have also been
commissioned for 1100 kV system.

Circuit Breakers 555 556 Power System Protection and Switchgear

Arc splitters SF6 gas because of its excellent insulating and arc-quenching properties has revo-
Air
Fixed
lutionized the design of high and extra high voltage (EHV) circuit breakers. These
Fixed
contact contact
properties of SF6 has made it possible to design circuit breakers with smaller overall
Arc dimensions, shorter contact gaps, which help in the construction of outdoor breakers
Moving Fixed with fewer interrupters, and evolution of metalclad (metal enclosed) SF6 gas
contact contact
insulated switchgear (GIS). SF6 is particularly suitable for use in metalclad switch-
Air Air Air blast gear which is becoming increasingly popular under the aspects of high compatibility
with the environment. SF6 offers many advantages such as compactness and less
Opening Moving
contact Moving maintenance of EHV circuit breakers.
contact
SF6 circuit breakers are manufactured in the voltage range 3.3 kV to 765 kV.
However, they are preferred for votlages 132 kV and above. The dielectric strength
Air flow Air of SF6 gas increases rapidly after final current zero. SF6 circuit breakers can with-
Opening
(a) (b) (c)
stand severe RRRV and are capable of breaking capacitive current without restrik-
ing. Problems of current chopping is minimised. Electrical clearances are very much
Fig. 14.21 (a) Cross-blast circuit breaker (b) Single blast type axial-blast circuit breaker reduced due to high dielectric strength of SF6.
(c) Double blast type (or radial-blast type) axial-blast circuit breaker
14.13.1 Properties of SF6 Gas
The properties of SF6 gas can be divided as
14.13 SF6 CIRCUIT BREAKERS (i) Physical properties
(ii) Chemical properties
Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) has good dielectric strength and excellent arc quenching
property. It is an inert, nontoxic, nonflammable and heavy gas. At atmospheric pres- (iii) Electrical properties
sure, its dielectric strength is about 2.35 times that of air. At 3 atmospheric pressure 1. Physical Properties of SF6 Gas
its dielectric strength is more than that of transformer oil. It is an electronegative gas, The physical properties of SF6 gas are as follows:
i.e. it has high affinity for electrons. When a free electron comes in collision with (i) It is a colourless, odourless, non-toxic and non-inflammable gas.
a neutral gas molecule, the electron is absorbed by the neutral gas molecule and a
(ii) Pure gas is not harmful to health.
negative ion is formed. As the negative ions so formed are heavy they do not attain
sufficient energy to contribute to ionisation of the gas. This property gives a good (iii) It is in gas state at normal temperature and pressure.
dielectric property. Besides good dielectric strength, the gas has an excellent prop- (iv) It is heavy gas having density 5 times that of air at 20°C and atmospheric
erty of recombination after the removal of the source which energizes the arc. This pressure.
gives an excellent arc quenching property. The gas has also an excellent heat transfer (v) The gas starts liquifying at certain low temperatures. The temperature of
property. Its thermal time constant is about 1000 times shorter than that of air. liquification depends on pressure. At 15 atm. pressure, the gas liquifies at a
Under normal conditions, SF6 is chemically inert and it does not attack metals temperature of about 10°C.
or glass. However, it decomposes to SF4, SF2, S2, F2, S and F at temperatures of the (vi) It has an excellent heat transfer property. The heat transfer capability of SF6
order of 1000°C. After arc extinction, the products of decomposition recombine in is 2 to 2.5 times that of air at same pressure.
a short time, within about 1 microsecond. In the presence of moisture, the decom- (vii) The heat content property is much higher than air. This property of SF6 assists
position products can attack contacts, metal parts and rubber sealings in SF6 circuit cooling of arc space after current zero.
breakers. Therefore, the gas in the breaker must be moisture-free. To absorb decom-
position products, a mixture soda lime (NaOH + CaO) and activated alumina can be 2. Chemical Properties of SF6 Gas
placed in the arcing chamber. (i) It is chemically stable at atmospheric pressure and at temperatures up to
One major disadvantage of SF6 is its condensation at low temperature. The tem- 500°C.
perature at which SF6 changes to liquid depends on the pressure. At 15 atm. pressure, (ii) It is a chemically inert gas.
the gas liquefies at a temperature of about 10°C. Hence, SF6 breakers are equipped The property of chemical inertness of this gas is advantageous in switchgear.
with thermostatically controlled heaters wherever such low ambient temperatures are Because of this property, it has exceptionally low reactivity and does not at-
encountered. tack metals, glass, plastics, etc. The life of contacts and other metallic parts is
longer in SF6 gas. The components do not get oxidised or deteriorated. Hence
the maintenance requirements are reduced.
 Circuit Breakers 557 558 Power System Protection and Switchgear

(iii) Moisture is very harmful to the properties of this gas. In the presence of
moisture, hydrogen fluoride is formed during arcing which can attack the 160

Breakdown voltage (kv, peak)

Dielectric oil
metallic and insulating parts of the circuit breaker.
(iv) It is non-corrosive on all metals at ambient temperatures.
120 SF6
(v) It is an electronegative gas. The ability of an atom to attract and hold
electrons is designated as its ‘electronegativity’. Because of electronegativity,
the arc-time constant (the time between current zero and the instant at which 80
the conductance of contact spaces reaches zero value) of SF6 gas is very low
Air
(£ 1 m s) and the rate of rise of dielectric strength is high. Hence SF6 circuit 40
breakers are suitable for switching condition involving high RRRV.
(vi) The products of decomposition of SF6 recombine in a short time after arc
extinction. During arc extinction process, SF6 decomposes to some extent 0
1 2 3 4
into SF4, SF2, S2, F2, S and F at temperatures of the order of 1000°C. The Pressure in Atm
products of decomposition recombine to form the original gas in a short time
upon cooling. The remainder of the decomposition products is absorbed by a Fig. 14.22 Breakdown voltages of SF6 , air and dielectric oil as a function of pressure
mixture of soda lime (NaOH + CaO) and activated alumina.
(ii) Corona inception voltage
3. Electrical Properties of SF6 Gas
Corona inception voltage for SF6 in a non-uniform electric field is also considerably
(i) Dielectric properties higher than that for air.
Its dielectric strength at atmospheric pressure is 2.35 times that of air and 30% less
(iii) Dielectric constant
than that of dielectric oil used in oil circuit breakers. The excellent dielectric strength
of SF6 gas is because of electronegativity (electron attachment) property of SF6 mol- Because of being non-polar (i.e., dipole moment is zero), the dielectric constant of
ecules. In the attachment process, free electrons collide with the neutral gas mol- SF6 is independent of the frequency of the applied voltage. Further, the dielectric
ecules to form negative ions by the following processes. constant changes by only 7% over a pressure range of 0 to 22 atmospheres.
(iv) Arc-interrupting capacity
Direct attachment process: SF6 + e Æ SF6–
Besides possessing a high dielectric strength, the molecules of SF6 when dissociated
Dissociative attachment process: SF6 + e Æ SF5– + F
due to sparkovers, recombine rapidly after removal of the source which energizes the
The negative ions formed are heavier and immobile as compared to the free elec- spark (arc) and the gas recovers its dielectric strength. This makes SF6 very effective
trons and therefore under a given electric field the ions do not accumulate sufficient in quenching the arc. SF6 is approximately 100 times as effective as air in quenching
energy to lead to cumulative ionization in the gas. This process is an effective way of arc. Figure 14.23 compares the arc quenching ability of SF6 and air.
removing electrons. Otherwise, this would have contributed to the cumulative ionisa-
tion, to the current growth and to the sparkover of the gas. Therefore, this property 125 SF6

Interrupted Arc current, Amps.

gives rise to very high dielectric strength for SF6 gas.
100
The dielectric strength of the gas increases with pressure. At three times the atmo-
spheric pressure, its dielectric strength is more than that of dielectric oil used in oil 75
circuit breakers. The dielectric strengths of SF6, air and dielectric oil as a function 50% SF6
of pressure for a particular electrode configuration and a gap of 1 cm is shown in 50% Air
50
Fig. 14.22.
SF6 gas maintains high dielectric strength even after mixing with air. A mixture of 25
30% SF6 and 70% air by volume has a dielectric strength twice that of air at the same Air
pressure. Below 30% of SF6 by volume, the dielectric strength falls sharply.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Because of electronegativity of the gas, its arc-time constant is very low (£1 m s). Pressure atms
The arc-time constant is defined as the time required for the medium to regain its
dielectric strength after final current zero. Fig. 14.23 Current interrupting capacity of SF6, air and a mixture of both gases

Circuit Breakers 559 560 Power System Protection and Switchgear

The arc quenching property of SF6 can be due to several factors, especially, its (ii) Puffer-type (Single-pressure Type) SF6 Circuit Breaker In this type of
large electron attachment rate. If the free electrons in an electric field can be absorbed circuit breaker the SF6 gas is compressed by the moving cylinder system and is
before they attain sufficient energy to create additional electrons by collision, the released through a nozzle during arc extinction. This is the most popular design of
breakdown mechanism can be delayed or even stopped. SF6 circuit breaker over wide range of voltages from 3.3 kV to 765 kV.
The arc temperature in SF6 is lower than that in air for the same arc current and Double pressure type SF6 circuit breaker
radius. The high heat transfer capability and low arc temperature also provide an This is the early design of SF6 circuit breakers which employed a double pressure
excellent arc quenching (extinguishing) capacity to SF6. system. In this system, SF6 gas at high pressure of 14 to 18 atmospheric pressure
14.13.2 Arc Extinction in SF6 Circuit Breakers stored in a separate tank is released into the arcing zone to cool the arc and build up
the dielectric strength of the contact gap after arc extinction. Its operating principle is
The final extinction of the arc requires a rapid increase of the dielectric strength
similar to that of air-blast circuit breakers. Because of their complicated design and
between the contacts of the circuit breaker, which can be achieved either by the
construction due to the requirement of various auxiliaries such as gas compressors,
deionisation of the arc path or by the replacement of the ionised gas by cool fresh gas.
high pressure storage tank, filters and gas monitoring and controlling devices, this
The various deionisation processes are high pressure, cooling by conduction, forced
type of circuit breakers have become obsolete.
convection and turbulence.
The basic requirement in arc extinction is not only the dielectric strength, but Puffer-type SF6 circuit breaker
also, high rate of recovery of dielectric strength. In SF6 gas, the dielectric strength is This type of circuit breakers are also sometimes called single-pressure or impulse
quickly regained because electrons get attached with the molecules to become ions. type SF6 circuit breakers. In this type of breakers, gas is compressed by a moving
This is due to electronegativity property of SF6 gas. cylinder system and is released through a nozzle to quench the arc. This type is avail-
In SF6 circuit breakers, SF6 gas is blown axially along the arc during the arcing able in the voltage range 3.3 kV to 765 kV.
period. The gas removes the heat from the arc by axial convection and radial dissipa-
Trapped SF6 Gas
tion. As a result of this, the diameter of the arc is reduced during the decreasing node Nozzle Movable cylinder
of the current wave. The arc diameter becomes very small at current zero. In order to
extinguish the arc, the turbulent flow of the gas is introduced. Fixed position
Fixed contact
From the properties of SF6, it is clear that it is a remarkable medium for arc Moving contact
extinction. The arc extinguishing properties of SF6 are improved by moderate rates
of forced gas flow through the arc space.
The SF6 gas at atmospheric pressure can interrupt currents of the order of 100 times
the value of those that can be interrupted in air with a plain breaker interrupter.
In SF6 circuit breakers, the gas is made to flow from a high pressure zone to a
low pressure zone through a convergent-divergent nozzle. The mass flow depends on
(a) Closed position
nozzle-throat diameter, the pressure ratio and the time of flow. The location of the
nozzle is such that the gas flows axially over the arc length. In the divergent portion Arc being extinguished by puffer action
of the nozzle, the gas flow attains almost supersonic speed and thereby the gas takes Compressed SF6 Gas
away the heat from the periphery of the arc, causing reduction in the diameter of
the arc. The arc diameter finally becomes almost zero at current zero and the arc is
extinguished. After filling the contact space with fresh SF6 gas, the dielectric strength
of the contact space is rapidly recovered due to electronegativity of the gas and tur-
bulent flow of the fresh gas in the contact space.

14.13.3 Types of SF6 Circuit Breakers

The following are two principal types of SF6 circuit breakers:
(i) Double Pressure Type SF6 Circuit Breaker This type of circuit breaker (b) Open position
employs a double pressure system in which the gas from a high-pressure compart-
ment is released into the low-pressure compartment through a nozzle during the arc Fig. 14.24 Puffer-type SF6 circuit breaker
extinction process. This type of SF6 circuit breaker has become obsolete.
 Circuit Breakers 561 562 Power System Protection and Switchgear

Figure 14.24(a) shows a puffer-type breaker in closed position. The moving cylin- 14.13.5 Disadvantages of SF6 Circuit Breakers
der and the moving contact are coupled together. When the contacts separate and the (i) Problems of perfect sealing. There may be leakage of SF6 gas because of
moving cylinder moves, the trapped gas is compressed. The trapped gas is released imperfect joints.
through a nozzle and flows axially to quench the arc as shown in Fig. 14.24(b). There
(ii) SF6 gas is suffocating to some extent. In case of leakage in the breaker tank,
are two types of tank designs. Live tank design and dead tank design. In live tank
SF6 gas may lead to suffocation of the operating personnel.
design, interrupters are supported on porcelain insulators. In the dead tank design,
interrupters are placed in SF6 filled-tank which is at earth potential. Live tank design (iii) Arced SF6 gas is poisonous and should not be inhaled or let out.
is preferred for outdoor substations. (iv) Influx of moisture in the breaker is very harmful to SF6 circuit breaker. There
A number of interrupters (connected in series) on insulating supports are are several cases of failures because of it.
employed for EHV systems up to 765 kV. Two interrupters are used in a 420 kV (v) There is necessity of mechanism of higher energy level for puffer-types SF6
system. Breaking time of 2 to 3 cycles can be achieved. In the circuit breaker the circuit breakers. Lower speeds due to friction, misalignment can cause failure
steady pressure of the gas is kept at 5 kg/cm2. The gas pressure in the interrupter of the breaker.
compartment increases rapidly to a level much above its steady value to quench the (vi) Internal parts should be cleaned thoroughly during periodic maintenance under
arc. clean and dry environment.
(vii) Special facilities are required for transporting the gas, transferring the gas and
14.13.4 Advantages of SF6 Circuit Breakers
maintaining the quality of the gas. The performance and reliability of the SF6
(i) Low gas velocities and pressures employed in the SF6 circuit breakers prevent circuit breaker is affected due to deterioration of quality of the gas.
current chopping and capacitive currents are interrupted without restriking.
(ii) These circuit breakers are compact, and have smaller overall dimensions and 14.14 VACUUM CIRCUIT BREAKERS
shorter contact gaps. They have less number of interrupters and require less
mantenance. The dielectric strength and arc interrupting ability of high vacuum is superior to
(iii) Since the gas is non-inflammable, and chemically stable and the products of those of porcelain, oil, air and SF6 at atmospheric pressure. SF6 at 7 atm. pressure
decomposition are not explosive, there is no danger of fire or explosion. and air at 25 atm. pressure have dielectric strengths higher than that of high vacuum.
(iv) Since the same gas is recirculated in the circuit, the requirement of SF6 gas The pressure of 10–5 mm of mercury and below is considered to be high vacuum.
is small. Low pressures are generally measured in terms of torr; 1 torr being equal to 1 mm of
(v) The operation of the circuit breaker is noiseless because there is no exhaust mercury. It has now become possible to achieve pressures as low as 10–8 torr.
to atmosphere as in case of air blast circuit breakers When contacts separate in a gas, arc is formed due to the ionised molecules of
(vi) Because of excellent arc quenching properties of SF6, the arcing time is very the gas. The mean free path of the gas molecules is small and the ionisation process
short and hence the contact erosion is less. The contacts can be run at higher multiplies the number of electrons to form an electron avalanche. In high vacuum,
temperatures without deterioration. of the order of 10–5 mm of mercury, the mean free path of the residual gas molecules
becomes very large. It is of the order of a few metres. Therefore, when contacts
(vii) Because of inertness of the SF6 gas, the contact corrosion is very small. Hence
are separated by a few mm in high vacuum, an electron travels in the gap without
contacts do not suffer oxidation.
collision. The formation of arc in high vacuum is not possible due to the forma-
(viii) The sealed construction of the circuit breaker avoids the contamination by tion of electron avalanche. In vacuum arc electrons and ions do not come from the
moisture, dust, sand etc. Hence the performance of the circuit breaker is not medium in which the arc is drawn but they come from the electrodes due to the
affected by the atmospheric conditions. evaporation of their surface material. The breakdown strenght is independent of gas
(ix) Tracking or insulation breakdown is eliminated, because there are no carbon density. It depends only on the gap length and surface condition and the material of
deposits following an arcing inside the system. the electrode. The breakdown strength of highly polished and thoroughly degassed
(x) Because of the excellent insulating properties of the SF6, contact gap is electrodes is higher. Copper-bismuth, silver-bismuth, silver-lead and copper-lead are
drastically reduced. good materials for making contacts of the breaker.
(xi) As these circuit breakers are totally enclosed and sealed from atmosphere, When contacts are separated in high vacuum, an arc is drawn between them. The
they are particularly suitable for use in such environments where explosion arc does not take place on the entire surface of the contacts but only on a few spots.
hazards exist. The contact surface is not perfectly smooth. It has certain microprojections. At the
time of contact separation, these projections form the last points of separation. The
current flows through these points of separation resulting in the formation of a few
hot spots. These hot spots emit electrons and act as cathode spots. In addition to

Circuit Breakers 563 564 Power System Protection and Switchgear

thermal emission, electrons emission may be due to field emission and secondary dielectric recovery, less weight of moving parts, etc. The vapour emission depends on
emission. the arc current. In ac, when the current decreases, vapour emission decreases. Near
Figure 14.25 shows the schematic diagram of a vacuum circuit breaker. Its enclo- current zero, the rate of vapour emission tends to zero. Immediately after current
sure is made of insulating material such as glass, porcelain or glass fibre reinforced zero, the remaining vapour condenses and the dielectric strength increases rapidly.
plastic. The vapour condensing shield is made of synthetic resin. This shield is pro- At current zero, cathode spots extinguish within 10–8 second. The rate of dielectric
vided to prevent the metal vapour reaching the insulating envelope. As the interrupter recovery is many times higher than that obtained in other types of circuit breakers.
has a sealed construction a stainless metallic bellows is used to allow the movement Its typical value may be as high as 20 kV/m s.
of the lower contact. One of its ends is welded to the moving contact. Its other end is Vacuum circuit breakers have now become popular for voltage ratings up to 36 kV.
welded to the lower end flange. Its contacts have large disc-shaped faces. These faces Up to 36 kV they employ a single interrupter.
contain spiral segments so that the arc current produces axial magnetic field. This
geometry helps the arc to move over the contact surface. The movement of arc over 14.15 OPERATING MECHANISM
the contact surface minimises metal evaporation, and hence erosion of the contact
due to arc. Two metal end flanges are provided. They support the fixed contact, outer To open and close the contacts of a circuit breaker, one of the following mechanisms
insulating enclosure, vapour condensing shield and the metallic bellows. The sealing is employed.
technique is similar to that used in electronic valves. (1) Spring
(2) Solenoid
Fixed contact
(3) Compressed air
End flange
Opening and closing of a circuit breaker should be quick and reliable. Closing is
End shield
slow compared to opening. For reliability, both operations should be independent
Ceramic envelope
of the main supply. The force for the opening of a circuit breaker may be applied
by spring or compressed air. When spring is used for opening, it is precharged, i.e.
compressed. The precharging may be done by hand or a motor or by the closing
Vapour shield mechanism. The closing mechanism may be a spring, solenoid or compressed air.
Electrodes If the system uses spring for both opening as well as closing, the closing spring has
a higher energy level and is charged by motor-driven gears. Two separate springs
Shield support are employed, one for closing and the other for opening. The force of the closing
flange spring is utilized for closing the breaker and also for charging the spring which is
used for opening. The closing mechanism also latches the moving contact in the
Metal bellows
closed position. When the tripping signal is received, a small solenoid is energised,
which releases the latch and permits the spring to exert its force to open the contact.
For large oil circuit breakers, solenoid is used for closing and a spring is used for
opening. For medium size breakers, where provision of battery for solenoid is uneco-
End flange nomical, spring is employed for closing as well as opening. In EHV oil circuit break-
Moving contact ers, compressed air is used for closing and a spring is used for opening. The spring
is charged during the closing stroke. In air blast circuit breakers, compressed air is
used for both closing and opening. In some cases of air blast circuit breakers, the
Fig. 14.25 Vacuum circuit breaker
moving contact is held in closed position by a spring. When compressed air enters
the arc chamber and its pressure exceeds the spring force, the contacts are opened.
The vacuum circuit breaker is very simple in construction compared to other types The contacts automatically come in the closed position by the spring action when the
of circuit breaker. The contact separation is about 1 cm which is adequate for cur- supply of compressed air is stopped. Therefore, the supply of compressed air must be
rent interruption in vacuum. As the breaker is very compact, power required to close maintained till the auxiliary circuit breaker switch is opened.
and open its contacts is much less compared to other types of breaker. It is capable In SF6 circuit breaker, compressed air may be used for closing and a spring for
of interrupting capacitive and small inductive currents, without producing excessive opening or compressed air for both closing as well as opening. In vacuum circuit
transient overvotlages. Vacuum circuit breakers have other advantages like suitability breakers, a solenoid or spring mechanism is fixed to the lower end to move a metal-
for repeated operations, least maintenance, silent operation, long life, high speed of lic bellows upward or downward inside the chamber during closing or opening the
 Circuit Breakers 565 566 Power System Protection and Switchgear

contacts. The closing mechanism must be tripfree, i.e. if a tripping signal comes Contd...
during the closing operation, the circuit breaker must trip immediately. Vacuum circuit Vacuum 3.3 kV-33 kV;
Springs are very good for opening as their force is large in the beginning and breakers 250-2000 MVA
gradually decreases as the distance of travel of the moving contact increases. But it is SF6 circuit breakers SF6 at 5 kg/cm2 pressure 3.3-765 kV;
not suitable for closing because the closing operation must be a smart one. However, 1000-50,000 MVA
in circuit breakers of small capacity, it is also used for closing. The spring which is Air blast circuit Compressed air at high 66 kV-1100 kV;
used for closing is charged by hand or a motor. In small circuit breakers, the spring breakers pressure (20-30 kg/cm2) 2500-60,000 MVA
can be charged by hand. For large ones, it is charged by means of a motor. The
spring which is used for opening is charged by the closing mechanism.
Solenoids are very good for closing. The force of attraction increases when the Table 14.2 Selection of circuit breakers
distance between the contacts decreases. They are not suitable for opening because Rated Voltage Choice of circuit Breakers Remark
they are slow in action. Compressed air is suitable for both closing as well as open-
ing as its force remains almost constant even when the distance between the contacts Below 1 kV Air-break CB
increases or decreases. Figure 14.26 shows the characteristics of the opening and 3.3 kV-33 kV Vacuum CB, SF6 CB, Vacuum preferred
closing mechanisms. minimum oil CB
132 kV-220 kV SF6 CB, air blast CB, SF6 preferred
Spring Spring minimum oil CB
Solenoid
Compressed 400 kV-760 kV SF6 CB, air blast CB SF6 is preferred
air
Force

Force

Earlier oil circuit breakers were preferred in the voltage range of 3.3 kV-66 kV.
Compressed
air Between 132 kV and 220 kV, either oil circuit breakers or air blast circuit break-
ers were recommended. For voltages 400 kV and above, air blast circuit breakers
were preferred. The present trend is to recommend vacuum or SF6 circuit breakers
Open Travel Closed Closed Travel Open in the voltage range 3.3 kV-33 kV. For 132 kV and above, SF6 circuit breakers are
preferred. Up to 1 kV, air break circuit breakers are used. Air blast circuit breakers are
(a) Closing (b) Opening
becoming obsolete and oil circuit breakers are being superseded by SF6 and vacuum
Fig. 14.26 Characteristics of operating machanism circuit breakers.

14.17 HIGH VOLTAGE DC (HVDC) CIRCUIT BREAKERS

14.16 SELECTION OF CIRCUIT BREAKERS
At present, HVDC transmission lines are used for point to point transmission of large
Table 14.1 shows the summary of various types of circuit breakers, their voltage power over long distances. Such lines have many advantages over ac transmission
ranges and arc quenching medium they employ. Table 14.2 shows the choice of lines such as lower cost, less stability problems, less corona loss and less radio inter-
circuit breakers for various voltage ranges. ference, etc. HVDC circuit breakers are not essential for single HVDC transmission
lines which are used for point to point transmission. The current in HVDC lines is
Table 14.1 Types of circuit breakers controlled by controlling the firing circuits of the thyristors employed in rectifiers and
Type Arc Quenching Medium Voltage Range and inverters. Switching operations are performed from ac side with the help of ac circuit
Breaking Capacity breakers. If HVDC circuit breakers are available, parallel HVDC lines, HVDC lines
with a tap-off line, closed loop circuit, etc. can also be planned and designed.
Miniature circuit Air at atmospheric 400-600V; for small
breakers pressure current rating In ac circuits, current passes through natural current zeros, and hence it is pos-
sible to design ac circuit breakers to interrupt large currents. This feature is not
Air-break circuit Air at atmospheric 400 V-11 kV;
breaker pressure 5-750 MVA
available in dc. If a high current is suppressed abruptly in dc, a very high transient
voltage appears across the contacts of the circuit breakers. Therefore, in dc circuit
Minimum oil Transformer oil 3.3 kV-220 kV; breakers, some external circuits have to be provided to bring down the current from
breakers circuit 150-25000 MVA

Contd...

Circuit Breakers 567 568 Power System Protection and Switchgear

full value to zero, smoothly without sup- Therefore, in addition to the rated voltage, current and frequency, circuit breakers
pressing it abruptly. The additional circuit have the following important ratings.
Current

creates artificial current zeros which are uti- (i) Breaking Capacity
lised for arc interruption as shown in Fig. (ii) Making Capacity
Idc
14.27.
(iii) Short-time Capacity.
Figure 14.28 shows the schematic dia- Time
gram of a HVDC circuit breaker. It consists 14.18.1 Breaking Capacity
of a main circuit breaker MCB and a circuit Fig. 14.27 Arti icial current zeros in dc The breaking capacity of a circuit breaker is of two types.
to produce artificial current zero and to suppress transient voltage. The main circuit (i) Symmetrical breaking capacity
breaker MCB may either be an SF6 or vacuum circuit breaker. R and C are connected
(ii) Asymmetrical breaking capacity
in parallel with the main circuit breaker to reduce dv/dt after the final current zero. L
is a saturable reactor in series with the main circuit breaker. It is used to reduce dI/dt Symmetrical Breaking Capacity
before current zero. Cp and Lp are connected in parallel to produce artificial current It is the rms value of the ac component of the fault current that the circuit breaker is
zero after the separation of the contacts in the main circuit breaker MCB. A non- capable of breaking under specified conditions of recovery voltage.
linear resistor is used to suppress the transient overvoltage which may be produced
Asymmetrical Breaking Capacity
across the contacts of the main circuit breaker.
It is the rms value of the total current comprising of both ac and dc components of the
R C fault current that the circuit breaker can break under specified conditions of recovery
voltage.
L MCB
DC component
X Instant of contact
separation
– +
Cp Lp S
A
Current

Fig. 14.28 HVDC circuit breaker

Instant of
Switch S, which is a triggered vacuum gap, is switched immediately after the short circuit
C Time
opening of the contacts of the main circuit breaker. The capacitor Cp is precharged in X
the direction as shown in the figure. When S is closed, the precharged capacitor Cp Asymmetrical Symmetrical
SC current SC current
discharges through the main circuit breaker and sends a current in opposition to the
main circuit current. This will force the main circuit current to become zero with a
few oscillations. The arc is interrupted at a current zero. Fig. 14.29 Short-circuit current waveform

Figure 14.29 shows a short-circuit current wave. The short-circuit current contains
14.18 RATING OF CIRCUIT BREAKERS a dc component which dies out gradually as shown in the figure. In the beginning,
the short-circuit current is asymmetrical due to the dc component. When dc dies out
A circuit breaker has to perform the following major duties under short-circuit
completely, the short-current becomes symmetrical.
conditions.
The line X-X indicates the instant of contact separation. AB is the peak value of
(i) To open the contacts to clear the fault
the ac component of the current at this instant. Therefore, the symmetrical breaking
(ii) To close the contacts onto a fault current which is the rms value of the ac component of the current at the instant of
__
(iii) To carry fault current for a short time while another circuit breaker is clearing contact separation is equal to current AB/÷2 . The section BC is the dc component of
the fault. the short-circuit current at this instant. Therefore, asymmetrical breaking current is
given by
AB
Iasym. = ___
2
( )
__ + (BC)2
÷2
(14.23)
 Circuit Breakers 569 570 Power System Protection and Switchgear

The breaking capacity of a circuit breaker is generally expressed in MVA. For a The rated frequency is also mentioned by the manufacture. It is the frequency at
three-phase circuit breaker, it is given by which the circuit breaker has been designed to operate. The standard frequency is
__ 50 Hz. If a circuit breaker is to be used at a frequency other than its rated frequency,
Breaking capacity = ÷3 × rated voltage in kV × rated current in kA.
its effects should be taken into consideration.
The breaking capacity will be symmetrical if the rated current in the above
expression is symmetrical (British practice). The breaking capacity will be 14.18.5 Rated Operating Duty
asymmetrical if the rated current is asymmetrical (American practice). The The operating duty of a circuit breaker prescribes its operations which can be
rated asymmetrical breaking current is taken by designer as 1.6 times the rated performed at stated time intervals. For the circuit breakers which are not meant for
symmetrical current. autoreclosing, there are two alternative operating duties as given below:
(i) O – t – CO –t ¢ – CO
14.18.2 Making Capacity
(ii) O – t ≤ – CO
The possiblity of a circuit breaker to be closed on short-circuit is also considered.
where O denotes opening operation, CO denotes closing operation followed by
The rated making current is defined as the peak value of the current (including the
opening without any intentional time lag, and t, t ¢ and t ≤ are time intervals between
dc component) in the first cycle at which a circuit breaker can be closed onto a
successive operations. According to IEC, the value of t and t ¢ is 3 minutes and t ≤ is
short-circuit. Ip in Fig. 14.29 is the making current. The capacity of a circuit breaker
15 seconds.
to be closed onto a short-circuit depends upon its ability to withstand the effects of
electromagnetic forces. For circuit breakers with auto-reclosing, the operating duty is as follows.
__ O – Dt – CO, where Dt is the dead time of the circuit breaker, which is expressed
Making current = ÷2 × 1.8 × symmetrical breaking current. in cycle.
__
The multiplication by ÷2 is to obtain the peak value and again by 1.8 to take the According to B.S.S. there is only one operating duty for the circuit breakers not
dc component into account. intended for auto-reclosing. It is written as follows.
__
Making capacity = ÷2 × 1.8 × symmetrical breaking capacity B – 3 – MB – 3 – MB, where B denotes breaking and MB denotes making
followed by breaking without any intentional time delay. Three is the time interval in
= 2.55 × symmetrical breaking capacity.
minutes.
14.18.3 Short-time Current Rating For circuit breakers with auto-reclosing, the operating duty is written as
The short-time current rating is based on thermal and mechanical limitations. The B – Dt – MB
circuit breaker must be capable of carrying short-circuit current for a short period Dt is the dead time and it is expressed in cycles.
while another circuit breaker (in series) is clearing the fault. The rated short-time
current is the rms value (total current, both ac and dc components) of the current 14.19 TESTING OF CIRCUIT BREAKERS
that the circuit breaker can carry safely for a specified short period. According to
British standard, the time is 3 seconds if the ratio of symmetrical breaking current There are two types of tests of circuit breakers namely routine tests and type tests.
to rated normal current is equal to or less than 40 and 1 second if this ratio is more Routine tests are performed on every piece of circuit breaker in the premises of the
than 40. According to ASA there are two short-time ratings, one is the current which manufacturer. The purpose of the routine tests is to confirm the proper functioning of
the circuit breaker can withstand for 1 second or less. Another is rated 4-second cur- a circuit breaker. Type tests are performed in a high voltage laboratory, such tests are
rent which is the current that the circuit breaker can withstand for a period longer performed on sample pieces of circuit breakers of each type to confirm their charac-
than 1 second but not more than 4 seconds. teristics and rated capacities according to their design. These tests are not performed
on every piece of circuit breaker. All routine and type tests are performed according
14.18.4 Rated Voltage, Current and Frequency
to Indian Standard (IS) codes or International Electromechanical Commission (IEC)
In a power system, the voltage level at all points is not the same. It varies, depending codes or British Standard (BS) codes.
upon the system operating conditions. Due to this reason manufacturers have
A few important type tests, such as breaking capacity, making capacity, short-time
specified a rated maximum voltage at which the operation of the circuit breaker
current rating tests will be discussed here. These tests come in the category of short
is guaranteed. The specified voltage is somewhat higher than the rated nominal
circuit testing of circuit breakers. For circuit breakers of smaller capacity, these tests
voltage.
are carried out by direct testing techniques. Circuit breakers of large capacities are
The rated current is the rms value of the current that a circuit breaker can carry tested by the synthetic testing method. In addition to short circuit tests, mechanical
continuously without any temperature rise in excess of its specified limit. tests, thermal tests, dielectric tests (power frequency tests, impulse tests), capacitive

Circuit Breakers 571 572 Power System Protection and Switchgear

charging-current breaking test, small inductive breaking current test, etc. are also Short-circuit Transformer
performed. For details see the relevant IS codes. Such a transformer has a low reactance and it is designed to withstand repeated
short-circuits. To get different voltage for tests, its windings are arranged in sec-
14.19.1 Short-circuit Testing Stations
tions. By series and parallel combinations of these sections, the desired test voltage is
There are two types of short-circuit testing stations. obtained. To get lower voltage than the generated voltage, a three-phase transformer
(i) Field type testing station is generally used. For voltage higher than the generated voltages, normally banks of
(ii) Laboratory type testing station single phase transformers are employed. As the transformers remain in the circuit for
In a field type testing station, the power required for testing is derived from a large a short time, they do not poses any cooling problem.
power system. The circuit breaker to be tested is connected to the power system. Master Circuit Breaker
Large amount of power is easily available for testing. Hence, this method of testing is It is used as a backup circuit breaker. If the circuit breaker under test fails to operate,
economical for testing of circuit breakers, particularly high voltage circuit breakers. the master circuit breakers opens. The master circuit breaker is set to operate at a
But it lacks flexibility. Its drawbacks are: predetermined time after the initiation of the short-circuit. After every test, it isolates
(i) For research and development work, tests cannot be repeated again and again the circuit breaker under test form the supply source. Its capacity is more than the
without disturbing the power system capacity of the circuit breaker under test.
(ii) The power available for testing varies, depending upon the loading conditions Making Switch
of the system.
This switch is used to apply short-circuit current at the desired moment during the
(iii) It is very difficult to control the transient recovery voltage, RRRV, etc. test. The making switch is closed after closing the master circuit breaker and the test
In a laboratory type testing station, the power required for testing is taken form circuit breaker. It must be bounce-free to avoid its burning or contact welding. To
specially designed generators which are installed in the laboratory for such testing. achieve this, a high pressure is used in the chamber. Its speed is also kept high.
Its advantages are:
Capacitors
(i) For research and development work, tests can be carried out again and again
to confirm the designed characteristics and capacity. Capacitor are used to control RRRV. They are used in synthetic testing which will
be discussed while describing such testing. Capacitors are also used for voltage
(ii) Current, voltage, restriking voltage, RRRV, etc. can be controlled conve-
measurement purpose.
niently.
(iii) Tests for circuit breakers of large capacity can be carried out using synthetic Reactors and Resistors
testing. Resistors and reactors are used to control short-circuit test current. They also control
The drawbacks of laboratory type testing stations are: power factor. The resistor controls the rate of decay of the dc component of the
current. They control the transient recovery voltage.
(i) High cost of installation.
(ii) Availability of limited power for testing of circuit breakers 14.19.2 Testing Procedure
Short-circuit Generator During the short-circuit test, several switching operations are performed in a sequence
In a laboratory, short-circuit generators are used to provide power for testing. The in a very short time. For example, the sequence of switching operations for breaking
design of such generators is different from a conventional generator. These are spe- capacity test is as follows.
cially designed to have very low reactance to give the maximum short-circuit output. (i) After running the driving motor of the short-circuit generator to a certain
To withstand high electromagnetic forces their windings are specially braced and speed it is switched off.
made rugged. They are provided with a flywheel to supply kinetic energy during (ii) Impulse excitation is switched on.
short circuits. This also helps in speed regulation of the set. The generator is driven (iii) Master circuit breaker is closed.
by a three-phase induction motor. (iv) Oscillograph is switched on.
The short-circuit current has a demagnetising effect on the field of generator. This (v) Making switch is closed.
results in reducing the field current. Consequently, the generator’s emf is reduced.
(vi) Circuit breaker under test is opened.
Impulse excitation or super excitation is employed to counteract the damagnetisation
effect of armature reaction. At the time of short-circuit, the field current is increased (vii) Master circuit breaker is opened.
to about 8 to 10 times its normal value. (viii) Exciter circuit of the short-circuit generator is switched off.
 Circuit Breakers 573 574 Power System Protection and Switchgear

It is not possible to perform this sequence of operations manually. There is an (ii) B – 3 – MB – 3 – MB tests are performed (a) at not less than 100% of the
automatic control for the purpose. The time of operation for the above sequence is of rated symmetrical breaking capacity and (b) at not less than 100% of the rated
the order of 0.2 second. making capacity.
This test can also be performed as two separate tests.
14.19.3 Direct Testing
(a) M – 3 – M make test
In direct testing, the circuit breaker is tested under the conditions which actually exist
(b) B – 3 – B – 3 – B break test
on power systems. It is subjected to restriking voltage which is expected in practical
situations. Figure 14.30 shows an arrangement for direct testing. The reactor X is to (iii) B – 3 – B – 3 – B tests are performed at not less than 100% of the rated
control short-circuit current. C, R1 and R2 are to adjust transient restriking voltage. asymmetrical breaking capacity.
Short-circuit tests to be performed are as follows. Here B denotes the breaking operation and M denotes the making operation, while
MB denotes the making operation followed by the breaking operation without any
Master CB intentional time delay.
CB Transformer under test
X
Short-time Current Test
Making C The rated short-time current is passed through the circuit breaker under test for a
switch
XG specified short duration (1 second or 3 second) and current is measured by taking
R2
R1 an oscillograph of the current wave. The short-time current should not cause any
mechanical or insulation damage or any contact welding. The equivalent rms short-
M G
time current is evaluated as follows.
The time-interval is divided into 10 equal parts. These are marked as t0, t1, t2, ....
Fig. 14.30 Direct testing of circuit breaker
t9, t10. The asymmetrical rms values of the current at these intervals are marked as
I0, I1, I2, ..... I9, I10. The equivalent rms value of the short-time current using Simpson
formula is given by
Test for Breaking Capacity _______________________________________________

÷
1
First of all, the master circuit breaker and the circuit breaker under test are closed. I = __ I20 + 4 I 21 + I23 + I25 + I27 + I29 + 2 I22 + I24 + I26 + I28 + I210
[ ( ) ( )
Then the short-circuit current is passed by closing the making switch. The short- 3
circuit current is interrupted by opening the breaker under test at the desired moment.
14.19.4 Indirect Testing
The following measurements are taken.
The testing to HV circuit breakers of large capacity also requires very large capacity
(i) Symmetrical breaking current
of the testing station, which is uneconomical. It is also not practical to increase the
(ii) Asymmetrical breaking current short-circuit capacity of the testing station. Therefore, indirect methods of testing
(iii) Recovery voltage are used for the testing of large circuit breakers. The important indirect methods of
(iv) Frequency of oscillation and RRRV testing are:
The circuit breaker must be capable of breaking all currents up to its rated capacity. (i) Unit testing
As it is not possible to test at all values of current, tests are performed at 10%, 30%, (ii) Synthetic testing
60% and 100% of its rated breaking current.
Unit Testing
Test for Making Capacity Generally, high voltage circuit breakers are designed with several arc interrupter
The master circuit breaker and the making switch are closed first, then the short-cir- units in series. Each unit can be tested separately. From the test results of one unit,
cuit is initiated by closing the circuit breaker under test. The rated making current, i.e. the capacity of the complete breaker can be determined. This type of testing is known
the peak value of the first major loop of the short-circuit current wave is measured. as unit testing.
Duty Cycle Test Synthetic Testing
The following duty cycle tests are performed. In this method of testing, there are two sources of power supply for the testing, a
(i) B – 3 – B – 3 – B tests are performed at 10%, 30%, and 60% of the rated current source and a voltage source. The current source is a high current, low voltage
symmetrical breaking capacity. source. It supplies short-circuit current during the test. The voltage source is a high
voltage, low current source. It provides restriking and recovery voltage.

Circuit Breakers 575

There are two methods of synthetic testing—parallel current injection method

and series current injection method. Parallel current injection method is widely used
as it is capable of providing RRRV and recovery voltage as required by various
standards.

Master Make Triggered

CB L1 switch L2 Spark gap

Xg
Vg I1 C2 C1 2VS
I2
M G CB under
test

Fig. 14.31 Synthetic testing of circuit breaker

Figure 14.31 shows a circuit for synthetic testing. It is a circuit for parallel
current injection method of synthetic testing. The high current source is a motor
driven generator. It injects a high short-circuit current I1 into the circuit breaker
under test at a relatively reduced voltage, Vg. The inductance L1 is to control the
short-circuit current. The master circuit breaker and the circuit breaker under test
are tripped before current I1 reaches its natural zero. These circuit breakers are fully
opened by the time t0. The capacitor C1 is a high voltage
__ source to provide recovery
voltage. It is charged prior to the test, to a voltage ÷2 Vs. This voltage is equal to the
peak power frequency voltage which will appear across the contacts at the moment the
circuit breaker under test interrupts
the current. L2 and C2 control tran- I1 + I2
sient recovery voltage and RRRV. I1
I2
The triggered spark gap is fired at
t1, slightly before the short-circuit t1 t0 t2 Time
current I1 reaches its natural zero.
It is done to properly simulate the
pre-current zero zone during the
test. There is a control circuit to
Restriking voltage
fire the triggered spark gap at the
appropriate moment. Figure 14.32 Fig. 14.32 Waveform during synthetic testing
shows waveforms during synthetic
testing.

EXERCISES
1. What are the different types of circuit breaker when the arc quenching
medium is the criterion? Mention the voltage range for which a particular
types of circuit breaker is recommended.
2. Discuss the recovery rate theory and energy balance theory of arc interruption
in a circuit breaker.
3. What is the function of an explosion pot in an oil circuit breaker? What are
the different types of explosion pot? Describe their construction, working
principle and application.