2.

0 Switchgear

The term switchgear, used in association with the electric power system, or grid, refers
to the combination of electrical disconnects, fuses and/or circuit breakers used to isolate
electrical equipment. Switchgear is used both to de-energize equipment to allow work to
be done and to clear faults downstream.

2.1 Functions of Switchgear

1. Protection, which is interruption of short-circuit and overload fault currents while
maintaining service to unaffected circuits.
2. Provide isolation of circuits from power supplies.

3. Used to enhance system availability by allowing more than one source to feed a
load.

2.4 Types
Several different classifications of switchgear can be made:
 By the current rating.
 By interrupting rating (maximum short circuit current that the device can safely
interrupt)
o Circuit breakers can open and close on fault currents
o Load-break/Load-make switches can switch normal system load currents
o Isolators may only be operated while the circuit is dead, or the load current
is very small.
 By voltage class:
o Low voltage (less than 1,000 volts AC)
o Medium voltage (1,000–35,000 volts AC)
o High voltage (more than 35,000 volts AC)
 By insulating medium:
o Air
o Gas (SF6 or mixtures)
o Oil
o Vacuum
 By construction type:
o Indoor (further classified by IP (Ingress Protection) class or NEMA
enclosure type)
o Outdoor
o Industrial
o Utility
o Marine
o Draw-out elements (removable without many tools)
o Fixed elements (bolted fasteners)
o Live-front
o Dead-front
o Open
o Metal-enclosed
o Metal-clad
o Metal enclose & Metal clad
 o Arc-resistant
o By IEC degree of internal separation
 By interrupting device:
o Fuses
o Air Blast Circuit Breaker
o Minimum Oil Circuit Breaker
o Oil Circuit Breaker
o Vacuum Circuit Breaker
o Gas (SF6) Circuit breaker
 By operating method:
o Manually-operated
o Motor-operated
o Solenoid/stored energy operated
 By type of current:
o Alternating current
o Direct current
 By application:
o Transmission system
o Distribution
 By purpose
o Isolating switches (disconnectors)
o Load-break switches
o Grounding (earthing) switches

Switchgears which incorporates one or more of the above design classifications will be
discussed. They include:

1. Switch
2. Fuse

3. Contactor

4. Circuit breaker

2.5 Switch
A switch is an electrical component which can make, carry and break an electrical
circuit, interrupting the current or diverting it from one conductor to another.

The most familiar form of switch is a manually operated electromechanical device with
one or more sets of electrical contacts. Each set of contacts can be in one of two states:
either 'closed' meaning the contacts are touching and electricity can flow between them,
or 'open', meaning the contacts are separated and non-conducting.

A switch may be directly manipulated by a human as a control signal to a system, such as

a computer keyboard button, or to control power flow in a circuit, such as a light switch.
Automatically-operated switches can be used to control the motions of machines, for
example, to indicate that a garage door has reached its full open position or that a
machine tool is in a position to accept another workpiece. Switches may be operated by
process variables such as pressure, temperature, flow, current, voltage, and force, acting
as sensors in a process and used to automatically control a system. For example, a
thermostat is a temperature-operated switch used to control a heating process. A switch
that is operated by another electrical circuit is called a relay. Large switches may be
remotely operated by a motor-drive mechanism.

Switches can be designed to respond to any type of mechanical stimulus: for example,
vibration, tilt, air pressure, fluid level, the turning of a key, linear or rotary movement, or
presence of a magnetic field.

2.5.1 Switch Disconnector/Isolator

A disconnector or isolator switch is used to make sure that an electrical circuit can be
completely de-energized for service or maintenance. Such switches are often found in
electrical distribution and industrial applications where machinery must have its source of
driving power removed for adjustment or repair. High-voltage isolation switches are used
in electrical substations to allow isolation of apparatus such as circuit breakers and
transformers, and transmission lines, for maintenance. Often the isolation switch is not
intended for normal control of the circuit and is only used for isolation.

2.6 Fuse
A fuse (from the Latin "fusus" meaning to melt) is a type of sacrificial overcurrent
protection device. Its essential component is a metal wire or strip that melts when too
much current flows, which interrupts the circuit in which it is connected. Short circuit,
overload or device failure is often the reason for excessive current.

A fuse interrupts excessive current (blows) so that further damage by overheating or fire
is prevented. Overcurrent protection devices are essential in electrical systems to limit
threats to human life and property damage. Fuses are selected to allow passage of normal
current and of excessive current only for short periods.

2.6.1 Operation
A fuse consists of a metal strip or wire fuse element, of small cross-section compared to
the circuit conductors, mounted between a pair of electrical terminals, and (usually)
enclosed by a non-conducting and non-combustible housing. The fuse is arranged in
series to carry all the current passing through the protected circuit. The resistance of the
element generates heat due to the current flow. The size and construction of the element
is (empirically) determined so that the heat produced for a normal current does not cause
the element to attain a high temperature. If too high a current flows, the element rises to a
higher temperature and either directly melts, or else melts a soldered joint within the fuse,
opening the circuit.

The fuse element is made of zinc, copper, silver, aluminum, or alloys to provide stable
and predictable characteristics. The fuse ideally would carry its rated current indefinitely,
and melt quickly on a small excess. The element must not be damaged by minor harmless
surges of current, and must not oxidize or change its behavior after possibly years of
service.
The fuse element may be surrounded by air, or by materials intended to speed the
quenching of the arc. Silica sand or non-conducting liquids may be used.

2.6.2 Characteristic parameters

1. Rated current IN: This is the maximum current that the fuse can continuously
conduct without interrupting the circuit.
2. Speed: The speed at which a fuse blows depends on how much current flows
through it and the material of which the fuse is made. The operating time is not a
fixed interval, but decreases as the current increases. Fuses have different
characteristics of operating time compared to current, characterized as "fast-
blow", "slow-blow" or "time-delay", according to time required to respond to an
overcurrent condition.

3. The I2t value: A measure of energy required to blow the fuse element and so a
measure of the damaging effect of overcurrent on protected devices; sometimes
known as the let-through energy. Unique I 2t parameters are provided by charts in
manufacturer data sheets for each fuse family. The energy is mainly dependent on
current and time for fuses.

4. Breaking capacity: The breaking capacity is the maximum current that can
safely be interrupted by the fuse. Generally, this should be higher than the
prospective short circuit current.

5. Rated voltage: Voltage rating of the fuse must be greater than or equal to what
would become the open circuit voltage. For example, a glass tube fuse rated at 32
Volts would not reliably interrupt current from a voltage source of 120 or 230 V.
Rated voltage should be larger than the maximum voltage source it would have to
disconnect.

6. Voltage drop: A voltage drop across the fuse is usually provided by its
manufacturer. Resistance may change when a fuse becomes hot due to energy
dissipation while conducting higher currents. This resulting voltage drop should
be taken into account, particularly when using a fuse in low-voltage applications.

7. Temperature de-rating: Ambient temperature will change a fuse's operational

parameters. A fuse rated for 1 A at 25°C may conduct up to 10% or 20% more
current at -40°C and may open at 80% of its rated value at 100°C.

8. Markings: Most fuses are marked on the body or end caps with markings that
indicate their ratings. Surface-mount technology "chip type" fuses feature few or
no markings, making identification very difficult. Fuse markings will generally
convey the following information;
 Ampere rating of the fuse
 Voltage rating of the fuse
 Time-current characteristic, i.e. fuse speed
 Approvals by national and international standards agencies
 Manufacturer / Part number / Series
 Breaking capacity
2.6.3 Packages and materials
Fuses come in a vast array of sizes and styles to serve in many applications,
manufactured in standardised package layouts to make them easily interchangeable. Fuse
bodies may be made of ceramic, glass, plastic, fiberglass, molded mica laminates, or
molded compressed fibre depending on application and voltage class. The following are
some of the packaging employed:

1. Cartridge (ferrule) fuses have a cylindrical body terminated with metal end caps.

2. Fuses for low voltage power circuits may have bolted blade or tag terminals
which are secured by screws to a fuse holder.
3. Renewable fuses have replaceable fuse elements, allowing the fuse body and
terminals to be reused if not damaged after a fuse operation.

4. Fuses designed for soldering to a printed circuit board have radial or axial wire
leads.

5. Surface mount fuses have solder pads instead of leads.

6. High-voltage fuses of the expulsion type have fiber or glass-reinforced plastic

tubes and an open end, and can have the fuse element replaced.

7. Semi-enclosed fuses are fuse wire carriers in which the fusible wire itself can be
replaced.

8. Medium-voltage fuses may have liquid-filled envelopes to assist in the

extinguishing of the arc.

9. Some types of distribution switchgear use fuse links immersed in the oil that fills
the equipment.

10. Fuse packages may include a rejection feature such as a pin, slot, or tab, which
prevents interchange of otherwise similar appearing fuses.

11. Glass cartridge and plug fuses allow direct inspection of the fusible element.

12. Indicating pin or striker pin type — extends out of the fuse cap when the element
is blown.

13. Indicating disc type — a coloured disc (flush mounted in the end cap of the fuse)
falls out when the element is blown.

14. Element window type — a small window built into the fuse body to provide
visual indication of a blown element.

15. External trip indicator type — similar functions to striker pin, but can be
externally attached (using clips) to a compatible fuse.
 16. Some fuses allow a special purpose micro switch or relay unit to be fixed to the
fuse body. When the fuse element blows, the indicating pin extends to activate
the micro switch or relay, which, in turn, triggers an event.

17. Some fuses for medium-voltage applications use two separate barrels and two
fuse elements in parallel.

2.6.4 High voltage fuses

Fuses are used on power systems up to 115,000 volts AC. High-voltage fuses are used to
protect instrument transformers used for electricity metering, or for small power
transformers where the expense of a circuit breaker is not warranted. For example, in
distribution systems, a power fuse may be used to protect a transformer serving 1-3
houses. Pole-mounted distribution transformers are nearly always protected by a fusible
cut-out, which can have the fuse element replaced using live-line maintenance tools.

Large power fuses use fusible elements made of silver, copper or tin to provide stable and
predictable performance. High voltage expulsion fuses surround the fusible link with gas-
evolving substances, such as boric acid. When the fuse blows, heat from the arc causes
the boric acid to evolve large volumes of gases. The associated high pressure (often
greater than 100 atmospheres) and cooling gases rapidly quench the resulting arc. The hot
gases are then explosively expelled out of the end(s) of the fuse. Such fuses can only be
used outdoors.

2.6.5 Fuses compared with circuit breakers

1. Fuses have the advantages of often being less costly and simpler than a circuit
breaker for similar ratings.
2. The blown fuse must be replaced with a new device which is less convenient than
simply resetting a breaker and therefore likely to discourage people from ignoring
faults.
3. Replacing a fuse without isolating the circuit first can be dangerous in itself,
particularly if the fault is a short circuit.

4. High rupturing capacity fuses can be rated to safely interrupt up to 300,000

amperes at 600 V AC. Special current-limiting fuses are applied ahead of some
molded-case breakers to protect the breakers in low-voltage power circuits with
high short-circuit levels.

5. "Current-limiting" fuses operate so quickly that they limit the total "let-through"
energy that passes into the circuit, helping to protect downstream equipment from
damage. These fuses open in less than one cycle of the AC power frequency;
circuit breakers cannot match this speed.

6. Some types of circuit breakers must be maintained on a regular basis to ensure

their mechanical operation during an interruption. This is not the case with fuses,
 which rely on melting processes where no mechanical operation is required for
the fuse to operate under fault conditions.

7. In a multi-phase power circuit, if only one fuse opens, the remaining phases will
have higher than normal currents, and unbalanced voltages, with possible damage
to motors.

8. Fuses only sense over-current, or to a degree, over-temperature, and cannot

usually be used independently with protective relaying to provide more advanced
protective functions, for example, ground fault detection.

2.7 Contactor
A contactor is an electrically controlled switch used for switching a power circuit,
similar to relay except with higher amperage ratings. A contactor is controlled by a
circuit which has a much lower power level than the switched circuit. Contactors come in
many forms with varying capacities and features. Unlike a circuit breaker, a contactor is
not intended to interrupt a short circuit current.

Contactors range from those having a breaking current of several amps and 24 V DC to
thousands of amps and many kilovolts. The physical size of contactors ranges from a
device small enough to pick up with one hand, to large devices approximately a meter
(yard) on a side.

Contactors are used to control electric motors, lighting, heating, capacitor banks, and
other electrical loads.

2.7.1 Construction
A contactor is composed of three different items:
1. The contacts are the current carrying part of the contactor. This includes power
contacts, auxiliary contacts, and contact springs.
2. The electromagnet provides the driving force to close the contacts. The enclosure
is a frame housing the contact and the electromagnet.

3. Enclosures made of insulating materials like Bakelite, Nylon 6, and thermosetting

plastics to protect and insulate the contacts and to provide some measure of
protection against personnel touching the contacts. Open-frame contactors may
have a further enclosure to protect against dust, oil, explosion hazards and
weather.

A basic contactor will have a coil input (which may be driven by either an AC or DC
supply depending on the contactor design). The coil may be energized at the same
voltage as the motor, or may be separately controlled with a lower coil voltage better
suited to control by programmable controllers and lower-voltage pilot devices.

2.7.2 Operating principle

When current passes through the electromagnet, a magnetic field is produced, which
attracts the moving core of the contactor. The electromagnet coil draws more current
initially, until its inductance increases when the metal core enters the coil. The moving
contact is propelled by the moving core; the force developed by the electromagnet holds
the moving and fixed contacts together. When the contactor coil is de-energized, gravity
or a spring returns the electromagnet core to its initial position and opens the contacts.

For contactors energized with alternating current, a small part of the core is surrounded
with a shading coil, which slightly delays the magnetic flux in the core. The effect is to
average out the alternating pull of the magnetic field and so prevent the core from
buzzing at twice line frequency.

Most motor control contactors at low voltages (600 volts and less) are air break
contactors; i.e., ordinary air surrounds the contacts and extinguishes the arc when
interrupting the circuit. Modern medium-voltage motor controllers use vacuum
contactors.

Motor control contactors can be fitted with short-circuit protection (fuses or circuit
breakers), disconnecting means, overload relays and an enclosure to make a combination
starter.

2.7.3 Utilization Category

Contactors are rated by designed load current per contact (pole), maximum fault
withstand current, duty cycle, voltage, and coil voltage. A general purpose motor control
contactor may be suitable for heavy starting duty on large motors; so-called "definite
purpose" contactors are carefully adapted to such applications as air-conditioning
compressor motor starting. North American and European ratings for contactors follow
different philosophies, with North American general purpose machine tool contactors
generally emphasizing simplicity of application while definite purpose and European
rating philosophy emphasizes design for the intended life cycle of the application.

Current rating of the contactor depends on utilization category. For example IEC
Categories are described as:
 AC1 - Non-inductive or slightly inductive rows
 AC2 - Starting of slip-ring motors
 AC3 - Starting of squirrel-cage motors and switching off only after the motor is
up to speed. (Make Locked Rotor Amps (LRA), Break Full Load Amps (FLA))
 AC4 - Starting of squirrel-cage motors with inching and plugging duty. Rapid
Start/Stop. (Make and Break LRA)
 AC11 - Auxiliary (control) circuits

2.7.4 Applications

1. Lighting control: Contactors are often used to provide central control of large
lighting installations, such as an office building or retail building. To reduce
power consumption in the contactor coils, latching contactors are used, which
have two operating coils. One coil, momentarily energized, closes the power
circuit contacts, which are then mechanically held closed; the second coil opens
the contacts.
 2. Magnetic starter: A magnetic starter is a contactor designed to provide power to
electric motors. The magnetic starter has an overload relay, which will open the
control voltage to the starter coil if it detects an overload on a motor. Overload
relays may rely on heat produced by the motor current to operate a bimetal
contact or release a contact held closed by a low-melting-point alloy. The
overload relay opens a set of contacts that are wired in series with the supply to
the contactor feeding the motor. The characteristics of the heaters can be matched
to the motor so that the motor is protected against overload. Recently,
microprocessor-controlled motor digital protective relays offer more
comprehensive protection of motors.

2.8 Circuit breaker

A circuit breaker is an automatically-operated electrical switch designed to protect an
electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit. Its basic function is to
detect a fault condition and, by interrupting continuity, to immediately discontinue
electrical flow. Unlike a fuse, which operates once and then has to be replaced, a circuit
breaker can be reset (either manually or automatically) to resume normal operation.

2.8.1 Operation
All circuit breakers have common features in their operation, although details vary
substantially depending on the voltage class, current rating and type of the circuit
breaker.

The circuit breaker must detect a fault condition and once a fault is detected, contacts
within the circuit breaker must open to interrupt the circuit; some mechanically-stored
energy (using something such as springs or compressed air) contained within the breaker
is used to separate the contacts, although some of the energy required may be obtained
from the fault current itself.

When a current is interrupted, an arc is generated. This arc must be contained, cooled,
and extinguished in a controlled way, so that the gap between the contacts can again
withstand the voltage in the circuit. Different techniques are used to extinguish the arc
including:
 Lengthening of the arc
 Intensive cooling (in jet chambers)
 Division into partial arcs
 Zero point quenching (Contacts open at the zero current time crossing of the AC
waveform, effectively breaking no load current at the time of opening. The zero
crossing occurs at twice the line frequency i.e. 100 times per second for 50Hz and
120 times per second for 60Hz AC)
 Connecting capacitors in parallel with contacts in DC circuits

Finally, once the fault condition has been cleared, the contacts must again be closed to
restore power to the interrupted circuit.

2.8.2 Types of circuit breaker

Many different classifications of circuit breakers can be made, based on their features
such as voltage class, construction type, interrupting type, and structural features.
2.8.2.1 Low voltage circuit breakers
Low voltage (less than 1000 VAC) types are common in domestic, commercial and
industrial application, include:
 MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker) — Its rated current not more than 100 A. Trip
characteristics are normally not adjustable. Thermal or thermal-magnetic
operation.

Advantages of MCB:
1. It can be used by skilled/unskilled workmen.
2. The overload and short circuit settings can not be tempered since they are non-
adjustable.
3. Mechanism of MCB is trip free.
4. It can be used as a functional switch.
5. It can be used as an isolator.
6. It’s a fully enclosed unit and hence no ageing problems.
7. It is a cost effective device.

 MCCB (Molded Case Circuit Breaker) — rated current up to 2500 A. Thermal or

thermal-magnetic operation. Trip current may be adjustable in larger ratings.
MCCB is a versatile device which can give the following protection:

1. Overload protection
2. Short circuit protection
3. Earth fault protection
4. Under voltage protection
5. Any other if wired to tripping coil of MCCB

 Air Circuit Breaker – as discussed under medium voltage circuit breakers. Type
of protection mechanism depends on the type of releases, that is, thermo-
magnetic, solid state or microprocessor based.

2.9 Protective devices

A protection apparatus/device has three main functions/duties:

1. Safeguard the entire system to maintain continuity of supply
2. Minimize damage and repair costs where it senses fault
3. Ensure safety of personnel.

2.9.2 Types of Protective Devices

2.9.2.1 Residual-current device

A residual-current device (RCD), similar to a Residual Current Circuit Breaker
(RCCB), is an electrical wiring device that disconnects a circuit whenever it detects that
the electric current is not balanced between the energized conductor and the return
neutral conductor. Such an imbalance is sometimes caused by current leakage through the
body of a person who is grounded and accidentally touching the energized part of the
circuit. RCDs are designed to disconnect quickly enough to mitigate the harm caused by
such shocks although they are not intended to provide protection against overload or
short-circuit conditions.

Purpose and operation

RCDs are designed to prevent electrocution by detecting the leakage current, which can
be far smaller (typically 5–30 milliamperes) than the currents needed to operate
conventional circuit breakers or fuses (several amperes). RCDs are intended to operate
within 25-40 milliseconds, before electric shock can drive the heart into ventricular
fibrillation, the most common cause of death through electric shock.

1 - Electromagnet with help electronics

2 - Current transformer secondary winding
3 - Transformer core
4 - Test switch
L- live conductor
N- neutral conductor.

Fig. 2.1 1-phase RCD Schematic

RCDs operate by measuring the current balance between two conductors using a
differential current transformer. This measures the difference between the current flowing
out the live conductor and that returning through the neutral conductor. If these do not
sum to zero, there is a leakage of current to somewhere else (to earth/ground, or to
another circuit), and the device will open its contacts.

Three-phase example

Fig 2.2 Animated 3-phase RCD schematic.

For a three-phase variant all live conductors and the neutral must pass through the current
transformer.

2.9.2.2 Combined residual current and over current (GFCI/RCBO) devices

Residual current and overcurrent protection may be combined in one device for
installation into the service panel. As well as requiring both line and neutral (or 3-phase)
input and output, GFCI/RCBO devices require a functional earth (FE) connection. For
reasons of space some devices use flying leads rather than screw terminals, especially for
the neutral input and FE connections.

2.9.2.3 Earth leakage circuit breaker

An Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) is a safety device used in electrical
installations with high earth impedance to prevent shock. Nowadays, ELCBs have been
mostly replaced by residual-current devices (RCDs).

There are two types of ELCB: voltage operated and current operated. When the term
ELCB is used it usually means a voltage-operated device. Similar devices that are current
operated are called residual-current devices.

Operation

An ELCB is a specialized type of latching relay that has a building's incoming mains
power connected through its switching contacts so that the ELCB disconnects the power
in an earth leakage (unsafe) condition.

The ELCB detects fault currents from live (hot) to the earth (ground) wire within the
installation it protects. If sufficient voltage appears across the ELCB's sense coil, it will
switch off the power, and remain off until manually reset. An ELCB however, does not
sense fault currents from live to any other earthed body.

Advantage
1. They are less sensitive to fault conditions, and therefore have fewer nuisance
trips.

Disadvantages
 They do not detect fault current.
 They do not allow a single building system to be easily split into multiple sections
with independent fault protection, because earthing systems are usually bonded to
pipework.
 They may be tripped by external voltages from something connected to the
earthing system such as metal pipes.
 As with RCDs, electrically leaky appliances such as some water heaters, washing
machines and cookers may cause the ELCB to trip.
 ELCBs introduce additional resistance and an additional point of failure into the
earthing system.

2.9.2.4 Earthing system

In electricity supply systems, an earthing system defines the electrical potential of the
conductors relative to that of the Earth's conductive surface. The choice of earthing
system has implications for the safety and electromagnetic compatibility of the power
supply.
A protective earth (PE) connection ensures that all exposed conductive surfaces are at the
same electrical potential as the surface of the Earth, to avoid the risk of electrical shock if
a person touches a device in which an insulation fault has occurred. It ensures that in the
case of an insulation fault (a "short circuit"), a very high current flows, which will trigger
an overcurrent protection device (fuse, circuit breaker) that disconnects the power supply.

A functional earth connection serves a purpose other than providing protection against
electrical shock. In contrast to a protective earth connection, a functional earth connection
may carry a current during the normal operation of a device. Functional earth connections
may be required by devices such as surge suppression and electromagnetic interference
filters, some types of antennas and various measurement instruments.

Earthing devices

Solid earthing
In this case, the neutral of a power transformer is earthed solidly with a
copper conductor as shown in Figure 4.1.

Figure 4.1

Advantages
1. Neutral held effectively at earth potential.
2. Phase-to-ground faults of same magnitude as phase-to-phase faults; so no need for
special sensitive relays.
3. Cost of current limiting device is eliminated.
4. Grading insulation towards neutral point N reduces size and cost of transformers.

Disadvantages
1. As most system faults are phase-to-ground, severe shocks are more considerable
than with resistance earthing.
2. Third harmonics tend to circulate between neutrals.

Resistance earthing
A resistor is connected between the transformer neutral and earth (see
Figure 4.2). It is mainly used below 33 kV. Value is such as to limit an
earth fault current to between 1 and 2 times full load rating of the
transformer. Alternatively, to twice the normal rating of the largest
feeder, whichever is greater.
Figure 4.2 Resistance earthing

Advantages
1. Limits electrical and mechanical stress on system when an earth fault occurs, but
at the same time, current is sufficient to operate normal protection equipment.

Disadvantages
1. Full line-to-line insulation required between phase and earth.

Reactance earthing
A reactor is connected between the transformer neutral and earth (see
Figure 4.3): Values of reactance are approximately the same as used
for resistance earthing. To achieve the same value as the resistor, the
design of the reactor is smaller and thus cheaper.

Figure 4.3 Reactance earthing.

Advantages
1. Limits electrical and mechanical stress on system when an earth fault occurs, but
at the same time, current is sufficient to operate normal protection equipment.

Disadvantages
1. Full line-to-line insulation required between phase and earth.