SWITCHGEAR AND TRANSFORMER

MAINTENANCE

Compiled by

P.Murugesan Dy.Director
M.Ravichandrababu Asst.Director

NATIONAL POWER TRAINING

INSTITUTE (SR),
NEYVELI.
SWITCHGEAR MAINTENANCE

Content

Chapter Page

I Introduction 2

II Air Circuit Breaker 15

(ACB)

III Air Blast Circuit Breaker 26

(ABCB)

IV Minimum Oil Circuit Breaker 44

(MOCB)

V Sulphur HexaFlouride (SF6) 63

Circuit Breaker

VI Vacuum Circuit Breaker (VCB) 84

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 CHAPTER-I
INTRODUCTION

The apparatus used for switching, controlling and protecting the electrical circuits is
known as Switchgear. It covers a wide range of equipment concerned with make and break
an electric circuit under both normal and abnormal conditions. It includes switches like Load
break switch, Earth switch, Isolators (disconnecting switch), Relays, Circuit Breakers etc.
The brief accounts of these devices are given below:

Switch: -
A Switch is a device, which is used to close or open an electrical circuit in a
convenient way. It can be used under full-load or no-load conditions but it cannot interrupt
the fault current. When the contacts of a switch are opened, an arc is produced in the air
between the contacts. This is particularly true for circuits of high voltage and large current
capacity. The switches are classified into (i) Load break switch (ii) Earth Switch (iii) Isolator
or disconnecting switch etc.

Load Break Switch: -

Load break switch or load interrupting switch is an interrupting device, which can
make or break circuits at 7 to 8 times of the rated current. It is used for breaking the load
current.

Earth Switch: -
Earth switch is connected between the line conductor and the earth. Normally it is
open. When the line is disconnected, the earth switch is closed so as to discharge the voltage
trapped in the line. Though the line is disconnected, due to the capacitance between the line

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and the earth there is always some voltage. This voltage is significant in high voltage
systems. Before proceeding, with the maintenance work this voltage is discharged to the
earth by closing the earth switch. This switch is mounted on the frame of the isolator.

Isolators (Disconnecting Switch): -

Isolators operate under no load condition. It does not have any specified current
breaking capacity or current making capacity. Isolator is not used for breaking the load
currents. In some cases isolators are used for breaking, charging current of transmission
lines. Circuit breaker can make and break electric circuit under normal current or short-
circuit condition. Isolators are used in addition to circuit breakers. While opening a circuit,
the circuit breaker is opened first and then the isolator. While closing a circuit, the isolator is
closed first and then the circuit breaker. Isolators are necessary on supply side of circuit
breakers in order to ensure isolation (disconnection) of the circuit breaker from the line parts
for the purpose of maintenance.
Isolators used in Power-systems are generally 3 Pole isolator. The 3-Pole isolators
have three identical poles. Each pole consists of two or three insulators posts mounted on a
fabricated support. The conducting parts are supported on the insulator posts. The
conducting part consists of copper or aluminium rod, fixed and moving contacts. During the
opening operation the conducting rod swings apart and isolation is obtained. The
simultaneous operation of three poles is obtained by mechanical interlocking of the three
poles. Further, for all the three poles, there is a common operating mechanism. The
operating mechanisms are: -
1. By Electrical Motor
2. By Pneumatic System
The isolators can also be sub-divided as under: -
 Single break type
 Centre break or double break type
 Pantograph type
To prevent the maloperation, the isolator is provided with the following interlocking: -
 Interlocking between three poles for simultaneous operation

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 Interlocking with circuit breakers i.e. Isolator cannot be opened unless the circuit breaker
is opened. Circuit breaker cannot be closed unless the isolator is closed.

Relays: -
A relay is a device, which detects the fault and supplies information to the breaker for
circuit interruption. Fig.1.1 shows a typical relay circuit. It can be divided into three parts viz.

 The primary winding of a current transformer (C.T) which is connected in series with the
circuit to be protected. The primary winding often consists of the main conductor itself.

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 The Second circuit is the secondary winding of current transformer connected to the
relay-operating coil.
 The third circuit is the tripping circuit that consists of a source of supply, trip coil of
circuit breaker and the relay stationary contacts.

Under normal load conditions, the Electro motive force of the secondary winding of
C.T. is small and the current flowing in the relay-operating coil is insufficient to close the
relay contacts. This keeps the trip coil of the circuit breaker unenergised. Consequently, the
contacts of the breaker remain closed and it carries the normal load current. When a fault
occurs, a large current flows through the primary of C.T. This increases the secondary
Electro motive force and hence the current through the relay operating coils. The relay
contacts are closed and the trip coil of the breaker is energised to open the contacts of the
breaker.
In this course material, we will concentrate only on Circuit Breaker.

Automatic Switch/Circuit Breaker

The Basic principles of Circuit Breaker: -

The simplest circuit-interrupting device is the knife switch. By closing the switch
against the action of a spring, we have an automatic device in which the energy for opening
the contacts is stored by the closing operations. Such a device is shown in the Fig.1.2.

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 Here only a small force and a short time are needed to open the switch by means of a
simple latch which, when operated, releases the stored energy of the spring and opens the
contacts. The switch now becomes a true circuit breaker, which can interrupt the current
under predetermined conditions, e.g. when a short circuit occurs or when excess current
endangers the system. This is obviously a very crude method of control and it is used only in
low voltages. Hence, we can say that a circuit breaker is nothing but an automatic device for
interrupting an electrical circuit whenever it is warranted by a fault condition. From the
above explanation, it is understood that a circuit breaker has got two working positions.
 A closed position, where the current flowing is determined by the ratio of the applied
voltage to the total impedance of the circuit.
 An open position, where there is a zero current and the voltage of the source appears
across the contacts of the circuit breaker. These conditions are shown in Fig.1.3.
The circuit breaker is designed to carry a rated current, which it must be able to carry
continuously without its temperature rise exceeding maximum specified permissible value
for the rated voltage. In order to consider switching operation of a circuit breaker we must
first understand the terminology used. The switching operation is characterised by the value
of the voltage and current before and after the action of the breaker. They are two values. (i)
At the instant of contact closure the closing voltage, i.e. the rated voltage followed by the
making current, and (ii) At the instant of contact separation, the breaking current followed by
the recovery voltage. Making and breaking currents may differ considerably from the rated
load current, since their amplitudes will be several times larger. The recovery voltage name is
derived from the fact, that at the incidence of a fault on the electrical system the voltage
usually drops and after interruption of the circuit it gradually “recovers”. i.e. the initial
voltage value after the interruption of the circuit is lower than that of the working voltage and
then gradually attains its level. The breaking capacity is usually expressed in Mega -Volt
Amperes (MVA) and it is the product of the rated breaking current in kilo amperes and
rated voltage expressed in kilo volts. Hence breaking capacity for a three-phase circuit
breaker whether symmetrical or asymmetrical,
= 3V X I X 10 -6 MVA

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 Before we proceed further, we shall see what happens when the circuit breaker is
opened. (Refer fig.1.3) As long as the contacts are kept in the closed position the rated

current at rated voltage is passing through it. In the event of interruption due to any reasons,
the breaking of an electric current flowing through a circuit breaker gives rise to an electric
arc, which has to be extinguished. In order to achieve this object various devices are used and
to understand the principles involved, it is necessary to know how the arc is produced.

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 When the circuit breaker contacts are in the closed position they are pressed together
by the contact force which results in elastic deformation of the material of the contact
surface. Due to this fact (contact pressure) it could be said that the junction resistance is very
low. As the contacts starts opening the pressure is reduced and the elastic deformation is
getting reduced gradually. This reduction in pressure causes increase in the junction
resistance, resulting in rapid increase in a temperature on the contact surface. This effect is
much greater if the contacts are not in a good, clean and smooth condition. As the area in
contact reduces, the current density in this area increases which produces, “Hot spots”. The
rise in temperature combined with the electrical stress by the voltage across the gap, at the
instant of contact separation causes ionisation of the medium between the contacts. This
ionisation of the medium provides a conducting path for the arc. The arc across the contacts
of circuit breakers is an undesirable element. Hence, we must find some suitable means to
extinguish the arc in minimum possible time. As the contact is going on separating the gap
across the contact is also increasing. This results in increase in the length of the arc and the
resistance. At a pre-determined distance (gap) the resistance (length) is very high, the source
supply is not able to sustain the arc, and the arc gets extinguished. Hence, it could be said
that, to extinguish the arc we must increase the arc resistance.

Arc Lengthening
Resistance is directly proportional to length of the arc and inversely proportional to
the cross sectional area i.e.

L
R= -------
A
At this stage let us assume the arc to be equivalent to a conductor. Then,
 = Resistivity of the arc
L = Length of the arc
A = Area of the cross-section of the arc
R = Resistance of the arc

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Arc Cooling
The voltage required to maintain the ionisation increases with a decrease of
temperature so that cooling effectively increases the resistance.

Arc Constraining
If the arc can be constrained into a very narrow channel, the resistance gets increased
due to reduction in cross-sectional area and ionisation decreases for a given voltage.

Arc Splitting
There are two methods: -
1. The arc is forced into an arrangement of splitters by which the arc is lengthened. The
Lengthening of the arc improves the cooling of the contacts with the splitters so that
resistance is increased.
2. The arc is made to split into number of smaller arcs. The idea here is to ensure that the
sum of the cathode – anode voltage drops of short length should be more than the supply
voltage thereby the energy fed to the arc is reduced.

ARC INTERRUPTION THEORIES

There are two methods of extinguishing the arc in circuit breakers viz.
1. High resistance method
2. Low resistance method

High Resistance Method: -

In this method, arc resistance is made to increase with time so that current is reduced
to a value insufficient to maintain the arc. Consequently, the current is interrupted or the arc
is extinguished. The principal disadvantage of this method is an enormous energy is
dissipated in the arc. Therefore, it is employed only in D.C. circuit breakers and low capacity
A.C. circuit breakers.

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Low Resistance or Current Zero Method: -
This method is employed for arc extinction in A.C. circuits only. In this method, arc
resistance is kept low until current zero when the arc extinguishes naturally and it is
prevented from resisting inspire of the rising voltage across the contacts. All modern high
power A.C. circuit breakers employ this method for arc extinction. In an A.C. System, the
current drops to zero after every half cycle. At every current zero, the arc extinguishes for a
brief moment. Now the medium between the contacts contains ions and electrons so that it
has small dielectric strength and can be easily broken down by the rising contact known as
restriking voltage. If such a break down can occur, the arc will persist for another half cycle.
After current zero, the dielectric strength of the medium between the contacts is built up
more rapidly than the voltage across the contacts, the arc fails to restrike and the current will
be interrupted. The phenomenon of arc extinction is explained by two theories: -
1. Energy balance theory and
2. Voltage race theory

Energy Balance Theory: -

This theory is based upon the fact that if the rate at which the heat generated between
the contacts is lower than the rate at which heat between the contacts is dissipated the arc will
be extinguished, otherwise it will restrike. The heat generated varies from time to time
depending upon the separation of contacts. Initially when the contacts are about to open, the
restriking voltage is zero and therefore the heat generated is zero. Again when the contacts
are fully open, the resistance between the contacts is almost infinite and hence the heat
generated is zero. Between these two limits the heat generation reaches a maximum. Now if
the heat so generated could be removed either by cooling, lengthening, and splitting the arc
faster than the generating the arc, the arc is extinguished.

Voltage Race Theory: -

The arc is due to the ionisation of the gap between the contacts. Effectively the
resistance in the initial stages is small. When the contacts separate, resistance keeps on

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increasing. The problem here is to remove the electrons and ions from the contact gap
immediately after the current reaches zero. Because it is at this point where the ionisation is
at a minimum and if the ions could be removed either by recombining them into neutral
molecules or by sweeping them away by inserting insulation at a faster rate than the rate of
ionisation, the arc will be interrupted. Cooling and increasing the pressure in the arc space
can accelerate the recombination. The ionisation at current zero depends upon the voltage
appearing between the contacts. This voltage is known as restriking voltage, which depends
upon the power factor and other factors of the circuit like inductance and capacitance. The
figure 1.4 shows the restriking voltage.

The rated short time current of a circuit breaker is that current (at least equal to the
symmetrical breaking capacity) which can be carried by it for a period of one second, so that
during that period of breaker operation, no damage may be done to the equipment.

Insulation Level

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 This is the voltage level, which determines the principle dielectric properties of the
equipment. This is chosen on the basis of the system’s BIL (Basic Impulse Level).

Opening Time
Opening time is the time between the instant of application of tripping power to the
circuit breaker in enclosed position and the instant of separation of the contacts.

Arc Duration
Arc duration is the time between the instant of separation of the circuit breaker
contacts and the instant of arc extinction of the short circuit current, excluding resisting
current duration if any.

Total Break Time

The total break time is the sum of opening time and arcing time. Breakers are now
available with total break time varying from 2.5 cycles to 8 cycles.

Make Time
The make time of the circuit breaker is the time between the initiation of the closing
operation and the instant when the contacts touch each other. It includes the operating time of
any auxiliary equipment necessary to close the circuit breaker.

Rate of Rise of Restriking Voltage (R.R.R.V.)

It is a rate, expressed in volts per micro second, representing the increase of the
restriking voltage. For a restriking voltage having a single frequency transient component,
the R.R.R.V. is obtained by dividing the maximum of the oscillation by the duration of the
first half wave.

Peak value of restriking voltage

RRRV = ------------------------------------------
Time taken to reach to peak value

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Peak Restriking Voltage
It is the maximum instantaneous voltage attained by the restriking voltage.
Restriking Voltage
The resultant transient voltage, which appears across the breaker contacts at the
instant of arc extinction, is known as the restriking voltage.

Recovery Voltage
The power frequency RMS voltage that appears between the breaker contacts after the
transient oscillations die out and final extinction of arc has resulted in all the poles is called
the recovery voltage.

Active Recovery Voltage

It is defined as the instantaneous recovery voltage at the instant of the arc extinction.

Symmetrical Breaking Capacity

It is the RMS value of the AC. component of the current which the circuit breaker is
capable of breaking at a given recovery voltage and under specified conditions (viz. power
factor, rate of rise of restriking voltage).

Asymmetrical Breaking Capacity

It is the RMS value of the combined AC. & DC components of the current, which the
circuit breaker is capable of breaking at a stated recovery voltage and stated reference
restriking voltage under prescribed conditions.

Making Capacity
The peak value of current during the first cycle of current wave, after the closure of
circuit breaker is known as making capacity.

Short Time Rating

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 It is the period for which the circuit breaker is able to carry the fault current while
remaining closed.

Normal Current Rating

It is the RMS value of current, which the circuit breaker is capable of carrying
continuously at its rated frequency under specified condition.

CIRCUIT BREAKER TYPES

Circuit breaker classifications are broadly made on the location of installation
 Indoor circuit breaker
 Outdoor circuit breaker
Many insulating mediums are used for arc extinction and the medium chosen depends
upon the rating and type of circuit breaker. The insulating mediums commonly used for
circuit breakers are: -
1. Air at atmospheric pressure – Air circuit Breakers- (ACB)
2. Compressed air – Air Blast Circuit Breakers – (ABCB)
3. Sulphur Hexaflouride Gas Circuit Breaker- (SF6 CB)
4. Ultra high vacuum – Vacuum Circuit Breakers - (VCB)

Operating Mechanism
 Motor Operated Spring Closing Mechanism & Solenoid Operated Mechanism
 Electro-hydraulic operated circuit breakers
 Electro-Pneumatic operated circuit breakers
The circuit breakers can also be divided into two broad categories on account of its
operation: -
1. Fixed trip type
2. Trip free type
Fixed trip type breakers are those breakers, which can be closed on faults and the
breakers shall trip only after completing the closing operation. But in case of trip free type of

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circuit breakers, it does not complete closing operation if tripping signal on account of fault
exists. The breaker shall start tripping operation before the contacts actually meet.

CHAPTER- II
Air Circuit Breaker (ACB)
Of all the types mentioned in the previous chapter that the ACB is the simplest form
of circuit breaker. In this circuit breaker the arc interruption process is based on the natural
deionization of gases by a cooling action and lengthening of the arc. There are various types
of air break circuit breakers. We shall study about ACB in brief in the following paragraphs.

Plain Break Type

In this type of Circuit Breaker the contacts are made in the shape of two horns. The
arc initially strikes across the shortest distance between the horns, (refer figure2.2) and it is
then driven steadily upwards. As the contacts goes on separating the gap between them
increases and the arc also follows the contacts. When the horns are fully separated the arc
extends from one tip to the other resulting in arc lengthening and cooling, thus extinguishing
the arc. The relative slowness of the process and the possibilities of the arc spreading to
adjacent metal work limits the application of this type to about 500 volts and in low power
circuits only.

Magnetic Blow-out Type

In a number of ACB used up to 11 kV, the extinction of the arc is carried out by
means of a magnetic blast. To achieve this the arc is subjected to the action of a magnetic
field set up by coils connected in series with the circuit being interrupted. Such coils are
called blow out coils because they help in the arc being magnetically blown out. The
magnetic blow -out coils are shown in the figure 2.1. The arc is blown magnetically into arc

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chutes where the arc gets lengthened, cooled and extinguished. The arc shield prevents
spreading of the arc to adjacent metal work. As the breaking action becomes more effective
with heavy currents this principle has resulted in increasing the breaking capacities of these
breakers to higher values. At this stage we should consider the functions of the arc chute.

This is an efficient device for quenching the arc in air, while quenching the arc it performs
the following actions:
 It confines the arc within a restricted space.
 It provides mechanical protection for the personnel for any external object.
 It provides rapid cooling of the gases to ensure extinction by de-ionisation.

Arc Splitter Type

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 In this type of circuit breaker the blow out consists of steel inserts in the arcing
chutes. These are so arranged that the magnetic field induced by them, by the current in the
arc moves it upwards still faster. The steel plates divide the arc into a number of short arcs in
series (Fig.2.2).

The distribution of voltage along the length of arc across the plates are not linear but
is accompanied by large voltage drops. This voltage drop automatically helps for quick
extinction. When the arc comes into contact with the relatively cool surface area of steel
plates, it gets rapidly and effectively cooled. The movement of arc may be natural or assisted
by a magnetic blow out. Different types of air break circuit breakers; we shall study the parts
of a typical unit. The breakers generally consists of three single pole units linked together by
an insulated cross bar. Operating mechanisms depending upon the current ratings operates
them. The following are the main parts: -

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Main Contacts
These contacts carry rated continuous current and consist of moving contact and fixed
contact.

Moving Contact Assembly

These are solid copper spring loaded rollers ringed with silver. The following rollers
freely roll few degrees, each time the contact is operated. This action ensures uniform wear
and tear.

Fixed Contact Assembly

They are two levelled copper contact bars, with silver pads at contact faces. Rollers
bridge these two fixed contacts. This arrangement provides for durability and minimum
temperature rise.

Arcing Contacts
These are the contacts, which undergo the effects of the arc. They close first and open
after the main contact.

Arc Chute
All arc chutes are made of an insulating arc resisting material and surrounds each pole
unit. The dimensions of the chute depend on the number of arcing contacts. At the top inner
surface, the arc chute is fixed with steel plates. The purposes of these steel plates are to
increase the speed of upward rise of the arc into the chute by magnetic action. It also splits
the arc and assists in cooling the arc.

Operating Mechanism
Usually these mechanisms are designed either for manual operation or electrical or
pneumatic operations. This mechanism takes care of trip free operation, opening and closing

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of contacts. Also provides a lockout feature preventing closing while any work is being
carried out.

Arc Runners or Arcing Horns

As soon as the arc leaves the vicinity of the contacts, it commutes to a pair of run out
horns. Simultaneously the blow out coil is energised. In doing so outer blow out system is
switched on. This blow out coil provides a magnetic field, which causes the arc to travel
upward and thereby length is increased. As the length of the arc is increased at a particular
stage the system voltage is unable to sustain the arc and the arc gets extinguished. Figure 2.3
shows the typical diagram of truck mounted air break circuit breaker shown in closed
position.

Maintenance of Air-break Circuit Breaker

Before any work is commenced it is important to make sure that all power closing
device are made inoperative. This can be achieved only by: -
 For solenoid closed circuit breakers, the main solenoid supply should be isolated.
 For spring closed circuit breakers, the spring should be discharged, and in the case of
motor operated spring closing mechanism the supply to the motor is isolated.

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 Fuses and links in the control circuit and auxiliary circuit should be withdrawn.

Precautions
 Particular care should be taken when work is carried out on the supports of metal clad
switchgear.
 A voltage indicator must be used to prove the sections are dead.
 The voltage indicator device must be tested immediately prior to and subsequent to use
with a standard proven device.
 When any work is to be carried out on any live parts, all the necessary screws, mats
gloves and tools etc. must be checked and made available before commencing the work.
 Always consult wherever possible, the manufacturers operation and maintenance
instructions for any special care.

Diagnostic Testing
Diagnostic testing of the circuit breaker will give a ready indication of the state of the
equipment and by comparison from the previous records it will provide ample information to
the condition of the equipment. The following diagnostic testing techniques are carried out
wherever possible: -
 Timings and travel tests and measurement of minimum operating voltages required for
closing and tripping coils. The values so obtained will indicate the state of operating
mechanism.
 Milli-volt drop test or resistance tests between the terminals or across individual series
connected components will give the condition of the components of the electrical
equipment.

Examination and Overhaul

 All loose external dirt should first be removed.
 When cleaning the switchgear it is most important not to use “cotton waste”. Material
used for this purpose shall be clean and free from loose fibres, metallic threads and
similar particles.

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 Brushes and blower nozzles should contain no metallic materials.
 Adequate care should be taken to prevent loose parts tools, metal filing or dirt falling into
the switchgears.
 Cleaning agents should be approved ones non-damaging to the insulation.

Opening Device (Trip)

Immediately prior to maintenance work commencement, the circuit breaker should be
opened via electrically operated by trip coil or via the manual operation of the trip plunger.

Insulation
Clean all the insulated portions and inspect them. Review wherever necessary.
Porcelain and moulded insulation should be inspected for cracks or other defects. Bonded
and laminated fibrous insulation should be inspected for signs of cracking, blistering or de-
laminating. Insulation resistance tests are strongly recommended as they give an indication of
the condition of the insulating materials.

Secondary wiring and fuses

Ensure that connections are tight, and good contact is maintained. See that terminal
boxes are free from dirt and moisture. Verify insulation resistance and continuity of wiring to
the fuses, instrument transformers, motor, relays and associated items. All contacts including
plug and socket contacts should be cleaned and re-lubricated sparingly with approved
lubricants. Fuses should be tested for continuity and inspected for signs of damage or
deterioration. Fixed contacts carrying the fuses should be cleaned and tested for satisfactory
electrical contact.

Operating Mechanism
During maintenance of mechanism, care should be taken to avoid the fingers being
trapped and the possibility of anybody being struck by moving parts. Clean and examine the
mechanism and renew worn out parts. It is particularly important to make sure that rolling or
sliding surfaces in the trip mechanism are free from dried up lubricant. The mechanical

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details of the closing mechanism should be checked, re-lubricated sparingly. They should be
adjusted as required and checked for its correct operation. The release oil plunger should be
checked for freedom of movement but not lubricated. Extreme care should be taken to verify
that the adjustment conforms to the manufacturer instructions.

Auxiliary contacts, Linkages and Indicating Devices

Examine the contacts and clean or renew if necessary. Where possible verify good
contact force, freedom of operating links. Ensure for the correct timings of the contacts in
relation to the circuit breaker contacts. Indicating devices such as ON/OFF indicators are
inspected to ensure that they are in good condition and operating correctly.

Main and arcing contacts

Inspect the main and arcing contacts for burning or other damages. Re-condition or
renew them as required. Ensure that the jacking springs are exerting the correct force and the
contacts are in good alignment. Normally the arcing contacts will show signs of burning and
pitting and this is not a harmful sign, if it is not excessive. The security of any arc resisting
tips should be checked. Hinge contacts should be examined for any signs of overheating,
burning, welding or other damages. They should be reconditioned, adjusted or replaced as
required. If such a state is found the cause should be investigated.
Slight discoloration or burning of copper or copper alloy contact is not necessarily
harmful. If found may be removed by using fine file or fine glass paper. At no circumstances
emery or sandpaper should be used. When cleaning the contacts, it is essential to ensure that
the minimum amount of material is removed or else excessive filing of contacts may result in
more rapid wear. Silver plated contacts seldom require cleaning despite black appearance. If
any cleaning is required, a silver polish may be used. Abrasive materials should not be used
on these contacts. When contacts are refitted or renewed, contact force, alignment and wiper
should be verified.
The flexible braid should be inspected, especially for fraying at the terminations, and
renewed if necessary. When exposed to the atmosphere, the braids should be treated with a
suitable protective compound, which would not impair their flexibility.

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Contact pressure
During overhauling, as discussed in the previous paragraphs, maintaining contact
pressure is utmost important. Apart from the pressure, the contour of the contact is also an
important factor, since there are many possibilities of spoiling the contours. As such these
points must be borne in mind while carrying out the maintenance. The amount of spring
pressure may vary from one manufacturer to another. Hence it is recommended to follow the
manufacturers instruction. Typically a MV circuit breaker contact pressure will be in the
order of 7 kg to 9 kg. Using a spring balance one can check this pressure. The easy way to
measure the spring pressure will be, to insert a piece of cigarette paper between the contacts
and lifting the spring balance connecting to the contact. The correct pressure will be
indicated at the instant when the paper is freed. When the breaker is closed all the three sets
of phase contact should close simultaneously. This can be checked again by inserting the
paper between the surfaces or else by a foolproof method of electrical bulbs. For this one
board can be locally fabricated and source of supply can be made available from the storage
battery. Connect the battery in series with the contacts. (3 parallel circuit) when the contacts
close all the bulbs will glow in synchronism. This is conveniently checked by closing the
breaker slowly until the contact is made, when the contacts are set correctly the lights will
glow together. If not the contacts may be adjusted accordingly so as to get all the lights to
glow in synchronism.

Arc Chutes, Arcing Horns and Inter-pole Barriers

Arc chutes and arcing horns should be inspected and cleaned thoroughly. If they are
burnt they must be renewed. Arc control devices made from compressed fibrous materials,
which cannot be cleaned without abrasion, should be replaced with new ones. Arc Chutes
and additional coolers if fitted, should be cleaned. They should be inspected for loose or
badly eroded splitter plates, which should be adjusted or renewed as necessary.
Inter pole barriers should be inspected for security of fixing and for any damage.
They should be cleaned as necessary. As far as possible arcing tips and its control devices
should be inspected to ensure that they are securely fastened, and adjusted in accordance with
manufacturer instructions. Ensure that they are having good electrical connection. It should

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be remembered that the normal duty is to carry the arc root but if excessive burning or
erosion is present, they should be renewed. If any air puffer device is fitted, the correct
operation should be verified with respect to volume, direction and timing of the air flow.

General
Check that the main and secondary earth connections are made good and that the
joints are firmly tightened. Before the circuit breaker is put into service the insulation
resistance check must be carried out. Before putting the circuit breaker into service after
overhaul, it must be subjected to an operational check to ensure the correct operation for
closing and opening as recommended by the manufacturer. For following the correct
sequence of maintenance, the chart given below will assist as to what extent the servicing is
to be done. The manufacturer instructions and power station authority order are to be
complied with.

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 General Schedule of Inspection and Maintenance of ACB
Sl. Operation and Post fault Routine maintenance
No. maintenance maintenance Inspection overhaul
1. General inspection *
2. Cleaning * *
3. Opening device trip *
4. Insulation * *
5. Circuit breaker *
enclosure
6. Secondary wiring * *
&fuses
7. Operating mechanism *
8. Auxiliary * *
contacts/linkage and All
indicating device operation is
9. Interlocks *
10. Safety shutters * to be
11. Isolating contacts * carried out.
12. Main and arcing contact *
system
13. Arc chutes and arc *
control devices
14. Insulation test and earth *
connections
15. Operational check *

CHAPTER-III
AIR BLAST CIRCUIT BREAKER

Introduction

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 Air blast circuit breakers are used mainly on 11 to 1100 kV applications. They offer
several advantages such as faster operations, suitability for repeated operation, auto-
reclosure, unit type multi break construction, simple assembly and modest maintenance, etc.
A compressor plant is necessary to maintain high air pressure in the air receiver. Air blast
circuit breakers are especially suitable for railways and arc furnace, where the breaker
operates repeatedly. Air blast circuit breakers are used for interconnected lines and important
lines where rapid operation is desired.

Construction of Air Blast Circuit Breaker

In air blast circuit breaker (also called compressed air circuit breaker) high-pressure
air is forced on the arc through a nozzle at the instant of contact separation. The ionised
particles between the contacts are blown away by the blast of the compressed air. After the
arc extinction, the chamber is filled with high-pressure air, which prevents restrike. In some
low capacity circuit breakers, the isolator is an integral part of the circuit breaker. The circuit
breaker opens and there after the isolator opens immediately, to provide additional gap.
In EHV circuits of today, isolators are generally, independently mounted. Fig.3.1a&b show
one pole of the EHV air blast circuit breaker. In the complete assembly there are three
identical poles.

Description
High-pressure air, at a pressure of 20 to 30 kg/cm 2 is stored in the Air reservoir (Item
1 in Fig.3.1a&b) Air is taken from compressed air system. Three hollow insulator columns
(Item 2) are mounted on the reservoir with valve (6) at their base. The double arc
extinguishing chambers (3) are mounted on the top of the hollow insulator chambers. The
current carrying parts (9) connect the three arc extinction chambers to each in series and the
pole to the neighbouring equipment. Since there exists a very high voltage between the
conductors and the air reservoir, the entire arc extinction chamber assembly is mounted on
insulators. The figure fig. 3.1(b) shows the double arc extinction chambers (3). Since there
are three double arc extinction poles in series, there are six breaks per pole. Each arc
extinction chamber in Fig.3.1 (b) consists of one twin fixed contact (7). There are two
moving contacts (8), which are shown in opened condition. The moving contact can move

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axially so as to open or close. Its position open or close depends on the air pressure and
spring (10) pressure. The operating mechanism (3) operates the rod (5) when it gets a
pneumatic or electrical signal. The valve (6) open so as to send the high-pressure air in the
hollow of the insulator. The high-pressure air rapidly enters the double arc extinction
chamber [Air inlet in Fig.3.1 (b)]. As the air enters into the arc extinction chamber the
pressure on the moving contact (8) becomes more than the spring pressure and the contacts
open. The contacts travel through a short distance against the spring pressure. At the end of
contact travel the port for outgoing air (15) is closed by the moving contact and the entire arc
extinction chamber is filled with high pressure air, as the air is not allowed to goes out.
However, during the arcing period the air goes out through the opening (11) and takes away
the ionised air of arc.
While closing, the valve (6) is turned so as to close the connection between the
hollow of the insulator and the reservoir. The valve lets the air from the hollow insulator to
the atmosphere. As a result, the pressure of the air in the arc extinction chamber (3) drops
down to the atmospheric pressure and the moving contacts (8) close over the fixed contacts
(7) by virtue of the spring pressure.
The opening is fast because the air takes negligible time to travel from the reservoir to
the moving contact. The arc is extinguished within a cycle. Therefore, air blast circuit
breaker is very fast in breaking the current.

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 Closing is also fast because the pressure in the arc extinction chamber drops
immediately as the valve (6) operates and the contacts close by virtue of the spring pressure.
The construction described above applies to air blast circuit breakers for EHV applications,

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for voltages above 145 kV. For voltages of 420 kV and more, the constructions is modified
by adding required number of arc interruption chambers in series. Air blast circuit breaker
requires an auxiliary compressed air system. Air blast circuit breakers for 12 kV and below
have a different type of construction. In this breakers usually there will be only a single break
in the interrupter chamber.

Typical ratings of Air blast circuit breakers are: -

12 kV, 40 kA
22 kV, 40 kA
145 kV, 40 kA, 3 cycle
245 kV, 40 kA, 50 kA, 2 ½ cycle
420 kV, 40 kA, 50 kA, 63.5 kA, 2 cycle
The grading capacitors are connected across the interrupter unit for the equal
distribution of voltage between the units. Closing resistors are connected across the
interrupter units for limiting the over voltages during closing operation. Opening resistors are
connected across the interrupter units to make the circuit breakers restrike free.

Principle of Arc Quenching in ABCB

The air blast circuit breaker needs an auxiliary compressed air system, which supplies
air to the air receiver of the breaker. For opening operation, the air is admitted in the arc
extinction chamber. It pushes away the moving contacts against the spring pressure. In doing
so, the contacts are separated and the air blast takes away the ionised particles along with it
and assists in arc extinction. After a few cycles the arc is extinguished by the air blast and the
arc extinction chamber is filled with high-pressure air (30 kg/cm 2). The high-pressure air has
higher dielectric strength than that at atmospheric pressure. Hence a small contact gap of few
centimetre is enough. The nozzle shaped contacts guides the flow of air around the contacts.
It may be axial, cross or a suitable combination. [Fig.3.2 (a), (b)] In the axial blast type in
Fig.3.2 (a) the flow of air is longitudinal along the arc.
In axial blast type, the air flows from the high-pressure reservoir to the atmosphere
through a convergent divergent nozzle. The difference in pressure and the design of nozzle is
such that as the air expands into the low-pressure zone, it attains almost supersonic velocity.

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The mass flow of air through the nozzle is governed by the parameters like pressure ratio,
area of throat, nozzle throat diameter and is influenced by the diameter of the arc itself. The
air flowing at a high speed axially along the arc causes removal of heat from the periphery of
the arc and the diameter of the arc reduces to a low value at current zero. At this instant the
arc is interrupted and the contact space is flushed with fresh air flowing through the nozzle.

The flow of fresh air through the contact space ensures removal of hot gases and rapid
building up of the dielectric strength.

The principle of cross-blast illustrated in Fig.3.2 (b) is used only in circuit breakers of
relatively low rating such as 12 kV, 500 MVA and below.
Experience shows that in cross blast, the airflow pushes the arc and the length of the
arc is increased. Due to the increase in the arc length the arc resistance also increases. During
the period of arc extinction, the air continues to flow through the nozzle and air goes to the
atmosphere. Increasing the pressure of the compressed air increases the mass flow rate. The
increase in the mass flow results in increased breaking capacity. After the brief duration of
airflow, the interrupter is filled with high-pressure air. The dielectric strength of air increases
with pressure. Hence the fresh high-pressure air in the contact space is capable of
withstanding the transient recovery voltage. After the arc extinction, the interrupter chamber
is filled with high-pressure air. For closing operation, the air from this chamber is let out to

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the atmosphere. Thereby the pressure on the moving contacts from one side is reduced and
the moving contacts close rapidly by the spring pressure (Fig.3.3a & b). The air blast circuit
breakers come under the class external extinguishing energy type. The energy supplied for
arc extinction is obtained from high-pressure air and is independent of the current to be
interrupted.

Circuit Breakers with External Extinguishing Energy

If the pressure generated in the arc extinction chamber is derived from arc current e.g.
by decomposition of oil in the oil circuit breaker, the circuit breaker is said to be of internal
energy source. If the pressure is independent of arc current the circuit breaker is said to be of
external energy source. The behaviour of these two types is inherently different. In the air
blast circuit breakers the air pressure used for the arc interruption is constant and does not
depend on the arc current. The compressed air pressure is of such magnitude that it can break
the rated breaking current (say 20 kA) satisfactorily at natural zero.
The arcing time does not change appreciably for lower magnitudes of currents, as the
air pressure is independent of arc current. Now, consider that the breaker has to interrupt
small currents. For this current if the air pressure used for the arc interruption is too high, the
current gets chopped out before reaching natural zero. This current chopping gives rise to
high restriking voltage. The resistance of contact space being high, the contact space is not

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likely to break down. Hence resistance switching should be employed to take care of
restriking voltages.

The arcing time of ABCB is almost independent of arc current (Fig.3.4). Whereas in
oil circuit breaker the arcing time is more for lower currents [Fig.3.3 (a)] and the restriking
voltages are damped out even with low contact space due to higher dielectric strength. In the
circuit breakers with external energy source the pressure of extinguishing medium
determines the breaking capacity of the unit. In circuit breakers with internal energy source
the design features determine the capacity limit.

Resistance Switching in ABCB

We have noted earlier that the post zero resistance of contact space is high in air blast
circuit breakers. This is because, the contact clearance space is filled with high-pressure air
after final current zero and also the high-pressure air has high dielectric strength. The high
restriking voltage appearing across the contacts does not damp out through the contact gap
because of the high post zero resistance. Further, voltages of the order of several times the
normal voltage appear across the contacts because of current chopping. If these voltages are
not allowed to discharge, they may cause break down of insulation of the circuit breaker or
the neighbouring equipment. To overcome this difficulty, “Resistance switching” is adopted.
The usual procedure is to connect a resistance across the arc.
Fig.3.5 shows another popular arrangement used for a double arc-extinguishing
chamber. During the opening operation air is admitted in the arc-extinguishing chamber. It
separates main contacts and pushes the auxiliary contacts. The auxiliary contacts close,

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thereby the resistors are connected a cross the arc for a short time. The auxiliary contacts are
located in the inclined V shaped insulators while the resistors are located in the vertical
insulators. Immediately after arc extinction, the pressure on either side of the piston of
auxiliary contacts gets so adjusted that the auxiliary contacts open and resistor circuit is
interrupted. Ceramic resistors of non-linear characteristics similar to those used in the

lightning arrestors are used for resistance switching.

These resistors are made of silicone carbide, bound by inorganic binders subjected to
heat treatment. During high current non-linear resistor offers low resistance. Thus the main
arc currents is partially diverted through resistor unit. When the current reduces, the
resistance offered by non-linear resistor increases, causing a greater drop across the resistor
units. Thereby the voltage available for arc between auxiliary contacts is no more sufficient
and arc between auxiliary contacts is automatically extinguished.

Merits Of Air Blast Circuit Breaker and Air Circuit Breaker

1. Can be used at high pressure.
2. Reliable operation due to external source of extinguishing energy.
3. Free from decomposition.
4. Clean, non-inflammable.
5. Freely available everywhere.

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6. Fresh medium is used every time. Hence the breaker can be repeatedly operated.
7. At high pressure, a small contact travel is enough.
8. The same air serves the purpose of moving the contact and arc extinction.

High speed of Operation

The compressed air moves very fast and brings about the opening operation. The
arcing time is also short. Hence total breaking time is short. Operating mechanism of air
blast circuit breakers is pneumatic. The arcing time is around 10milli-seconds, i.e. ½ cycle
for operating the contacts. Hence breaker speed of the order of 2 cycles can be achieved. This
makes the circuit breaker suitable for auto re-closure duty also.

Rapid auto re-closure

The circuit breaker can be given with rapid auto re-closure feature. The manufacturer
gives such a provision at an additional cost. The ABCB is easy to re-close because the re-
closure is by spring pressure against reduced air pressure.

Clean service
 No need of maintenance of oil.
 Unit type construction gives advantage in design, manufacture and testing.
 Very high breaking capacities and service voltage can be obtained by connecting more
number of units in series. Hence, for all extra high voltage and high breaking capacities
the air blast circuit breakers are used. e.g. 420 kV, 63.5 kA, 2 cycles.
 Suitability for repeated operation: The fresh air is used every time. Hence the breaker can
be used for repeated operation if designed for such duty. This is not the case with oil
circuit breakers.
The demerits of ABCB,
 Complex design of arc extinction chambers
 Complex operating mechanism,
 Problems due to switching over voltages. (Switching over voltage is reduced by pre-
closing resistors)

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 Auxiliary high-pressure air system is necessary. The cost can be justified if there are
several breakers in the switching yard.
 Problem arising out of compressed air system.

Design Features of Ultra High Voltage Air Blast Circuit Breaker

In 1910, the highest system voltage was about 100 kV. In 1965, it was 765 kV.
Today’s some projects have been commissioned in other countries for the rated voltages of
1100 kV. The breakers are required for breaking short circuit currents of the order of 40 kA
to 60KA. To achieve such high ratings the Air Blast Circuit Breakers have been provided
with following features:
 Multi unit design.
 Increasing mass flow of air for arc extinction by making necessary modifications in the
design of compressed air system and passage of air in the breaker.
 Use of parallel pre-closing resistors to damp switching over voltages.
 Intensifying the cooling of arc space by developing enlarged nozzles of suitable shape
and raises the operating pressure.
 Using larger diameters of flow path and larger components.
 Using new techniques of air supply to ensure almost constant pressure of air during the
opening operations.
These techniques include: -
1. Using vertical tanks, one for each pole.
2. Using high-pressure system such as 60 kg/cm2, 150 kg/cm2.
3. Connecting the breaker blast valve directly to high-pressure system instead of connecting
it to local air receiver.
In circuit breaker with air receiver, the air pressure drops to about 70% of initial
pressure during arc interruption. Thereby the rating of the breaker for subsequent opening
operation for auto re-closure duty is reduced. To overcome this difficulty, the above
mentioned modifications are incorporated in UHV circuit breakers. Further, breakers are

- 35 -
fitted with silencers and are made earthquake proof. Fig.3.6 shows one pole of an air blast
circuit breakers with vertical air-receiver and two interrupters per pole.

Reducing Switching Over Voltage By Pre-Closing Resistor

- 36 -
 Switching over voltage influences the design of lines rated 420 kV and above.
Improving the design of circuit breakers can minimise the switching over voltage. The
features desirable for EHV and UHV circuit breakers are given below:
1. Pre insertion of closing resistors in parallel with main contacts. This is either single stage
or multi stage.
2. Simultaneous closing of the three poles.
3. Simultaneous closing at both ends of the poles (multi-break). The closing of line is first
initiated through pre closing resistors. On closing of the main contact, the pre closing
resistors are shunted out. The optimum value of pre closing resistors for air blast circuit
breakers is about 0.5 to 2 times the value of surge impedance of the line. As per IEC
specifications, over voltage factor less than 1.7 has been recommended for system
voltage above 550 kV. Such condition can be achieved by employing two stages closing.
In first stage a high resistance comes into circuit, in the second stage low resistance
comes into circuit.

ABCB WITH CROSS AIR JETS AND BUILT WITH -ISOMAKER

SWITCH
So for we discussed the construction of multi-break EHV circuit breakers. However,
for the voltages of the order of 25kv a single break cross jet design is employed. Such
breaker has a small contact travel, and is provided with a series isolator. These breakers are
used for traction lines, industrial single-phase loads etc.

OPERATION OF CROSS JET ABCB

In fig.3.7, the air at pressure about 16-20 atm., is stored in the air receiver (1) when
the breaker operation is desired, high-pressure air from the receiver is admitted in the hollow
insulator (3) by opening valve (2). The air comes in arc extinction chamber and pushes piston
(6) and the moving contact (5) separates. After a time gap, the isomaker-switch (9) is opened
by the operating mechanism. After opening of isolators, the moving contact gets closed.
Closing is obtained by closing the isolator.

COMPRESSED AIR SYSTEM FOR ABCB

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 The compressed air system consists of main air reservoirs, ring main pipeline,
compressor and other equipment for measurement and automatic operation. The whole

system is automatic. The pressure in the main reservoirs is in the order of 35-40kgf/cm 2 i.e.
higher than that in auxiliary reservoirs and in the air receivers. When this pressure reduces
below a certain value the compressor motor starts automatically. When the desired pressure
is reached the motor stops. Usually two identical compressor sets are provided with induction
motors (2 to 2 1/2 h.p) to drive them. (One set acts as a standby).

In the compressed air system, there are non-return valves and a provision of ring
main. The air is made moisture-free by heater and drying chambers in which moisture
absorbing agent like silicagel is kept. The compressors are installed in a compressor room in
the backyard. The main reservoirs of bigger size are installed near the compressor room. The
compressed air piping is taken through trenches. Individual breaker receivers are connected
to this pipeline. (Refer fig.3.8)

Packaged Compressed Air Equipment

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 Until recently the conventional compressed air supply system (described above) was
exclusively used. Nowadays packaged compressed air plants are introduced. The compressed air plant
is compact, self contained, factory-assembled unit comprising of:
 Compressor
 Dehydrator

 High Pressure Air receiver

 Pressure gauges, Valves etc.
Air storage is in bottles kept below the compressor units. Number of bottles depends upon
the requirements. Such packaged compressed air equipment is either one for each breaker or
one for a group of breakers. It is installed in switchyard near the breaker. Costly civil work
for conventional compressed air system is thus avoided.

Maintenance Aspects

- 39 -
 Maintenance of ABCB is comparatively easier than that of tank type OCB and
MOCB. This is because there is no oil, which needs regular testing and purification.
Secondly the units can be easily disassembled, checked and reassembled. The assembly of
various units is similar and easy. The operating mechanism can be easily dismantled and
reassembled.

The major problem in air blast installation is the leakage from compressed air
systems and from the pipe connection. The leakage takes place from the threaded joints or
from mating parts joined by means of nuts & bolts.
The O- rings are generally used for sealing the static parts. The quality of O-rings
should be retained under service conditions. Good quality neoprene rubber O-rings and
properly designed grooves for O rings reduce the chances of leakage. Teflon tapes can be
used over the threaded joints in order to eliminate the leakage through the threads. The air
should be properly dried before filling it in the receiver.

General Schedule of Inspection & Maintenance Of ABCB

When an ABCB completes the prescribed number of operations it should be
examined, as soon as is convenient to do so. The occasion may be correlated with Periodic
Inspection and Routine Maintenance. In fact, stress is intended to follow the schedule rather
than the intervals for inspections and maintenance. Still, in order to correct any defects before
developing into serious faults, the intervals should not be too long.

Safety Precautions
 Isolate the circuit breaker and earth it flawlessly. Withdraw the isolating links at the
control cubicle/cabinet.
 Shut off the air supply to the air receiver tanks and reduce the pressure to atmospheric.
Take due care to prevent entry of moisture (the dehydrator may be kept on, if possible).
 Manufacturer’s instructions should be followed for all dismantling and reassembling, and
use of tools, meters and accessories. Maintain cleanliness and proceed systematically.
The following table may serve as a general guideline for inspections and maintenance: -

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1. Main interrupter Moving contact Examine
Arcing contact condition of the
2. Resistor interrupter Contacts
contacts. Measure
the gaps and
dimensions.
3. Insulator supports Look for possible
damages, cracks
and burns.
4. Air receivers Inspect painting,
sealing, gauges
etc.
5. Mechanisms Exhaust valve, trip valve, closing Examine the
valve, piston and interrupter control correct setting,
mechanism, Electro-pneumatic tightness,
controls, auto- reclosing control, all lubrication and
internal and external bolts/locking cleanliness.
devices, and indicating and
interlocking mechanism.
6. Compressed air Inspect joints,
system and gaskets sealing
dehydrating system. etc.

- 41 -
7. Tests: - Pressure drop should not exceed 0.15 kg/sq.cm. per

a) Compressed air leakage hour.

test.
IR value for the HV side not less than 50,000 Meg-ohm.

b) IR test When tested by 10KV megger. The IR value for LV

wiring not less than 5 Meg-ohm.
Normally not to exceed 40 micro-ohms for 4000 amps

c) Contact resistance test rating contacts, when measured by ohmmeter.

Check Electro pneumatic operation/control system and

d) Operation Test travel time (milli seconds) for the contacts “touching”
and “ parting”.

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 General schedule of inspection & maintenance of ABCB

Name of part Suggested period Maintenance details

between inspection
Interrupter 12 months Examine contacts
03 years General overhaul
Porcelain insulator 12 months Inspect and clean whenever
circumstances allow. Use only lintless
cloth.
Air receivers 26 months Inspect internally. Repaint if necessary.
[by the inspecting Repaint exterior.
authority]
Interrupter control 12 months Check gap settings. Inspect and
gear lubricate bearing pins and pivots.
Consult lubrication chart, grease the
trip and close valves. Check for air
leaks.
Control rods and 12 months Check for security at all connecting
levers points. Lubricate pivots with S.A.E. 20
oil.
Exhaust valve 12 months Recharge the grease nipples
Operating 12 months Lubricate with oil.
mechanism 05 years General overhaul
Electro pneumatic 05 years Inspect valves and springs. Check for
control valve air leakage.
Auxiliary switches 12 months Inspect and clean contacts.
Lubricate moving parts with light
machine oil. Check security of
connections.
Compressed air 12 months Check pressure drop over a twelve
supply hours period.
Timing tests 12 months Check the operating time to confirm to
manufacturer value.

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 CHAPTER IV
Oil Circuit breaker

Constructional Details of an OCB

The tank type or bulk oil circuit breaker has 3 separate tanks for 72.5 kV and above.
For 36 kV and below single tank construction is popular. In single tank construction phase
barriers are provided between each phase. These types of circuit breaker are used for indoor
metal-clad draw out type switchgear up to 12 kV. (referfig.4.1) Above 12 kV, it is usually of
out door type. Dielectric oil (Transformer oil) is used in circuit breakers as an arc extinction
medium as well as insulating medium between the live contacts, oil tank and earth. The
contact separation takes place in steel tanks filled with oil. The gases formed due to the heat
of the arc expand and set turbulent flow in the oil. This turbulence of the oil and the gases
formed in the oil cause the cooling effect. Thus the arc is extinguished.

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Mainly there are two types of oil break circuit breakers: -
 Plain break oil circuit breaker
 Arc control circuit breaker

Plain Break Circuit Breaker

In this type of circuit breaker when the contacts are separated, the arc is burning freely
in the oil. This can be seen in the fig.4.2. As shown in the figure, the steel tank is filled with
transformer oil and the tank is sealed air tight leaving the required space for the fitting of the
terminal bushings. The bushing carries the fixed contacts. A tension rod is (which is
subjected to the up and down motions) attached to the moving contact bridge as shown in the
figure. The contact tips are made of copper and the main contacts are made up of hard drawn
copper coated with silver. The tension rod is operated like any other operating mechanism as
in the air circuit breaker.

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Operation
When the arc is struck in the oil at the instant of contact separation, the oil in the
proximity of the contacts gets decomposed. The arc thus becomes surrounded by the gas
bubbles, and oil vapours. The gas produced due to the decomposition of oil comprises of 60
to 80% hydrogen and smaller proportions of acetylene and other gases. Because of good
thermal conductivity of hydrogen, de-ionisation of arc takes place. Hence hydrogen is one of
the most efficient extinguishing media. The gas produced creates a turbulent action, which
causes particles of oil to penetrate into the arc core where they draw off the heat by
evaporation. Because of the absence of effective control over the arc, the arcing time and the
amount of energy released before interruption often vary over a wide range. This factor calls
for a larger safety in the oil tank and airtight sealing of the tank. In case there is an air
cushion the hydrogen may pass through the oil and mix up with air thus forming an explosive
mixture. The arcing time can be effectively reduced (for faster quenching of the arc) by
introducing the arc control device in the plain break circuit breaker.

Arc Control Circuit Breaker

The bulk oil circuit breakers generally employed in our power systems have an arc
control device. In this type of breaker the gases produced during arcing are confined to small
volumes by the use of an insulating rigid arc chamber surrounding the contacts. The working
principle and the basic constructions are detailed here. The contacts of the OCB are
immersed in oil in a cylindrical container made of insulating material. The cylindrical
container is called as Explosion Port or Explosion chamber. There is a hole in the bottom of
the container through which a rod passes. This rod is attached to the switching bridge of the
device. The other general construction is the same as for a CB with arc burning freely in oil.
At the instant of contact separation, an arc is struck between the contact, which forms gas
bubbles on account of heat generated (as seen in the given figure 4.3). The gas so produced
thus builds up high pressure since the gas is confined in a small volume in the explosion
chamber and forces the gas through or around the arc, to extinguish it. Thus arc quenching is
done effectively.

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Advantages of Explosion Chamber
By incorporating the explosion chamber the following advantages are
achieved
 The initial pressure impulse acts upon the explosion chamber and does not affect the
container of the circuit breaker. The explosion chamber is designed to withstand fairly
high pressure, high temperature and high dielectric strength.
 Due to better cooling de-ionisation is considerably accelerated.
 The duration of arc is many times shorter than the breakers without the explosion
chamber. Hence the quantity of energy generated in the arc is proportionately smaller. As
a result the arc is extinguished faster.
In order to meet the increased system operating voltage the capacity of the breakers were
enhanced by incorporating various modifications to the basic design of the explosion
chamber.

- 47 -
DIFFERENT TYPES OF ARC CONTROL DEVICE
Side Vented explosion pot
It consists of laminations (vulcanised fibre glass materials) punched with centre hole
for free movement of moving contacts and with laminations punched with centre hole and
side vent for release of gas. These laminations are arranged as shown in the figure4.4.The
moving contact is withdrawn vertically downwards through a tight fit throat (formed by the
centre hole). When the moving contact separates, due to high temperature the oil molecules
get ionised and thus an arc is struck. Due to arc the oil gets decomposed and hydrogen and
other gases are produced. These gases are entrapped until the moving contact moves slightly
below the vent; till then high gas pressure is developed. The pressurised gas escapes through
the vent at a high velocity pulling the arc towards the vent thus increasing the arc length. Due
to these process of cooling and lengthening the arc is quenched quickly.

In the above design the quantity of oil in the explosion chamber is less leading to
starvation of oil for gassification for higher capacity breakers. This deficiency is overcome
by providing for additional oil supply in the explosion chamber as discussed below.

Cross jet explosion pot

The construction of cross jet is similar to that of side vented explosion pot except for
the extra provision for supply of the oil to avoid starvation. As the clearance around the
moving contact is small, the gasses evolved during arcing operation remain in arc path. The
arc splitters (vents) help in increasing the arc length and help in quenching the arc. Refer

- 48 -
fig.4.5. The arc is struck and gas is formed around the arc. As the moving contact passes the
first arc splitter, the gases are expelled through it, simultaneously as the gases get released
the space is replenish by fresh oil through the back passage. The arc will be quenched if arc
current goes to zero; the arc can restrike if the de-ionisation of the arc is not complete. When
the arc is restruck, large amount of gas is produced; thus, gas pressure builds up again and is
released when the arc current again reaches zero. The gas pressure is not released (the arc
products are not pushed across the arc path) because of the backpressure built by the fresh oil
until the current goes to zero.

Self-Compensated explosion pot

It is a combination of cross jet explosion pot and plain explosion pot. The necessity of
such a design arises because, the cross jet explosion pot is quite efficient for breaking any
heavy short circuit currents, for low value of short circuit current the pressure created is not
high and thus results in unsatisfactory operation. On the other hand the plain explosion pot
works very satisfactorily for low value of currents. Hence in the self-compensated explosion
pot, there are two chambers, the upper one is a cross jet explosion pot and the lower is a plain
explosion pot. When the short circuit current is low, the rate of generation of the gas is also
quite low and the pressure builds up. The tip of moving contact has time to reach the bottom
chamber so, there is only a small pressure leakage through the lateral jets because the
movement of oil to them is obstructed by the plain pot action. Hence the arc is being self-
compensated for low as well as high values of short circuit current.

- 49 -
Oil blast explosion pot
This type of explosion pot consists mainly of three components, viz. upper fixed
contact, intermediate (floating) contact and a hollow moving contact in the bottom. When the
circuit breaker is the closed condition the fixed and floating contacts are under compressive
force due to buffer spring and throw-off spring and the moving contact is subjected to tensile
force due to trip spring. Hence all the three contacts are under pressure. The oil blast
explosion pot has two chambers, the upper and the lower, and they are connected together
through holes. When a fault occurs the two lower (intermediate and moving) contacts move
downwards together and an arc is established between the top fixed and intermediate moving
contact. Due to this arc, a high pressure is developed in the upper tank and there is no relief
for this pressure until the intermediate contact comes to rest after its maximum travel. Now,
the moving contact detaches from the intermediate contact and another arc is established
between the intermediate and the moving contact. The pressure created by the arc is subsided
by the movement of the oil through the hollow moving contact. When the arc current goes to
zero, the oil is forced through the arc and it is quenched. The only draw back is that arcing
time is long. (Refer fig.4.6.)

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Turbulator type explosion pot
It is an arc control device, which is fitted to the top fixed contact. It consists of oil
impregnated vulcanised fibre plates which are held under compression. These plates are
arranged so as to form a series of vents on one side of the arc and a series of oil pockets on
the other side. The tip of the fixed contact is so arranged that when the circuit breaker opens
the arc is so focussed that its extinction is facilitated. i.e. the arc is drawn in front of the
vents. This arrangement of oil pockets generate turbulence to the gases during arcing which
ensures the faster cooling and evacuation of the gases through the vents. The spring-loaded
valves are provided at the top casing.
The function of spring loaded valve is as follows: -
When arc is struck, the gas pressure closes the valve and when arc is extinguished the
pressure dies out and the valve is opened by the spring. The opening of the valve permits the
oil to get replaced.

Minimum Oil circuit breaker

In the bulk oil circuit breaker large quantity of oil is required though only a small
quantity is necessary for arc extinction. The large quantity is necessary to provide insulation
between the live parts and the earthed steel tank. The entire oil in the tank is likely to get
deteriorated due to sludge formation in the proximity of arc. Then the entire oil needs
replacement. The tanks are too big in 72.5 kV and above, so the tank type oil circuit breaker
looses its simplicity. The above mentioned reason led to the development of Minimum Oil
Circuit Breaker. As the name itself signifies, this type of circuit breaker requires less oil.
There is no steel tank but the arc extinction takes place in porcelain containers as shown in
the figure 4.7. In the minimum oil circuit breaker the current interruption takes place inside
the Interrupter chamber. The interrupter chamber is made of insulating material like
porcelain for outdoor or fibre glass for indoor circuit breakers. The interrupter chamber
encloses a fibre glass enclosure which accommodates fixed contact, arc control device and
the moving contact. The clearance between the live parts and the enclosure is reduced and
hence less quantity of oil is required. There are two chambers and they are separated from
each other and filled with oil. The upper chamber is the interrupter chamber and the lower
chamber is the support chamber. The oil from the upper chamber does not mix up with

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bottom chamber, the lower chamber also acts as a dielectric support to the interrupter
chamber. The arc extinction device is fitted to the upper fixed contact, which is ring shaped
with many contact fingers. The moving contact moves upward for closing operation, a resin
bonded glass fibre cylinder enclose the contact assembly, which is also filled with oil. The
figure 4.7 shows one pole as such there are three poles, one for each phase and they operate
simultaneously.

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 TYPICAL CONSTRUCTION OF BHEL MINIUM OILCIRCUIT
BREAKER

Construction
Minimum oil circuit breaker mainly consists of:
 Breaker pole
 Base frame

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 Operating mechanism
 Support structure
Breaker Pole
The primary functions of a circuit breaker is to interrupt short circuit current, to carry
normal current, to switch in and out normal loads and to provide necessary insulation
between live and earthed parts.
Breaker pole mainly consists of:
 Interrupter unit
 Support insulator
 Operating insulator (Not applicable to HLC)
Typical rating of the BHEL MOCB’s:
S.No. Type of MOCB Rated service Rated normal Rated Breaking
voltage in KV current in Amps. Capacity (KV)
1. HLC 1/52/630 25 630 20
2. HLC 72.5/1600 72.5 1600 20
3. HLD 145/1250 B 145 1250 20
4. HLR 84/2501 B 72.5 2500 40
5. HLR 145/2502 B 145 2500 40
6. HLR 245/2503 B 245 2500 40
7. HLR 420/2505 B 420 2500 40
8. HLR 145/2501 E 145 2500 31.5/40
9. HLR 245/2502 E 245 2500 40
10. HLR 420/2501 E 420 2500 40

Interrupter Unit
This is the top half of the pole filled completely with oil and is supported by the
support insulators. Interrupter unit mainly consists of two terminals, contact system with
fixed and moving contacts, extinguishing chamber, etc. The fixed contact is a socket type,
mounted at the top of the interrupting chamber and is electrically connected to the top
terminal. The fixed contact consists of a set of spring loaded contact fingers providing
necessary contact pressure and an arcing contact of high arc resistance material. The moving
contact is a plug type which initiates making and breaking of the currents and moves
vertically up wards and downwards. While opening, the moving contact separates from the
fixed contact and an electric arc is drawn between the arcing contact on the fixed contact and

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the tip of the moving contact. The extinguishing chamber is the vital part of the breaker in
which the arc gets extinguished smoothly and effectively. This is built up of insulating
materials capable of withstanding high mechanical and electrical stresses. The extinguishing
chamber is a contraction type with axial blast in case of HLC and HLD MOCB. In case of
HLR MOCB the extinguishing chamber is a cross blast type. The interrupter chamber is
filled with nitrogen to the required pressure, in avoid ingress of moisture in the oil and to
achieve re-strike free operation while interrupting capacitive currents.

Support Insulator
Support Insulator column is the bottom half of the breaker pole. This is of solid core
porcelain in case of HLD and HLR MOCB and hollow porcelain in case of HLC MOCB.
The support insulator provides the necessary insulation between the lower terminal and the
earthed base frame and provides support to the interrupter chamber.

Operating insulator
The operating force to the moving contact is transmitted by means of a solid core
porcelain-operating insulator. This rotary or operating insulator is coupled to the moving
contact in the interrupting chambers by means of mechanical linkages housed in the external
mechanism housing. (In case of HLC breakers, the operating force to the moving contact is
transmitted by fibreglass pull rod housed in the hollow support insulator).

Base Frame
In case of HLD and HLR MOCB, the support and operating insulators are mounted
on each base frame. The number of base frames per phase in the case of HLR MOCB may be
one or more depending upon the number of breaks per phase, whereas the HLD MOCB in
variably consists of only one base frame for each pole. In case of HLC MOCB, there is a
common base frame on which all the three phases are erected. The base frame essentially
consists of an operating arm to connect the pull rods transmitting motion and houses the
opening spring either inside or outside, depending upon the type of breaker, which gives the
required opening speed at the time of contact separation.

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Operating Mechanism
This is a motor operated spring closing type either BLF or BLG. BLF mechanism is
used for 36 kV HLC MOCB where as BLG mechanism is used for above 36 kV. The
operating mechanism mainly consists of a set of closing springs to close the breaker at the
required speed, spring charging motor for charging of the closing springs. Limit switch is
mainly to break and make the power supply to the motor depending upon the position of the
closing spring.

Support structure
The base frame, on which the breaker poles rest will be supported at an elevation from the
ground on the support structure. In case of HLC MOCB, the support structure will be invariably
supplied along with the breaker. For HLD and HLR MOCB the structure will be supplied, if specially
ordered. The support structure shall be mounted on concrete foundations.

Mode of Operation
The circuit breakers are designed to perform the operating duty of O-0.3Sec-CO-
3Min-CO. The closing and opening operations are described below.

Closing operation
On the initiation of closing command to the closing coil, the catch system gets
released and closing force on account of discharging of closing springs is transmitted to the
operating rod by link system. The operating rod connected to the operating mechanism
moves in a horizontal direction, in case of HLD and HLR MOCB and this motion is
converted into rotary motion by operating axle in the base frame. This is further transmitted
to the operating lever in the external mechanism of the interrupter unit through rotary
insulator. This movement is converted into rectilinear motion by a set of levers and the
moving contacts are moved up to close the breaker.
In case of HLC breakers there will not be any rotary insulators. The operating rod
connecting the mechanism and breaker moves in a vertical plane. This motion is transmitted
to the operating axle in the base frame and from there to the operating lever to which the
fibre glass rod along with the moving contact is connected.

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Opening operation
The opening spring in the base frame at the end of the pull rod system which will be
charged during the closing operation always exerts force on the operating rod connected to
the operating mechanism and in turn on the moving contact system to pull them to “OFF”
position. This is prevented by the tripping catch system. When trip coil is supplied with
operating voltage, the catch system gets released and the moving contact is brought back to
“OFF” position.

Principle of Arc extinction

In case of HLC & HLD MOCB the extinguishing chamber is of contraction type
employing the principle of axial blast. The pressure of the gases generated at the initiation of
arc is used on a differential piston to force high pressure oil on the gas envelope of the arc to
contact it and maintain a high pressure and high speed gas flow along with the arc path. Thus
the insulation is again reinstated in the arc path and the current is broken around its natural
current zero.
With regard to HLR MOCB, the extinguishing chamber is based on the cross-blast
type design with no moving parts. The gases (mainly hydrogen) evolving from the
decomposition of the oil by the arc, flow out through a number of slots, which are opened
one by one as the moving contact moves downwards. The gases are thus forced to pass
through the arc, which is cooled. When the current passes through zero, no further energy is
generated for a brief instant.
A very rapid temperature drop occurs in the arc column, which de-ionises the gases.
A high dielectric strength is therefore built up very rapidly between the two contacts and re-
ignition of the arc is prevented. The interrupters of HLR MOCB are pressurised with
nitrogen to achieve restrike free operation while interrupting capacitive currents.

Maintenance of OCB
Maintenance of Oil Circuit breaker is same as that of Air circuit breaker excepting the
additional maintenance of the insulating oil. As such follow the guiding principles as given

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for air circuit breakers. In addition to the points mentioned earlier, the following maintenance
is to be carried out.

Tank / Truck Winding Mechanism

1. Where the tank lifting mechanism is integral with the circuit breaker, the rope and the
operating mechanism should be inspected for wear and corrosion, freedom of moving
parts.
2. The above inspection should be carried out before attempting to lower the tank.
3. Lifting mechanism should be lubricated sparingly and hydraulic system topped up as
necessary.

Arc Control Device

1. These should be inspected and cleaned and if there is a change in shape and size of the
contact moving path, vents size. If badly burnt or cracked (laminations or discs), they
should be renewed.
2. Care should be taken that vent holes and contact entry orifices are cleaned and the arc
control device should be flushed with clean oil before refitting.
3. Resistors and connections if fitted, should be checked for continuity and resistance value.
4. It is important to ensure when refitting arc control devices that vent holes and contact
orifice are in their correct positions relative to contact system.
5. Inspect the venting system to ensure that a free passage for oil and gases exists. Where
there is a joint between fixed and movable portions of the gear ensure that it is in sound
condition.
6. In no circumstances should the vents be made larger than the design values.

Tank and Tank Lining

1. Tank lining and inter pole barriers should be inspected for evidence of burning or other
damages, paying special attention to the edges for signs of separation of the lamination,
which often indicate the presence of moisture.

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2. If moisture is suspected a sample of the lining should be immersed in oil and heated to
approximately 105oC. Frothing will indicate the presence of moisture.
3. Damp or damaged lining should be re-conditioned or renewed.
4. Linings should not be refitted until the tank has been thoroughly cleaned and dried.
5. Gasket should be inspected and renewed if necessary.
6. The tank compartment should be flushed with clean oil wherever it is possible prior to
fitting.
7. The phase barriers should be checked for distortion and fouling.

Warning
 While draining or filling the oil in the circuit breaker tanks no naked flame or smoking is
permitted.
 Oil filled bushings should be inspected for leaks and oil level should be checked.
 Inter pole linkage usually, have carefully fitted linkage pins and minimum backlash
mechanisms. It is important that these features are examined and adjusted as necessary.

Auxiliary Switches and Indicating Devices and Interlocks

1. Examine the contacts and clean them or renew if necessary. Keeping them in good
condition is utmost important as the operation of other items fully depend upon them.
2. Check for good contact loading. Freedom of the operating links and for corrects sequence
of operation of the auxiliary contacts with reference to the main contacts.
3. Indicating devices such as mechanical “ON” and “OFF” indicators should be inspected to
ensure that they are working correctly.

4. Interlocks and locking devices should receive particular attention, especially those
associated with earthing and testing facilities. A strained or worn locking device may
result in a dangerous reduction of clearance.

Secondary Wiring

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1. Ensure that connections are tight and secure.
2. Check that the terminal boxes are free from dirt and moisture.
3. Check the insulation resistance and continuity of wiring to the limit fuses, instrument
transformers, relays, motors and other associated items.
4. Auxiliary plug and socket should be cleaned and re-lubricated where necessary.
5. Fuses should be checked for continuity.
6. Auxiliary contacts carrying the fuses should be cleaned and tested.

Insulation
Clean and inspect the insulating material fitted on to the circuit breakers. Porcelain
insulation should be examined for cracks or other defects. Bonded and laminated fibrous
insulation should be examined for signs of tracking, blistering or de-lamination. Insulation
resistance tests are to be carried out, which conforms to the following recommendations. The
test voltages are to be applied to the primary insulation of the switchgears. For ease consult
the table given below:

3 phase Voltage rating of primary Test voltage recommended for

insulation of switchgear in KV insulation resistance test DC in KV.

Up to 0.65 1
0.65 to 3.3 2
3.3 to 33 5
33 to above 10

The insulation resistance of small wiring and auxiliary components should be tested
at a voltage not exceeding 500 Volts D.C. Minimum values of insulation resistance, which
are acceptable, should be noted from manufacturer recommendations or from previous test
results. If however no information is available the minimum acceptable value of insulation
resistance can be taken as:

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Minimum acceptable resistance = (1 Meg ohm per rated kV +1) Meg ohm
It is suggested to maintain the test results for future reference.

Advantage of Oil Circuit Breaker

 Reduced arc length due to better cooling resulting in minimum clearance between the
contacts.
 Very good insulation between live and earth is achieved due to oil.
 Where there is danger of ignition and explosion the oil separates the arc from the
dangerous atmosphere. This feature makes the OCB a unique device.

Disadvantage of Oil Circuit Breaker

 The gases produced during the operation are inflammable and it is essential they are not
permitted to leak or else a highly explosive mixture will be produced.
 Larger contacts suffer more wear from current breaking operations than they do in Air
Break Circuit Breaker.
 Due to frequent operation of the contacts in oil, carbonisation takes place and insulating
properties of oil rapidly deteriorates requiring special equipment for oil purification.

The following chart given below will assist as to when and what item of the switchgear
is to be inspected and serviced.

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 Maintenance operation Post fault Routine maintenance
Sl. No. maintenance Inspection Exam
& overhaul
1. General inspection *
2. Tank/trunk winding or * *
raising mechanism
3. Cleaning * *
4. Opening device(trip) *
5. Insulating oil *
6. Contacts *
7. Arc control device *
8. Venting and gas seals * *
9. Tank and tank linings *
10. Insulation * * All items are
11. Tripping & closing * to be
mechanism dismantled
12. Shutter operating * and serviced.
mechanism
13. Inter locks and
auxiliary contacts
14. Secondary wiring & * *
fuses
15. Earth connection * *
16. Insulation test * *
17. Operational/check * *

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 CHAPTER V
SULPHUR HEXA FLUORIDE (SF6) CIRCUIT
BREAKER

Introduction
The last few years have seen notable progress being made in the field of circuit breakers. At
extra high voltage Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF 6) breakers employing the single pressure puffer type have
more or less replaced the minimum oil and air blast technologies.

SF6 Circuit Breakers

Why SF6?
Because of its electronegative nature, the gas has a very high dielectric strength, which is a
function of its density and its high relative heat transfer properties. Fig.5.1 compares the temperature rise
in air and SF6. This feature offers the designer the opportunity of either reducing the current carrying
materials within the interrupter or obtaining a higher current rating than would otherwise possible.
Fig.5.2 compares the breakdown voltage with power frequency voltage being applied across two
50-mm spheres with a gap spacing of 10 mm.
Fig.5.3 shows the pressure Vs Temperature isochores in SF 6 for constant density. Because of its
de-ionisation characteristics, it is particularly suited to withstand a high rate of rise of dielectric voltage
stress appearing across the breaker contacts during interruption. Due to its electronegative property it
can absorb free ions rapidly to become a heavy negative ion. The gas is non-toxic, non-corrosive,
colourless, odourless, non-inflammable and physiologically inert. Because of these physical and
chemical properties SF6 is ideal for switchgear application. Lastly the gas is easy to carry and transport
and leakage can be easily detected by means of halogen detecting instruments.

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INTERRUPTER DESIGNS

Dual Pressure
The early designs were dual pressure designs where the gas stored at around 14 kg/cm 2 pressure,
maintained in a gaseous state by special heaters, was exhausted on parting of contacts into the lower
pressure region through the nozzles of the movable contacts of the circuit breaker. When an arc is drawn
in SF6 the temperature within the arc column will dissociate the gas into its various by products and
these will tend to recombine very rapidly in the cooler zones away from the immediate vicinity of the
arc core. The heat involved in dissociation is thus extracted from the arc to be released subsequently in
the cooler regions where the original properties of the gas are restored. This can be achieved either by
arranging the gas to flow over an arc occupying a relatively fixed position (puffer) or alternatively
causing the arc to move rapidly through gas which is relatively stationary (rotating arc) or by a
combination of these two principles (puffer + rotating arc). The puffer principle is the basic principle of
all EHV breakers presently in the market. These breakers require a longer stroke and the pressure
increases on the upstream end due to heating effects of the arc that could tend to reduce the opening
forces. The opening springs and the mechanism driving them should be sufficiently strong to overcome
this effect.
Puffer single pressure breakers

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 The puffer type breakers represents the second generation of SF6 breakers employing a single
pressure. The mono-blast, partial dual-blast and full dual-blast concepts are illustrated in Figs.5.4, 5.5 &
5.15.

The single pressure puffer type breakers use a gas compression cylinder attached to the moving
contact. The cylinder on opening causes the gas in the annular region between the cylinder and piston to
be compressed and when the contact separates, this compressed gas is caused to flow through the
annular space thereby ensuring a high dielectric recovery rate once the arc extinguishes. The mono-blast
is directed in one direction alone, the partial dual-blast has a second nozzle smaller than the main nozzle
that causes the blast in two directions and the full dual-blast uses two nozzles of the same size to give an
equal blast in both directions.
The forces that oppose contact movement in the event of an interruption during faults differ
considerably than those occurring during no load operation. Fig.5.6 gives an idea of the variation in
these values. The energy for gas compression arises principally from the opening springs and it does not
depend upon the magnitude of the fault current. By suitably employing the mono, partial dual and full
dual blast concepts the designer aims at arriving at an economical solution. The relation of the circuit
breaker weight in Kg. to the breaking capacity in MVA has progressively reduced from about 1.5
kg/MVA in the 60’s to around 0.3 Kg/MVA presently.
A significant area of complexity within the puffer type can be found in the operating
mechanism. To a large extent this comes from the interaction between the operating mechanism and the
interrupter. The heating of the gas, due to the arc interruption of the fault current, enhances the gas

- 65 -
pressure within the blast cylinder to very high values due to the low boiling point, high thermal
coefficient and higher density of the gas. This high pressure has to be overcome by the driving
mechanism, which is simultaneously driving the mass of the interrupter towards the open position. It

follows that the total power required to trip any given type of puffer interrupter will be a function of
fault current.

The driving mechanism must therefore be capable of delivering the power necessary for the
maximum fault rating of the circuit breaker and also be provided with a means of absorbing the excess
energy which will be present when breaking normal load. The difference between that level necessary
for high interruption is largely governed by the efficiency of the interrupter design.Fig.5.7 shows the
equal section double nozzle configuration interrupting a fault current.

In dual-blast configuration the arc emanating between the nozzles burns on either side, within a
constructed zone, being subjected to a considerable pressure differential. Within this zone, subject to the
axial pressure gradient, the extremely light arc plasma is accelerated to very high axial velocities of the
order of 10,000 m/sec. The expelled plasma is replaced by arc heating.

The axial rotating arc breaker

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 Fig.5.8 illustrates the concept of an axial rotating arc device. This involves the axial withdrawal
of a rod from a fixed contact. The initial arc is transferred from the fixed contact fingers to the arcing
cup where it energises the field coil producing a magnetic field coaxial with the contact system.
As the contact rod progresses through its full stroke the component of the arc normal to the
magnetic field causes classical electromagnetic motion and consequent rotating. Instead of causing the
gas to flow over a fixed arc position, the arc is forced to move rapidly in a relatively still gas. This
results in shorter stroke and lesser energy requirement for the operating mechanisms. Fig.5.9 illustrates a
self-pressurising interrupter concept clubbing both the puffer and the rotating arc designs.

The Transverse Arc Breaker

The transverse rotating arc device is illustrated in Fig.5.10. In this design, the field coil is outside
the fixed contact so that it operates transversely to the coil axis. The contacts are of a single break design
similar to that of a knife switch. The field coil comprises of a number of turns of full width strips. The
moving contact is operated via an insulated link arrangement and a crank that achieves a bottom dead
centre in the open position.

- 67 -
 During interruption, the arc root initiated at the fixed contact is transferred quickly to the arcing
tube diverting the arcing current to energise the coil and establish an axial magnetic field. Arc transfer is
assisted by the electromagnetic loop force that causes the transfer of the arc in the plane of the terminal
bushings. This arc is drawn inwardly across the face of the field coil and now it is in a position to
commence rotation. Fig.5.11 shows the arc rotation in the magnetic field. The device, in fact, behaves as
a simple electric motor where the arc forms a rotating conductor. While the arc tends to rotate in a spiral
form as already described the contact system is designed to encourage axial movement of the arc
towards the arcing tube.
Because of the current dependent nature of the rotating arc there was some apprehension in the
early design stages, that the design may require a small puffer or its equivalent (as employed in the air
break circuit breakers) to cause gas movement to deal with low current interruptions. Careful design of
the contacts and field coil assembly however has made such an auxiliary device unnecessary. Further the
energy required for closing is much less than half of that is required for the minimum oil circuit breaker
of similar rating.
As the arc rotates it leaves behind a wake of ionised by-products, most of which recombine
rapidly (10-6 to 10-7 sec) to restore the good insulating and interrupting properties of the gas. The
arrangement also encourages the arc to move along the arcing tube in an axial direction, away from the
fixed contact to form a 3 directional spiral. Further increasing its total length within the control of arcing
tube the contact erosion is minimised. The low degree of erosion is due to the rapid movement of the arc
roots over the contact surfaces, which is achieved by extraction of energy from the arc while it is rotated
at very high speed.

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 CO-RELATION BETWEEN OPERATING MECHANISM

CHARACTERISTIC AND ARC QUENCHING IN

PUFFER TYPE SF6 CIRCUIT BREAKERS

The pressure developed in the puffer cylinder of single pressure puffer type SF 6circuit breaker is
influenced significantly by time and travel characteristic of the operating mechanism during the opening
stroke. The pressure developed in the puffer cylinder is released for obtaining gas flow through the
nozzle for arc quenching. The load coming on the operating mechanism is influenced by friction,
acceleration of moving masses, pressure developed in puffer cylinder and damping. These factors
influence the force requirements of operating mechanism. As a result, there is a close co-relation
between the time and travel characteristic and arc quenching process. Here, the correlation between the
operating mechanism characteristic and arc quenching ability of the puffer type SF 6 circuit breakers has
been described.

Introduction
In single pressure puffer type SF6 circuit breaker, the puffer cylinder is moved against the fixed
piston to achieve gas compression in the puffer cylinder. The compressed gas is released through
convergent-divergent nozzles for extinguishing the arc. The arc quenching ability of puffer type SF 6
circuit breaker depends upon the pressure developed in the puffer cylinder and the flow of gas through
the nozzles during the opening stroke. The pressure developed in the puffer cylinder is influenced
significantly by time and travel characteristic of the operating mechanism during the opening stroke. For
satisfactory arc quenching, adequate gas pressure should be maintained during and after the arcing.

Fig.5.12 represents a schematic diagram of puffer type SF6 circuit breaker. The entire interrupter
is filled with SF6 gas at a pressure P2. When the breaker is in closed position, the gas pressure within the
puffer cylinder is the same as that outside the puffer cylinder and no flow of gas takes place. The relative
movement between puffer cylinder and the fixed piston results in higher-pressure (P1) within the puffer
cylinder. During the opening stroke, the pressure ratio P1/P2 varies continuously (Fig.5.13). The
characteristic of pressure ratio Vs time is influenced by the time Vs travel characteristic of the operating
mechanism. For satisfactory arc quenching, adequate gas pressure should be achieved at the time of
contact separation. The system is designed to have higher -pressure ratio during the arcing period

- 69 -
and post current zero period for effective arc quenching and subsequent dielectric recovery.

The time and travel characteristic of the operating mechanism depends upon the energy within
the mechanism and the load on the mechanism. During the opening stroke, the load coming on the
operating mechanism is constituted by friction, contact grip, acceleration of moving masses, pressure
developed in the puffer cylinder, damping provided in the mechanism etc. The operating mechanism
should be capable of giving the desired time and travel characteristic under various operating conditions
from no-load to rated short circuit current breaking. During the type tests of SF 6 circuit breakers, the
time and travel characteristic of the operating mechanism is recorded. The capabilities of the circuit
breaker of a particular type are proved with reference to the time and travel characteristic assigned for
the circuit breaker of the particular design. As the time and travel characteristic has a significant
influence on the arc quenching ability, the characteristic of each breaker should be ascertained during
the routine testing.

Nomenclature
A - Acceleration of moving parts such as puffer cylinder moving contact
F - Force
P - Pressure
P1 - Pressure inside the puffer cylinder (under compression)
P2 - Pressure outside the puffer cylinder
P1/P2 - Pressure ratio
S - Stroke, total travel of contact
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T - Time
Ta - Time from the instant of initiation of opening command to start of movement
Tb - Time for contact separation
Tc - Total time for travel
V - Velocity

Time/Travel Characteristic during the Opening Stroke

The puffer cylinder and moving contact follow a definite time/travel characteristic (Fig.5.13).
The ideal characteristic is decided while designing the circuit breaker considering following parameters:
- Total stroke
- Time for start of movement
- Time for contact separation
- Speed
- Damping
In case of puffer type SF6 circuit breakers, a major portion of the total travel is required for
puffing action. Out of the total stroke S, initial portion Si is utilised for pre-compression, during which
contacts and nozzle are not yet cleared. The opening time Tb is selected by the designers on the basis of
the pressure ratio required at the instant of contact separation. Higher-pressure ratio at the contact
separation ensures higher interrupting ability. However, the total break time of the circuit breaker is the
sum of the opening time and arc extinction time. Hence, higher opening time results in the higher total
break time. So, considering the requirements of total break time the opening time is chosen. The puffing
action starts after clearing of nozzle and continues till the end of the travel. The final current zero should
be achieved as early as possible and the gas flow should continue even after final current zero to ensure

rapid dielectric recovery. The total stroke can be considered in three phases: -
- Initial acceleration period.
- Steady speed
- Final damping
After receiving the trip signal, the shunt release requires certain time for its operation. Certain
time Ta is required for start of movement. During this time, the pressure ratio P1/P2 remains at unity. As
the contacts and puffer cylinder start moving, the pressure ratio P1/P2 increases. The contacts and
nozzles should be separated when pressure ratio reaches the desired value. It is desirable to separate the
contacts when the full speed is reached.
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 The velocity of the puffer cylinder and the contact can be obtained from time/travel
characteristic. The velocity is given by the slope ds/dt at any point on the characteristic curve. The
velocity of puffer cylinder affects the maximum pressure ratio P1/P2. Higher initial velocity increases
the maximum pressure ratio. The lower initial velocity results in lesser pressure ratio. Hence to obtain
maximum pressure ratio, higher velocity is preferable. Considering the pressure characteristic required
during the arcing and recovery periods decides the choice of optimum velocity.

Pressure Generated in Puffer Cylinder and Its Significance

In puffer type SF6 circuit breakers, the pressure ratio P1/P2 is influenced by time/travel
characteristic and nozzle geometry. Larger nozzle diameter gives lesser pressure ratio. Smaller nozzle
diameter gives higher-pressure ratio, but causes problems of nozzle choking. The design of interrupter
aims at almost supersonic velocity of gas in the divergent portion of the nozzle during the arcing period.
The high velocity gas flow through the nozzle takes away the heat of arc, causing rapid reduction in arc
diameter. At current zero, the arc vanishes and the gas should regain the dielectric strength rapidly to
withstand the transient recovery voltage. During the arcing period, the arc presents a barrier through
which the gas flow is negligible. Hence, part of the nozzle area is not available for gas flow. This results
in higher-pressure ratio than that corresponding to cold flow conditions. Above a certain value of arc
current, the arc completely blocks the nozzles causing higher-pressure ratios as shown in Fig.5.14.
Nozzle choking causes higher-pressure rise and reduced gas flow. The amount of choking permissible
depends upon interrupter design.
During the post current zero periods, the nozzle is not choked. However, hot gases should be
removed from the contact zone for rapid dielectric recovery. Hence, adequate pressure ratio is essential
even after the final current zero. The higher velocity of puffer cylinder is desirable from pressure ratio
considerations. However, with higher velocities, the number of current zeros available for arc quenching
is reduced. The normal current zeros in a 50 Hz wave occur after every 10 ms. the current zeros for
different velocities can be easily known by correlating the 50 Hz waveform with the time/travel
characteristics. The time/travel characteristic should be decided by considering the number of current
zeros required during the quenching process and also the corresponding pressure ratio during arcing and
recovery periods.

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Opposing Forces during Opening Stroke
Initially when the puffer cylinder and contacts begin to move, the static friction and the force of
acceleration of moving masses are predominant. During this period of initial acceleration, the forces of
gas compression are negligible and the contact grip due to spring force and short circuit force will be
present.
During the second phase of the operating characteristic, the forces of friction, acceleration and
contact grip are negligible and the force of gas compression is predominant. The force of gas
compression is given by (P1 – P2) A. where” A” is the area of puffer cylinder neglecting the throat area
of nozzle. The force of gas compression varies continuously during the opening stroke Fig.5.14. The
force of gas compression is higher during arc quenching process and under conditions of severe nozzle
choking. The operating mechanism should be capable of giving the required force and energy margin
over the opposing force during the opening stroke. The time/travel characteristic should be maintained
under the various operating conditions for no-load as well as short circuit duties. The damping provided
at the end of the stroke assists in decelerating the moving masses smoothly to the final position.

Typical Construction of SF6 Circuit Breaker

Construction
The SF6 circuit breaker type 3AR1/EG is of outdoor type and it is suitable for mounting on a support
structure. It mainly comprises of the following as shown in Figure5.15.
 Breaker poles
 Base tube
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 Electro - Hydraulic operating mechanism
 Control unit

Breaker Pole
The primary functions of a circuit breaker is such as interrupting short circuit currents, carrying
normal currents, switching ON and OFF normal loads and providing necessary insulation between live
and earthed parts.
The breaker pole consists of:
 Interrupter Unit
 Support insulator
Interrupter Unit
The interrupter unit consists of fixed contact tube, guide tube, moving contact tube, blast
cylinder and blast piston. The fixed contact tube is connected to the top terminal via contact support.
The guide tube is fastened to the lower terminal. The other end of the fixed contact tube and the guide
tube, which are subjected to arcing during arc interruption, are provided with arc quenching nozzles. The
nozzles are made up of graphite material, which keeps the contact wear to a minimum. The moving
contact tube consists of spring loaded finger contacts arranged in the form of a ring. The front end of the
moving contact tube is provided with an arc resistant insulating ring and an arcing ring of high arc
resistant material.

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 The blast cylinder is made up of high arc resistant insulating material and the moving contact
tube, are rigidly coupled to each other and connected to the operating rod in the support insulator
through fork. The blast piston, which is made up of aluminium, is fastened to the lower terminal pad by
stay bolts. The fixed contact tube, guide tube, moving contact tube, blast cylinder and blast piston are all
housed inside a porcelain insulator. When the circuit breaker is in closed position, current flows from
top terminal to bottom terminal through contact support, fixed contact tube, moving contact tube and
guide tube.

Arc Interruption
When the circuit breaker is in closed position, the moving contact assembly bridges the fixed
contact tube and guide tube. When an opening operation is initiated, the blast cylinder moves towards
the stationary blast piston, so that the SF6 gas in the blast cylinder is compressed to the required
pressure to quench the arc. The SF6 gas compressed during the above process is released only when the
contacts are separated, with the moving contact assembly acting as a slide valve.
At the instant of contact separation, arc strikes between the front end of the arc quenching nozzle
of the fixed contact tube and the arcing ring of the moving contact tube. The compressed gas in the blast
cylinder is released into the break readily as the contacts are separated. As the moving contact assembly
moves further, the arc between the front end of the fixed contact nozzle and the arcing ring of the
moving contact is transferred from the arcing ring of the moving contact to the nozzle of the guide tube
by gas flow. The arc is further elongated by the gas flow axially into the nozzles and gets extinguished.
While the arc is being interrupted, the blast cylinder which is made up of arc resistant insulating material
encompasses the arc quenching assembly, thereby protecting the porcelain insulator from arcing effects.
The moving contact assembly and blast cylinder move further to reach fully open position. (Refer 5.16)

Support Insulator
Support insulator apart from supporting the interrupted unit provides insulation between live
parts and the earthed base tube. It houses the guide and operating rod, which is connected to the
interrupter unit. The operating rod is made of insulating material like fibreglass. The other end of the
operating rod is connected, through a coupling rod to the lever in the base tube.

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Base Tube
The gas tight base tube, which supports all the three breaker poles, encloses the complete layer
system to transmit the operating force from the hydraulic mechanism to the breaker poles. A diaphragm
and a filter provided on the left hand side of the base tube are for releasing excessive pressure developed
and absorbing the products of the decomposed SF6 gas as well as to keep the gas dry respectively. The
lever system, to the differential piston of the hydraulic mechanism is fastened to the right hand side of
the base tube. The horizontal motion of the differential piston is converted to the vertical motion of the
operating rod by the lever system. The base tube, support insulator, interrupter unit are all filled with
SF6 gas for insulating and arc quenching purposes.

Electro Hydraulic Operating Mechanism

The circuit breaker is operated by a reliable Electro-hydraulic operating mechanism. The
hydraulic system consists of drive cylinder, differential piston together with main valve, the
accumulator, hydraulic set, hydraulic monitoring unit, and oil tank and release block. The nitrogen gas
compressed in the accumulator provides the operating energy required. The release block contains all
necessary valves for pilot control. A closing solenoid Y1 and opening solenoid Y2 are mounted on this

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block. The release block is connected to the auxiliary switch by a coupler. A mechanical ON/OFF
breaker position indicator is connected to the shaft of the auxiliary switch. (Refer 5.17)

Control Unit
The control unit accommodates the hydraulic set, oil tank terminal blocks and all the devices for
electrical and hydraulic control and monitoring of the breaker. The electrical connections are wired to
the terminal blocks.

Operation
The circuit breaker type 3AR1/EG is suitable for 3-phase auto re-close duty, the duty cycle being
O-0.3S-CO-3min-CO. The differential piston of the hydraulic mechanism whose smaller surface area is
under a constant hydraulic pressure operates the circuit breaker. When closing solenoid is energised, the
high-pressure oil from the accumulator flows through the pilot and main valves and pressurises the
larger surface area of the differential piston to close the breaker. When the opening solenoid is
energised, the high-pressure oil on the larger surface area of the differential piston is released to the oil

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tank through the pilot and main valves and pressurises the smaller surface area of the differential piston
to open the breaker contacts.

Merits Of SF6 Breaker

The SF6 breakers are most efficient and reliable one than all other types of breakers due
too their following merits: -
1. High dielectric and insulating properties of the gas.
2. Excellent extinguishing ability.
3. Non-flammable.
4. Non-corrosive.
5. Odourless and colourless.
6. Toxicity is almost zero for all practical purpose.
7. Heavier than air.
8. Longer life of contacts due to absence of oxygen and carbon molecules in the gas.
9. Breaker size and dimensions are smaller as compared to ABCB/OCB of the same kV rating.
10. Maintenance involves only on the operating system. This is an advantage since maintenance aspects
of the interrupter parts are very minimum (Practically nil).

Maintenance
SF6 Circuit breakers require very little maintenance. Involved are those parts, which are
subjected to wear, and ageing. The paint finish and degree of contamination of insulators should also be
checked. The following are the factors, which govern the maintenance of the breakers.
 Number of short circuit interruptions
 Switching frequency and service conditions
 Number of years of service
 Maintenance and inspection should be carried out in accordance with the inspection schedule. The
servicing intervals indicated below are only a guide and should be suitably altered to suit the
operating/service conditions. The inspection and servicing jobs have been divided into three groups.
 Routine check to be made every 5 years; these checks contain jobs only to be done at earth potential.
Draining of SF6 is not necessary.
 Minor inspection after 1500 operations or 10 years of service. In the case where the breaker operates
more than 1000 times a year, inspection should be carried out after maximum 3000 operations.
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 Major inspection after 3000 operation or 20 years of service. In the case of breaker operating more
than 1000 times a year, inspection should be carried out after maximum 6000 operations. The life of
the contacts normally matches the life expectancy of the breaker.
 If the breaker performs the short circuit interruptions as indicated in table below, before the
inspection becomes due, it is necessary to check the contacts as indicated in the inspection schedule,
and also after 3000 interruptions of normal rated current.

Precautions to Be Taken
Before starting work on breaker carry out the following:
 Isolate the breaker on both the sides
 Connect the breaker terminal to earth
 Disconnect the auxiliary supply
 Reduce the pressure (oil/air) of the operating system.
 Transfer the SF6 to the maintenance unit and vent the breaker.
 Comply with all local safety regulations.

General Instructions for Maintenance

All the split pins, lock washers, spring washers of bolted joints should be replaced with new
ones when they are opened for maintenance. All the gaskets, O-rings and rubber washers should also be
replaced with new ones during reassemble. All the breaker parts dismantled for maintenance should be
covered and protected against ingress of dirt and moisture. A small quantity of metallic fluoride powder
is formed during the arc interruption in SF 6 gas. The metallic powder in dry state is insulating and
harmless. However the powder is hygroscope and in the presence of water vapour and dust forms a
paste, which is conductive. As such this metallic fluoride power should be cleaned with the help of a

clean non-fluffy cloth or a vacuum cleaner, as soon as the interrupter is opened for inspection and
servicing to prevent the formation of conductive paste, which is very difficult to remove. The cloth once
used should not be reused. Separate cloth should be used for each interrupter. During cleaning of the
metallic fluoride, gloves should be worn. Care is advised when working near the auxiliary switches and
the piston rods of operating mechanism since any damage may cause leakage. For cleaning and
degreasing special compounds as recommended should be applied during maintenance.

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Inspection Schedule

Sl.No Routine Minor Major

. inspection inspection inspection
1.1 General check * * *
1.2 Note the number * * *
of make and the
break operations
and any particular
occurrences.
1.3 Check SF6 filling * * *
2.0 Draw out the SF6 * *
3.0 POLE
COLUMNS
3.1 Open all
interrupter units
and make a visual
check of the
contact system * *
and the blast
cylinder.
3.2 Check the sliding
faces of the cross
head and the *
coupling pins and
bearings for signs
of wear.
3.3 Examine and
clean the *
operating rod.
3.4 Replace filters * *
4.0 AUXILIARY

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 SWITCH
4.1 Sparingly oil the
bearings, examine
and grease the * *
coupling linkage.
5.0 Fill in the SF6 * *
6.0 ELECTRO
HYDRAULIC
OPERATING
MECHANISM
6.1 Carry out test
operations *
6.2 Make a visual
leakage check of
the hydraulic * * *
system.
6.3 Check the oil
level and its *
condition.
6.4 Drain the oil and
clean both the oil
tank and the * *
intake filter.
6.5 Examine the
accumulator, the *
main valve and
the operating
cylinders
6.6 Fill in new oil * *
6.7 Check the
priming pressure * * *
of nitrogen.
6.8 Raise the oil
pressure in the
accumulator to
the nominal level.

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 Measure the * *
current input of
the motor at this
pressure.
6.9 Carry out test
operations. * *
6.10 Operate the
breaker at
reduced operating * *
voltage.
6.11 Check the
operating
pressure of the * *
safety valve.
6.12 Check the inner
sealing of the * *
hydraulic system.
7.0 Check the
operating value of
the SF6 density
monitor and oil * *
pressure
monitors.
8.0 Check the breaker
pressure gauge
for SF6 and * *
pressurised oil.
9.0 Check the space
heaters. * * *
10.0 Check the anti-
pumping feature. * *
11.0 Check all fully
assembled
breaker for SF6 * *
leaks.
12.1 Check that the

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 external
connecting leads * * *
are seated firmly.
12.2 Tighten the
internal terminals * *
13.0 Check the paint
finish and touch
up wherever, * * *
necessary.

CHAPTER VI
VACUUM CIRCUIT BREAKERS (VCB)

Introduction
High voltage vacuum contacts is a completely new type of switching device for frequent
switching of alternating current circuits of medium voltage using vacuum as a dielectric and interrupting
medium. The advantage of vacuum as an interrupting medium is primarily due to its extremely high
dielectric strength and outstanding arc recovery characteristic. This is because, at high vacuum very few
molecules are available for ionisation process. In vacuum, arc is mainly supported by metal vapour from
the contacts. Nowadays these breakers are also used in higher voltage ranges 110 &220KV etc by
cascading.
Advantage Of Vacuum Contactors
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 Because of the various advantages vacuum contactors are becoming increasingly popular and are
utilised in various applications. The salient features of vacuum contactors are listed below: -
1. High Interrupting speed
2. Extremely low contact erosion
3. Noiseless operation
4. Stable contact resistance
5. Low operating power
6. Freedom from catastrophic failures
7. Long life
8. Less maintenance
9. Reduction in size and weight compared to other breakers of similar rating.
10. Economical in long run
11. Non-inflammable and non-toxic
12. Environmentally safe.

For 3.3 kV & 6.6 kV motors, minimum oil / air break circuit breakers were being used in
Power/Steel/Cement plants. Because of inherent advantage of minimum maintenance and suitability
for inching duty, vacuum contactors are ideal for these applications and replacing the older MOCB
&ACB. Vacuum contactors are also now being extensively used in LT & HT. The compactness of
vacuum contactors helps in reducing the size of flameproof enclosure for colliery applications and
thereby reducing the costs.

Construction

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 The vacuum contactor basically consists of three numbers of vacuum switches and a solenoid
operating mechanism. A sectional diagram of a vacuum switch is shown in Fig.6.1.

The vacuum switch consists of a glass or ceramic envelope containing a pair of contacts made
out of special alloy. The fixed contact stem is brazed to the top flange and the moving contact stem is
connected to the

bottom flange with stainless steel bellows, which provide necessary seal against atmosphere in addition
to the movement of the moving contact. The entire switch is sealed at a pressure of 10 -7 mm Hg or less
after special processing to de-gas copper contacts and other parts. In order to prevent the metal vapour
formed during the arcing from reaching the envelope resulting in the reduction of the breakdown voltage
level between contacts, a sputter shield is provided to collect these particles. Gettering is done inside the
switch to absorb gas molecules which come out of the contacts or which may remain inside the switch
after evacuation. A properly processed switch will have a shelf life of more than 20 years. All live parts
are insulated generally by epoxy resin insulating materials. Vacuum switch has a natural tendency to

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close its contacts due to differential atmospheric pressure, acting on metal bellows. This tendency is
overcome by means of two springs, which act against the atmospheric pressure. The armature is closed
Electro-magnetically. This compresses the two reaction springs and allows contacts to close with an
adequate pressure and be held in this position. This is called electrically held type contactor. In case,
where operating interval is not so frequent, mechanical latching device is provided. In this design, the
armature is held in close position by means of a mechanical device during working and de-latched by
means of a shunt trip coil. This design economises the operating power of the coil, in addition to the
contactor remaining closed during momentary supply failure. The above operating mechanism is
mounted in a rigid steel frame assembly out side the switch.

Arc Interruption in Vacuum

Vacuum power interrupters differ from other types in many respects, but the major difference
lies in the nature of the arc. While in the other interrupting media the arc exists through a gaseous
ionisation process, whereas in vacuum a metal vapour arc carries the current between the two contacts
within the interrupter. The main requirement for interruption of arc in vacuum is the proper contact
separation (10-20 mm depending on rating) and a current zero. Current is interrupted at a current zero
because of lack of the conducting metal vapour and electrons between the open contacts. Since there are
no gaseous contaminants or any product of an ionisation process present, arc reignition is a rare
phenomenon. It occurs only when contact parting is initiated at about the same time as a current zero.
Then the arc will be carried for the next half cycle only. (Refer 6.2) This perfection in vacuum
technology has been achieved after many years of research in overcoming the problems. Some of the
problems overcome were: -
 Current chopping tendencies and the resulting high over voltages.
 Gross melting of contacts and the liability to weld when making or carrying high currents.
 Contamination of the vacuum due to gas produced by the action of the arc on contact metals with
high gas content.
 Deterioration of the insulation due to condensing metal vapour on the inner surfaces of the insulating
container.
The Solutions to these problems have required many years of work on such matters as:
 The geometry of the contact to ensure that the arc rotates over a large area and thus prevents grosses
melting.

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 The processing techniques including degassing of contact materials and the surface cleanliness of
components within the envelope.
 Most fundamentally, on contact metallurgy to produce new materials of low gas content, good anti
weld properties and low current chopping probabilities.
 Selection of envelope materials capable of withstanding high processing temperatures and the
protection of the inner insulation by shielding.
 Long life vacuum seals.
Vacuum bottles with ratings up to 40 kA, 31.5 kA and 12 kA are available at present.
It is recognised that for same MVA rating vacuum interrupter has more number of breaks per pole
than SF6 or ABCB. In view of this the use of vacuum switchgear is restricted at present to medium
voltage. Vacuum bottles used, as contactors are similar to those used for circuit breakers except that the
latter has higher short time ratings. Vacuum contactors with ratings of 600 Amps current at 6.6 kV and
maximum occasional chopping current as low as 0.75A are now available.

Advantage Of Vacuum Interrupters

This simple, and most efficient power interrupting device having a multitude of advantages,
which are brought out below.

Higher Reliability
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 Vacuum circuit breakers provide the most reliable protection for medium-voltage power
distribution system and the equipment being protected. The reliability of the vacuum interrupting
technology has proven to be excellent over more than 15 years of commercial services. Over 60,000
vacuum interrupters put in the field have accumulated more than 2,50,000 interrupter years of field
experience with less than 50 failures. It is estimated that the failures involving the vacuum interrupter
for all reasons are in the range of 0.1% and for vacuum breaker is approx. 0.3%. This is comparable to
industry statistics of 0.36% for metal clad drawn out breakers in industrial plants. The basic feature
behind this reliability concept is, the main contacts of the power circuit breaker are in a sealed vacuum
environment which: -
 Ensure that external contamination will not affect the interrupting process.
 There will be no ionised gas produced during an interruption.
 If vacuum interrupter fails on loss of vacuum the back up breaker will clear the circuit before any
damage is done to the vacuum breaker or cubicle. With other breakers, if the breaker fails to clear,
the breaker and the cubicle will most likely be destroyed.

Maximum Operating Safety

The vacuum interrupter works most efficiently. The interruption takes place usually at the first
current zero. The high dielectric strength of a small vacuum gap speeds up arc extinction accounting for
the extremely low clearing time. Fast interruption and dielectric recovery provide maximum equipment
protection. The arc and its by products are contained in a sealed vacuum enclosure which isolates
contacts from dirt, and humidity damage. Short contact travel permits a simple and reliable mechanism
design. The above results in extended contact life and better overall performance.

Minimum Maintenance
The use of vacuum circuit breaker permits reduction of maintenance work because
 Only periodic cleaning and lubrication of mechanism and an occasional wipe spring adjustment is
required; no maintenance of interrupter is required as they are sealed.
 Low contact arc erosion offers exceptionally long switching and interrupting life without
maintenance (at least 30 operations at full breaking capacity, against less than 10 for air magnetic
circuit breakers).

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 High level of vacuum (better than 10-5 mm of Hg) permits greater number of operations without
maintenance (10,000 electrical operations and 40,000 mechanical operations without parts
replacement).
 No need to inspect or change the contact during the life of the interrupter, nor there is any insulating
medium to filter or replace. A simple contact wear indicator inspection is only required, together
with an occasional high potential test of the interrupter, if a vacuum check is absolutely needed.
 Test experience shows electrical life of vacuum interrupters is more than that required by the IEC
standards.
 In a properly processed vacuum interrupter loss of vacuum situation is not likely to arise. It has
become customary to guarantee 20 years of life for vacuum interrupters by leading manufacturers.

DESIGN OF METAL-CLAD VACUUM SWITCHGEAR

Introduction
Various concepts have been introduced in the design of oil, gas, air and vacuum switchgears. But the
basic requirements are: -
 Reliability,
 Very less extinction time, simple installation
 Easy and minimum maintenance.
The vacuum interrupters have brought in newer concepts in the design of switchgear. The
versatility of mounting interrupter in any orientation has led to a variety of designs each having its own
merits. Thus the designer of vacuum switchgears have resorted to many unconventional designs to
essentially keep the cost of vacuum switchgear competitive with those of conventional ones. But these
have to match with the countries past trend, users’ preferences and operating environments. Here,
minimum maintenance (that too only on the operating mechanism) property of vacuum interrupters has
been utilised to the fullest advantage. In some of the designs cubicles have been made very compact by
using SF6 gas for insulation.

CONSTRUCTION
Basic Configuration

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 The vacuum interrupters are presently available in the medium voltage range i.e., 3.3 to 33 kV.
The concept in our country up to 11 kV voltage range has been for indoors metal clad switchgear. These
switchgears are broadly of two types.
1. Non-withdrawal designs (with series isolators/ with out series isolators)
2. Withdrawal designs (circuit breaker withdrawal on truck/swing doors).
Non - withdrawal design
Initial designs laying emphasis on the maintenance free characteristics of vacuum interrupters,
worked out arrangements of switchgears with fixed type circuit breakers incorporating series type
isolator within the cubicle. These designs were evolved with a view to cut cost of switchgear by doing
away with some of the features and interlocks necessary with withdrawal versions. In switchgear there
are peripherals besides the vacuum interrupters, which needs periodic inspection and maintenance for a
trouble free service. These designs have limitation with regard to accessibility of interrupters and
maintenance of other equipment.

Withdrawal Design
On gaining the user’s feed back on the fixed type switchgears, designers were led to work out
withdrawal versions as these have the following distinct advantages.
 Enables safe isolating distance to be maintained between bus bar and cables during the test position.
 Better access to all parts for inspection, maintenance and cleaning of insulating surfaces.
 Easy to replace breakers in case of emergency.
 Higher safety in operations and greater access to CTs, cables etc.
 System shutdown is less.
 Normally inter-changeable with other designs of conventional breakers offering economic advantage
to users.
Though these are compact and have slightly lower cost, it has its own drawbacks such as: -
 It is possible for only low current feeders.
 Inconvenient height for operation.

 Requires special carriage/loader for maintenance.

Design Features

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 The design of VCB is mainly governed by the characteristics of vacuum interrupter.
Predominantly the characteristics that affect the design are: -
1. Contact travel
2. Contact pressure
3. Contact bounce
4. Mass of moving contact
5. Physical dimensions
6. Watt loss of interrupter
7. Closing/tripping characteristics
8. Over travel
These parameters make the design of circuit breakers to call for a different approach against
established practice of conventional breakers. Some of these parameters are contradictory to each other
and should be carefully applied in the design of mechanism, mountings and current carrying parts.

Operating Mechanism
Vacuum breakers, as compared to oil breakers have few peculiar features, which make it
necessary to use a typical approach in the design of the operating mechanism. These are: -
1. Mechanism has to be rugged, principally simple to cater for wide range of moving mass and
interrupter rating.
2. Due to high dielectric strength and interrupting ability of interrupter contact travel is very small
about 1/10th of those of oil breakers.
3. Contacts of vacuum breakers are of butt type. To avoid contact lift off caused by Electro dynamic
force during short circuit, the contact pressure spring is incorporated on each pole, which limits this
force to permissible level for each interrupter and ensures accurate contact making. Closing springs
towards the end of closing stroke provides the contact force. A typical Travel Vs Closing force
characteristics are shown in Fig.6.3.

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4. The closing spring in the mechanism is utilised to accelerate the mechanism parts and charge contact
pressure springs and tripping springs. The atmospheric pressure acting on the moving contact stem
provides the force required for accelerating the contact during closing operation.
5. For arcs quenching in vacuum does not require any operating energy.
6. The force to be exerted by the tripping spring is small but high acceleration is to be achieved in the
short travel.
7. The damping of moving contact at the end of the opening stroke is to be carefully co-ordinated to
prevent damage of the interrupter due to over travel.
8. Though closing and tripping speed & energy required for VCB are lower than that of oil breakers (as
shown in Fig.6.4), the small contact travel and high contact force makes the design of mechanism
peculiar. Mechanism characteristics are to be co-ordinated in such a way that the moving contact is
forced in during closing without contact bounce.
9. Long life and maintenance free operation of interrupter is to match the high reliability and negligible
maintenance of mechanism.
Presently, only two types of mechanism, i.e. motor operated spring closing and solenoid mechanisms are
in vogue.

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Solenoid Operated Mechanism
These mechanisms are simple and also match the requirement of the closing characteristics of
VCB. The high peak force coupled with small travel makes the design bulky with larger power
consumption. Thus, methods were required to be adopted to bring down the power consumption of the
solenoid to match VCB characteristics and at the same time meeting their peak closing force. The
problem arises due to the fact that initially the VCB require very little force whereas the solenoid
plunger starts its travel before the rated force of the solenoid has been built up, with the result the
solenoid’s optimum capacity is not utilised.
To over come this problem, in the later design, the plunger is held for the duration till the total
built up of current is achieved in solenoid coil and then released suddenly. The dynamic release of the
plunger coupled with the built up of current gives the necessary peak force to close the VCB. These
holding devices can be either of mechanical plungers holding arrangement as shown in Fig.6.5 or
Electro magnetic plunger holding device as shown in Fig.6.6.
Mechanical plunger holding arrangement consists of collapsible lever and spring loaded balls
mounted on the plunger and coil case respectively. The device is so set that it obstructs the initial
movement of plunger till rated force is developed by the solenoid.
In Electro-magnetic plunger holding device a flux path opposing the main flux is mounted in the
plunger resting plate. When the coil is energised the plunger gets temporarily retained on its resting plate
till magnetic saturation of resting plate occurs. With the built up of current, the force between main pole
and plunger becomes higher than the resting plate, plunger gets lifted off with the specified force
through out its travel.

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Spring Operated Mechanism
The spring-operated mechanism is generally preferred by all the users for the simple reason that
this obviate the use and maintenance of high capacity battery system. The wide experience available for
spring operated mechanism has made it easier for its application on VCB as energy requirements are
very low. With the use of universal motor the spring-operated mechanism make them versatile for
operation and economical for the user. Also, it has another advantage that even in the absence or failure
of auxiliary supply the spring can be hand-charged and breaker closed conveniently.

Interrupter Mounting
The physical dimensions of the interrupter not only limit the mounting designs, but they are
governed by the contact bounce characteristics and robustness of the interrupters. The housing is to be
protected against bending stress and sudden mechanical loads such as those caused by Electro-dynamic
force or contact closing action. Also, as mentioned earlier vacuum interrupters being of butt type contact
are prone to bounces during closing.

Contact Bounce
The fact that the butt type contacts are likely to bounce at contact make the manufacturers of
vacuum interrupter specify the limit of bounce duration (around 2 millisecond) to maintain long contact
life. This phenomenon is affected by many parameters, which have been established after series of
experiments and testing on prototypes. These are: -
1. Contact geometry and contact material
2. Elasticity and inertia of moving contact
3. Capacity to absorb shock of moving system and interrupter mountings
4. Energy of moving contact

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5. Natural frequency of mountings and the moving system
The above parameters can be normally dealt by selection of proper material, ingenious designs of
mounting, damping characteristic during closing, pre-compression and arrangement of contact force
springs.

Current Carrying Components

In addition to the aforesaid mechanical considerations, the vacuum interrupter is designed to
carry normal rated current. The normal current rating generally get assigned by its contact system which
is governed by the short circuit interrupting ability e.g. 40 kA vacuum interrupter will have a normal
current rating of 2 to 3 kA. These ratings of interrupters are for open-air operation. The heat produced in
vacuum interrupter though small has to be conducted through the contact system only because of the
heat insulating effect of the medium.
This calls for the judicious approach of air volume ratio, convection, radiation, adoption of
proper heat sinks to achieve the specified rating of the interrupter in side the cubicle.

Cubicles
The cubicles are vermin proof and truly metal clad i.e. metal partition and division sheets are
used. This type of construction is highly safe gives all round protection against shock and spread of
electrical faults. The CT and cable chambers are spacious enough to have a neat layout of the CTs, and
also accommodate a couple of cables preferably with provision to mount the core balance CTs within
the cubicle. Conveniently located instrument and relay panel are provided in the front of the cubicle.
This is normally of hinged type to accommodate flush mounted instruments and relays to give a pleasing
appearance.

Arc Interruption in Vacuum and Recent Developments

A vacuum arc burns in metal vapour of the contact material and this arc has no upper limit in
current carrying capacity or interrupting capacity. In certain applications, particularly in the range of
EHV circuit breakers, it faces some limitations. The loss mechanism of vacuum arc along with other
characteristics of vacuum switches, make these devices obvious choice for almost all applications in
distribution voltage range. Excellence of vacuum switches in quick interruption of high current and
instantaneous recovery of dielectric strength is described in detail.
The details of the recent development of a single vacuum interrupter up to a rating of 84 kV, 40
KA and an account of the work carried out for the interruption of 120 kA are given below.

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 It is well known that vacuum has distinguished itself for its good arc quenching and dielectric
recovery properties. These properties have led to the development of vacuum switches of several ratings,
which have been in operation all over the world for at least two decades. Factors which make vacuum
switch more useful than any other conventional switch are its compactness, fast recovery of dielectric
strength, quick interruption, arc flame confinement, low noise and relatively less maintenance. Besides
this, there are other characteristics of vacuum switches like long life, reliability, freeness from effect of
environmental condition which are also contributing to make conventional switches obsolete in the
range of 3.3 kV to 11 kV for contactors and from 11 kV to 33 kV for circuit breakers.
Vacuum circuit breakers have not yet made significant penetration into the extra high voltage
field. In the course of developing vacuum interrupters, it has been the experience of the engineers and
scientists that it was easier to increase their current rating than their voltage rating. For many years the
standard voltage module was 11 kV. Because of this limitation, it was necessary to connect many
modules of this kind in series to use the vacuum breaker at transmission voltages. This required a
mechanism, which was complex and expensive. However, more recently, by lengthening the
interrupters, by making improvements in the dielectric design of the internal structure and with the use
of axial magnetic fields, individual interrupters with 84 kV system voltage rating have been developed
in other countries. 33 kV single module breakers are already commercially available. The dimensional
details of a 3.3 kV, 6.6 kV vacuum switch and a 33 kV, 25-kA outdoors vacuum circuit breaker are
given in Fig.6.1 and Fig.6.7 respectively.

Vacuum Arc
When a pair of current carrying contacts separate in vacuum, an arc is drawn, but in the absence
of a gaseous medium, the arc must burn in the metal vapour of the contact material, which is called
vacuum arc. This arc is quite different in many ways from the high-pressure gas arc. It is characterised,
at least at low currents, by a diffuse appearance and a relatively low arc voltage compared with an
arc in air, indicating that it needs less energy to sustain it.

Losses in Vacuum Arc

The loss mechanism in this type of arcs is different from the arcs in other media for the following
reasons. The only conduction losses will be into the electrodes, since there is no medium with which a
convective heat exchange can take place. Until the current level is such that arc constriction occurs,
radiation will be almost negligible, and even in the constricted arc its is probably not a significant factor.

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 The losses in the metal vapour arc arise only as a consequence of the flow or diffusion of carriers
because of the very high-pressure gradient. Material is continually boiled off from the cathode spots
(and from the anode too, when the current is high enough for an anode spot to appear), and energy is
continually supplied to ionise the metal vapour. And it provides energy to the carriers, a significant
fraction, of which will be lost by flow to the walls without taking part in the conduction process.
The fig 6.8 shows typical configuration of vacuum arc. One might suppose that in the critical
period around the current zero, events are also different from those occurring in the traditional switching
media. This is true, and once again the dominating factor is dispersion of the carriers. As the current
approaches zero, fewer carriers are needed to sustain it, and the residue at current zero disperses with
great alacrity so that a high dielectric capability is quickly established in the contact gap. (Rate of rise of
recovery voltage in excess of 20-kV/micro sec. has been observed with contact separations of 1 cm or
less).
Choice of materials for vacuum contact tips: -
As current carrying contacts are separated in vacuum, the current converges on the tip of the
contact and because of the joule heating, momentarily produces a molten metal bridge that vaporises
almost instantaneously. The vapour so produced is sufficient to sustain the arc that develops; i.e. the

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contacts supply the arcing medium, the metal vapour in which the arc exists. One might suppose that the
choice favours high vapour pressure material that can produce copious vapour with relatively low
energy input to the contact. Refractory materials such as tungsten and molybdenum can produce the
requisite vapour, provided they are heated to a high enough temperature. However, at current zero, when
interruption is supposed to take place, points on the contact surface remain, incandescent because of the
material’s low vapour pressure (the cathode had to reach a high temperature to provide the vapour) and
the relatively low thermal conductivity, which slows down the cooling process. Such points become the
source of thermionically emitted electrons, which prevent the contact gap from recovering the dielectric
strength. For this reason refractory contacts have never been satisfactorily applied to power circuit
breakers that must handle high fault currents, although they are being used very successfully for many
low current vacuum-switching devices.
At the other end of the scale, a very high vapour pressure material would also be unsatisfactory
for the contact material in a vacuum power circuit breaker. It would result in excessive contact erosion,
but more important, it would produce an over abundance of metal vapour, making it impossible for a
good vacuum to be restored quickly enough following current zero.

Vacuum Arc Extinction

At low currents, the metal vapours are produced from the cathode spots. It is expected that this
would be quite adequate at high currents also, but experience shows that some other phenomena occur.
At around 10 kA, at 50 HZ, the arc between a pair of butt contacts changes its appearance. Instead of
being quite diffuse, it constricts towards the anode, and the energy input at the electrode causes a molten
anode spot to form. This provides another source of vapour. At still high currents, vapour jets can be
seen emanating from both the contact surfaces. If the rate of vapour production becomes excessive, so

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that it cannot flow away and be accommodated on the shields to restore vacuum as current zero
approaches; failure to interrupt can result.
The vapour contains sufficiently high energy in the form of heat. It also contains escaping ion
pairs that combine at the shield, and giving up their ionisation energy. If the shield becomes too hot, it
will not accommodate all the vapour and some will bounce back in search of a cooler surface. This is
one form of interruption limit in vacuum. The cooler parts of the contacts themselves are very effective
condensing surfaces and unquestionably much of the vapour that is produced freezes on the contacts, to
be evaporated again in a later operation. It thus follows that large contacts are advantageous in
interrupting large currents. Hence to achieve higher current interrupting ratings, the contact geometry is
suitably shaped.

Current Chopping
At the other end of the spectrum, where the current is small, instability known as “Current
Chopping” can occur. This is the phenomenon of current coming to zero abruptly and prematurely,
before the power frequency current zero. Reference may please be made to Fig.6.9 wherein chopping
current characteristics, of a vacuum switch after testing is given. Chopping is not peculiar to vacuum, as
it has been observed in most interrupting media. What distinguishes vacuum in this regard is an apparent
difference in the mechanism causing the chop. For example, in air circuit breaker the phenomenon
occurs as a consequence of instability in the arc column, whereas in vacuum it depends on the contact
material and specifically on the material of the cathode.
This phenomenon is interesting because it can give rise to high transient voltages, which could
endanger the insulation system of power equipment connected to the circuit. This is a consequence of
the magnetic energy trapped in the system at the time of current chop taking place. Assuming that the
current being interrupted is the magnetising current of a transformer and that the instantaneous current
chop is Ic; the energy stored instantaneously in the magnetic structure of the transformer is ½ L mI2c,
where Lm is the magnetising inductance of the transformer. The current may come to zero abruptly in the
switch, but it cannot suddenly cease to flow in the transformer because of the transformer’s large
inductance. The only place for the current to flow is into the stray capacitance of the transformer
winding, which may be quite smaller. If all the energy stored in the magnetic field were transferred to
the electric field in this way, the resulting voltage “v” would be determined as follows:
½ Ct V2 = ½ LmI2c,
Where Ct is the effective transformer capacitance, or

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There are two points to observe. First, the resulting voltage can be high if the surge impedance (L m/Ct) ½
is high. Second, since this voltage is independent of the system voltage, current chopping has the
potential for creating a hazard for insulation system especially on low voltage circuits.
In practice when the energy oscillates between the magnetic and electric fields, a significant
fraction are spent in losses, most notably iron losses in the transformer core. As a consequence the
voltage is not as high as the theoretical peak described above.
Experience has shown that current chopping in practical applications of vacuum switching is not
as serious problem as it was once thought to be because the switch tends to be self-protecting. When a
vacuum switching device is called on to interrupt a current of a few amperes, it frequently does so by
means of a current chop almost immediately after the contacts have separated. When this occurs, the
voltage commences to rise across the contact gap in the manner described above. Before it reaches a
high value, a reignition occurs because the very small contact separation is unable to support the high
voltage. This reignition involves the discharging of the local capacitance, which almost invariably
occurs through a higher frequency oscillation. Being a good interrupting device, the vacuum switch
interrupts this current towards the end of the oscillation, and the voltage across the switch commences to
rise again. This sequence of reignition, clearing and recovery may repeat itself a number of times before
the switching process is completed. Each time some of the energy trapped in the system is dissipated in
the arc and other extraneous loss mechanisms. Though the voltage may rise progressively to higher
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values, after each sequential clearing because of the widening contact gap, the highest voltage attained is
usually much lower than it would have been if no reignition had occurred. This is illustrated in Fig.6.10

Use of composite material with antimony or bismuth as additive for the contact has made it
possible to bring the chopping level down to 0.4 amps. The chopping level depends on the vapour
pressure and the thermal conductivity of the cathode material. As an example, it may be mentioned that
Antimony or Bismuth, which has high vapour pressure and low thermal conductivity invariably has a
very low chopping level while Tungsten which has a very low vapour pressure and reasonably high
thermal conductivity chops high current.
Application employing voltage dividers: -
In some applications, however, there are chances for generation of over voltages during the
switching operation as in the case of motor switching. This over voltage will cause damage to the motor.
In order to suppress this switching over voltage reaching the motor, metal oxide arrester like Zinc Oxide
gapless arresters are employed. With these gapless arrestors in place, the breaker can be installed with
confidence in any application within its rating.

Dielectric consideration
We now turn to a different aspect of the switching process, namely, the dielectric recovery after
current zero. As pointed out earlier, voltage may appear across the interrupting device very rapidly once
the current has been interrupted. In other types of breakers, the voltage may rise more slowly but may
attain a higher value; e.g. the disconnecting of a charged capacitor bank. The current in a capacitive
circuit is approximately 90o out of phase with the voltage; thus current zero comes when the capacitor is
near its peak charge. This charge remains trapped in the capacitor and as a consequence the voltage
across interrupter subsequently varies sinusoidal between zero and twice peak-value, following a 1-
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cosine wave. This can persist for seconds or minutes, depending on how quickly the charge leaks away
from the capacitor bank. Whatever may be the circumstances of the switching operation, it is deemed
successful when the switching device is able to support the transient recovery voltage generated and
sustain the system voltage appearing across its open contacts following interruption.

Series Vacuum Switches

Some applications demand that several interrupters be connected in series to support the transient
and steady state voltages on the system. In such cases attention must be paid to the equitable sharing of
voltage between the individual breakers. This is not automatically assured by the use of identical
interrupters. The natural capacitance distribution, including capacitance from live parts to ground of the
switch structure as a whole, may result in very non-uniform voltage distribution between the individual
series units. It may be necessary to grade series breakers by shunt capacitors and/or resistors.

There is a danger that voltage may pile up across individual interrupters and because the
dielectric strength of a single break can be quite high, it may support the voltage between its contacts
and flash over on the outside. Careful insulation co-ordination is required to avoid this. This is not only
in the case of vacuum switches but any interrupting device using more than one break in series. Table IV
shows numbers of series interrupters required by any type of circuit breakers in a particular range of
voltage class.

High Frequency Switching

A measure of the quality of an interrupting device can be obtained by considering how
effectively it can interrupt current and withstand recovery voltage after the interruption. This
operation becomes more difficult since the rate of change of current before current zero and the rate of
change of voltage after current zero generally increases. The product of the di/dt before current zero and
the dv/dt after current zero can be used as a figure of merit for an interrupting device.
Measured in this way, the interrupting characteristics of vacuum devices are quite outstanding.
For example, with suitable contact materials it is possible to sustain voltages increasing at a rate of tens
of kilovolts per microsecond having to interrupt a current decaying at more than a thousand amperes per
microseconds. Among other things this suggests that vacuum interrupters are capable of interrupting
high frequency currents.

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Long Maintenance-free life
A feature of vacuum interrupters is their long life, which is a necessity in a device whose
contacts cannot be serviced or replaced. It is therefore natural that the vacuum interrupters with high
fault clearing capabilities are developed, these breakers find favour in situations requiring very frequent
- operations. Reclosers for distribution circuits are an example. Hazards from lightning, falling tree
limbs, and winds blown debris create a high incidence on non-permanent faults on such circuits. The re-
closer must open quickly to isolate and remove the fault, then re-close in a fraction of a second to restore
power.
--0o0o--

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