UNIT - 2

Circuit Breaker

Circuit breaker :

A circuit breaker is an automatically-operated electrical switch designed to

protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload of electricity or

short circuit. A circuit breakers function is to detect a fault condition and, by

interrupting continuity, to immediately discontinue electrical flow.

CLASSIFICATION OF CIRCUIT BREAKERS :

Arc Interruption Methods in Circuit Breakers:

The two modes of Arc Interruption Methods in Circuit Breakers are:

• high resistance interruption, and

• low resistance or current zero interruption.

High Resistance Interruption:

In this case the arc is controlled in such a way that its effective resistance

increases with time so that the current is reduced to a value insufficient to

maintain it. The arc resistance may be increased with lengthening, cooling and

splitting the arc. The main drawback with this type of Arc Interruption Methods

in Circuit Breakers is that the energy dissipated is high and so it is only used in

low and medium power a.c. circuit breakers and in d.c. circuit breakers.

Low Resistance or Current Zero Interruption:

This method is employed in a.c. Arc Interruption Methods in Circuit Breakers. A

50 Hz alternating current passes through zero 100 times per second. At every

current zero the arc extincts for a brief moment and again the arc restrikes with

the rising current. The phenomenon of arc extinction is very complicated and can

be explained by number of theories. The two important theories giving some

basic concepts are described below.

Arc in Circuit Breaker :

During opening of current carrying contacts in a circuit breaker the medium in

between opening contacts become highly ionized through which the interrupting

current gets low resistive path and continues to flow through this path even the

contacts are physically separated. During the flowing of current from one contact

to other the path becomes so heated that it glows. This is called arc.Whenever, on

load current contacts of circuit breaker open there is an arc in circuit breaker,

established between the separating contacts

Bulk Oil Circuit Breaker

• A breaker which uses a large quantity of oil for arc extinction is called a
bulk oil circuit breaker. Such type of circuit breaker is also known as dead

tank-type circuit breaker because their tank is held at ground potential.

• The quantity of oil requires in bulk oil circuit breaker depends on the

system voltage. If the output rating of the voltage is 110 KV, then it

requires 8 to 10 thousand kg of oil, and if their output rating is 220 KV,

then breakers need 50 thousand Kg of oil.

• In bulk oil circuit breaker, oil performs mainly two functions. Firstly, it acts

as an arc extinguishing medium and secondly, it insulates the live parts of

the breaker from earth.

• The quantity of oil requires for arc extinction is only about one-tenth of the

total and the rest being used for the insulation.

 • These large quantities of oil are subject to the carbonisation, sludging, etc.,

which occurs due to arc interruption and other causes reducing the

insulating properties and requires regular maintenance.

• Bulk oil circuit breaker needs a large tank which increases expenses and

also increases the weight of the circuit breaker.

Minimum Oil Circuit Breaker :

♦ In this type of circuit breaker minimum oil is used as an arc quenching

medium and it is mounted on a porcelain insulator to insulate it from the
earth.
♦ The arc chamber of such type of circuit breaker is enclosed in a bakelised
paper. The lower portion of this breaker is supported by the porcelain and
the upper porcelain enclosed the contacts.
♦ This circuit breaker is of the single breaker type in which a moving contact
tube moves in a vertical line to make or break contact with the upper fixed
contacts mounted within the arc control devices.
♦ A lower ring of fixed contacts is in permanent contact with the moving arm
to provide the other terminal of the phase unit.
♦ Within the moving contact, the tube is a fixed piston. When the moving
contact moves downwards, it forces the insulating oil to enter into the arc
control devices . Thus, the arc gets extinguished..
♦ Minimum oil circuit breaker requires less space as compared to bulk oil
circuit breaker which is an important feature in large installations.
Current Chopping in Circuit Breaker
What is Current Chopping
Current Chopping in circuit breaker is defined as a phenomena in which current

is forcibly interrupted before the natural current zero. Current Chopping is

mainly observed in Vacuum Circuit Breaker and Air Blast Circuit Breaker. There

is no such phenomena in Oil Circuit Breaker. Current chopping is predominant

while switching Shunt Reactor or unloaded Transformer.

Theory of Current Chopping

Generally the arc extinction in a circuit breaker take place at natural current

zero. But this is true if the capacity of the breaker to extinguish the arc is varies

with the level of fault current. This means that, the arc extinction capability of

breaker will always ensure that arc extinction is taking place at natural current

zero

Air Circuit breaker :

An air circuit breaker is a circuit operation breaker that operates in the air as an

arc extinguishing medium, at a given atmospheric pressure. There are several

types of air circuit breakers and switching gears available in the market today

that are durable, high-performing, easy to install and maintain. The air circuit

breakers have completely replaced oil circuit breakers

Construction
 • The construction of an air circuit breaker can be done by using different

internal and external parts like the following.

• The external parts of ACB mainly include the ON & OFF button, an

indicator for the position of the main contact, an indicator for the

mechanism of energy storage, LED indicators, RST button, controller, rated

nameplate, handle for energy storage, displays, shake, fault trip rest

button, rocker repository, etc.

• The internal parts of ACB mainly include supporting structure with steel

sheet, the current transformer used to protect the trip unit, pole group

insulating box, horizontal terminals, arcing chamber, trip unit for

protection, terminal box, closing springs, CB opening & closing control,

plates to move arcing and main contacts, plates for fixed main & arcing

contacts.

Working Principle
• The air circuit breaker working principle is different as compared with
other kinds of CBs. We know that the basic function of CB is to stop the

restoration of arcing wherever the gap between contacts will resist the

recovery voltage of the system.

• The air circuit breaker also works the same but in a different way. While

interrupting an arc, it makes an arc voltage in place of the voltage supply.

This voltage can be defined as the least voltage which is necessary to

maintain the arc. The voltage supply can be increased in three different

ways by a circuit breaker.

• The arc voltage can be enhanced through cooling arc plasma.

• Once the temperature of arc plasma and particle motion is reduced, then

additional voltage gradient will be necessary to keep the arc. The arc

voltage can be increased by splitting the arc into several series

• Once the arc path is increased then Arc voltage can also be increased. As

soon arc path length is enhanced then the path of resistance will also

increase the arc voltage which is used across the arc path thus arc voltage

can be increased.

• The range of operating voltage is upto 1KV. It includes two sets of contact

where the major pair uses the current as well as the contact made with

copper. Another pair of contact can be made with carbon. Once the circuit

breaker is opened, the first major contact unlocks.

• While opening the major contact, the arc contact stays connected.

Whenever arc contacts are divided then arcing gets started. The circuit

breaker is outdated for average voltage.

Air Circuit breakers generally have two pairs of contacts. The main pair of

contacts (1) carries the current at normal load and these contacts are made of

copper metal. The second pair is the arcing contact (2) and is made of carbon.

When the circuit breaker is being opened, the main contacts open first. When the

main contacts opened the arcing contacts are still in touch with each other.

As the current gets a parallel low resistive path through the arcing contact.

During the opening of the main contacts, there will not be any arcing in the main

contact. The arcing is only initiated when finally the arcing contacts are

separated. Each of the arc contacts is fitted with an arc runner which helps.

The arc discharge moves upward due to both thermal and electromagnetic

effects as shown in the figure. As the arc is driven upward it enters the arc chute,

consisting of splatters. The arc in the chute will become colder, lengthen, and

split hence arc voltage becomes much larger than the system voltage at the time

of operation of an air circuit breaker, and therefore the arc is extinguished finally

during the current zero.

Advantages

The advantages of an air circuit breaker include the following.

• High-speed re-closures facility

• Used for frequent operation

• Need less maintenance

• High-speed operation

• Fire risk can be eliminated not like in oil circuit breakers

• Consistent and short arcing time, so burning of contacts is less

Drawbacks

The disadvantages of air circuit breaker include the following.

• A drawback of the arc chute principle is its inefficiency at low currents

where the electromagnetic fields are weak.

• The chute itself is not necessarily less efficient in its lengthening and de-

ionizing action than at high currents, but the arc movement into the

chute tends to become slower, and high-speed interruption is not

necessarily obtained.
Air Blast circuit breaker :

This type of circuit breakers, is those kind of circuit breaker which operates in air

at atmospheric pressure. After development of oil circuit breaker, the medium

voltage air circuit breaker (ACB) is replaced completely by oil circuit breaker in

different countries. But in countries like France and Italy, ACBs are still

preferable choice up to voltage 15 KV. It is also good choice to avoid the risk of

oil fire, in case of oil circuit breaker. In America ACBs were exclusively used for

the system up to 15 KV until the development of new vacuum and SF6 circuit

breakers.

Working principle of air circuit breaker (ACB)

The working principle of this breaker is rather different from those in any

other types of circuit breakers. The main aim of all kind of circuit breaker is to

prevent the reestablishment of arcing after current zero by creating a situation

where in the contact gap will withstand the system recovery voltage. The air

circuit breaker does the same but in different manner. For interrupting arc it

creates an arc voltage in excess of the supply voltage. Arc voltage is defined as

the minimum voltage required maintaining the arc. This circuit breaker increases

the arc voltage by mainly three different ways,

It may increase the arc voltage by cooling the arc plasma. As the temperature of

arc plasma is decreased, the mobility of the particle in arc plasma is reduced,

hence more voltage gradient is required to maintain the arc. It may increase the

arc voltage by lengthening the arc path. As the length of arc path is increased, the
resistance of the path is increased, and hence to maintain the same arc current

more voltage is required to be applied across the arc path. That means arc

voltage is increased.

• Splitting up the arc into a number of series arcs also increases the arc

voltage.

• In the air reservoir there is a high pressure air stored between 20 to 30

kg/cm2. And that air is taken from compressed air system. On the

reservoir there are three hollow insulator columns mounted with valves at

their base. On the top of the hollow insulator chambers there are double

arc extinguishing chambers mounted.

• The current carrying parts connect the three arc extinction chambers to

each other in series and the pole to the neighboring equipment, since there

exist a very high voltage between the conductor and the air reservoir, the

entire arc extinction chamber assembly is mounted on insulators.

• Since there are three double arc extinction poles in series, there are six

breakers per pole. Each arc extinction chamber consists of one twin fixed

contact. There are two moving contacts. The moving contacts can move

axially so as to open or close. Its opening or closing mechanism depends

on spring pressure and air pressure. The operation mechanism operates

the rods when it gets a pneumatic or electrical signal.

• The valves open so as to send the high pressure air in the hollow of the

insulator.

• The high pressure air rapidly enters the double arc extinction chamber. As

the air enters into the arc extinction chamber the pressure on the moving
 contacts becomes more than spring pressure and it causes the contacts to

be open. The contacts travel through a short distance against the spring

pressure.

• At the end of contacts travel the part for outgoing air is closed by the

moving contacts and the entire arc extinction chamber is filled with high

pressure air, as the air is not allowed to go out.

• However, during the arcing period the air goes out through the openings

and takes away the ionized air While closing, the valve is turned so as to

close connection between the hollow of the insulator and the reservoir.
Advantages:

✓ The growth of dielectric strength is so rapid that final contact gap needed

for arc extinction is very small, this reduces the size of device.

✓ The risk of fire is eliminated. Due to lesser arc energy, air blast circuit

breakers are very suitable for conditions where frequent operation is

required.

✓ The arcing products are completely removed by the blast whereas the oil

deteriorates with successive operations; the expense of regular oil is

replacement is avoided.

✓ The energy supplied for arc extinction is obtained from high pressure air

and is independent of the current to be interrupted.

✓ The arcing time is very small due to the rapid buildup of dielectric

strength between contacts. Therefore, the arc energy is only a fraction that

in oil circuit breakers, thus resulting in less burning of contacts.

Disadvantages:

✓ Considerable maintenance is required for the compressor plant which

supplies the air blast.

✓ Air blast circuit breakers are very sensitive to the variations in the rate of

restriking voltage.

✓ Air blast circuit breakers are finding wide applications in high voltage

installations.

✓ Majority of circuit breakers for voltages beyond 110 kV are of this type.
SF6 circuit breaker :

Construction and working :

At this point we are aware that the medium in which arc extinction of the

circuit breaker takes place greatly influences the important characteristics and

life of the circuit breaker. the working of a vacuum circuit breaker was

illustrated. We already know that the use of vacuum circuit breaker is mainly

restricted to system voltage below 38 kV. The characteristics of vacuum as

medium and cost of the vacuum CB does not makes it suitable for voltage

exceeding 38 kV. In the past for higher transmission voltage Oil Circuit Breaker

(OCB) and Air Blast Circuit Breaker (ABCB) were used. These days for higher

transmission voltage levels SF6 Circuit Breakers are largely used.

OCB and ABCB have almost become obsolete. In fact in many installations SF6

CB is used for lower voltages like 11 kV, 6 kV etc.. i)sulphur Hexafluoride

symbolically written as SF6 is a gas which satisfy the requirements of an ideal arc

interrupting medium. So SF6 is extensively used these days as an arc

interrupting medium in circuit breakers ranging from 3 kv upto 765 kv class. In

addition to this SF6 is used in many electrical equipments for insulation. Here

first we discuss in brief, some of the essential properties of SF6 which is the

reason of it's extensive use in circuit breakers SF6 gas has high dielectric strength

which is the most important quality of a material for use in electrical equipments

and in particular for breaker it is one of the most desired properties. Moreover it

has high Rate of Rise of dielectric strength after arc extinction.

This characteristics is very much sought for a circuit breaker to avoid restriking.

• SF6 is colour less, odour less and non toxic gas.

• SF6 is an inert gas. So in normal operating condition the metallic parts in

contact with the gas are not corroded. This ensures the life of the breaker

and reduces the need for maintenance.

• SF6 has high thermal conductivity which means the heat dissipation

capacity is more. This implies greater current carrying capacity when

surrounded by SF6 .

• The gas is quite stable. However it disintegrates to other fluorides of

Sulphur in the presence of arc. but after the extinction of the arc the SF6

gas is reformed from the decomposition.

• SF6 being non-flammable so there is no risk of fire hazard and explosion.

Advantages

• Dielectric strength of sf6 gas is 2 to 3 times that of air, such breakers can

interrupt much larger currents.

• Gives noiseless operation due to its closed gas circuit

• Closed gas enclosure keeps the interior dry so that there is no moisture

problem

• There is no risk of fire as sf6 is non-inflammable

• There are no carbon deposits ,Low maintenance cost, light foundation

requirements and minimum auxiliary equipment

• sf6 breakers are totally enclosed and sealed from atmosphere, they are
particularly suitable where explosion hazard exists

Disadvantages

• sf6 gas has to be reconditioned after every operation of the breaker,

additional equipment is required for this purpose

• sf6 breakers are costly due to high cost of sf6

VACCUM CIRCUIT BREAKER :

Construction:

Fig shows the parts of a typical vacuum circuit breaker. It consists of fixed

contact, moving contact and arc shield mounted inside a vacuum chamber. The

movable member is connected to the control mechanism by stainless steel

bellows .This enables the permanent sealing of the vacuum chamber so as to

eliminate the possibility of leak .A glass vessel or ceramic vessel is used as the

outer insulating body. The arc shield prevents the deterioration of the internal

dielectric strength by preventing metallic vapours falling on the inside surface of

the outer insulating cover

Working:

When the breaker operates the moving contacts separates from the fixed contacts

and an arc is struck between the contacts. The production of arc is due to the

ionization of metal ions and depends very much upon the material of contacts.

The arc is quickly extinguished because the metallic vapours, electrons and ions

produced during arc are diffused in short time and seized by the surfaces of

moving and fixed members and shields. Since vacuum has very fast rate of

recovery of dielectric strength, the arc extinction in a vacuum breaker occurs

with a short contact separation.

Advantages:

♦ They are compact, reliable and have longer life.

♦ There are no fire hazards

♦ There is no generation of gas during and after operation

♦ They can interrupt any fault current. The outstanding feature of a VCB is

that it can break any heavy fault current perfectly just before the contacts

reach the definite open position.

♦ They require little maintenance and are quiet in operation

Applications:

For outdoor applications ranging from 22 kV to 66 kV. Suitable for majority of

applications in rural area.

Testing of circuit breakers

Primary injection test
For primary injection testing, high current is injected on the primary side of the

current transformer. The entire chain – current transformer, conductors,

connection points, relay protection and sometimes circuit breakers as well is

covered by the test. The system being tested must be taken out of service during

primary injection testing. Testing is usually conducted in connection with

commissioning. The only way to verify that a direct-acting low voltage circuit

breaker operates properly is to inject a high current

Motion

A high-voltage breaker is designed to interrupt short-circuit current in a

controlled manner. This puts great demands on the mechanical performance of

all components in the interrupter chamber as well as the operating mechanism. It

has to operate at a specific speed in order to build up adequate pressure to allow

for cooling stream of air, oil or gas (depending on the type of breaker) to

extinguish the arc that is generated after the contact separation until the next

zerocrossing. It is important to interrupt the current to prevent a re-strike. This is

accomplished by making sure that the contacts move apart far enough from each

other before the moving contact has entered the so-called damping zone.

Speed

Speed is calculated between two points on this motion curve. The upper point is

defined as a distance in length, degrees or percentage of movement from a) the

breaker’s closed or open position, or b) the contact-closure or contact- separation

point. The time that elapses between these two points ranges from 10 to 20 ms,

which corresponds to 1-2 zero-crossovers. The lower point is determined based

on the upper point. It can either be a distance below the upper point or a time

before the upper point. The single most important benefit derived from the

instantaneous velocity and acceleration curves is the insight that they provide

into the forces involved during the operation of a circuit breaker.

Damping

Damping is an important parameter to monitor and test as the stored energy an

operating mechanism use to open and close a circuit breaker is considerable. The

powerful mechanical stress can easily damage the breaker and/or reduce the

breaker’s useful life. The damping of opening operations is usually measured as

a second speed, but it can also be based on the time that elapses between two

points just above the breaker’s open position

Rating of Circuit Breaker

The rating of a circuit breaker includes,

1) Rated short circuit breaking current.

2) Rated short circuit making current.

3) Rated operating sequence of circuit breaker.

4) Rated short time current.

Rated short circuit breaking current.

This practice of specifying the breaking capacity in terms of MVA is convenient

while calculating the fault levels. However, as per the revised standards, the

breaking capacity is expressed in KA for specified conditions of TRV and this

method takes into account both breaking current and TRV. The breaking capacity

can be both symmetrical and asymmetrical in nature. In asymmetrical breaking

capacity the DC component of the current is added. While selecting the circuit

breaker for a particular location in the power system the fault level at that

location is determined. The rated breaking current can then be selected from

standard range

Rated short circuit making current.

The rated short circuit making current should be least 2.5 times the r.m.s. value

of a.c. component of rated breaking current . Rated making current = 1.8 x √2 x

Rated short circuit breaking = 2.5 x Rated short circuit breaking current In the

above equation the factor √2 convert the r.m.s value to peak value. Factor 1.8

takes into account the doubling effect of short circuit current with consideration

to slight drop in current during the first quarter cycle .

Rated operating sequence of circuit breaker.

This means, an opening operation of circuit breaker is followed by a closing

operation after a time interval of 0.3 sec, then the circuit breaker again opens

without any intentional time delay. After this opening operation the CB is again

closed after 3 minutes and then instantly trips without any intentional time

delay.
HVDC (DC) Circuit Breaker

HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) circuit breaker is a special type of circuit

breaker that is specifically designed to use for protection against fault current in

a HVDC circuits.

As we have discussed earlier, the major part that differentiate the DC circuit

breaker from other type of breakers is the arc quenching technique. In AC

breaker, it is easier to break the circuit at zero crossing because the energy at that

point is zero which does not allow generating arc at that voltage level. While in

DC, the voltage & current never goes to zero. So there is always very high

voltage & current between the contacts during its separation.

Working Principle of HVDC Circuit Breaker

In order to generate artificial zero current in the system, an LC circuit is connected in
parallel with the circuit breaker.The following figure shows a typical HVDC circuit
breaker & its working principle.
A pre-charged capacitor C is connected having reversed polarities as shown in

the figure. An inductor L & a switch S is connected in series with the capacitor C.

this extra circuit is connected in parallel with the main breaker M.

Under normal conditions, the switch S is open & the main breaker M is closed &

the current flow through it. During current interruption or fault current

conditions, the switch S is closed which completes the LC circuit & the main

breaker M is opened.

During this time, the capacitor C start discharging & it pushes the current in

reverse direction through the breaker M, forcing the arcing current to oscillate

(reaching to zero point) which results in artificial commutation or zero crossing.

This artificial zero commutation generated by the LC circuit allows the arc to

extinguish at zero current point. The extra energy is dissipated with in the LC

circuit. this type of DC circuit breaker can work on a single power line & does

not require the second opposite polarity line.

USES OF HVDC

HVDC Power Transmission:

The HVDC is mainly used for power transmission over very long distances.

HVDC terminals used for the conversion of the DC to AC or vice versa are quite

expensive. They must be protected at all cost. Power transmission is mostly

affected by fault currents that can easily damage any equipment connected with

it.

Therefore, the HVDC circuit breakers are installed in the line to protect from

fault current. Furthermore, they are also used for isolating the transmission line

for maintenance work.

Commutating Principle :

The commutation principle for HVDC circuit breakers is described whereby the

current in the circuit is brought to zero by a bucking current from a precharged

capacitor. Circuit features are described to render this procedure easier for the

interrupter and typical component requirements are discussed. The functions of

current interruption and energy absorption should be separated; to this end, one

type of surge suppressor is described. With breakers of this type, multi-terminal

HVDC systems could be operated much like comparable AC systems, with only

minimal dependence on terminal controls. A tapped line is given as an example.

Energy consideration in hvdc:

Depending on the converter topology high current slopes can appear in case of

DC short circuits. Besides the handling of high currents itself, HVDC Circuits

Breakers have to decrease the energy stored in line inductances in order to

interrupt. Although different breaker concepts have been proposed, energy

absorption is yet generally based on high voltage surge arresters. Isolation and

over-voltage protection level have to be well adapted to expected surges and

metal oxide surge arresters fit this problem. However, validating the maximum

switching action count of those breakers, lifetime considerations of ZnO varistors

have to be studied critically.

Surge Suppression :

“ Surge protectors protect electrical equipment from voltage spikes ”

While circuit breakers protect wires from starting a fire due from too many amps

(amount of electrical current), surge protectors protect your appliances from

power surges, which is a brief spike in voltage (electrical power or force).

HVDC Switches

Switches for HVDC applications are designed to close and open very rapidly in

case of fault or for maintenance purposes. The switches may have to commutate

load current while maintaining the flow of power within DC substation and its

availability.All HVDC switches are activated by the highly reliable spring-spring

mechanism and benefit of a huge experience and installed base of AC circuit-

breaker technology delivered worldwide in regards to design technology, to

quality in terms of supplier qualification, assembly processes and ISO

conformity.

Key Features:

• DC current switching

• Dielectric withstand in open position over long time intervals

• High creepage distances require a long column

• Optional Feature

• Use of surge arresters in addition to capacitors

• Low temperature or seismic applications

• CBWatch3 Monitoring System

• Closing resistors for special applications