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3 Overcurrent Protective Device Ratings

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74 views11 pages

3 Overcurrent Protective Device Ratings

Uploaded by

Dhanushka Rathnasooriya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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3 Overcurrent Protective Device Ratings

You Must Properly Select


Posted MAY 8 2015 by EDVARD in ENERGY AND POWER , PROTECTION with 1 COMMENT

3 Overcurrent Protective Device Ratings You Must Properly Select (on photo: Schneider Electric’s
ACB Masterpact 1600A; credit: elektro-celik.hr)

Ampere, voltage and interrupting rating


In order for an overcurrent protective device to operate properly, the
overcurrent protective device ratings must be properly selected .

These ratings include:

1. Voltage rating
2. Ampere rating and
3. Interrupting rating
- Minimum Interrupting Rating .
Of the three of the ratings, perhaps the most important and most often over-
looked is the interrupting rating.
If the interrupting rating is not properly selected, a serious hazard for
equipment and personnel will exist. Current limiting can be considered as
another overcurrent protective device rating, although not all overcurrent
protective devices are required to have this characteristic.

Ok, let’s start with ratings…

1. Voltage Rating
The voltage rating of the overcurrent protective device must be at least equal
to or greater than the circuit voltage. The overcurrent protective device rating
can be higher than the system voltage, but never lower.

For instance, a 600V fuse or circuit breaker can be used in a 208V circuit.

Square D Masterpact circuit breaker 2500A (photo credit: utilityrelay.com)


One aspect of the voltage rating of an overcurrent protective device is a
function of itscapability to open a circuit under an overcurrent
condition. Specifically, the voltage rating determines the ability of the
overcurrent protective device to suppress and extinguish the internal arcing
that occurs during the opening of an overcurrent condition.

If an overcurrent protective device is used with a voltage rating lower than the
circuit voltage, arc suppression and the ability to extinguish the arc will be
impaired and, under some overcurrent conditions, the overcurrent protective
device may not clear the overcurrent safely .

The voltage rating is required to be marked on all overcurrent protective device


labels.

NEC® 240.60 (A)(2) allows 300V type cartridge fuses to be permitted on single-
phase line-to-neutral circuits supplied from 3-phase, 4 wire, solidly grounded
neutral source where the line-to-neutral voltage does not exceed 300V . This
allows 300V cartridge fuses to be used on single-phase 277V lighting circuits .

Per NEC® 240.85, a circuit breaker with a slash rating, such as 480Y/277V,
can only be applied in a solidly grounded wye circuit where the nominal voltage
of any conductor to ground does not exceed the lower of the two values and
the nominal voltage between any two conductors does not exceed the higher
value.

Thus, a 480Y/277V circuit breaker could not be applied on a 480V corner


grounded, because the voltage to ground exceeds 277 volts. It could not be
used on 480V resistance grounded or ungrounded systems because they are
not solidly grounded.

Go back to Ratings ↑

2. Ampere Rating
Every overcurrent protective device has a specific ampere rating . In selecting
the ampere rating of the overcurrent protective device, consideration must be
given to the type of loadand code requirements. The ampere rating of a fuse or
circuit breaker normally should not exceed the current carrying capacity of the
conductors.
For instance, if a conductor is rated to carry 20A, a 20A fuse is the largest that
should be used.

As a general rule, the ampere rating of a fuse or a circuit breaker is selected


at125% of the continuous load current . Since the conductors are generally
selected at 125% of the continuous load current, the ampacity of the
conductors is typically not exceeded.

However, there are some specific circumstances in which the ampere rating is
permitted to be greater than the current carrying capacity of the conductors. A
typical example is the motor circuit; dual-element fuses generally are permitted
to be sized up to 175% and an inverse time circuit breaker up to 250% of the
motor full-load amperes .
Nameplate of Square D Masterpact Circuit Breaker NW08H1 800A, Micrologic 6.0A

NEC® 240.4(B) allows the next higher standard overcurrent protective device
rating (above the ampacity of the conductors being protected) to be used for
overcurrent protective devices 800A or less provided the conductor ampacity
does not already correspond to a standard overcurrent protective device size
and if certain other conditions are met.

NEC® 240.4(C) requires the ampacity of the conductor to be equal to or greater


than the rating of the overcurrent protective device for overcurrent devices
rated over 800A.
NEC® 240.4(D) requires the overcurrent protective device shall not exceed 15A
for 14 AWG, 20A for 12 AWG, and 30A for 10 AWG copper; or 15A for 12 AWG
and 25A for 10 AWG aluminum and copper-clad aluminum after any correction
factors for ambient temperature and number of conductors have been applied.

NEC® 240.6 lists the standard ampere ratings for fuses and inverse time
circuit breakers. Standard amperage sizes are 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 60,
70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 600,
700, 800, 1000, 1200, 1600, 2000, 2500, 3000, 4000, 5000 and 6000. Additional
standard ampere ratings for fuses are 1, 3, 6, 10 and 601.

The use of non-standard ratings are permitted.

Go back to Ratings ↑

3. Interrupting Rating
NEC® Article 100 defines interrupting rating as: The highest current at rated
voltage that a device is intended to interrupt under standard test conditions.

An overcurrent protective device must be able to withstand the destructive


energy of short-circuit currents . If a fault current exceeds the interrupting
rating of the overcurrent protective device, the device may actually rupture,
causing additional damage.

The picture below illustrates how considerable damage can result if the
interrupting rating of a protective device is exceeded by a short-circuit
current.
Arc flash in low voltage switchboard cubicle

Thus, it is important when applying a fuse or circuit breaker to use one which
can physically interrupt the largest potential short-circuit currents .

NEC® 110.9, requires equipment intended to interrupt current at fault levels to


have an interrupting rating sufficient for the current that must be interrupted.
This article emphasizes the difference between clearing fault level currents
and clearing operating currents.
Current interrupting ratingof MCCB and Fuse

Protective devices such as fuses and circuit breakers are designed to clear
fault currents and, therefore, must have short-circuit interrupting ratings
sufficient for all available fault levels.

Equipment such as contactors and switches have interrupting ratings for


currents at other than fault levels, such as normal current overloads and locked
rotor currents.

Go back to Ratings ↑

3.1 Minimum Interrupting Rating


NEC® 240.60(C) states that the minimum interrupting rating for a branch-
circuit cartridge fuse is 10,000A.

NEC® 240.83(C) states that the minimum interrupting rating for a branch-
circuit circuit breaker is 5,000A. The circuit breaker or fuse must be properly
marked if the interrupting rating exceeds these respective minimum ratings.
These minimum interrupting ratings and markings do not apply to supplemental
protective devices such as glass tube fuses or supplemental protectors.

Modern current-limiting fuses such as Class J, R,T and L have a high


interrupting rating of 200,000A to 300,000A at rated voltage.
Molded case circuit breakers typically come in a variety of interrupting ratings
from 10,000A to 200,000A and are dependent upon the voltage rating. Typical
incremental interrupting ratings for a single series of circuit breakers may be
14kA, 25kA, 65kA and 100kA at 480V.

As interrupting rating of circuit breakers increases, so does the cost of the


circuit breaker. Typically the circuit breaker that just meets the required
available fault current is selected.

However, this may be insufficient in the future if changes to the electrical


system are made.

Go back to Ratings ↑

Important NEC Requirements //


- 40.60 // covers the general requirements for cartridge type fuses and
fuseholders. This includes the requirements for 300V type fuses, non-
interchangeable fuseholders, and fuse marking.

- 110.9 // requires equipment intended to interrupt current at fault levels to


have an interrupting rating sufficient for the nominal circuit voltage and the
current that is available at the line terminals of the equipment.

- 240.85 // covers the requirements for the application of straight (such as


480V) and slash rated (such as 480/277V) circuit breakers. Additional
consideration of the circuit breakers’ individual pole-interrupting capability for
other than solidly grounded wye systems is indicated.

- 240.4 // requires conductors to be protected against overcurrent in


accordance with their ampacity as specified in 310.15. 240.4(B) typically
permits the next standard overcurrent protective device rating, per 240.6, to be
used if the ampacity of a conductor does not correspond with a standard rating
(for overcurrent devices 800 amps or less).

- 240.60 // covers the general requirements for cartridge type fuses and
fuseholders. This includes the requirements for 300V type fuses, non-
interchangeable fuseholders, and fuse marking.
- 240.83 // covers the marking requirements for circuit breakers.

Go back to Ratings ↑

Reference // Electrical Plan Review – Overcurrent Protection and Devices,


Short-Circuit Calculations, Component Protection, Selective Coordination, and
other considerations – Copper Bussmann

Recommended EE articles //


Calculating The Short-Circuit Heating Of Busbars
MAY 1, 2015


Ring Main Unit (RMU) as an important part of secondary distribution
substations
FEBRUARY 11, 2015


A real life analogy of the jurisdiction of the protection relay
FEBRUARY 9, 2015


Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCBs) For Beginners
JANUARY 26, 2015

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