Fuse as Short Circuit Protection

Protection Device
General information about Short Circuit:

Short circuit is the path between two or more conductive path forcing the electric potential differences
between them to be equal to or close to zero and leading to the development of a very high over current.
The characteristic and magnitude of the short-circuit current in a circuit are determined by the impedances of
the components in the circuit.

The magnitude of the prospective short-circuit current (symmetrical component) is a function of the driving
voltage and the impedances of the short-circuit loop. For the short-circuit current of the transformer with a
short-circuit directly at the terminals the following applies approximately:

IccT2 = I2e 1/uk = (PT/(U2e  !! 1/uk

IccT2 Prospective short-circuit current on secondary (r.m.s. value)

I2e Rated secondary current
uk Short-circuit voltage
PT Rated power of the transformer
U2e Rated secondary voltage (pole-pole)

If large motor is part of the circuit then their contribution to the entire short-circuit current should be
taken into account. Due to lack of a load impedance in the short-circuit loop, short-circuit currents are
strongly inductive. This has an effect on the peak value of the prospective short-circuit current, as
depending on the time of occurrence of short-circuit within a supply half cycle, a more or less high
overshoot ( prospective peak short-circuit current ) is produced.

1-Symmetrical short circuit

current.

2-Characteristic of the current

when switching on at voltage
zero crossover

U-Voltage
This overshoot is taken into account in the regulations by the factor n that should be taken into account
when designing switchgear assemblies with respect to the short-circuit withstand capacity of the
installation and of short-circuit switchgear with respect to its making capacity.

Note: - Value of factor n is according to IEC 60439-1

In case of HRC fuses short circuit withstands capacity (breaking capacity! is 80 KA & 100 KA. Thus
worst circumstances are taken into consider.

Current limitation & Selectivity of fuse as Short circuit protection device

Due to the potential dangers of short-circuits it is desirable that they are quickly detected and to break
them already in the first phase of current rise as far as possible. This is intended to reduce the destructive
energy to a minimum and to keep the extent of damage low.
It is positively achieved by using fuse with minimum let-through energy compare to circuit breaker.

In buildings and industrial plants, radial distribution networks are the norm. In radial distribution
systems there are several protective devices in series, usually with decreasing rated currents from the
supply end to the load end. While the operational currents decrease from the supply end to the load end,
in the event of a short circuit the same fault current will flow through all the protective devices connected
in series. By a cascading of the trip characteristics it must be ensured that only the respective protective
device that is closest to the location of the fault is activated and hence the fault is selectively limited to the
smallest possible part of the installation.
The basic prerequisite for selectivity of protective devices connected in series is that the trip Characteristic
of the downstream (closer to the load) protective device is faster than that of the upstream device. Special
attention should be paid to the area of high over currents, where the effects of current limitation and
breaking times are significant.

This Cascading & selectivity for the fuses is very simple because of the similarity in the characteristics
throughout the range & constant characteristics for complete life of fuse.
Connection of fuses in series

Fuses connected in series act selectively if their time current-characteristic curves have sufficient mutual
spacing and their tolerance bands do not touch. At high short-circuit currents the melting I2t value of the
upstream fuse must be larger than the breaking I2t value (melting and clearing time) of the smaller
downstream fuse. This is usually the case if their rated currents differ by a factor of 1.6 or more

Connection of fuse & circuit breaker in series

 1. Circuit breaker 2. Fuse
Co-ordination between the tripping range of the short-circuit release of the circuit breaker and cut of
current of the fuse needs to be maintained according to the above arrangement.

Benefit of using fuse as SCPD:-

1. High short circuit withstands capacity (breaking capacity) leads to better safety.
2. Minimum let-through energy leads to least stresses to the downstream protection devices &
equipments.
3. Perfectly graded selectivity for the optimal cable size & contactor rating in case of type two co-
ordinations.
4. Simple selectivity for cascade connection of fuses.
5. Low power loss leaded to low running cost & minimum heating.