Power System Protection

FUSES
 Introduction
• Fuse was patented by Thomas Edison in 1890
• Fuse is the simplest & cheapest device used for interrupting
an electrical circuit under short circuit or excessive.
• The fuse element is generally made of materials having-
 low melting point,
high conductivity
and least deterioration due to oxidation e.g., silver, copper
etc.
 Advantages & Disadvantages

1. It is the cheapest form of 1. Considerable time is lost in

protection available. rewiring or replacing a fuse after
2. It requires no maintenance. operation.

3. Its operation is inherently 2. On heavy short-circuits,

completely automatic unlike a discrimination between fuses in
circuit breaker which requires series cannot be obtained unless
an elaborate equipment for there is sufficient difference in the
automatic action. sizes of the fuses concerned.
4. It can break heavy short-circuit 3. The current-time characteristic of a
currents without noise or fuse cannot always be co-related
smoke. with that of the protected apparatus.
Fuse time current characteristic
Time
(Seconds)

Inverse time
characteristic

t1

t2

In I2 I1 I2
Prospective short
Rated
Current circuit current (Amps)
Fusing
Current

The time required to blow out the fuse depends upon the magnitude
of excessive current. The greater the current, the smaller is the time
taken by the fuse to blow out.
 Fuse Element Materials
• It is comparatively free from oxidation.
• It does not deteriorate when used in dry air.
• The coefficient of expansion of silver is so small that no critical fatigue occurs.
Therefore, the fuse element can carry the rated current continuously for a long
time.
• The conductivity of silver is very high. Therefore, for a given rating of fuse
element, the mass of silver metal required is smaller than that of other materials.
This minimizes the problem of clearing the mass of vaporized material set free
on fusion and thus permits fast operating speed.
• Due to comparatively low specific heat, silver fusible elements can be raised
from normal temperature to vaporization quicker than other fusible elements.
Moreover, the resistance of silver increases abruptly as the melting temperature
is reached, thus making the transition from melting to vaporization almost
instantaneous. Consequently, operation becomes very much faster at higher
currents.
• Silver vaporizes at a temperature much lower than the one at which its vapor
will readily ionise. Therefore, when an arc is formed through the vaporized
portion of the element, the arc path has high resistance. As a result, short-circuit
current is quickly interrupted.
 Important Terms
Current rating of fuse element: It is the current which the fuse element can
normally carry without overheating or melting. It depends upon the
temperature rise of the contacts of the fuse holder, fuse material and the
surroundings of the fuse.
Fusing current: It is the minimum current at which the fuse element melts and
thus disconnects the circuit protected by it. Obviously, its value will be
more than the current rating of the fuse element.
For a round wire, the approximate relationship between fusing current I and
diameter d of the wire is
I = k d3/2
where k is a constant, called the fuse constant.
The fusing current depends upon the various factors such as :
(a) material of fuse element
(b) length – the smaller the length, the greater the current because
a short fuse can easily conduct away all the heat
(c) diameter
(d) size and location of terminals
(e) previous history
(f) type of enclosure used
Fusing factor: It is the ratio of minimum fusing current to the current rating of
the fuse element i.e.
Fusing factor = Minimum fusing current/Current rating of fuse

Prospective Current: it is the r.m.s. value of the first loop of the fault current
obtained if the fuse is replaced by an ordinary conductor of negligible
resistance
Cut-off current: It is the maximum value of fault current actually
reached before the fuse melts. The cut off value depends upon :
(a) current rating of fuse
(b) value of prospective current
(c) asymmetry of short-circuit current
Pre-arcing time: It is the time between the commencement of
fault and the instant when cut off occurs.

Arcing time: This is the time between the end of pre-arcing time
and the instant when the arc is extinguished

Total operating time: It is the sum of pre-arcing and arcing times.

Breaking capacity: It is the r.m.s. value of a.c. component of

maximum prospective current that a fuse can deal with at rated
service voltage.
 Types of Fuses
In general, fuses may be classified into :
 Low voltages fuses:
(i) semi-enclosed rewireable fuse
(ii) high rupturing capacity (H.R.C.) cartridge fuse
 High voltage fuses:
(i)Cartridge type
(ii) Liquid type
(iii) Metal clad fuses
It is a usual practice to provide isolating switches in series with fuses
where it is necessary to permit fuses to be replaced or rewired with
safety. If such means of isolation are not available, the fuses must be
so shielded as to protect the user against accidental contact with the
live metal when the fuse carrier is being inserted or removed.
 Semi-enclosed rewireable fuse
• Rewireable fuse (also known as kit-kat type)
is used where low values of fault current are
to be interrupted.
• It consists of (i) a base and (ii) a fuse carrier.
• The base is of porcelain and carries the fixed
contacts to which the incoming and outgoing
phase wires are connected.
• The fuse carrier is also of porcelain and holds
the fuse element (tinned copper wire)
between its terminals.
• The fuse carrier can be inserted in or taken
out of the base when desired.
• When a fault occurs, the fuse element is
blown out and the circuit is interrupted.
• The fuse carrier is taken out and the blown
out fuse element is replaced by the new one.
The fuse carrier is then reinserted in the base
to restore the supply.
 Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages Disadvantages

• Firstly, the detachable fuse • There is a possibility of renewal by the

fuse wire of wrong size or by improper
carrier permits the material.
replacement of fuse element • This type of fuse has a low-breaking
without any danger of capacity and hence cannot be used in
circuits of high fault level.
coming in contact with live
parts. • The fuse element is subjected to
deterioration due to oxidation through
• Secondly, the cost of the continuous heating up of the element.
Therefore, after some time, the current
replacement is negligible rating of the fuse is decreased i.e., the
fuse operates at a lower current than
originally rated.
• The protective capacity of such a fuse is
uncertain as it is affected by the ambient
conditions.
• Accurate calibration of the fuse wire is
not possible because fusing current very
much depends upon the length of the
fuse element.
 High-Rupturing capacity (H.R.C.) cartridge fuse
• It consists of a heat resisting ceramic body having metal end-caps to which is welded silver
current-carrying element.
• The space within the body surrounding the element is completely packed with a filling
powder.
• The filling material may be chalk, plaster of paris, quartz or marble dust and acts as an arc
quenching and cooling medium.
• Under normal load conditions, the fuse element is at a temperature below its melting point.
Therefore, it carries the normal current without overheating.
• When a fault occurs, the current increases and the fuse element melts before the fault current
reaches its first peak.
• The heat produced in the process vaporizes the melted silver element.
• The chemical reaction between the silver vapor and the filling powder results in the
formation of a high resistance substance which helps in quenching the arc.
 Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages Disadvantages
• They are capable of clearing high • They have to be replaced after
as well as low fault currents. each operation.
• They do not deteriorate with age. • Heat produced by the arc may
• They have high speed of affect the associated switches.
operation.
• They provide reliable
discrimination.
• They require no maintenance.
• They are cheaper than other circuit
interrupting devices of equal
breaking capacity.
• They permit consistent
performance.
 H.R.C. fuse with tripping device
Sometime, H.R.C. cartridge fuse is provided with a tripping
device. When the fuse blows out under fault conditions,
the tripping device causes the circuit breaker to operate
• The body of the fuse is of ceramic material with a
metallic cap rigidly fixed at each end.
• These are connected by a number of silver fuse
elements.
• At one end is a plunger which under fault conditions
hits the tripping mechanism of the circuit breaker and
causes it to operate.
• The plunger is electrically connected through a fusible
link, chemical charge and a tungsten wire to the other
end of the cap.
• When a fault occurs, the silver fuse elements are the first
to be blown out and then current is transferred to the
tungsten wire.
• The weak link in series with the tungsten wire gets fused
and causes the chemical charge to be detonated.
• This forces the plunger outward to operate the circuit
breaker.
• The travel of the plunger is so set that it is not ejected
from the fuse body under fault conditions
H.R.C. fuse with a tripping device has the following advantages
over a H.R.C. fuse without tripping device :
(i) In case of a single phase fault on a three-phase system, the
plunger operates the tripping mechanism of circuit breaker to
open all the three phases and thus prevents “single phasing”.
(ii) The effects of full short circuit current need not be
considered in the choice of circuit breaker. This permits the use
of a relatively inexpensive circuit breaker.
(iii) The fuse-tripped circuit breaker is generally capable of
dealing with fairly small fault currents itself. This avoids the
necessity for replacing the fuse except after highest currents for
which it is intended.
 High Voltage Fuses
Cartridge type:
• This is similar in general construction to the low voltage cartridge
type except that special design features are incorporated.
• Some designs employ fuse elements wound in the form of a helix so
as to avoid corona effects at higher voltages.
• On some designs, there are two fuse elements in parallel ; one of low
resistance (silver wire) and the other of high resistance (tungsten
wire).
• Under normal load conditions, the low resistance element carries the
normal current.
• When a fault occurs, the low-resistance element is blown out and the
high resistance element reduces the short-circuit current and finally
breaks the circuit.
High voltage cartridge fuses are used upto 33 kV with breaking
capacity of about 8700 A at that voltage. Rating of the order of 200 A
at 6·6 kV and 11 kV and 50 A at 33 kV are also availa.ble
Liquid type: These fuses are filled with carbon
tetrachloride and have the widest range of application to
h.v. systems. They may be used for circuits upto about
100 A rated current on systems upto 132 kV and may
have breaking capacities of the order of 6100 A.
•It consists of a glass tube filled with carbon
tetrachloride solution and sealed at both ends with brass
caps.
• The fuse wire is sealed at one end of the tube and the
other end of the wire is held by a strong phosphor
bronze spiral spring fixed at the other end of the glass
tube.
•When the current exceeds the prescribed limit, the fuse
wire is blown out.
•As the fuse melts, the spring retracts part of it through
a baffle (or liquid director) and draws it well into the
liquid.
•The small quantity of gas generated at the point of
fusion forces some part of liquid into the passage
through baffle and there it effectively extinguishes the
arc.
Metal clad fuses: Metal clad oil-immersed fuses have
been developed with the object of providing a substitute
for the oil circuit breaker. Such fuses can be used for
very high voltage circuits and operate most
satisfactorily under short-circuit conditions
approaching their rated capacity.
Difference Between a Fuse and Circuit Breaker
Electrical Fuse