Discrimation and Fuses

Discrimation
A circuit fed from a distribution board may be fed through three or even four fuses or circuit breakers e.g.
a heating circuit may be connected to a 15amp fuse in a fuse box fed from a section box in turn from a
500A circuit breaker on the main board.
Discrimination occurs when the fuses nearest to the fault operates leaving all the other fuses
or protective devices intact. Discrimination may be required between fuse and fuse or between fuse and
overcurrent device such as a circuit breaker.
Fuses
A fuse is a protective device which is there to prevent overloading. !f too heavy a fuse or if the fuse is
overridden then there is a possibility of overheating deterioration of insulation and failure.
Materials used are" #in $ead or silver having low melting points. %se of copper or iron is
dangerous though tinned copper may be used.
%nlike some other forms of circuit protection devices &oil switches for instance' which are suitable for a.c.
only solid filled cartridge fuses have an approximately equal breaking capacity for D.(. and A.(. and the
action of the fuse does not depend on breaking circuit at the )ero point on the current cyclic wave
*equirements of a fuse"
Have a high cut off speed on short circuit
Operate on a sustained overload
Make a complete break after operation with high insulation resistance between terminals
Have a maximum temperature rise on continuous full load rating such that it will not be injurious to
rudder cables connected to its terminals
Be mechanically robust and capable of withstanding the large magnetic and gaseous forces exerted
during operation under short circuit conditions
A fuse must not"
Operate on continuous full load
operate on momentary overload
Deteriorate under continuous operation at full load
Burst or emit flame or otherwise damage the fuse carrier and base when it operates
Regulations
!.+.+. and classification society rules now specify high breaking capacity &high category' fuses on main
switch boards where the total normal generator capacity exceeds ,00k- at .00v this is for short circuit
or low resistance protection of the very high currents that can be generated in these conditions.
!n addition"
Fuses on shipboard must be made to approved standards
Breaking capacity not less than prospective short circuit current at point of installation
Fuses over !""# are not used for overload protection but may be used for short circuit protection
$artridge fuses only on tankers
#o control the extent of heavy fault currents on large installations the protective device must
have a very high speed performance or /igh *upture (apacity &/.*.(.' /.*.(. fuses will operate quickly
before the short circuit current exceeds 0 times the full load current.
Cartridge fuses
Are capable of handling large short circuits. 1ecause of standardisation of manufacture they have very
consistant time2current fusing characteristics making them accurate dependable and non3deteriorating in
service. 4uitable filling powders such as silicon sand are used in cartridge fuses having the property of
quenching the arc of the fused element.
Enclosed fuses
#he element usually made of silver is much smaller than the tinned copper used in semi3
enclosed fuses so that the amount of vaporised metal is less and this contributes to a better performance.
#he enclosed casing and use of silver ensures no degradation due to oxidation. After the silver element
has fused the indicator wire will heat up sufficiently to ignite the indicator powder and the fuse will be
shown to be blown.
+xcept in the lowest ratings there are two or more elements in parallel which increase the
contact area in contact with the filler and this increases the breaking capacity. #he ends of the element
are reinforced by larger wires to reduce resistance and therefore heat losses.
#he indicator type should in the construction below consists of an indicator wire which ignites an explosive
powder which chars the indicator paper. 5n other designs the indicator wire releases a spring and pop up
indicator
Semi-enclosed fuses
#inned copper fuse wire exposed to the atmosphere tends to deteriorate and will vary in performance
after long periods in service. Also there is a temptation to increase the gauge of the wire or the number
of wires after a fuse has blown. /owever rewireable fuses are cheap easily replaceable blown fuses are
easily detected and within reason if the circuit is uprated slightly no new fuse holders are required.
Tin3fast heating and failure &expensive'
Copper34low heating and failure &cheaper'
5n overload the tin will fail rapidly increasing the current through the core speeding up its
failure.
Rating
!s that current the fuse will carry continuously e.g. for a circuit rated at 00 amp a 00 amp fuse will be
appropriate. 6uses and circuit breakers on switchboards and distribution boards are intended primarily for
the protection of the cables and not the apparatus. 5verload protection of the apparatus usually provided
at the motor starter.
#he fusing factor 7 8inimum fusing current2 (urrent rating
There are three
standards
Class P
Fuses protect against relatively small but sustained overloads
with fusing factor of 1.25 (25% overload rating)
Class Q
Fuses where protection against relatively small overcurrents
is not reuired! with a fuse factor not e"ceeding 1.5 for
cartridge and 1.# for semi$enclosed fuses. %otor overload
protection to bac& up motor starter protection
Class R
Fuses reuire for protection against relatively large
overcurrents (e.g. short circuit protection) ' " Full load
current
Minimum fusing current
is affected by length of fuse element. A short element with large terminals or with special
graded construction of wire will have its fusing current raised because of heat conduction away from the
element. Alternately the cross section of element can be reduced for a fuse of a given rating. #his method
is adopted in some designs of semi3enclosed and filled cartridge fuses.