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Introduction to Low Voltage Protective Devices

2nd June 2022 | Technical Topic Webinar

Presented By:
Alex Gregory | EIT Lecturer and Senior Electrical Engineer
Introduction - Presenter

Alexandra Gregory
Senior Electrical Engineer at AECOM

Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) with

Engineers Australia
Registered Professional Engineer (RPEQ) in QLD
National Engineering Register (NER)
Agenda

1 Welcome and Introduction

2 Protective Devices Overview
3 Types of Faults
4 Characteristics & Operation
5 Circuit Breaker Ratings and Types
6 Fuses Ratings and Types
7 Conclusion and Q&A
Protective Devices

What is a protective device?

• Circuit Protection: under fault conditions, a high fault current cannot flow
• During an electrical fault the power network suffers a high stress which may
permanently damage the network.
• To save the equipment and restore the system to normal working condition as soon as
possible, the fault should be cleared from the system as quickly as possible.

Most common Protection Devices:

• Circuit Breakers
• Fuses
Protective Devices

Circuit Breaker
An automatically operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from
Circuit damage caused by overcurrent (overload) or short circuit (fault) protection.

Miniature (MCB) Air Break (ACB)

Miniature

Molded Case AirMoulded

Break Case
High (MCCB)
Voltage High Voltage
Protective Devices

Fuse
A type of low resistance conductor that acts as a sacrificial device to provide overcurrent
and fault protection of a circuit. Its essential component is a metal wire or strip that melts
when too much current flows through it, interrupting the circuit that it connects.

Ceramic/Re-wireable HRC 12V Car Fuse

Protective Devices

Purpose

A circuit breaker or fuse is provided to

protect the downstream conductor
from overload.

It is not there to protect downstream

equipment (or people).
Types of Faults

Type of Faults
• Short circuit / Earth fault

• Over-current / overload

• Over-voltage

• Under-voltage
Types of Faults

Type of Faults – Short Circuit

Examples:
• Insulation failure
• Damaged cable
• Equipment failures
• Loose connections
• Water ingress Consequences
• Corrosion • Arcing faults leads to fire / explosion
• Human error • Over-heating leads to reduction of life span
and damages insulation
• Affects operating voltages of the system
Types of Faults

Type of Faults – Over current / Overload

Where a current draw is in excess of the capacity of the power network.

Short-duration
• In-rush current from a motor start
• In-rush current from a transformer energising

Long-duration
• Too much load connected on a circuit (GPOs, Lights)
• Use of double adapters
• Incorrect cable selection for the expected load
• Harmonics in a neutral cable
Types of Faults

Type of Faults – Over-Voltage Examples:

Voltage rising above allowable limits • Sudden load changes outside
Steady State over-voltage or inside site
• Incorrect transformer tap
In Australia: setting
• Nominal voltage 230/400 +10% -6% rms
• Equipment and electrical network must accept Consequences:
voltages in this range • Insulation failure – short
circuit
• Equipment failure
• Overload – overheating
• Shortened operational life
Types of Faults

Type of Faults – Voltage Spike

Basic insulation level (BIL) – ability to withstand Examples:

short-term over-voltage • Lightning surge
Based on peak voltage not RMS (eg 95kV) • Switching surge

Consequences:
• Insulation breakdown – short circuit
• Equipment failures
• Fire
Types of Faults

Type of Faults – Under-Voltage Examples:

• Sudden load changes outside
Voltage dropping below allowable limits or inside site
In Australia: • Incorrect transformer tap
• Nominal voltage 230/400 +10% -6% rms changes
• Equipment and electrical network must accept
voltages in this range Consequences:
• Motors overheating
• Electronics failing
• Lights dimming and failing
Characteristics & Operation

Circuit Breakers – Tripping Mechanisms

1. Actuator lever
2. Actuator mechanism
3. Contacts –
4. Terminals
5. Bimetallic strip
6. Calibration screw
7. Solenoid
8. Arc divider/extinguisher
Characteristics & Operation

Circuit Breakers – Operation

• All circuit breaker operate similarly.

• Fault detection: Thermal and Magnetic
• Relays used for early detection
• Tripping mechanism may use mechanically
stored energy, solenoids or fault current
Characteristics & Operation

Circuit Breakers - Operation

• When a current is interrupted, an arc is generated.
• This arc must be controlled
• Different circuit breakers use vacuum, air, insulating
gas, or oil
as the medium the arc forms in.
• Arc extinguishing: Lengthening or deflecting,
cooling the arc
• Zero point quenching
• Finally, once the fault condition has been cleared,
the contacts must again be closed to restore power
to the interrupted circuit.
Characteristics & Operation

Circuit Breakers - Operation

• Circuit breakers must withstand the load current
• Contacts are made of copper or copper alloys, silver alloys and other highly conductive
materials.
• Miniature and moulded-case circuit breakers are usually discarded when the contacts
have worn, but power circuit breakers and high-voltage circuit breakers have replaceable
contacts.
Characteristics & Operation

Circuit Breakers – Arc Interruption Techniques

Low Voltage
• Air - Most common
• The arc is split into smaller arcs and is cooled down.
• The arc is deflected into the arc chutes
• Magnetic blowout coils or permanent magnets can also be used
• Compressed air

Medium and High Voltage

• Oil - In larger ratings, oil circuit breakers rely upon vaporization of some of the oil to
blast a jet of oil through the arc.
Characteristics & Operation

Circuit Breakers – Tripping Mechanisms

Thermal Tripping (long time) – Overload - RHR
• Uses a solenoid whose pulling force increases with
current
• CB contacts helped together with a latch until the
pulling force is large enough
• Magnetic breakers sometimes have hydraulic fluid to
delay the trip
• Short circuit currents can have sufficient force to
bypass the hydraulic delay
Protective Devices

Circuit Breakers – Tripping Mechanisms

Electromagnetic Release (instantaneous)

• Common for distribution boards
• Electromagnet responds to instantaneous currents (short
circuits)
• Bi-metallic strip responds to over currents (long duration)
Characteristics & Operation

Fuse and MCB characteristics

Why do fuses blow unexpectantly?
• A 30Amp fuse may trip when carrying 30 Amps
• The more overloads experienced (not noticed), the more likely to trip

If the fuse is marked ’30 amps’, but it will actually stand 40 amps for over an hour, how can
we justify calling it a ’30 amp’ fuse?
• Thermal overload characteristic matched to the cable its protecting
• For example, a modern PVC-insulated cable will stand a 50% overload for an hour, so it
seems reasonable that the fuse should as well.
Characteristics & Operation

Fuse and MCB characteristics

For 32Amp MCB and 30 Amp Fuse, to be sure of
tripping in 0.1 seconds (half a cycle), the MCB
requires a current of 128 amps, while the fuse
requires 300 amps.
The fuse clearly requires more current to blow it
in that time, but notice how much bigger both
these currents are than the ‘30 amps’ marked
current rating.
CB Ratings and Types

Circuit Breakers – Ratings

The commonly-available preferred values for the rated current are:
• Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCB) - 6 A, 10 A, 16 A, 20 A, 25 A, 32 A, 40 A, 50 A, 63 A,
• Moulded Case Circuit Breakers (MCCB) - 25 A, 32 A, 40 A, 50 A, 63 A, 80* A, 100 A,
125 A, 160A, 200*, 250A, 400A, 630A, 800, 1000A, 1250A, 1600A, 2000A, 2500A, 3200A
• Air Circuit Breakers (ACB) – 200*, 250A, 400A, 630A, 800, 1000A, 1250A, 1600A, 2000A,
2500A, 3200A, …
• Miniature circuit breakers have a fixed trip setting
• Larger circuit breakers can have adjustable trip settings

For example, a circuit breaker with a 400 ampere "frame size" might have its overcurrent
detection set to operate at only 300 amperes, to protect a feeder cable.
CB Ratings and Types

Circuit Breakers – Considerations when making a selection

• Types - MCCB, MCB, ACB, RCBO

• Curves (B, C, D) – use of and sizing for different types of circuits
• Frame rating
• Trip rating
• Settings (fault levels, protection)
• Trip units: DOL / VSD / Soft Start
• Discrimination – including overview of software
• Selectivity
• Cascading
• Accessories (motor operators, under-voltage trip, etc)
CB Ratings and Types

Circuit Breakers – Ratings

CB Ratings and Types

Fully Adjustable
CB Ratings and Types

Circuit Breaker Types – Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB)

• Faster, thermal magnetic

• Rated current generally not more than 100A, fixed setting.
• Up to 15kA fault withstand
• Trip characteristics not normally adjustable
• Thermal or thermal-magnetic operation
• Single, double and 3-pole versions
• Generally used for small L&P loads at low fault level
• Least expensive
CB Ratings and Types

Circuit Breaker Types – Moulded Case Circuit Breaker

(MCCB)
• Rated current up to 16A – 3200A
• Up to 200kA
• Trip characteristics may be adjustable
• Thermal or thermal-magnetic operation, earth fault available
• Single, double and 3-pole versions
• Generally used for larger power loads at higher fault level.
Remote operation available
• Next level of expense
CB Ratings and Types

Circuit Breaker Types – Air Circuit Breakers (ACB)

• Rated current up to 10,000A
• Up to 80kA
• Trip characteristics may be fully adjustable including
configurable trip thresholds and delays
• Usually electronically controlled—some models are
microprocessor controlled
• Generally used for larger power loads at higher fault level
• Often used for main power distribution in large industrial
plant, where the breakers are arranged in draw-out
enclosures for ease of maintenance.
CB Ratings and Types

Circuit Breaker Types – Residual Current with Overload

Protection - RCBO
• This is a combined RCD and MCB.
• Detects imbalance between neutral and phase
• Mismatch indicates a earth fault or another anomaly
• Any leakage is dangerous

Why 30mA RCD

• A current of around 30 mA (0.030 amperes) is potentially
sufficient to cause cardiac arrest or serious harm if it
persists for more than a small fraction of a second.
CB Ratings and Types

Circuit Breaker Types – Residual Current with Overload

Protection - RCBO
CB Ratings and Types

Circuit Breaker Types – Residual Current with Overload Protection – RCBO

• In Australia and New Zealand, residual current devices have been mandatory on
general power circuits since 1991 and on light circuits since 2000.
• A minimum of two RCDs is required per domestic installation.
• All socket outlets and lighting circuits are to be distributed over circuit RCDs.
• A maximum of three sub-circuits only, may be connected to a single RCD.
CB Ratings and Types

Circuit Breaker Types –

Discrimination
CB Ratings and Types

Circuit Breaker Types – Discrimination

CB Ratings and Types

Circuit Breaker Types –

Discrimination
Fuse Ratings and Types

Fuses

2 Types:
• Re-wireable
• High Rupturing Capacity (HRC)

• Very few re-wireable fuses used these days

• Normal Conditions: current flowing through the fuse element does not provide
enough energy to melt the element. This heat is absorbed in the sand
• If there is large current: the element melts and opens the circuit
• Time taken is known as arcing time
Fuse Ratings and Types

HRC Fuses
Fuse Ratings and Types

HRC Fuses
Fuse– Derating by Temperature

HRC Fuses
CB– Derating by Temperature

TM-D Thermal Magnetic

Protective Devices

Summary
• Protective Devices: Fuses and Circuit breakers
• Type of faults: Short circuit (high current, instantaneous), over-current (long udration),
under/over voltage
• All operate similarly: fault detection, tripping mechanism, arc quenching
• Circuit breakers are resettable while fuses are typically single use
• Selected device depends on what is being protected, and the tripping curve →
Discrimination study required
• Be cautious of installation environment (temperature)
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