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    Circuit Breaker

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    Cedrick
    Circuit breakers are mechanical switching devices capable of making, carrying, and breaking currents under normal and abnormal circuit conditions such as short circuits. They operate by interrupting the arc formed when contacts open during a fault. Arc quenching is achieved by lengthening the gap, cooling the arc, or inserting a medium with high dielectric strength. Common types include oil, air, SF6, and vacuum breakers, classified by voltage level and application. Modern circuit breakers provide reliable protection for electrical networks and enable fast fault detection.

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    Circuit Breaker

    Uploaded by

    Cedrick
    283 views23 pages
    Circuit breakers are mechanical switching devices capable of making, carrying, and breaking currents under normal and abnormal circuit conditions such as short circuits. They operate by interrupting the arc formed when contacts open during a fault. Arc quenching is achieved by lengthening the gap, cooling the arc, or inserting a medium with high dielectric strength. Common types include oil, air, SF6, and vacuum breakers, classified by voltage level and application. Modern circuit breakers provide reliable protection for electrical networks and enable fast fault detection.

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    Circuit breakers are mechanical switching devices capable of making, carrying, and breaking currents under normal and abnormal circuit conditions such as short circuits. They operate by interrupting the arc formed when contacts open during a fault. Arc quenching is achieved by lengthening the gap, cooling the arc, or inserting a medium with high dielectric strength. Common types include oil, air, SF6, and vacuum breakers, classified by voltage level and application. Modern circuit breakers provide reliable protection for electrical networks and enable fast fault detection.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    283 views23 pages

    Circuit Breaker

    Uploaded by

    Cedrick
    Circuit breakers are mechanical switching devices capable of making, carrying, and breaking currents under normal and abnormal circuit conditions such as short circuits. They operate by interrupting the arc formed when contacts open during a fault. Arc quenching is achieved by lengthening the gap, cooling the arc, or inserting a medium with high dielectric strength. Common types include oil, air, SF6, and vacuum breakers, classified by voltage level and application. Modern circuit breakers provide reliable protection for electrical networks and enable fast fault detection.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
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    The key takeaways are that a circuit breaker is a mechanical switching device that protects electrical circuits by interrupting current flow during an overload or short circuit. It can make, carry and break currents under normal conditions and also break abnormal currents like short circuits.

    A circuit breaker is a mechanical switching device capable of making, carrying and breaking currents under normal circuit conditions. It can also make and carry currents for a specified time and break currents under abnormal circuit conditions like short circuits. Its main functions are to protect circuits and equipment from damage caused by overcurrent from overload or short circuit.

    A circuit breaker extinguishes an electric arc by lengthening the gap between contacts to reduce the potential difference, cooling the arc using various mediums, or inserting a medium with high dielectric strength to disrupt the flow of ionized particles sustaining the arc.

    Circuit Breaker

    By: Cedrick C. Escosura

    What is circuit breaker?


    A circuit breaker is a mechanical
    switching
    device, capable of
    making, carrying and breaking
    currents under normal circuit
    conditions.
    It is also capable of making and
    carrying currents for a specified time
    and breaking currents under
    specified abnormal circuit conditions,
    such as those of a short circuit.

    OPERATING PRINCIPLE OF
    BREAKER

    The Electric Arc


    During the separation of contacts,
    due to large fault current and high
    current density at the contact region
    the surrounding medium ionizes and
    thus a conducting medium is formed.
    This is called the ARC.
    Factors responsible for Arc
    Potential difference between the
    contacts.
    Ionized particles between the

    PRINCIPLES OF ARC
    EXTINCTION
    Arc quenching is achieved by:
    Greater dielectric strength than restriking
    voltage.
    Faster rate of heat removal than rate of heat
    generation.
    Arc extinction methods are:
    By lengthening the gap.
    Cooling the arc.
    Inserting medium of high dielectric strength.

    Circuit Breaker Vs. Fuse


    Pros
    smaller in size than fuses
    better versions may have electronic trips so
    they can adjust trip curve to suite circuit
    design easier for end user to reset (no
    touching live parts)
    no waiting to reset (as with fuses - spare
    must be found)
    no cost associated with resetting unlike cost
    of replacement fuses

    Cons
    more expensive than fused switches
    harder and costly to obtain high short
    circuit interrupting capacities

    Types of Electrical Circuit


    Breaker
    According to their arc quenching
    media the circuit breaker can be
    divided as1.Oil circuit breaker.
    2.Air circuit breaker.
    3.SF6 circuit breaker.
    4.Vacuum circuit breaker.

    According to the operating mechanism of


    circuit breaker they can be divided as1. Spring operated circuit breaker.
    2. 2. Pneumatic circuit breaker.
    3. 3. Hydrolic circuit breaker.
    According to their services the circuit
    breaker can be divided as4. Outdoor circuit breaker
    5. 2. Indoor breaker

    According to the voltage level of


    installation types of circuit
    breaker are referred as1. High Voltage Circuit Breaker
    2. Medium Voltage Circuit Breaker
    3. Low Voltage Circuit Breaker

    Low-Voltage Circuit Breakers


    Low-voltage (less than 1,000 VAC)
    types are common in domestic,
    commercial and industrial application,
    and include:
    MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker)
    MCCB (Molded Case Circuit Breaker)

    MCB (Miniature Circuit


    Breaker)
    Characteristics
    Rated current not more than 100 A.
    Trip characteristics normally not
    adjustable.
    Thermal or thermal-magnetic
    operation.

    MCCB (Moulded Case Circuit


    Breaker)
    CharacteristicsRated
    Current up to 1000 A.
    Trip current may be adjustable.
    Thermal or thermal-magnetic
    operation.

    Medium-Voltage Circuit
    Breakers
    Vacuum Circuit Breakers
    CharacteristicsWith
    Rated current up to 3000 A,
    These breakers interrupt the arc in
    a vacuum bottle
    These can also be applied at up to
    35,000 V. Vacuum circuit breakers
    tend to have longer life
    expectancies between overhaul
    than do air circuit breakers.

    Advantages:
    Free from arc and fire hazards.
    Low cost for maintenance & simpler mechanism.
    Low arcing time & high contact life.
    Silent and less vibrational operation.
    Due to vacuum contacts remain free from corrosion.No
    byproducts formed.
    Disadvantages:
    High initial cost due to creation of vacuum.
    Surface of contacts are depleted due to metal vapors.
    High cost & size required for high voltage breakers.

    Air Blast Circuit Breakers


    CharacteristicsRated
    Current up to 10,000 A.
    Trip characteristics often fully
    adjustable including configurable
    trip thresholds and delays.
    Usually electronically controlled
    some models are microprocessor
    controlled.
    Often used for main power
    distribution in large industrial
    plant, where the breakers are
    arranged in draw-out enclosures
    for ease of maintenance.

    Advantages:
    High speed operation as compared to OCB.
    Ability to withstand frequent switching.
    Facility for high speed reclosure.
    Less maintenance as compared to OCB.
    Disadvantages:
    Little moisture content prolongs arcing time.
    Pressure should be checked frequently for frequent
    operation.
    Risk of fire hazards due to over voltages.
    It cant be used for high voltage operation due to
    prolonged arc quenching.

    High Voltage Circuit Breaker


    Oil Circuit Breaker
    SF6 Circuit Breaker

    Oil Circuit Breaker


    Characteristics
    It is designed for 11kv-765kv.
    These are of two types :
    BOCB (Bulk oil Circuit Breaker)
    MOCB (Minimum oil Circuit Breaker)
    Oil provides cooling by hydrogen
    created by arc.
    It acts as a good dielectric medium
    and quenches the arc.

    Advantages:
    Oil has good dielectric strength.
    Low cost.
    Oil is easily available.
    It has wide range of breaking capability.
    Disadvantages:
    Slower operation , takes about 20 cycles for
    arc quenching.
    It is highly inflammable , so high risk of fire.
    High maintenance cost.

    SF6 Circuit Breaker


    Characteristics
    It contains anarc interruption
    chamber containing SF6gas.
    SF6rapidly absorbs the free
    electrons in the arc path to form
    immobile negative ions to build up
    high dielectric strength.
    After operation the valve is closed
    by the action of a set of springs.

    Advantages
    Very short arcing period due to superior arc quenching
    property ofSF6.
    Can interrupt much larger currents as compared to other
    breakers.
    No risk of fire.
    Low maintenance, light foundation.
    No over voltage problem.There are no carbon deposits.
    Disadvantage
    SF6breakers are costly dueto high cost ofSF6.
    SF6gas has to be reconditioned after every operation of the
    breaker, additional equipment is required for this purpose.

    Conclusion
    Therefore, I conclude that circuit
    breaker is the most essential part of
    the electrical networks as it protects
    every device from damage. It helps us
    to detect the fault and area affected
    by it. Nowadays vacuum and SF6
    circuit breakers are widely used due to
    their reliable and fast operations.

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