Circuit breaker rating

CB rating
• Apart from the normal working of circuit
breakers, they are required to perform
following three major duties under short
circuit conditions
– It must be capable of breaking the circuit and
isolating the faulty section in case of a fault.
– A circuit breaker is put on 2 – 3 times in order to
ensure the permanency of the fault, i.e. it must be
capable of making circuit.
– a circuit breaker must be capable of carrying fault
currents safely for a short time while another
circuit breaker is clearing the fault.
 CB rating

Generally, a circuit breaker is specified in terms

of;
– Rated voltage
– Rated current
– Rated frequency
– Operating duty
– Breaking capacity
– Making capacity
– Short time current rating
– High voltage conditions
 CB rating

Rated voltage:
– The rated maximum voltage of a circuit breaker is the
highest rms voltage, above nominal system voltage,
for which the circuit breaker is designed and is the
upper limit for operation.
– The rated voltage refers to phase to phase voltage for
three phase circuit.
Rated frequency:
– The rated frequency of a circuit breaker is the frequency at
which it is designed to operate.
– Standard frequency in our context is 50 Hz
 Rated current

– The rated current of a circuit breaker is the rms value of

the current which the circuit breaker shall be able to carry
at rated frequency and at the rated voltage continuously,
under specified conditions.
– Under the specific conditions, important is the
temperature rise of the various components of the circuit
breaker under normal loads.
 Operating duty

– The operating duty of a circuit breaker consists of the

prescribed number of unit operations at stated
intervals.
– The operating sequence denotes the sequence of
opening and closing operations which the circuit
breaker can perform under specified conditions.
– The operating mechanism experiences severe
mechanical stresses during the auto reclosure duty.
– As per IEC, the circuit breaker should be able to
perform the operating sequence as per the following
two alternatives;
 Operating duty

(i) O - t - CO - T - CO
Where,
O- opening operation
C- closing operation
CO - closing operation followed immediately
by an opening operation
t- 3 minutes for circuit breaker not to be
used for rapid auto reclosure
t- 0.3 seconds for circuit breaker to be
used for rapid auto-reclosure
T- 3 minutes
(ii) CO - t’ - CO
Where,
t’ – 15 second for circuit breaker not to be used
for rapid auto-reclosure
 Breaking capacity
– It is the highest rms value of short circuit current that the
circuit breaker is capable of breaking under specified
conditions of transient recovery voltage and power
frequency voltage. It is expressed in kA.
– In case of a fault, the current is max at the instant of fault,
after which the current decays. In addition, owing to
relaying time the circuit breaker starts to open its contacts
only some time later, after the initiation of short circuit.
Hence the current interrupted by the circuit breaker is less
than the initial value of short circuit current.
– On the occurrence of a fault, there is considerable
asymmetry in the fault current due to the presence of D.C.
component. The D.C. component dies rapidly
Breaking capacity
 Breaking capacity
Let at the instant of separation of contacts
– AC component of short circuit current Iac = x
– DC component of short circuit current Idc = y
• Now symmetrical breaking current
= RMS value of ac component of short circuit current at the instant of
contact separation
= x / √2
• Asymmetrical breaking current
= RMS value of the combined sums of ac and dc components
= ( x/ √2)2 + y2
• The breaking capacity of a CB in MVA is given as
MVA ra?ng = √3 * rated voltage in kV * rated breaking current in kA
• The breaking capacity is expressed in kA also
 Breaking capacity

Symmetrical breaking capacity

• The symmetrical breaking capacity of a circuit breaker
is the value of symmetrical breaking current which the
circuit breaker is capable of breaking at a stated
recovery voltage and a stated reference restriking
voltage under prescribed conditions
Asymmetrical breaking capacity
• The asymmetrical breaking capacity of a circuit breaker
is the value of the asymmetrical breaking current which
the circuit breaker is capable of breaking at a stated
recovery voltage and a stated reference restriking
voltage under prescribed conditions
 Making Capacity
– It is possible that the circuit breaker is closed under short
circuit conditions.
– The making capacity of the circuit breaker depends upon
its ability to withstand the effects of electromagnetic
forces which are proportional to the square of the peak
value of the making current.
– The making current of a circuit breaker when closed on a
short circuit is the peak value of the maximum current
wave including D.C. component in the first cycle of the
current after the circuit is closed by the circuit breaker.
 Making capacity
For determination of making current of a circuit
breaker, we must multiply symmetrical breaking
current by √2 to convert the rms value to peak value
and then by 1.8 to take into account the doubling
effect of maximum asymmetry.
Thus rated making current
= 1.8 x √2 x rated short circuit breaking current
= 2.55 x rated short circuit breaking current
= 2.55 x symmetrical breaking capacity
 Short time current rating

• A circuit breaker is sometimes required to carry short

circuit currents for short intervals without tripping.
• This happens in case of momentary faults like birdage on
the lines and the fault is automatically cleared and
persists for very short period.
• For this reason the circuit breakers are short time rated
and they trip only when the fault persists for a duration
longer than the specified time limit.
• The short time current of a circuit breaker is the rms
value of a current that a circuit breaker can carry in a
fully closed position without damage, for the specified
time interval under prescribed conditions.
• It is normally expressed in terms of kA for a period of 1
second or 4 seconds, known as 1 second rating and 4
second rating respectively.
 High voltage conditions
• The Circuit Breaker must be rated for power frequency
withstand voltage for a specific time. Generally the time
is 60 seconds.
• A circuit breaker is designed to withstand impulse peaky
voltage (Lightning surges)
• The over voltage stresses applied upon the power
system, are generally transient in nature and they exist
for very short duration. Transient voltage or voltage surge
is defined as sudden sizing of voltage to a high peak in
very short duration.
• The main cause of these voltage surges in power system
are due to lightning impulses and switching impulses of
the system. But over voltage in the power system may
also be caused by, insulation failure, arcing ground and
resonance etc.
 Ur, Ud, Up, Un
Ur = rated voltage, rms value, kV. It is the maximum rms value of voltage that
the equipment can withstand permanently. For example 24 kV rms
Ud = rated power frequency withstand voltage, rms value, kV during 1 mn. It
defines the level of rms over-voltages that the equipment may withstand
during 1 minute. For example 50 kV rms.
Up = rated lightning impulse withstand
voltage, peak value, kV. It defines the level
SN Ud Ur Up
of lightning over-voltages that the
equipment may withstand. For example 125 1 20 7.2 60
kV peak. 2 28 12 75
Un = service voltage, rms value, kV. It is the
voltage at which the network is operated. 3 38 17.5 95
For example, some networks are operated 4 50 24 125
at Un 20 kV. In this case, switchgear of at 5 70 36 170
least 24 kV rated voltage shall be installed.
 Examples

• A 3 phase circuit is rated at 1250 A, 2000 MVA, 33 kV, 4 seconds.

Find the rated symmetrical breaking current, making current and
short time rating.
• Solution:
Rated normal current = 1250 A
Rupturing capacity = 2000 MVA
Time = 4 seconds
i) Ibsym = Rupturing capacity MVA/√3*Opera?ng voltage kV
= 2000/ (√3*33) = 35 kA
ii) Imake = 2.55 * Ibsym = 2.55 * 35 = 89.25 kA
iii) Short time rating = 35 kA for 4 seconds
 Examples
• An 11 kV, 500 MVA circuit breaker suddenly closes on to a fault. Determine
a) the symmetrical breaking current
b) the asymmetrical breaking current assuming 50% dc component
c) the peak making current
d) The short time current rating
• Solution:
(a) Ibsym = Rupturing capacity MVA/√3*Opera?ng voltage kV
= 500/ (√3*11) = 26.24 kA
AC component of Iscc ; x = √2 * Ibsym = √2 * 26.24 = 37.1 kA
DC component of Iscc ; y = 50% of x = 37.1/2 = 18.55 kA
b) Ibasym = √((x/ √2)2 + y2) = 32.13 kA
c) Imake = 2.55 * Ibsym = 2.55 *26.24 = 66.9 kA
d) Short time current rating = 32.13 kA