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ElectricalFuse
FromOpenElectrical

Contents
1 MaindefinitionbyIEC
2 Generalinformation
3 Construction
4 Characteristicparameters
4.1 RatedcurrentIN
4.2 TheI 2 t value
4.3 Breakingcapacity
4.4 Ratedvoltage
4.5 Voltagedrop
4.6 Temperaturederating
5 Markings
6 Fusestandards
6.1 IEC60269fuses
6.2 UL248fuses(NorthAmerica)
7 FuseTypes
7.1 Lowvoltagefuses
7.2 Highvoltagefuses
7.3 Resettablefuses
7.4 Thermalfuses
8 Trivia

MaindefinitionbyIEC
Adevicethatbythefusing(melting)ofoneormoreofitsspeciallydesigned
andproportionedcomponents,opensthecircuitinwhichitisinsertedby
breakingthecurrentwhenthisexceedsagivenvalueforasufficienttime.The
fusecomprisesallthepartsthatformthecompletedevice.
FusesymbolbyIEC
Generalinformation
Inelectronicsandelectricalengineering,afuseisatypeoflowresistanceresistorthatactsasa"sacrificial"device
toprovideovercurrentprotection,ofeithertheloadorsourcecircuit.Itsessentialcomponentisametalwireor
stripthatmeltswhentoomuchcurrentflows,whichinterruptsthecircuitinwhichitisconnected.Shortcircuit,
overloading,mismatchedloadsordevicefailurearetheprimereasonsforexcessivecurrent.

Afuseinterruptsexcessivecurrent(blows)sothatfurtherdamagebyoverheatingorfireisprevented.Wiring
regulationsoftendefineamaximumfusecurrentratingforparticularcircuits.Overcurrentprotectiondevicesare
essentialinelectricalsystemstolimitthreatstohumanlifeandpropertydamage.Fusesareselectedtoallow
passageofnormalcurrentplusamarginalpercentageandtoallowexcessivecurrentonlyforshortperiods.Slow
blowfusesaredesignedtoallowhighercurrentsforamodestamountoftimelonger,andsuchconsiderationsare
andwerecommonlynecessarywhenelectronicsdevicesorsystemshadelectronictubetechoralargenumberof
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incandescentlightswerebeingpoweredsuchasinalargehall,theaterorstadium.Tubesandincandescentlights
eachhavereducedcurrentneedsastheyheatuptooperatingtemperaturesfortheirinternalresistancegrowsas
theyareheatedthesamephysicsprinciplecausesthefusematerialtomelt,disconnectingthecircuitfrompower.

Construction
Afuseconsistsofametalstriporwirefuseelement,ofsmallcross
sectioncomparedtothecircuitconductors,mountedbetweenapairof
electricalterminals,and(usually)enclosedbyanoncombustible
housing.Thefuseisarrangedinseriestocarryallthecurrentpassing
throughtheprotectedcircuit.Theresistanceoftheelementgenerates
heatduetothecurrentflow.Thesizeandconstructionoftheelement
isdeterminedsothattheheatproducedforanormalcurrentdoesnot
causetheelementtoattainahightemperature.Iftoohighcurrent
flows,theelementrisestoahighertemperatureandeitherdirectly
melts,orelsemeltsasolderedjointwithinthefuse,openingthe
circuit.

Thefuseelementismadeofzinc,copper,silver,aluminum,oralloys
toprovidestableandpredictablecharacteristics.Thefuseideally
wouldcarryitsratedcurrentindefinitely,andmeltquicklyonasmall
excess.Theelementmustnotbedamagedbyminorharmlesssurgesof
current,andmustnotoxidizeorchangeitsbehaviorafterpossibly
yearsofservice.

Thefuseelementsmaybeshapedtoincreaseheatingeffect.Inlarge
fuses,currentmaybedividedbetweenmultiplestripsofmetal.Adual
elementfusemaycontainametalstripthatmeltsinstantlyonashort Simplifiedfusescheme
circuit,andalsocontainalowmeltingsolderjointthatrespondsto
longtermoverloadoflowvaluescomparedtoashortcircuit.Fuse
elementsmaybesupportedbysteelornichromewires,sothatnostrainisplacedontheelement,butaspringmay
beincludedtoincreasethespeedofpartingoftheelementfragments.

Thefuseelementmaybesurroundedbyair,orbymaterialsintendedtospeedthequenchingofthearc.Silicasand
ornonconductingliquidsmaybeused.

Dimensions

Fusescanbebuiltwithdifferentsizedenclosurestopreventinterchangeofdifferentratingsortypesoffuse.For
example,bottlestylefusesdistinguishbetweenratingswithdifferentcapdiameters.Automotiveglassfuseswere
madeindifferentlengths,topreventhighratedfusesbeinginstalledinacircuitintendedforalowerrating.

Specialfeatures

Glasscartridgeandplugfusesallowdirectinspectionofthefusibleelement.Otherfuseshaveotherindication
methodsincluding:

Indicatingpinorstrikerpinextendsoutofthefusecapwhentheelementisblown.
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Indicatingdiscacoloureddisc(flushmountedintheendcapofthefuse)fallsoutwhentheelementis
blown.
Elementwindowasmallwindowbuiltintothefusebodytoprovidevisualindicationofablownelement.
Externaltripindicatorsimilarfunctiontostrikerpin,butcanbeexternallyattached(usingclips)toa
compatiblefuse.

Somefusesallowaspecialpurposemicroswitchorrelayunittobefixedtothefusebody.Whenthefuseelement
blows,theindicatingpinextendstoactivatethemicroswitchorrelay,which,inturn,triggersanevent.

Somefusesformediumvoltageapplicationsusetwoseparatebarrelsandtwofuseelementsinparallel.

Characteristicparameters
RatedcurrentIN

Amaximumcurrentthatthefusecancontinuouslyconductwithoutinterruptingthecircuit.

Thespeedatwhichafuseblowsdependsonhowmuchcurrentflowsthroughitandthematerialofwhichthefuse
ismade.Theoperatingtimeisnotafixedinterval,butdecreasesasthecurrentincreases.Fuseshavedifferent
characteristicsofoperatingtimecomparedtocurrent,characterizedasfastblow,slowblow,ortimedelay,
accordingtotimerequiredtorespondtoanovercurrentcondition.Astandardfusemayrequiretwiceitsrated
currenttoopeninonesecond,afastblowfusemayrequiretwiceitsratedcurrenttoblowin0.1seconds,anda
slowblowfusemayrequiretwiceitsratedcurrentfortensofsecondstoblow.

Fuseselectiondependsontheload'scharacteristics.Semiconductordevicesmayuseafastorultrafastfuseas
semiconductordevicesheatrapidlywhenexcesscurrentflows.Thefastestblowingfusesaredesignedforthemost
sensitiveelectricalequipment,whereevenashortexposuretoanoverloadcurrentcouldbeverydamaging.
Normalfastblowfusesarethemostgeneralpurposefuses.Thetimedelayfuse(alsoknownasantisurge,orslow
blow)aredesignedtoallowacurrentwhichisabovetheratedvalueofthefusetoflowforashortperiodoftime
withoutthefuseblowing.Thesetypesoffuseareusedonequipmentsuchasmotors,whichcandrawlargerthan
normalcurrentsforuptoseveralsecondswhilecominguptospeed.

TimeCurrentCharacteristicsOfFuses

A100amperefusedoesnotopeninstantlyat101amperes,norevenat200amperes.Thefuseopeningtimeis
dependentonthetypeoffuseandmagnitudeoftheovercurrent.Infact,thisdelaymaybedesirable.Anoverload
currentconditionmayonlybetemporaryinnature,andthecurrentmaysubsidetonormalcurrentconditionsin
shortorder.Forexample,atypicalharmlesscurrentoverloadisencounteredwhenevermostmotorsarestarted.
Thebuiltinfusetimedelaypermitsthemotortostartwithoutunnecessarilyblowingfuses.

Twobroadfusecharacteristictypesare(1)dualelement,timedelayfusesand(2)nontimedelayfuses.Eachtype
hasattributessuitableforspecificapplications.Thedualelement,timedelayfusesarewidelyusedingeneral
purposeapplications,motorcircuits,transformers,andothercircuits.Thenontimedelaycurrentlimitingfusesare
usedwherefastresponsewithlittleornooverloaddelayisdesired.Atypicalapplicationoftheseisforprotecting
circuitbreakersforpossiblelargeshortcircuitcurrentlevels.

Thegraphshowsthedifferencebetweenthemeltingcurvesofatypical100amperedualelementtimedelayfuse
andanontimedelayfuse.Ifwelookatacomparisonat500amperes,thedualelementfusemeltsinabout10
secondsandthenontimedelayfusemeltsin.2seconds.Thisisatimeratioof50toone.Atacurrentof200
amperes(twicethenominalrating)thetimeratioisabout9toone.

2
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TheI 2 tvalue

Theamountofenergyspentbythefuseelementtoclearthe
electricalfault.Thistermisnormallyusedinshortcircuit
conditionsandthevaluesareusedtoperformcoordination
studiesinelectricalnetworks.I2tparametersareprovidedby
chartsinmanufacturerdatasheetsforeachfusefamily.For
coordinationoffuseoperationwithupstreamordownstream
devices,bothmeltingI2tandclearingI2tarespecified.The
meltingI2t,isproportionaltotheamountofenergyrequiredto
beginmeltingthefuseelement.TheclearingI2tisproportional
tothetotalenergyletthroughbythefusewhenclearinga
fault.Theenergyismainlydependentoncurrentandtimefor
fusesaswellastheavailablefaultlevelandsystemvoltage.
SincetheI2tratingofthefuseisproportionaltotheenergyit
letsthrough,itisameasureofthethermaldamageand
magneticforcesthatwillbeproducedbyafault.
TimeCurrentcharacteristic
Generalformulationshouldbe:I2tvalueofsurgecurrent<
I2tvalueoffuse<MaximumallowablefaultcurrentI2t

Breakingcapacity

Thebreakingcapacityisthemaximumcurrentthatcansafelybeinterruptedbythefuse.Generally,thisshouldbe
higherthantheprospectiveshortcircuitcurrent.Miniaturefusesmayhaveaninterruptingratingonly10times
theirratedcurrent.SomefusesaredesignatedHighRuptureCapacity(HRC)andareusuallyfilledwithsandora
similarmaterial.Fusesforsmall,lowvoltage,usuallyresidential,wiringsystemsarecommonlyrated,inNorth
Americanpractice,tointerrupt10,000amperes.Fusesforlargerpowersystemsmusthavehigherinterrupting
ratings,withsomelowvoltagecurrentlimitinghighinterruptingfusesratedfor300,000amperes.Fusesforhigh
voltageequipment,upto115,000volts,areratedbythetotalapparentpower(megavoltamperes,MVA)ofthe
faultlevelonthecircuit.

Ratedvoltage

Voltageratingofthefusemustbegreaterthanorequaltowhatwouldbecometheopencircuitvoltage.For
example,aglasstubefuseratedat32voltswouldnotreliablyinterruptcurrentfromavoltagesourceof120or230
V.Ifa32Vfuseattemptstointerruptthe120or230Vsource,anarcmayresult.Plasmainsidethatglasstubefuse
maycontinuetoconductcurrentuntilcurrenteventuallysodiminishesthatplasmarevertstoaninsulatinggas.
Ratedvoltageshouldbelargerthanthemaximumvoltagesourceitwouldhavetodisconnect.Ratedvoltage
remainssameforanyonefuse,evenwhensimilarfusesareconnectedinseries.Connectingfusesinseriesdoes
notincreasetheratedvoltageofthecombination(norofanyonefuse).

Mediumvoltagefusesratedforafewthousandvoltsareneverusedonlowvoltagecircuits,becauseoftheircost
andbecausetheycannotproperlyclearthecircuitwhenoperatingatverylowvoltages.

Voltagedrop

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Avoltagedropacrossthefuseisusuallyprovidedbyitsmanufacturer.Resistancemaychangewhenafuse
becomeshotduetoenergydissipationwhileconductinghighercurrents.Thisresultingvoltagedropshouldbe
takenintoaccount,particularlywhenusingafuseinlowvoltageapplications.Voltagedropoftenisnotsignificant
inmoretraditionalwiretypefuses,butcanbesignificantinothertechnologiessuchasresettablefuse(PPTC)type
fuses.

Temperaturederating

Ambienttemperaturewillchangeafuse'soperationalparameters.Afuseratedfor1Aat25Cmayconductupto
10%or20%morecurrentat40Candmayopenat80%ofitsratedvalueat100C.Operatingvalueswillvary
witheachfusefamilyandareprovidedinmanufacturerdatasheets.

Fusederatingcharacteristic

Markings
Mostfusesaremarkedonthebodyorendcapswithmarkingsthat
indicatetheirratings.Surfacemounttechnology"chiptype"fuses
featurefewornomarkings,makingidentificationverydifficult.

Similarappearingfusesmayhavesignificantlydifferentproperties,
identifiedbytheirmarkings.Fusemarkingswillgenerallyconveythe
followinginformation,eitherexplicitlyastext,orelseimplicitwiththe
approvalagencymarkingforaparticulartype:

Currentratingofthefuse.
Voltageratingofthefuse.
Timecurrentcharacteristici.e.fusespeed.
Productcertificationorapprovalsbynationalandinternational
standardsagencies.
Manufacturing/partnumber/series. Typicaldomesticfuse,gL/gG,500V,16A,
Breakingcapacity. SIEMENS

Fusestandards
IEC60269fuses
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TheInternationalElectrotechnicalCommissionpublishesstandard60269forlowvoltagepowerfuses.The
standardisinfourvolumes,whichdescribegeneralrequirements,fusesforindustrialandcommercialapplications,
fusesforresidentialapplications,andfusestoprotectsemiconductordevices.TheIECstandardunifiesseveral
nationalstandards,therebyimprovingtheinterchangeabilityoffusesininternationaltrade.Allfusesofdifferent
technologiestestedtomeetIECstandardswillhavesimilartimecurrentcharacteristics,whichsimplifiesdesign
andmaintenance.

UL248fuses(NorthAmerica)

IntheUnitedStatesandCanada,lowvoltagefusesto1kVACratingaremadeinaccordancewithUnderwriters
LaboratoriesstandardUL248ortheharmonizedCanadianStandardsAssociationstandardC22.2No.248.This
standardappliestofusesrated1kVorless,ACorDC,andwithbreakingcapacityupto200kA.Thesefusesare
intendedforinstallationsfollowingCanadianElectricalCode,PartI(CEC),ortheNationalElectricalCode,NFPA
70(NEC).

IECandULnomenclaturevariesslightly.IECstandardsrefertoa"fuse"astheassemblyofafuselinkandfuse
holder.InNorthAmericanstandards,thefuseisthereplaceableportionoftheassembly,andafuselinkwouldbea
baremetalelementforinstallationinafuse.

FuseTypes
Lowvoltagefuses

Inthiscategoryallfusesupto1.5kVcanbeincluded.Butthemosttypicalvoltagelevelsforlowvoltagefusesare
500V,690Vand750V.

LVHRCfusesareusedforinstallationsystemsinnonresidential,commercialandindustrialbuildings,aswellas
intheswitchboardsofpowersupplycompanies.Theythereforeprotectessentialbuildingpartsandinstallations.
LVHRCfuselinksareavailableinthefollowingoperationalclasses:

gG(previouslygL)forcableandlineprotection
aMfortheshortcircuitprotectionofswitchingdevicesinmotorcircuits
gRoraRfortheprotectionofpowersemiconductors
gSoperationalclasscombinescableandlineprotectionwithsemiconductorprotection.

Variouslowvoltagefuses

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Motorfuse,aM,690V,500A

Variouscylindricallowvoltagefuses

VariousgGfusesfor500V

Highvoltagefuses

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Allfusesusedonpowersystemsfrom1.5kVupto138kVarecategorizedashighvoltagefuses.Highvoltage
fusesareusedtoprotectinstrumenttransformersusedforelectricitymetering,orforsmallpowertransformers
wheretheexpenseofacircuitbreakerisnotwarranted.Forexample,indistributionsystems,apowerfusemaybe
usedtoprotectatransformerserving13houses.Acircuitbreakerat115kVmaycostuptofivetimesasmuchas
asetofpowerfuses,sotheresultingsavingcanbetensofthousandsofdollars.Polemounteddistribution
transformersarenearlyalwaysprotectedbyafusiblecutout,whichcanhavethefuseelementreplacedusinglive
linemaintenancetools.

Largepowerfusesusefusibleelementsmadeofsilver,copperortintoprovidestableandpredictableperformance.
Highvoltageexpulsionfusessurroundthefusiblelinkwithgasevolvingsubstances,suchasboricacid.Whenthe
fuseblows,heatfromthearccausestheboricacidtoevolvelargevolumesofgases.Theassociatedhighpressure
(oftengreaterthan100atmospheres)andcoolinggasesrapidlyquenchtheresultingarc.Thehotgasesarethen
explosivelyexpelledoutoftheend(s)ofthefuse.Suchfusescanonlybeusedoutdoors.

Varioushighvoltagefuses

Highvoltagefuses,115kV

Mediumvoltagefusefortransformerprotection,24kV,200
A

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Mediumvoltagefuse,24kV

Highvoltagehighpowerfusesarestandaloneprotectiveswitchingdevicesusedto138kV.Theyareusedinpower
supplynetworksandfordistributionuses.Themostfrequentapplicationisintransformercircuits,withfurther
usesinmotorcircuitsandcapacitorbanks.Thesetypeoffusesmayhaveanimpactpintooperateaswitch
mechanism,sothatallthreephasesareinterruptedifanyonefuseblows.

Highpowerfusemeansthatthesefusescaninterruptseveralkiloamperes.Somemanufacturershavetestedtheir
fusesforupto63kAcutoffcurrent.

Resettablefuses

SocalledselfresettingfusesuseathermoplasticconductiveelementknownasaPolymericPositiveTemperature
Coefficient(orPPTC)thermistorthatimpedesthecircuitduringanovercurrentcondition(byincreasingdevice
resistance).ThePPTCthermistorisselfresettinginthatwhencurrentisremoved,thedevicewillcoolandrevert
backtolowresistance.Thesedevicesareoftenusedinaerospace/nuclearapplicationswherereplacementis
difficult,oronacomputermotherboardsothatashortedmouseorkeyboarddoesnotcausemotherboarddamage.

PTCResettablefuse,30V

Thermalfuses

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Athermalfuseisoftenfoundinconsumerequipmentsuchascoffeemakersorhairdryersortransformers
poweringsmallconsumerelectronicsdevices.Theycontainafusible,temperaturesensitivealloywhichholdsa
springcontactmechanismnormallyclosed.Whenthesurroundingtemperaturegetstoohigh,thealloymeltsand
allowsthespringcontactmechanismtobreakthecircuit.Thedevicecanbeusedtopreventafireinahairdryer
forexample,bycuttingoffthepowersupplytotheheaterelementswhentheairflowisinterrupted(e.g.,the
blowermotorstopsortheairintakebecomesaccidentallyblocked).Thermalfusesarea'oneshot',nonresettable
devicewhichmustbereplacedoncetheyhavebeenactivated(blown).

Thermalfuse,120V,15A

Trivia

Western Power Blows fuses

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