Circuit Breakers

CHRISTIAN DE GUZMAN
GROUP 7

2019/3/9
What is a circuit breaker?
•A device designed to open and close a circuit by non-
automatic means and to open the circuit automatically on a
predetermined overcurrent without damage to itself when
properly applied within its rating.(PEC 2009)

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Circuit breakers in varying sizes

Low rating CBs

Switchgears

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History

•In 1879, Thomas Edison invented the early form of circuit

breaker which is the fuse.

•Circuit breakers was patented by Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC

1924)

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Circuit breaker contacts
Under normal operating conditions, these contacts remain
closed and are not open automatically until and unless the
system becomes faulty

•Main contact

•Arc contact

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Operation

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Circuit Breaker over Fuse
>A fuse operates once and then has to be replaced.

>A circuit breaker can be reset(either manually or

automatically)to resume normal operation

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Faulty Condition
•Fault occurs when the trip coils of the circuit breaker are

energized and the moving contacts are pulled apart, thus

opening the circuit.

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Circuit breakers rating
Circuit breakers are rated by:

•Normal current that they are expected to carry.

•Maximum short-circuit current that they can safely

interrupt.

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Short circuit current
•Highest electric current which can exist in a particular

electrical system under short-circuit conditions.

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Arc interruption
Techniques to extinguish arc:

•Lengthening / deflection of the arc

•Intensive cooling
•Division into partial arcs
•Zero point quenching

When fault condition is cleared, the contacts must again be closed to restore
power to the interrupted circuit.

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Arc interruption
•Once the fault condition has been cleared, the contacts
must again be closed to restore power to the interrupted
circuit.

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Arc interruption
•Low-voltage MCB(Miniature Circuit Breaker) uses air to
extinguish the arc. While larger ratings have non-metallic
arc chutes.

•Oil circuit breakers vaporize oil to extinguish arc

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Arc interruption
•Gas circuit breakers (usually SF6) stretch the arc using a
magnetic field, and then rely upon the dielectric strength of
the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) for arc interruption.

•Vacuum circuit breakers have minimal arcing, so the arc

quenches when it is stretched a very small amount.

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Arc interruption
•Air circuit breakers may use compressed air for
interruption, or alternatively, the contacts are rapidly
swung into a small sealed chamber, the escaping of the
displaced air thus blowing out the arc.

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TYPES OF CIRCUIT
BREAKERS
Johannah Mari E. Macatangay
Low-Voltage Circuit Breakers
-less than 1000Vac

- often installed in draw-out enclosures that allow removal and interchange

without dismantling the switchgear

-made for direct-current (DC) applications, such as DC for subway lines

What’s Inside of a Low-Voltage CB
1 – Actutator Lever
2 – Actuator mechanism
3 – Contacts
4 – Terminals
5 – Bimetallic strip
6 – Calibration Screw
7 – Solenoid
8 – Arc divider
Types
MINIATURE CIRCUIT BREAKER (MCB)
-rated not more than 100 A
-trip characteristics normally not adjustable
-generally for lighting load
-3 main types:
-Type B – trips between 3 and 5 times the full load current
-Type C - trips between 5 and 10 times the full load current
-Type D - trips between 10 and 20 times the full load current
Types
MOLDED CASE CIRCUIT BREAKER
-rated current up to 2500 A
-trip current may be adjustable in larger ratings
-generally for short circuit protection in power distribution boards
Magnetic Circuit Breakers
-uses solenoid whose pulling force increases with the current

- circuit breaker contacts are held closed by a latch

- As the current in the solenoid increases beyond the rating of the circuit
breaker, the solenoid's pull releases the latch, which lets the contacts open by
spring action
What’s Inside of a Magnetic Circuit Breaker

A – Contacts
B – Latch mechanisms
C – Magnetic trip
D – Thermal overload
E – Cable clamp
F – Tension spring
Thermal Magnetic Circuit Breaker
- has a trip unit that senses heat to detect an overload and senses a magnetic
field generated by current to detect a short circuit

- trips immediately when a short circuit occurs, but delays an appropriate

amount of time before tripping in the event of an overload

- sensitive to temperature
Thermal Magnetic Circuit Breaker
Thermal-magnetic circuit breakers
contain two different switching
mechanisms:
1) Bimetal switch
-bimetal serves as a means of
handling overcurrent
-electrical current exceeding the
breaker-overload rating heats
the bimetal enough to bend it
toward the trip bar
Thermal Magnetic Circuit Breaker
2) Electromagnet
-Load current passes through
the electromagnet coils so the
electromagnet responds to
short-circuit currents
Common Trip Breakers
-may either contain two or three tripping mechanisms within one case

-for small breakers, may externally tie the poles together via their operating
handles

Two-pole common trip breakers: 120/240-volt systems where 240 volt loads
span the two live wires

Three-pole common trip breakers: typically used to supply three phase electric
power to large motors or further distribution boards
Common Trip Breakers

Two- and four-pole common trip breakers: used when there is a need to
disconnect multiple phase AC
: or to disconnect the neutral wire to ensure that no current flows through the
neutral wire from other loads connected to the same network when workers
may touch the wires during maintenance
Medium-Voltage Circuit Breakers
-rated between 1 and 72 kV

-operated by current sensing protective relays operated through current

transformers

-always use separate current sensors and protective relays, instead of relying
on built-in thermal or magnetic overcurrent sensors
Classification of Medium-Voltage Circuit Breakers

Vacuum circuit breakers - with rated current up to 6,300 A higher for generator
circuit breakers
- these breakers interrupt the current by creating and
extinguishing the arc in a vacuum container
- vacuum circuit breakers tend to have longer life
expectancies between overhaul than do air circuit
breakers

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Classification of Medium-Voltage Circuit Breakers
Air circuit breakers - with rated current up to 6,300 A and higher for generator
circuit breakers
- Trip characteristics are often fully adjustable including
configurable trip thresholds and delays
- Usually electronically controlled, though some models
are microprocessor controlled via an integral electronic
trip unit
- Often used for main power distribution in large industrial
plant, where the breakers are arranged in draw-out
enclosures for ease of maintenance

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Classification of Medium-Voltage Circuit Breakers
SF6 circuit breakers - extinguish the arc in a chamber filled with sulfur
hexafluoride gas

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High-Voltage Circuit Breakers
Reporter: Emmanuel M. Ramento

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High-Voltage Circuit Breakers

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High-Voltage Circuit Breakers
Electrical power transmission networks are protected and controlled by high-
voltage breakers.

Power transmission work is usually thought to be 72.5 kV or higher

According IEC, high-voltage breakers are nearly always solenoid-operated, with

current sensing protective relays operated through current transformers

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High-Voltage Circuit Breakers
High-voltage circuit breakers used on transmission systems
may be arranged to allow a single pole of a three-phase line
to trip, instead of tripping all three poles; for some classes
of faults this improves the system stability and availability

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High-Voltage Circuit Breakers
A high voltage direct current circuit breaker uses DC
transmission lines rather than the AC transmission lines that
dominate as of 2013. An HVDC circuit breaker can be used
to connect DC transmission lines into a DC transmission
grid, thereby making it possible to link renewable energy
sources and even out local variations in wind and solar
power.

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High-Voltage Circuit Breakers
What to Specify on The Order
1- Rated voltage of the circuit breaker
2- Rated current of the circuit breaker
3- Rated short circuit breaking current
4- Voltages of opening and closing coils
5- Motor supply voltage (if equipped)

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Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) High-Voltage
Circuit Breakers

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Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) High-Voltage
Circuit Breakers
Excellent gaseous dielectric for high voltage power
applications

Sulfur hexafluoride
-is an inorganic, colorless, odorless, non-flammable,
extremely potent greenhouse gas which is an
excellent electrical insulator.

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Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) High-Voltage
Circuit Breakers
Advantages
•High dielectric strength
•Unique arc-quenching ability
•Excellent thermal stability
•Good thermal conductivity
•Non-flammable

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Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) High-Voltage
Circuit Breakers

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Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) High-Voltage
Circuit Breakers
Maintenance
•Normally, at least once a year or after every 500 operations, the
circuit breaker must be maintained.
•During maintenance, the moving parts of the mechanism must be
lubricated carefully.
•The insulating parts are to be wiped out by a clean and dry cloth.
When maintaining, the circuit breaker should be open and high
voltage sides must be grounded.

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Disconnecting Circuit Breaker (DCB)

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Disconnecting Circuit Breaker (DCB)
Disconnecting function is integrated in the breaking chamber, eliminating the
need for separate disconnectors.

Increases the availability, since open-air disconnecting switch main contacts

need maintenance every 2–6 years, while modern circuit breakers have
maintenance intervals of 15 years

CB solution also reduces the space requirements within the substation, and
increases the reliability, due to the lack of separate disconnectors.

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Carbon dioxide (CO2) High-
Voltage
Circuit Breakers

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Carbon dioxide (CO2) High-
Voltage
Circuit Breakers
•The carbon dioxide breaker works on the same principles as an
SF6 breaker and can also be produced as a disconnecting circuit
breaker. By switching from SF6 to CO2 it is possible to reduce the
CO2 emissions by 10 tons during the product’s life cycle.

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-BREAKERS FOR PROTECTIONS AGAINST EARTH FAULTS TOO
SMALL TO TRIP AND OVERCURRENT DEVICE
-RECLOSERS
-POLYSWITCHES/POLYFUSES
JUSTIN AARON Q. OMADTO

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RESIDUAL CURRENT DEVICE/ RESIDUAL CURRENT C.B
-an electrical wiring device that
disconnects a circuit whenever it
detects that the electric current is not
balanced between the energized
conductor and the return
neutral conductor.

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 (1) incoming supply & neutral conductors terminals (2) outgoing load
conductors (3) reset button (4) contacts (5) solenoid (6) sense coil (diff.
current transformer) (7) sense circuit (8) test button (9) test wire

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RESIDUAL CURRENT C.B WITH OVERLOAD PROTECTION (RCBO)/
GROUND FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTERS (GFCI)
-combines the functions of overcurrent protection and leakage detection.

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VOLTAGE-BASED EARTH LEAKAGE CIRCUIT
BREAKERS
-a safety device used in electrical installations with high earth impedance to
prevent shock. It detects small stray voltages on the metal enclosures of
electrical equipment, and interrupts the circuit if a dangerous voltage is detected.

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RECLOSER
- a circuit breaker equipped with a mechanism that can automatically close the breaker after it
has been opened due to a fault.
- used on overhead distribution systems to detect & interrupt momentary faults.

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POLYFUSE OR POLYSWITCH
- an electronic equipment used to protect against overcurrent faults in electronic circuits
- reaches a high resistance w/ a low holding current under fault conditions & cycle back to a
conductive state after the current is removed, acting like a C.B. allowing the circuit to function
again.

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