I

il
t
li

CHAPTDR V

Principles o f Circuit-breaking
N the occurrenceof a short-circuit within a system,a particular breaka in the aftectedline will l* ttippud oB.6n automatically fuaction of this breaker is to carrsethe fault curreirt to oease flowing possible,and to dp so without harmful effeqtgeitlier to the assoonas systemor to itsdfi It was shown in Cbapter IV that contact separa- ' tion merely creates an arc discharge i'ithofit caueing appreciable altercion oJ the current initially. This is perfectly desiaSle becagse any suCden cut-off of the current at that stage might give rise to harmful induecd voltages in the circuit. The function of the breaker is tihen, more epecificalln to introducea high impedanceinto the circuit in such a rnanner as to force, or allow,tte current to reach zero without possibility of the arc being res'truckthereafter, and without causing the current to rach an abnorsralrate of decrase. The possibility of daoage to thb breaker hasbeen mentioned because,as well as being subjected to hating and electromagaeticforce in common with the other componentsof the alfectedline, the breaker is also the 'nain receptacleof ttre shoftcirnrit energy becauseof the resistive nature of the dischargewithin it A primary factor in high power circuit-breaker design is the Prwision of mechanical strength sufrcient ts withstand the sudden Qeleascof large quantities of eiergr of the order of, say 500 kilopatteeconds (i.e. more than 100,000 calories). Early extinction of the arc helpsto keep tlis eneg5r releaseie 3 minimum. D.G" Circuit-brea&lng. Fig 5.1c rqrresents a eimple d.c. *.u! *-prising a'geneoior, rdi"tor, teacior and circuit-breaker. t-he latter is assuued to break the lmd curreotr I - ElR. -la diagramb, the line t is the currenf-voltage characteri*ic.'bJ-the arc u'hen'its current is decreasing; line 2 is a resistanceline and represeilq.lhe voltage E-;& thai, is, tlrc: e.m.t'. remaining when the restgljV-_q is:heducted.. 5he initial current at contart'$:innrtiol drop

r riJ l

76

sWtTCgBAB PRINCTPLES

rine ! lics-berow 2, andin ruch conditionr tJ"ryp":l of thc fault currentis not possible.UnAer circuit-hhing oonditions, howcycr, arcis bciig tengtncnJti ttc tihe scparetioa tlrc contacrs, tlc ecot'is;d;,fr;*;;,: of and voltagc cts*crsistic so ttst it lies abovd !*istanac ti;Thl thc

:: 11:ijg TTj howcver, tte arc currenttdndsto i"cre"s; 11-T,:""9 -!tb of Iine rmcethis section !::

ir thc frrll veluer, and it is clearfrom thc diagram'l thst thc src uostablc qtrrents betw.ccn an{ 11 ei"ce tni voitages ,.q;rd b d r ", qr greater theamounts.iil.ui" (.4_r"). than

I I l,
I
I

g.D.

T ctr
(a).
Fig.5.l. D.C. qc choactsisth-+otatt

(-

deaca4nE

of enercy try. pg unir'teFth of'gc'arc' cotumn nay-uc a""l*uu=io-.id#i -. -..--.

rnr{any adon which brings this about ,*} i_pro*;;;;; performance.Thus, any m-eans',r'hi"h in"""a.e thc.r.ate

breater.Ncverthelds-ti th" t;;rA;;;iA;G* i; ;;;;; nalntainth9, whishresutts the rai-sing til';h;;illtl arc in .f

progrcssive lengthening, yh$ qly be assisrcd etectromagnaic by forcein cstain designg, basic'r.equircment th" is.a oi d";;il|r.

gdl up by c, - fup,doo..hi" iil nqativc with dc. crc$ng curEcnt in a@rdance an4 '*frti;r,; I;;A;;; qcnd to.
.rsis6 ia istcrrustion, but ir ad G'to increascite indud volageehthc u;bblerangce .u-*l--l Morcovcr,ec'ount ol s.t*t-.t"F"io. dcarfron diaeranC. "f m d .r"*iffiTi#

to thc lengthpning. . The grnerarcfi.ectof thc circuit inducranccduring thc inter. nrption ie of spccialimeresr. While the *I"1, i"j"-iir";;;l: to d whcrethc zolace-.a--r,R ress -q,r;ftb bahncb ir d ,"L of voltsgeir

4fnraintlrso'rcnt Til ;Jrt"gaa.b";'"ti.fiJ

high frl1#,ntnt_o *rr*o.[J"* r6i-o;tri"HJ.f, vetucr Idcaun u'.,r", g.p*# thc d.c" g"rrJ iiln "*y Xfll#:fr elcar thoscristrnc! of F rlrilcdl
*

tiilil";dt*

oo ,qioo bcrpca

I
lt'
PRINCIPLES OP CIRCUIT.BNEAKINO

7i

L andf" should vanish, and such that induced toltagesjust prior to *tinaio" are g Einimum. Note that alteration of the generator Ir.f. giuo a correponding elteration of the positioi of the reietancc tine2 iho"e slope, however, remainsfixed by the circuit resistance' iii* ,ft" hish;r-the circuii e.m.f. the morl eficient'must be the iJoi.f thelreaker in lengthcning and de-ionizing the arc to raiee thscharactsistic abovethc resistanceline.

af

Fig.5.2. D.C. oc cnaactl**laawt rg arralc&n

dadc&h'g 6td I^Su

nodified by lengthening during the brarLing-opgetign- .fh9 orc voltagc ie At piiou greatcr than the ahount-E+? anCthc batancc "i !r grveuVy t. il4at wnicn i" proPortignal t9 lhc gradie$ o{ the orrenrtirie curvc. Thie curvc msy therefore be deduccd, el '-fhir rhownin.fig. 5.?,h,and prondes thc totd arcing timcr Pgibd ney b an-appreciable-fraction of the total time of bhort-circuit crrrrent flow and must be kept as ehort ss possibla Fig. 542showB thartlu arcingtime may be reducedby incrcasiogthc retesof Gurrent frlt but this i;volve nigber ralues of tlhc indued voltagec,ca, and a orrcapondinglyhighcr-poaition of thc chrracteri*ic" - In thc-typicel case i[uatratcd-by fig. 5.2t thc e*tincion voltage of th. arc h ebcut tnicc the generaior-voltagq ehowing that thc dielectric etrcngth of thecontactq'apat ertinction has rcachedan adequate levcl ' Summiizing, euccessfuld.c. circuit-prca&'in! must-involve s 'fhe nccessriry ostrin amountof-compromise. function of th9 9t q.t il to raise the arc' charasteristic iufficiently to avoid rtability. - Dy increasing ihe e$gctubeyond the minimtrm neccssary,a shot!3r- ' r ' Iri.rg :ii". and,-tieiefoie less. lcverc heating and eleetronnsg3tBic'

[ig. 5.?.a shows the arc characteristic 6E it might bc- when

('

78 .

swrrcucgaR pn.tNctplEs

'

r \

..contend volage intemrs iT,t\.p*t d +hst *.n" oni**iiiii", tion, if not ii*""t (rssuming, course, 50c./r of the &equeocy ".tra$, *ppti).
t locations h.v.se on 'Erstems, 1fpoira factor-*y et"u.,-breakec the underf""tt *;Jttdd-#;;iearty.zao; grvi"g virt'a,Iy pcakvorageJ*r*a zero.s; is.beca'scof tro this

would not probablybe economical Efucts gf.pouer-Futot. The ac. circuit-breaker atte'pts b preve-nt re-striking of the arc after the fault curcnt it"u and the contacr gap must theiefore ;h;;-.h",'ctJuit "'orq vorag. appearing there at the" zcro instlnl This instantaneousvortage dcpendsopg1 tl" po\rer factor of the circuii tn" i"-"fa f tn is relativery rigt, tLetreaker -"y r,""" a aJ-""1v,lii.ome "f-." natul of voltjrgc appreciably tess ttai .h" ono. Nevert'eless,in setecing a breakerr*'" ;-J;,-t""".lrr"r,r, possibh, o"*r*iar";'* fzults and associated poier f"d; n r"t event,it should rimeurbered O"i"a"*rl-ii*l", "nd,, in any be "Uor"Ji* o", gapms

produce orervoltages. Idealy, tn" *tre"t.sni rru u"-"ri*"a to r.u normallyto zero,at whichiiiant Oe aiU""t lirt between' circuit-breaker the ""gO;ilh;;; contacts rnourJ rapiary"il""o*" *c prever:t re-strikingof the ar',c" The aim of desigtrerjtni"*."", i, i brea&er wriichcao-invariably accomplish tni" irr" cirt *rredt zcm after contast separation, "t c,r.,ent *i$hi' t" ,d;?;I "t it"er. rn" pfid;;"" caplgiry'and without harurto"ny ;fihi problern design srtremely in is difr"olq;A-;;" lf ;;y;[rd

rising again afti d ?Ero&"i.. It i,l.neithcr i"""o"ry ,i, desirablcto crrt ofi the anrrcot at any otherpoint"" trr" Jrr"i",{ wavebecause sucha distoriion of the nattrrar--"o"1i*"*"a a*

andis therdore insangleoylf zdo twicep*.y"d l" i,nort,til ac" circuit-brealer gdoits th6 poperty bi pd;ddttre c'rrcn from

str6scr' will bcobained ua! fthough the rikefihoodof ovcrvortagcs a.isa In goeral tlre minimumir-ciog e-e p.r_ioi[i. -*ti"p*i upon the 2r''ount of inductanccin tf,c circiia : A.C Circuit-brea&ing. In atternatiai_curlent cy*erns -.1* tfu whole probtem.of circuir.f,seakiogi" difiHt-i; io G sFtems. This is becar.se ..h"nEes o.6. directico t"ice l"-;"G;;

i
i ,,i,j--

-'-:_:

i""r currcnt on 50 gsears ie.ilGfriffiu[i*-fir$, c/s sgcms lgrc aaa thr, aqd ....Y*o*
: '

and uninorlco-ps q .f pyrg.t

*"*.,aslmnetdcal llf*il:ffi ffi$?r#"TiH caseof "ffu?"ffi *d;-R"f;;;-d:%:"rn ,"1"

*,* tr Hf.ry *. olaiin,c"Eciary-"uirl.lTgl"ilt"g

P R I N C I P I , . E SO F C I R C U I T . B R E A K I N C

79

lt,-

.curnt zerosdo not thereforecoincidewith p&ks of vottage. This disptacementdccrcases, cource, as ihe d.c. comp-onentof phase of thc. asrynmetrical current decays. The apparent phase shift -to associatedwith asymmctrical current tends give an easier inrcmrption and breaker duiy. illuch of this benefit-man however, bclost-bgcauythe asymmetrydecays appreciablyduring ihe opening time of the circuit-breaker. Even with ; power factor Is low as'0.1, for-examplgmost of the asymmetrydiesaway dudng the 6rst q or L ' g!!o: and this irrterval may be ehort comparadrpith that ffom fr.rlt initiation to contact separation. Much depends,howevei upon the ipfting characteristicsof the protectivl scheme, and-uiorn tfie breakermechanismand gontact d*ign, and partially asym-metriel currentsoftcn occur during arcing. A circuit-breaker has to deal with normal load currents, as well asfaults, and since the former are generally aseociated.with high powerfactorsthe interruption duty is then rit"tivety easy: The;. load-breaking srvitch dso always-benefits from tais condition, of oourBe. Current Zero Period. After contact eeparation in an ac.circuit-breaker,an ars is drawn but and its curient alternatessuch that an instantaneouszero (rccurs periodicafly according to the . supply frequency. Final extinctionofthe arc is onty po*ib=l" at one ot theie current zeros and will occur if the volage availatle at Buch an instant is not enoughto break dowa the de-iinizea i.esidual arc column. The possibilitiesof breakdownor final --xtinction occurring at any current zero depend upon the phyisical conditions cxisting then. 'I'his does not mean tlat the ..cirtient zero period'; on Uu rcgardetlas being independent of conditions existing prwiously. rYe.-nave already shown.tb* power loss and rate of current fall, IT:r_tg zero, havea markedefrect upon the tmperaturc aird.degree of ioniCationof the irc,at the z;C imt nL 'The all-imfortot Plyt:g state of the contact g-ap cunfit zero thus dependsupon at :lho,l* beenhappcniagto tf,e'arcjust pleviously and thus includes

1!

**Tn#!lrffii*f;

.T-.e"

as 9f grrryit conditions well asde-baizingand ionizing

erists when the current.reaches Bap. zero. 'f,he next stageis tho riseof voltagefrom zero(at the cprrent zeroinetant)t what 13irt vatug.is appropriate the circuit'conditions.It is Ois rlSng to 3;el whigh_nray or-inaynot.breakdowrrthe gap and re-strikethi :_":,"Cj arc. Just as the p.re-zelo conrlitioncart inpoiant in determining

orthe'roiaoal"or,,mn contacr in the

g0

slvtTcHcEAR PRINCTPLES

the the conductivity state of tle column ^t ?.arc,, very s$ort perid of rising voltageimmediatelyaften'ards is widently equally cdtical The generalaatureof arcing conditionsin circuh-breakss hasbeen describedin ChapterIV and we uray now prcaeedto a closeretrrdy the of the relationshipb'etween arc aad the circuit conditionsarouni of: current zero. This involvesa considratiorr (i) dre efrectsofan onthe currentwave-form;(2) the efieoof circuit capacitancc vob.rge in parallel t'ith the breakergn'current wave-form; (3) .the nanncr t.he in which the volage across breaks dfes frdm ao to tte circuit

I I

i I

r
La,-L-cb

Ancwltagse,er*Idil,

oB ack war.d "eurnen t, i6

I'ig..5.3. of Distortbn A.C. currcn, ttax,c b1'urc evltuge value appropriate thc current zero instant; and (4) the current to zero period in relation ro sone of the physical lrrosesses occurring in the residualcolumn in the contactgap. Arc Vollage and Curreat \[ave-form. It is convenientto . .think of the a.c. arc ail a circuit dement whoseresistance generally variesin an inversernannerwith the current during any half-cycli Thus.the powerfactor of the circuit in which a Urdf,erib oper;ting may change someqriatduring any half-cycleof arcing. For instanrr; an arc of 1,000A r.m.s., iri oil" severalco in tength,iiU havea total resistance a fraction of an ohar.ovs moet oia naf-"yae prio4 of but asth:eqnreot falls towardszero, tbe resistance may'rise Lpidty to sr,veral hun&edsor thcusands ohms. The effectsoi this deirmi of v.erX upon circuit conditions. Coileiaer a sinple inductivc -nuch_ drcuit as shownin 69. 53. Thd cirsrit-bree&sr ts elced and tb

PRINCI PLES Or CTRCUTT.DREAKINC

8t

currqrt is sinusoi&I, loqS,nq90" electrically behind thc gcnerstor llthen the circuit-breatcr opcnsand an arc is stabtishcd e'.f. thc arc voltageeo modifies.tr" pn u; rehtion .f;;;;;;i voltaga The efiect is comparativety small while tbe *-";i,;li;; . rnd arc resistane is low, but a m"rked efiect can;;; ;;JJ"?; zergt An irnpott ot tourtl" tan" approache zero is ehiftcd from its naturalposition in tirire and so coincides*ith lessthan ";;;;;;; lglta.ge + p*k This distortioo of thu *r-"r-;;;""j rhe displacement of ?Ero,:n y b" 9f iittfi-p;;;; rcurrenl systems, on l.v. s1'stems h.v. but wheri the ;i t compamble with the supply "re"g _"y-b, J;;a the currerit "Jdg; -"?lqg", crmpletely forcedintg nhxe wittr th-esupptyr.rrg" oi. Thiecondition considerabry eases di..y ; th;;;;;;;;1't" ".-;;L, the voluge available t is-iclatively.v"ry r'_"[ "*,roachieved. lrc is the more readily ""d;Ae;ffi;; .Fr.orn-fig.. the-true current during arcing 53 . may be esilv

isgontroltedappreciabtyby.ihe;";iJ;h;""ild;fi

closed, andthe *iL*t ,;, *n intt e circuitif thearcingroltage "l-,'r"finli ,"pro"oiJif,J ,.fi".*fi;;; voltage and;'backJardit;;;-; IT "yrt in thediagram.Summarizing, -"y oy tlrt rehtedasindicated. we t" g*;a;;;;;

ilrrfrri ea_arcvoltage characteristic. actual current l. wilt be the -The difrcrencebetrveenthe- no,rmal *o"rrt-r, which floil *t"i tfr". .,backwarJi breaker-is

dcernined, giveathe circuit e.m.f. th;r""d;;;U and

#a

{r

controlled over the.remainder the half-cycl* Th;*"*, of hhs

;ill:

to (a)thecapacit"""Jt * iitt" mu andonnections i3.j.ej* onthegenerator of thebrea&a side when eartl r""rt]ol*"- oilil an ddu:"g (Dltp *pu"l.** u"irlccnli sonact l3l anoil andthet"nk untb circub-brealcr.. S.&rpro*t, Figa capacrtaae tu "i-prkr*ltt c, t'ilara " stuhthGbrca&cr *i.t to +" eanh que the "F;;;side.itff".ry i_**;ffi frn* on the lmd 'ot parallet

for simplicity; in practicetno?" cenain amountof c-Facrtance parallel*irh.;r;id.;k;?;; in

G; i, fic. leenexaggerared t.tf";;tffi.-'Cgac-itanJg. *"airio* shown fig.5.3bavc The in .^^_P_1ttr"Jldrlized oeen sontewha. fu;;

th. *ro"i is S,lrltn:. "ryttre circuit_of j; b"f;r thezcro. rcachcd. -8. ).) shosB "r" . S.l in eimplified for*-T;; !g. omple
equations rqrresent the bheviorr o{ t[c currcDts and vorqges"I.e*,;. .-,i. *r"o..i; t: ;6"; *rroo. (thlougb th3 G

I*:t .o

capacianciare its innuenl on the;vorage acrocc tac gap aft r corrTt zero,with.wniin we shsll deal later on,

EwrrcgcEARPRTNctPLBg lnductang); l], - cafacitanoe curr?nt; c ' E sis,sa - aryptt c.m.f., and c. - aie voltsge. Ttc arc dl instsatsrcou! velucsof the variablcs. Thc equetionof thc voluges is: c'- L "dinldt 1- c, The equationof currcntsis: i. 1- in .- l, The voltagcequafon nry slso b wittaz.ttri.ltlt - (c -. c.lfl. eC

F4.5.4. Capacitances h ?oalh, @irh oc c*adt-bteaha Let us study the eventsoccurringfrgm the time when eobeginl to riee appreciablyastlrc current approaches zso. The current and voltage curves in fig. 5.5 are shownnfor clarity, on a somewhd time-scde. As in the previoussimple exampl.e, riein6 expanded the voltageforcesthe main current t,oto collapsemore quickly thm arc if the breaker had remained closed. This is clear also from tlc exprcs.sion di-ldt, as e at rtris period of the cqrrcnt cycle ii tot ncgativeand the arc vohagee. is addedto the generalorvoltrgq d giving a iorreslonding increasein the rate of current fall. Thl rising arc vottagi also causes divcrsionof currcnt into the capach. a ance, the value.o{ this current at any rnstant bcing given byr 'This io - C . dc"lilt. current is positive(clockwise hg.-S.S1 in d4 - isincc i ofthe arc currd ; it is obtainedat the expense which therefore starts to fdl more rapidly than does ,L. As th! instant a is approachedthe rce of fall of .li" diminishes eincei, it nowdecreasing with eoapproachingite pok value. At the instanta . *rle 'Immediatelyand in - i-i this condition is illustratcd in 69; :0, r, - 0, 5.54. afterwards,the capaciance darts to discharsd giving a negitive (anti-clocftnuise) currcnl: The 'nain and rrc, currens Tg podtivc,s9 rtrat ar! is eupplicil both by tho "til capacitahce, the by the and ri is then gdi* than {,.. At t[c :ource Td. rnstant, the main qrrrent rach zeroand the arc is then eupplid .eolely die'capacitance, 6g. 5.i6.' Aftci thig iirsisnt by nrr td;d"

-.,i.

.+r:{iz!a !

FRlNgIPLES OF CIRCUIT-DREAETNG

83

)Current wftlr 6neeket, closcd J

\

Arc caneat
zeFo

eo(pek)
Yoltogezero

Ln

( r

"tl d
(q) $) FiS.55. Efrcat of palWcq.ibnt oruc aninailw!@a.?o

-::r\

84

switcllcEAl

PRTNcIPLEB

tac eir,encurrent rnoybc much lcssw.hen eurrenthasbccndecggasing lpiafy ttran in the static casa Tbig is on ocoouttt of thcsmd in i-".t"roi, in tle arc and is obviously a disadvantage circuitao il;eakirg. Fhwever, the static condidon Tly--bo-a-pproeched.to i"F"" Jing upon (") the actualrate of fall of the r.'trent bcforc ;.*, -and (b) the el6ciency of dc-ionizCtio.n coti.iaite4 io**. tf* with'the erulent zcro insterg 88d ttre PgrS We are hereconccrned immJat"ly afterwarriswhcn $e gaP-ie subjectcd e qt cirsqit soltage. Any mean"which cal bc e-iii'loyed to. pcrsuade*".*:.' posible satic conditionsat this stsgearedeeirable" t '.c,rch-as."ily "" v!.{y is The efect of parailelcapaciance evidendyfavourablc,sincg-rt of rnuch reducestheratc oi fu11 ar" c.trt"nt iW beforczero,allowing the arc temperatuie and conductivity morC time to accommodatc ttemselvcsto the current zso condition Note that it is the arc currentthet is apprecirblydtaed'in fotn, through the seriesrgct{ce, rather tfian the main cilrrent paneing doesnot neceaoarit-v-arise. andthe questiouof high inductivevoitageo the the Neverthcless, riiversionof current from the arc increasee arc ionization, etc.) eld its ratc voltage (owing to tall of temPereture, thc of rii which in turn increases cepecitivecurrent. The procm to cumulativl, rail in oar1docircumstance' bp tlius terrdsto become sturtierllater, canteadto the production of ovcrmltrge. Thc extent to which current ie divcrted from t'he arc during this pre-zeroperiod dcpdndsupon the velue of rapritarcc ard tbe rate of rise of arc' the ooit"go. Whcre thcstwo hctors arc appreciable, effect on tbe arc tirnpcraturc and didectric *rength of tbe g{p 8t zGromay nrake current intcrruption comparativdycesy. The ratp of fdl pf surrent it zcro rvith asymmetricalcurrcnt ie generally lees thaa with the cquivalentq'rnmetrlcat current.,and therdolg in accordanccu{th principle, Bome casencntof brcakerduty msy be obtaincd. tte above wish the fcrmcr. Re"etrikiog Vottago" Tte volagc available at thc circuit' breakeret a current zerodependsupon Powcr factor, aqd thcrdu, has somefinite nalue, unls8tbc circoit is ri5tualy icaistivc. Ttc way in which the re*cri&in! volagc risec fron ztro (tnthc qrqnt zcro instant) to the approprice tzlue it of thG grstcstimportane" thir voltagcriec would in For instance, o circuit sithout snd therc would bc litdc chanceof any circuit' bc instantaneol& breaker gap having aufficient'dielcc{ric ruength to witirstand it without breakingdown. Forauratclyoucbconditioneerc hypochcticat piercnt in thc circuit" Thc fior thse io alwayeeomecapecitand.i

.t,\
-r':',

PRINCIPTES OF CIRCUIT-BREAKINC

8'

cffcct of this is to modify the rate of rise of rLstriking voltage (R.R.R.V.)such that a few vital microsecendselapsebetween the Strictly zeroand. cstablishment of a voltage of any significance. ",rrr.it speaking,there are two conditions to consider: (a) breaker and capacitancein parallel, and (&) breaker and capacitance in series. 11'eshall examine both, although the former is of much greater importance as it is nearly always associated with fault conditiong. Pnctical systems are usudly much more corrrplex than the basic circuits referred to. in the following, although reasonable eimplificadon of actual conditions may permit a rlseful mathematical treatment usingthe same principles. Alternatively, itudies of rate of rise of rc-striking voltage may be carried out with the aid of a network rnalyser. A simple example of parallel capacitance is seen in fig. 5.4 wherethe line fault places C1 effectively across the breaker. A pair of voltage equations is needed which, when sblved, will gi're the voltageacro$ the breaker after current zero. Thus:

e:

and ll@ I i".dt : r (i* -

L d i ^ l d t+ ' l ! C x ! i " . d t .
i")

where is the generatorvoltage and r the breaker resistance z,ero. a at 0n solving them we obtain three possible casesaccording to ihe value assigned a to l. If r is made infinitg and assuming no other resistancein tlre circuig we have o (4crossbreaker) :.e (l - cos {Ii@ . tl. In this hypotheticatinstancethe voltage rises-from zeroto iwice the tnstananeorn circuit voltage and tlen returns to zero and continue .toccillate in this way about the value e. 2. "lf. r is less than infinity but greater than the quantity:- then the cosineterm in the expreseion ca6e in ! !4e (in-clr) l. ts multiplied by a factor exponential decoy. This lmply means gecillation is gradually damped th* the high-frgquency row irnd the voltagerapidly setrlodown to thc circuit rblue a. Thc freqr5ncyof this edlation is giien by: f/(2zr) x {ire and ie usually puch greter than the normal 50 c/s altrirnation of thc

!.ril'

' - '

'

86

SWITC'TGEAR PRINCIPLT.S

i-!H;f;!i:i,"{o"

,("

Cun"ent zeto instant

(e)

G:Jt!{{}-

5O'c.p.s.

____s_\r

,(

zero' instant

ft)

Fig.5.6. Rllrfihiryaoh4c(a)aith ldgh-ttc' @d(blarfrcarydetFl gercy &tin voltrgg Lc. r feult bndition hving zcro Pows factor. The ftit pcet of tbo trrneicnt ccillrtion doeonc qtdte rcach lpicc c on rccouatof tbc danping cfiect of bleakcr sesknca r 3. Thc hst cssciBthat in which the breakcrresietancc is lcc rtm thc quaotiry* {Ti-C,eAqilth thir cqnditionthc volagc ir not Sg but osAUstory instcaddsesloggithnicatly to the vdue c ar.rd follorrr tho normd 50 c/e veve-form. This is iltustrotcd in 69. 5.6bandthc rc-otdkingvoitqgcis saidto be logarithmi;a[y d+s,p"{ ig Now lct uestudy an exanrplc wherethe caEaoanao tii scnt with thc brcakcr. Fig. 5.7shourc asimplc circuit in whicb wp ns$Clc

PntNctPLES O? clRcOrt-Bn8AB8N6

gt

thst thc brca&cc to opcawhilc the camcfuive noftult' b't imagine is is flowing. We may faitly neglcc G,l thc rUetlvely maft ryt crpaciteneto carthof e longtnusnisdon litia This lcavcr ridcrablc ur sith e rinpte sc of inducanq-capacitenccand reristancc (of the brcalc^) in rccica Thc sppropristc voltegc cquation L: 0 - L di@ + ,i + UC x t i.dt.- As bcfolc, tbr; cerer ero obtrind &on'thc rohfiion, but with r vcry inportrnt itiffcrcaco &omthc "pniall1"ci!:

cr>c,
Ffg.5.7. CcpacitaueoJlng narlltt &rion fuu sai6drhbcohah

e'

thcn the .cosineterm is multiplied by an exponcntially doying fr$df. the volage ic - 3, lf tiegeder than thc quantity Z @taf,n togadthmicalty damped. The foregoing discussionshoya that the form of volage rieo dter zeroig infuenced by the value of the breikcr rcsiltance stzeio in rdatioa to the drcuii inducance and capacianca. Fdrthcr, in ordcr to daop out the h.f. ccillation" a rninimum rralue of thc btca&cr is and rcsistance reqniredwith mries capacitance a rnoririum vduc with parallel capqcitance.- will be secn tater that such It $.pitg ie dnmt alwaysdeshable. When this is not pcsible we mut take account:of d most important factor, namety, the ratc at thigh the voltagerises up to its fiist peak; .This is clearly'dependentupon both e:and ihe natural froguency of the circui! which 'fhe. ' ie vcry high for lorv'valuesof epacitance and inductance.

-a(1 l. If rbserothcvoltageformie:o -e.u@4 2. ll t is greetcr thanzerobut less than the i"*tity 2 {re

- +

,a . i-t

88

swtrcgcgAR pRrNcrpr.Es

capacitance, that-this oscillation, therefgre, and u"Ein, ,"Lul the ca_pacitance chargedto its.maximum just.UlforJ ,;;';; "iontty is a in fig. 5.5. The amount of energy in,thJ op""itnn"" instant'manifets itsgl.f a1 a vottageidditioo, ,; tb .h;*"r"f "i,U, oscillationinitial amplitudea f'he student ihould alwaysappreciatethe physical aspect of eu-ch phenomena and nor be conteni with tt ,nutir"i..ti""r;;;;^.tration. In this way insight and intuition " utti_otdJ-u"q;r"a In thepresent instance, kiepin:g mindtr,."r" in iaqoi ii.eilnliii

thc darnped occillatorytpe. For simpliciqf*tl";;;;G;i factorwhichb T-: lfllg u-gor, vatue whichihe ""o the to rises{fter zso. The initial.'anpfitude thu t"""d;iil"lu.tio""olgge of i, notin fact e the circuit volage,but a + er.yherc c*(sie ig. S.A arc pe"k. This is realaity *i* ir is the pre-zerc voltage is remembered the cciltationsof tjre transient a"" tiin, ""a6tA that rapid- interchapging of energy between thc ir-rductance*a- tuo "r

rate of rise of volage may be high, thercfore, et e location ctce to t t|re generator. ..inherent restriking 'transient", The tcrm often met witlr, aimply mgry that volage trensient which. would bc obtaind on .c@unt of the onln without nodification by the breker, "it*i with parallel capacitance, i.e. when r is infiirite aod ;. with scries capacitance.In practicg of coune, there is always4 srnall esurunt of resisrance the circuit itsdf and thus the inhgrent transient iB of in

seenthat, rvith serieserpacitancethe breaker reistance "t"-*t", rr.iu; tf

energy intcrchange occurbetween circuit to the

ro, iii" Aity

criticar &nnping rrsuary is pdseiure. *liiitilF"uy rulr desirable, however, page:l@, -o* a.,"ff"a?t.fr" sec f"i :apacitive-cu*enrT=nttr*.tr,*i{uiripal*[i#*.e, "f " ti:cbrcaker

value breaker of resiltance y[gb-will preveit*ell"tiool idr"g try volageis givenbyt {If1,pd inttre ecries thc-nioinun case ralue.is Thesearetermedcriticalraistancq. A; b"* seen ?1/L!C. series earlier,the genelfly -", *n* o$ir[;-d*ryir missionline wittr "ppr"ciatrte-crpaatLl to ditionsthe criticargi"tance lr ,i.tii. io*-r00 carth. rn such enohns or lsc*nd gn:rauy than the curitnt less roi*"o". of a circuit-breaka, sottrat "iio

will prdvent sscillation by_-diversion the nergy. of &ilical Resisttpzce. Wnh parallel capacita-rice the maximum

*ry dircctlv absorb_ to gncrgv prevent ltstr similurly, rvith para'et capacitance,a veryttow bieokei "-'"Jd';f-;il1;"sr. ioi.ao*

is notalwave to oni."aa"-fdJnii.uiJr-ra, able

PRTNCIPLESOF CTPCUTT-BNEAKINO

89

&'

cxasrdleof a fault to earth on t&e line side of the b;caks in thc snren shown in dg. 5.4, the paraltel capacitane is Cs whilh is .iudry small. The &itical resistancethen may be of thc order of ohms. This may be more or lessthan tAe current zero resist1.000 'ence the breaker, depending upon the Erpe of breaker,t$e fault of orrent magnitude and the circuit Parametrs. (lrrrent Zero "Pause". Thc uppr part of fig. 5.8 showt a typicalrecord of arc current, arc voltageand cirorit voltagein which tso current zeros occur. Thc first invoilves breakdown and resuikingof the arc for a further half-qde atthe end of which the gap withstandsthe rising voltage; this is seen to be of the.ccillatory form.beforefollowing the'normal op-en-circuitvoltage wavc. With such a record the arc current aPPearsto Pass straight through ,erd it-, the lrreakdown case(a) and to cohe to an ab"ruptstoP at the ctarance (&). The expanded records below show that these curreirt is forced may'be false. Just before zeto ardnrearc impressions down abnormally due to the pardlel capacitanceeffest The arc' although finite, is high enough irhmediately after zero for reshtence, the currcnt to remain very small-a frastion of an amperefor a periodof microseconds,or even,tens of microseconds,bdore the , the breakdown which the curreat resums normal sinusoi&l form. / at. This very small current existingbetween.zso and breakdown-'+ften termed"pre-breakdov'n" surrsnt-may adopt various charagteristic sliglrtly.before forms. It may exhibit a small peakand thcn decreasc ggg.rapi$y on b-reakdown the gap. qis paniorlar form rnight of wf,iri a powerful de-ionizing action exfutsbnt where thc _be'6btained t,' rateof. rise'of re-.trikit g volage is v6y high. On the other hand, . vhere little de-ionization is achieved and a very high short-circuh ctrrrentb involved,the current may passmore or lessstraightthrough zerowith the breakdownoccurring at a low point on the re-suiking. vokage wave Clearly it is not possibleto generalizeconcerningpre. breakdown istnown current form, but the idea of a errrent zgo pause to bejusafied uodr q'any conditions. - 2e. zero Ein fig. t.8 th" arc is successfutlyinternrpted aod in tho" lowerdiagramwe see'ihat the current does not ceeseabnrpdy but continues the r&ersed direction'after zso fot a shon pciod of in eome inicroseconds beftlre frnally ceasing..That "pet arc" .cuircnt Soultt erist is only to be expecte-a isrstill 6nitc sincetEe ascresistance 8t crirrst zeio.thougb'rapidly'increasing, and such cufrents can actually of the order of an asrp&e in certain cirirrmstances. Noticc - 'thai be tlt pre'zero arii vottbg" pJ"t.t zer6 g,-'.slpupper diagiaic-iir

90

SEI"CEGEAN

PRINCTPLES

Anc curnent '" Arc 'twltsle Itcvoltaqe peok -

rAne \ voltegg' \ ,v.ee6tt.

, PEEK

I Cincuic I voltafe
Sreokdowi'

?,"9 t)

.IVormct s/t*r-tq/"to

showin$successire ca?"e t -ze n leedind to- 6nea k{owh " eny' 'cledronce" "os

\4rc

cunnent

oPist-erc"

(6) Expodedne show g curne Vffij,;;r,!i:W n in cord nt

Frg.5.8. Cstat zoaoe-forns sero nca smaller than the re-striking voltage peak This is a result of thl increasingcolumn resistancedu:ing the zero period: Further, iq ts assrrmed that the de-ionizing effects have becone more pronounceC at zer.o and the arc voltagepak ju.t prior tg thig zerg is sho'i'n dis' D, tinctly higher than a1zer6a. Accordingln th9 pre-zerofcrcing dow

P R I N C T P L E SO F C I R C U I T . B R E A K I N C

9I

<, .i

ditions-and therefore co'tainirig- considerabledensitiesor etect orp andpositiveand ncgr,'tive ions. The rising voltageafter zeroa""a" L the energycontent.ofthe col.rmniy cfJetdng the i;;,;;, ilT.f. '*.l.oy tendrng to maintain the tempera.ture and ionizationlevels. eventually lead to breakdownancire-establishment 'I ^:1t.^p-y1may power he inpuj :t_1|t::* !o the arc is, however,"ery srnullat firet is tow, and the continued cooling, by externalmeans :31".n: sucn_rs :oltage uast, natural convection and conduction, may predominate

zerowe t uu".ioiauJ;!";; ti: rh9f period. Thus,at current still subjected de-ionizing to effects and possessi"g * core temperature-bdieved to approach r0.000.K ,ir,a.r "ppr;;;li; rom" .on-

of arc current is shorvnto be more appreciabre D in the cxpandcd at diagram. De-ioaisationat Zoo paase. Any detailed considerationof the proccses y"r\ Tti" the arc "residual corumn" tn" p"ur" T 3rcnot onlv heyondthe scopeof this volumebut are out of phl for "t ""ro the very good reasonthst much has still to be clarifiea o*iic t" th" glrTe nmplexity of curent zero phenornena. Neverthel""* ,h; follo*ing broad outline should be useful, bearingi";;d th'i th; pfenymag vary widely, accordingto the type of 6roker, f"fi-";: ilo'de and qruit conditions. \4/ith any given circuit-breaker tf,c mostimportant factor at currcnt zero is proiabry tr," -o"l"o,pu*tureof the residualcolumr\ sincethe amo"nt of lonir"tion"i;fi:;" wr,v critically d-ependent upon this. Agir, th" *or,t'""ro-tlrogenerally depcnds upon the rate of current decrease per-sture iust beforczeroan! r9eo3r amount of cooringand de-io;i;ti;il the ril;

and funher increase corumn the resistanceit,'t it.#ilffi.g" ro efiecr thet -pl."r". Sirin"iiy,itGc on l:::TTn""aiiqlv tess
i: lt:ilg rapidly lengthened the rate'of energtr input lt 6er unit lcngth

of thccotumn duelo theris11g vgltage *ttt#;ildrd;i; reducedsuchconditions we[ ieaa may to'successru aea"ince iffil

otetgycontentof the column It seems, very probabih th*;61"; can still ocsur, evcn wn* tUetelipo"ture hasfallen onL:fO*:* account of energy losses,provided there is still some "rqcraDry-'oD cegre of.ionization^rernaininf-when tt r;cilL-o ;;;: ,,r{n lcvet. The genernlproce$ of "oft"gu " brskdonn in this :::l) i, one of rapid ioniration by collisions betneen eleGrons ""ht of il'.i:rentti' ..,8n crrr6Tand gas particles. . Little irj knorrn about the poeci;

sidered immediate the posr-zerc periodr-.-t"-p'otffii#;

Qer6'ylosses continue to preiominata .. This is aot necessarilythecase,howwer, for we baveonlv con-

92

slvITcTIcEAR ltRINcrPLEs

gapmaybc akinto spar-k" type breakdown, a;rti""iiroi as the " thermal qrpervhere columniesistance coz the " falls t;""o"rti- iri to in-creasing content. Tlesetwo generar ror- or Crl"t-to-*-o 9ne-qy distingui$gdby the form of voltage-collapse, seen;;;; are as muchexpandgd scale(sea 5.9). T'heispark" ur*t.r"*ri time fig. rapidandthe voltage cxtreryely maycollapse from several th.usarrds

rnechrnism h.t it seems likely that-it nray bc starterl by i,small num_ ber of elccr.rns-ha'ing liigh vclocitie derived from ihe n"ri ii .i. 'l'his 'f

'TVermol"6reo/<down
taermol-hreal<down Spork"breakdown
F;g.5.9, Eutr7bs of beahdozonat cTrtrentzero

outlincd it is orobalrcthat

of votts to atmostzero in_ more than a microsecond. ao The thermal 94rc, on the other h** p generally ^ very much slowe, oro& qlibiting a-quiterounded yhag" &ot misocconds. A^ *y be imagi-ned"i""tu""o ;;;j#d^;;, ""i appar to exist in whicha prooess startsasa therial rF*a t" ;;d;-uyip*r formation" and vice versa Bcsidcr the simple thrmat and spark breakdown mechaniems

of a hightempeiaturc thc rcsiiual;;G; in

riderabh photo-emission cl"d;]";; of

may bc important du;qg the cTrref zerg pcriod. "*r"*-J,iiii"ty instancc, For the cxistcncc ;;;;ffi;;;

p-"o.o

.h. froin thc gasto thc erectrodc htgh l;;b cathodeif the radiation t .yp" prfr"',il. cethodc itsdlf ma1' havcvarying "r b thc.stateof io "ClJ ""riging

PRTNCIPLESOF CIRCUIT.BREAKTNG

93

gfaoe and the purity of rnetal. The attachmentof elcctronsto atorns .o form neg'ativeions ocgtris in orylen and is, ih cfiecq virtualtv a rbionization processsincethe mobility of such ions is relatively verv bv, Energy is given up when a gas reverts from the atomic io thl .aolecular state with falling tempemture. This ..dissociative reccabination" may be occrirring to someextent during the zeroper.iod given up ma5r contribute towards ionization. Ali these mdthecnc.rgy rind prooerees, others, qrobably occur during the critical period, and oal4rge 'mder extcnt the problem is to decidewhich of them predominate epecifed conditions. Much researchis being divoted to the .understanding thesephenomena of It is often stated that the outcome of any current zero period drp."d" upon thj "race" betweenthe rising voltage and the'rising didectricitrength of the residual column inthe breakergap. This is in gentral tnre, but'may be wrongly interpreted. It should not be uten as meaninq ttrat the dielectric strength and appliei voltage increase independently of each other. For insance, if the energ;,-'balance principle is applicable to the 6eturnn at ?.ero,the rate of change tlielestric strength, or resistance,is ccrtainly very much " of afrected the rising voltageas well as by energyloss. It is useful to by :notethe definition of dielectric strength of the residual column as grven Dr. J. Slepian: the dielectric strength is measuredby thc by ' roltageneededto maintain the reistance of the column constant. if . Thus, V, W, R arcthe dielectric strength, power lossand resistancc rspectively, IPIR-W. Thet is, the power input and lossareequa! and resistance steady,or V - (Wn'f'. 'fhis definition treatst'he the is column a simple variableresiqtorwhoseresistance somefunction as is cf the enerry content. It musl be emphasized however, that thc phenomena associated with the current zero period now appearto bc much complex for simple mathematical.treatment too Although uncertaintiesexist about the precisenature of current ztro processis,we can be sure that time is always one vital factor in thepo*-zero period- Consequently,the rate o?.ise of the voltagc lltcr zroaiross the gap may exercisea considrableinfluenceupon .theoutcome t.hezero period, and.it is bause"bf thii that somc of rpace devotedto ratesof rise of re-striking voltageearlier. was ol . Efieaioeness De-ionizatioz. l'here is an aspectof ac. circuitnot.alwaysfully apprepiated. I'he importanc of powerful ItTUing ae'ionization action at, and immediately after, current zero is beyoad.

,. -.*-!.d.-+.--j

94

swtrclIGEAR :'lttNclPr.gs

Interruption of the arc current, arrdde-ioniza *'ell es unnecessar,v. tion, are not regriired at any other irntant er(cePtzero. ln mc are appliec rnoderncircuit-breakersthe de-ionizing mearur neccrisarily noie or less continuously; hence, liberated from the arc are largr arnounts of energy which have liale efiest on the de-ionization a generallyon conditicns ovet zero. The stateof afiairs at z"rc Ccpcnds an a very short priol period, because arc is generally able to adju* itself to changingconditions extremelyrapidly. A highly efrcient de ionizing force applied, say in tbe middle of the current loop, merely meansthat more voltage is required to maintain the current theq while much mostly uselessenergf is ideased which must be safel; disposedof. Thus it is that de-ionizing meanswhich arc a functioa oftlre currcnt, such aselectromagnetic devices,are not necessarilya eft'ective might be supposed,for they have little br*rring on e"int as et crtrrent zero, tlloi is, when most needdd. There are excepdonr however,where the energy liberated in the middle of the loup may have a residud effect at current zero, and these will be met later. "Cut:ent Chopping." The common phcnomenon knorryn as chopping" is an undesirableconsequence the genent "current of irnperfection mentioned above,and is alsoa cause overvottage.U of a brc:rkercxertsthe samede-ionizing force for all currenB rvithin it short-circuit capacitn then this force must be great enough, in variably, t9 givc intermption at the highet current ratin!. Ideally, ir wo.uldbejust sufficientfor this but not high enoughto iatrse uniuc distortion of the current wave. Ilou'ever, whcn such a brea&er! ' called_upon break,saythc normal to roadcurrent, rvhich may be les than 5 pcr celq bf thc maximumbreakingcurrcnt, this smali curred maysuffersuchdistortionastobeactuallyforccd straightdorvnt. zero from a relatively high value bdore tne nat'rat zera. l'his is termed yo-! chopping.The idea of :i breaker with a constant de-ionizing force hasbden invoked to illustrate this poasibitrty,.but typea wttici grod119e_varying {egreesof this fqrce in tneir operation arilnerrertho 'fhe lessllabLe "chop" when breaking to bfiect of r "-roll cgrrents.. pracicauy instrntaneous colrapse olthe arc cutrei,g.even ofonlyr fcw am:peres, potentiall-vvery serious from the p"l* isovervoltages "i"f.*'a which may rcsult in the systern- An examplewill illus, trate this: a 220 kY oil circuit-breaklr.,internrpting ia tr-ansformct maSnetizing current of ll A'r.m-s. chop.ithis rinrrit ut.in i*t o. . taneousvalue of ? A. The naluesof inductanc" u"a c"p""iun& io

f'

cirolitye 35.2_H and,0.0023 pP;n4 ;"*t"c.d;U-.ilil;;

enirgy is transferred the cabacita*i to :trrrb;;;; ""roo

;il;"d.

pRtNclf r,E80tr otRcutT_DRSArrNO

f.i

Curreot fiaollu suppnessed 66fone ndturol zeno--.

'ilbturol'
carten zerv
-!..+r _.Gl

trnre cul.ent

Anc

I I I I I

I I
-.i I

Recovetu taanshllt

I I I

Anc voltoge

Ancvoltogep?o*
, ,

1
c3.

iiii;
'f"/ .

iii# L_ iii,,t
choPPtng
tclado 3e rh/q phcaomcnon ;"4 ;.fi" .no$s

i;fbir;m$:"-rrl'*
t&.sJe. Effsorexadcio4fuS

ffi;ffiffi;iffiffi*sffitr
T*T:*g

to.

r"nil*"if ,:f#'#"T:lTiiffff Le*rlffi qrrreat' At a cenain rarue;il;;;" *rrent,

of 6g. 5.fO, u,htch a sone*n"t "id wcmryrcc hor "irnpunJ_ilrii"ililenent, hgyo \Faen currntchopprng

sctsrn.

'!r onaccouhr inrtab'ity rcr "titi&i or-tn" aisptopoiioo't ri'i"?gl dc-ionizing forcc.and

96

swrrcrcEAR PRTNcTPLBS

be-apprcrated surrentchopping reallyan extreme that is foro or.thc nhenonenon ilustrated,ill.Fg. 5.5. The fottowiig genenl poins should ben6ticcd: ' I "- 't l

voltage urayresule This b nd Te"n?, a1a 1!!etter re-striking eop" ;y dxrq *nowourrtit e :hoyl io !S1.5.10.Successrr." M *9p btihgo currentio z zixo.pr6..turay *ith ;; i"nno "" rhc the stag6 I!*l*fog since gapis now,inan advance of de-ionizatioo rEwtu

there is a.l drnost instantarreous collapseto zero. This is ohownin thc diagram a.sthe lirst chop. The current in the arc at the tinre wrr florving from the soureethrough the inductanceto t[e brea].er. Inductive curent cannotcease rnstantarreousln the actualchoppiag and of the arc current is, therefore, acbompaniedhy a simultaneoui diversion of the main current from the breaker to the capacitancc. Considf,what must be involved when such a rapid collapseof arc curent takesplace. Ifthe current choppedis i. thin the voltage os ' the gpacitance rises initially at a rate: doldt - i/C (neglectingany small capacitance current existing befogethe chop). But this voltasi is alsoacross breakerand acis in the sameway asthe normal pte. the zero rise of arc voltagein incresingthe rate of fall of the rzaft current corring from the sourceand through the inducance. The maxinrum possible voltage across the cpacitance and breaks is thereforo obtairredwhea the main current reachs zero; that is, when atl thc electromagneticenergv associated with the chbpped current in the in<iucranceis tranqferred to the capacitance Thie .,prepective', is gryen by: o - it@ and may be estrenrety high io "oJ,"g to the normal system voltage. Fortunately relation the breaker, dthough the bulprit in this matter, is usually able-to relieve thi situation by re-striking a: . re point on the rising chop voltage. Just horv far the voltageray,n"g bdore re-striking dcpendsupon-orionr factors. Fbrcxample, the lower the rate of rise-of this voltage thc more time thtre is for di-ionization of the breaka gap, and s 6rrs" pondingly high overvolagemay be reached.'sinilarly, the effectivc, lg*: of the de-iorrizingmsns will. infuence the re-iriking voltaga Such a re-strike draws the enprgiyoui from the capacitani and 6c voltage ther_eon collapses;the first re-strike is ctlady seen in tho. diagmm both as a suddenrise of c.rrent toit" normal ialue (slightty lessthan that of the first dop), and as a voltageco[rapse. _ Th9 de-ionizing force is stil in action, [owwd and a second ehoP takes place; this tiine the choppedctrrrent is rather tssthen . I'rcviously lqd accordingly the rise-of volage is somembstslower. 'I'his may give the gap a chanceto becomeiuttter de.ionized thai

pnrNctpt.ns crRcutr-BREAKtNc oF

97

( t

l. Thc maximuininstantaoeous current whiqhcan be ctropped a given r.m.s. current by- particular breakeris increasedby sith I thi increasing amount of paralld capacitance, sincethis cnabtesari. to set in at a higher crurent a ?*lrois approached. instability 2. The rise of voltage when the currcnt c6,ttap.esmay be by damggd the ellects of eddy currents a'ri hystercsirtm in sinal magnetizingcurrenL. transformer 3. The risirig chop voltaggmay be limited by.the circuit_brcakcr in two ways:(a) the breakergapis generallyabti to allow re-striking the before pe.& of the prospective voltagi is reached:and (D) thl' of rnode operation of the breakerlimits the instantaneous vatuc or curent that it can chop. 4. \l-'her- the cap-acitance inductance involved are fairly and snali,the rate of rise of volage is ftlst and re-strikine occun at quiie l,rn'ralues the voltagg sin-e the time for further?e-ionizatiol oi of thegapis correspondingly small. A consequence this is tlut.thc of rcsurrence flegucncl of successive chopsmay be veiy high, with thc possibility-of dangcrous a resonanoe condition being sri up in the system. is often the most undesirablefeatureof current chop: .This -tf,e ping,since although the prospective voltagesas.sociated witt choppr.ng not generallyreached,overvoltages are rnay occur due to such iesonance.yT"lt choppin-g phenomenon an interestingaspectof is ^, Thg thethcrmal hybteresis efl'ectin a.c. circuit-breaker arcs.'.Supposc, tor _irstance, tJrat therc were no such lag effec1and thit in arc could adjustitself infinitely quicktyto Til ili; ",rrrJnt-"-n"ig* mernthat a circriit-breaker with Lfficient de-ioniziig meanswourd aluiysprodrrce choppingnar current zero, irrespecti-ve tlre r.m.s. of sal_ue current being_broken In actualfacq however, o[ the nonis not obtainedwhen the r.[Ls. current is increased ihenomeubov romc criticalvaluedepending upon therbraker and circuit. This shorv! Inrt $ suchhigher currents tlie tenprature and conductivity of thc arcrcmaintoo high for instability to occur near?.sro. {.lapacitive.currest Breaeing. There is another @rnmon imp.rfecdo" j"E;i;: 1our5 of overvoltagewhich is dug-to "n I*|9r behaviour,and the conilitions hereare'thd oUtairwawnen capacitive.cuLeni for erample,in the openingof a long a1 ::::"*i,lq uul.'adeil transmissionfine- Sggh a lini, although lntoalea in thl . 'wili

l"*t1l scnse,

lill.llt". itself, ur rtte lrnG

aduatycairy ,;"tt- ii;;il &; i;;i on a9c9u-nt9? " t!" op-"cilnc. to card. :urr.enr
even although it bb "ppieci"bte end. open at the far

98

srvrrelrcEAR PRINctPLeS

Fig. 5.lt showsthe simple equivalentcircuig and the voltageand qnrent.phenomena theoretically possible when breaking a small qrrrent The latter is assumedto be intemlpted c capacitance instanta whenthe circuit volgge is at its peakvalue Zn,in the positive dir.edion..'This dfectivety separates ge,netator the side of thC'circuit from the line sideand, sinceit is achievedwhile the commonmltage is of .magnitude{ Vrs,the unloaded line is isobted with this positivc voltage upon ia The circuitvoltage cpntinueson its nor. mal sinusoidaloourseand tbesetwo difierem voltagesexi;t at the respective contactsof tle breaker. Aftei in;stacta the breakergap ir -the theiefore zubjectsdto theclifiaanceof voltagesV, ard% ti*, aftcr onequaner-c,yde period from a, the circuitvoltage haereac-hed ,:"o -"od the voltage acroesthe breaker is theo Zrr; thereeftcr the circuit rcltage Z, increases the negative direiiion and tic in voit4geacrossr"hebreakergap becomeseven greatcr und! at i is rziue is tvice (u. ,L.suae aow that this abnormallyhigh irressing of the gapresultsin re-striring the arc. The two previously-ssparated parts ot the circuit wilt now be joined effectively,b-van arc of very low resistancc.The liue capacitance discharges onceto reducetlii at vottageacross breakerto its appropriarci"gligiUl" value,and this the is accompanied thc tamiliar h.f. ciscillation up when.acapacitor by set disci'rarges an inductive-capacitive in circuit. It is most iriporant to apprecia!9 tha! the zero,aBit were; of the voltageswing isnot erth potentialbut the circuit voltageat the iastant 9f discharge"l.lnrs sc see,tlt.p.yill swing right down to the value -3 Z*lbelow earth siacethe arnplitudeof the voltageswing is? i/,o, neglectpotergtid), :ng dampingefiects. l'he restrike crrreni quicHy ,octil it"-nst zero, sinceits pciodicity is in accordance with tire cltcuit oatural frlquepcy, prcbably ceaseafter this one half-cy.cle. Thc 3"q-*iU voltagson tAe llnc is noy -3 Ve nL once ag?in,the tsvi halvesof the ciro-it are squ:zted and tlc"line is isolateda this poteotial.. At this stage-imarediatelyafter L-the vbltageaaossthe'brea&eris, of @urse'only-twice z* since'thecircuir votage is itsetf ai its instastaneous maximumin tbc aegative direcrion" Tte poiential dificrenco across the.breaker.gp*otii.*to increase, d;;, * I/, b"*; lessnggative an{, aI the instant c, th:,eetressing reaches f *. $,th, 4 shguldbreakdown againat this point thd the events&*rrlog Sap .one-half-qyde earlierareiepeatedoo * eoeo-or" fo"-iarSi" Ji the voltagesuriagnill_now & I Ve ana tn" rine may tien Uete$ 3s rsolercd a potcntial 5 Z; abdveeai.h vlhFnthe trans-ient,e_eciilc at cuTclrtertiguisheqiustafterc.. - . .- .':.-. .'."

( l

PRINC.IPLES OF CTBCUIT.ARAABTNO
t

99

76xYgp
\
I I

/t'-i
Dze \
r . r t

{ !
\...-./

L:J
i"i sririili*;r" lUo.e*-n"orunl
r3. 5.ll. rrW

eE. asxTgpt

Capocitivecunnent6eforcinten uption lnonsientcurneotof resCrike V. oltoge to eoeth genewto" sr.de ilrcokcr.v_ on of Yoltoge eort;h trunsmission to of linervs ' (g) lnternuption of copocttire caF?qrt (b) firc ri*nike

ohenbicahhg

6-y may procccdindef,nitctn _-,^-1oon Yoltage thc $e nhenomcnon i V*l V*nd - oo. lceving line of nagnituds Th-ri rnd practice usuallydifierihoweve, aild diondb"=as hcrc. thl PTTcatfartors'which precludc theorctically a ixtsibic conditionrrc utessilg. Thec limiting factrire arc asrociccd rrith catain 1 sT{o* mads namely:

llll|n. ilffittona

**ff 'l'.l"'ffi .H;!*",:ff*Jnf'[tfru":,Ifl !'tFpp{'], it niy fd! quirciapidtyon aioum is

of tcritoq thelattc bcingPard@lirly cficctivc vcryhigh rc

l0o

swlrcHGEAR PRINCIPLSS

?- The instsnt of re;striking. From the point of view of voltagc td instarts rperechosen showthc guing amplitude the worst possibte thag after the iL of the sitgation- It shouldbe remembered ".*ilifi surrent at a, the dielectric strength of theil."k;|f of the capacitive with the rate of i" ii"n r"ing dt i rate which-ariy be comparable """ of of the ioltage stressing tbe gap after a. The variation of ilE* attcr zctrrrent zero is subjec to.the influene s; di"f"cttic *t "gtn of a nildom nafi''e an4 under thesecondition', a te|i'"t"-"no &it" l" posible at rarious times after the normal interruption, and one not necessarily half-cyde latet. Notwithstanding ttree pracical limitetions, howbver, serious catr overvoltages occ,it in th" mannershownwhenbreaking.caplgtive currents,;d the vduesobtainedmay amoustto asmuch as3 Zrpon of tL" tir," or on the breaker. The solecause this qpe of overvoltagg G it noted,is the inability of the circuit-breakerto provide adbquate dielectricstrengthin the contastgap after intemrpiion' just given,fig. 5.Il' the voltageacross In the simplifiedexaurple the breaker is'shown as zero u'hen the capacitive.:urrent is exrclatirrly slowly,i.e.attlresupplyfrequency. and tincuishcd tlrcnnses betweenthe A irore practicalexamplewould indude ttre reactance e capacitivecurrent qauss generatoi qnd the breaker; the lead.ing cu-rr-ent ioltage rui in this reactance.At the zerosof the -capacitive the vilage onthe supplysideof the breakerthereforetendsto fall to the geneiatorvalue and,ln doing so' sets up a transient re'striking basicrerlsorts for voltige oscillation- T'his trairsient appears the same asrviih the normalintemrtltion of short-circuit iaductive current but' . the whcreas latter transientis bised on the pekof the firll recovery current re-striking transientis a funstjon of the voltage,the capacitive smallir peak vollage a6o$s the serie$reactance..Fol this 1asol s'rfh capacitivecurrent G rebtively.basyto internrpt Paradoxically that dre corditions for is goodperformance undesirablgfor h raeans tend to arisewhile the contact gap io i"-"ttifir,g (and oven'ohages) sti[ shoft-an4 therefore,the srore likely to allow re-striking. Siuri' at larln a fast rate of rise of re-srtrikingvoltageis'actually.desirable the thiJ stage. Preferably breakershould clearthe capryfive current orily w[en a gap tength has ben redhrd wirich will prevent sub sequentre-striking. The .'Ida!" Gircuit-Breaker. It is hdpful to have in mind of the conception the ideal, or perfect,breakerfrom the intemrpdon ihough this nay b!' io point of viem. Impossibleof ac.biervement definition is simple: tlu ?qfcc, t*dtit-bleafu ofrctsseto in?cd&re

I'

i
l.Li] fi P

P R I N C T P T . E S( , F C I R C U T T - B R E A K I i I C

101

&fna intantption and infnite impedancc thncaltet For an a-c. ma-!r elaborate upon the dcftnition somewhatby circuit-brcakerwe_ perfect breakeras one that offers zero impedanceuntii lpcifying our flcfirst curremtzero after contacrseparation,at rrlrich instant infinitc impdance !s ofrered, Coruider the implications of such nerfection. Zcro impedance before thc first current zero meerut: (a) no arc within the breakcr, a featurc greetly voltaggq) ry getg)' releaeed o bc dcsircd (c) no distortion of the current wavc. (d) no currerrt chopping.The instananeouschangefrom zero to infinite impedanC n the 6nt qrrrent zao would ensure,(a) invadable clearenccat tte 6nt zcro and (6) impcsibility of re-siriking, and conscqucntly no orcrvoltages. It is interestingto notethat in practicea circuit-breakerdeaigrred to hsvea powerfrrl de-ionizing force to obviate re-stri&ing is, for ttat morlikdy to producecurrent chopping. This inustrates . vcryreason, ocll &c need for a complete-changeof condltions at cu'rrent zero. Thc neard precticat e2proach to-the ideal breaker woutd be one crpatlcof applp.g very powerful de-iouizing fore instantaneously " a the fitst currGntzero after contact scparition- Such co-ordiaatiot baween thc ncchanical and electrical aspects of circuit-breakcr opntion b undoubtedty bcyond rcolization at presenl The ac. b, _ brca&,cr in eomcforms ar lang nearerthe idesl thgn thc d"c. typc . rhich, by io very sstion in mbing the rclagc of ttrc erc to achieit dnctioq.is a looi way indeed from thc of ao arc roltrge prior to intcrruption rl.C Gtrcuit-breeecr Rstinp fucahing Capacity. \ige hrvc rccnthet thc r.m.r. vdue of Lrrrent rcsulting frorh a shbrt-cirodt nay trry epprccieblyrrith tine oa aeount of dccrcncnt and.erymmgtry, nd tturta cirerit-trealcr ie q*liad with having broken tli vt"c ii cxirting d thG cottracr spparation imr.at This is-drrya ry ldcd ssen r.m.s. vrluc eod ie cr[cd 6e brcnling crncat. If thc we;o . bailt aqynmcrricalccoatect acparrtion it ir nJorrc rnually caneatm Ft,rctricol bcahdrgqra& braHng cEtat iB tlN T\c sywical ltm-givco to ths r.o.r. veftreof tbe as (tc. symadcat) c@ (afiS:22) of thc sByGat@ntee ecparition Ttg paformane of g brcelrcr in dcating with a given bru&in6 clltrent'elsiidcpcnda ee wc hgvc soen,upon the voltage anilable tC tscrikc the arc gt caeh eutlsrt zcrb. Now thie particnlar reluc trluo olvoltage availablc but upol :tqrdr nqontyuponthcr.n-r. rr:-Polcr fs6or of rhe feultcd cirbrG,.-For the prceentpurpcc h il ebdorutybe* o rrsunc zeo powc fector rinci this gi;'c.ihc tld

- ar:

5 ro2 gwtrcrrcEAR pRrNcrpLEB

scvene bTaFng-duty. The arailable volage is subjcct gsteraly to eomevariation duririg short-circuig and the am-e. valuJof intric* regardiqgtbc U le,,ttlg gnfty is t.hatof the voltagq which "ccotlc?tt ig that acoss the circuit-breaker contasrs iineaLtay fi-l cxtiastion oftf,e arcs. The pcfoloance of a circrrh-bieafcr"ita oo circuit test is assessed t tringaccountof varioushitori in iilitidon "hiott by to the breaki4gcurrut aad recoverlrvolagg but theselmcr are t*gro quanthiesof imnediate coqcernin the considerdion ofe bttatd fqr a-giveofadt le'eL -The bre&a copacitl of a citodt-breaka,is, thereforg,the current that it can brea&-ata-statedruoovrJr *rtrd aad thisagzia is-genaally expressed more coopletely in 6s of ft -the synnctr;c( aot-d. osytmnetrical capacities,i.e. ani {1--etfot asyryet$cal-b.reakingcurrents respectively vOliage_ "t " "t"[ed The breakingapacity rctittggivento a circuit-bftaker is s&ralrt one of a set of standards and is usudiy txpressedin ter-"-or ltti kV. Thuc tbe breakiry gpacity rating of a single_phasedA; -1nd . is g!l'en, icraccordar.ce vath British coo"ritior,, as iolious: Ratedbrlking cafalg @\r4) - rated.s1,mmefiicalbrealcing current ([A) x rated servicevolage (kV). F-o;a 3-piase brcakerthe raled x{vA is similarly obtainedbynultiplyrag the product of rated breaking current ,'oiug" I ""a "o"i"" ;.flb fago-rappgars here,as.inany3-phase circuig whea$wer, or VA, is calculatedia tc.rmsof line *.rer,t and voltage 56;"" ,f"! by_means suitabletests it has been pro""t.fut of F"3 3-phzsc.break." can iovariably interrupt "-fio"i .ym-t ic"l.SrdUnf current of 13.5kA r.m.s, with a tesr recoveryvoluge of fZ tl..-ii " s)ometrical breakingcapacltyis, therefore:

..

13-5 (kA) x 12(kv) x 6

_ 280.5 (Mva)

The abovestate'meat of c".pagty nting rs a British one,takenfrom the g.S. tfO: ,"I*TC otl.otTit-breaken, and,.it will be noted, is in terrnsof -.-:.11t. s]Enmetrical brq,king current. Noir since tbe lattcr may onlv be t$c of ?c- con.Itonent a short-circuitcurrentwave,..Au that a-breaker ratedat, for instancszSO ftAdfl "tut.fo*Jt_;f*. il kV;;"# ersa8irn aqfonetrical of Otd r.n.s. valuegreatfrr."n.l3.l

cTamgtrertestreqrdents nust usuallyte fut:fjl ,'etor-e snchratiag canbe giVur. uued$1fT_:t ary

The uearesr *andard ratilg lelow this is 250 MVA at lI kV, wtri.S a syurnetilcal breakiogc.urrrt of 13.1 irA, ;J$ii :^ITp"lmrgEttrerefore * p r:ung be assigned the bresker. rn facg aswe shen to

- a.-

1l

FRTNCTPLES CrtCUlT-D'RBtKtNo oF

103

tA. This is indeedso, and the mattsr ie taten carl of in the proying which ensurethaq before beiag allotted the ratiog, the Lreakei tests caninternrpt currents having tAe rated symmetricalvalue together withat leastasrnqch asymmtryas might occur in senrice. In Americait is the practiceto givecircrrit-breakers asynmetrical capacityratingr. That is, the rating is in terms of aq";mbrcaking and the servie vottage; any particular rnetricalbreaking would thus be given a higher rating in America than in breaker Britain The rdative merits of the two methodsof rating have'been the subja t of no litdc discussionand argument, for the matter is fairly complex. An outline of thie questionis, however,included in ' X. Chapter A(ak'ng Capaqity. The possibility of a circuit-breaker completinga gull short circuit on being clgsedmust be taken accountof, it and nrustthereforebe testedandproved ig this respegt. la mahing clt acity is thereby-assessgd a coirespondingrating gir.en-. Now a1d thecapacityof a circuit-breaker te "make" cutrents dependsvery much_upon ability to withstand, and to closeeucceisfuilyagainsi, its the effectsof electromagnetic forces. The maximura force in'uny plurse a function of the square of the maximum instantaneou's is current occurringin that phaseon dosing. .We thdrbforg-findthat nakingcapacity stated tcrms of apeakvalueof currcnt insteacl is in of en r.m.s. value. The making cunent is thus the pedk value of the yalmu1 clrrent loop, induding d.c.n component,in any pha.se duringthe first cycle of current when the circuit-breaker is ciosed. Themakingcapacityis, accordingly,the making current it can make *1 -qrty instantaneouslyat the rated senrice voltage. These definitions, from B.S. 116:1952, oonaerned are only wiih the first cycleof current on closing the breakbr. This is clear'when it ie . rcmembered the maximum peak currem possibleoccurs in the that **r" in any phaseof Ito-"yA-" only, wheir marirnum aslnmmetrJr tbebreaker. The miaking of a breaker intended for a given faultlevel must therefor"-ne at leastequalto the first peaf of aTuiy aslmmetrical current wavewhoseas. comp?tcnthas.anr.nus. valui cqual the grmrerrfraf fauh lwel To calculatcthi" pon, we thereto 'fore multipty the symmetricalbreakingcurrent by {irceonverr thir t19m r,yt.s.to peak,and thcn by 1.8to indude tte .. doubling effgct,' or maximumasymmery, thb total multiplicrtion factor being 2.55. qrnnot be lessened by llottcc tlut the closing duty o! the breaks decrement and decai of the d.c. cornponentes rray occur i; $rrtm tlc breaking duty.

tOl

swrrcncsAn PRrNctpLEs

Fault occrrrrd oftca iavolvor thc'flor fffrl/.-era Mg. of hcavy qrrrcut tlrtough a sircuit-brca&cr not rcquirpd to opco. This neans thst circuil-breakcrsgenerallyshorld bc ablc to carrv high crrrcnt eafdy frr eomespecifiedshort pcriod whilo remaiainr cJccdi that rs, thcy shorrld hsve a provo elu*erc airy. N ehott-time ctrlcnt, which is $ocrelly not tessthan rhe sydtctricet breaAing currerit, is uqgly requfrcdto be carriedfor'g f;iod of uo to 3 eernnd+acordingtg thc protecive schemc rcquir;co6. Td short-frtrrereting wS+ go F gr"* depcndsupon thc ability of thc breakerto witbstand(a) the electronegneticforce erficct, end (r) th tcmpcraturerise. Ihe greatp4dectrooagaaiclorcc billosedfirr is the makingcapacitymting, bot th" efiees of szsrairadvibrrrtions'ein be:rwealed only-in-a test for ghoit-time rating. The questioaof temperatlrre is alsovery important, asthis riie may bc sdde4 h rise service,to tbat alreadyexisdngdue to frrll load currqit Nonnal Ct reTt Rdilng. This is the curr.,ntshic& caobe.csnicd continuouslyby a circuit-breakea The only limiatioa in t}ir caocia the Gmperaturerise of the current-carryingpriits. A circuit-brenter is genbrallyrderred to tnief,y in terns of ir ![9 and $ngs, and a typical examplemight bei.i,500 A 11000 MVA, 33 kV, 3-seon4 $phase oil cirenit=bieaka',. Fromdris descriptionwe have: Ratednormal curr-errt-1,5(X) r.m.e. A

r'
l-

,!

Rate't symmaricafbroki"g ;;;--

t,m(gr

x 6l
I

: Rated making currcnt li:; ?;.'S'"

Short-time rating-l?.5 kl[ r.n L for 3 eeonds. Itsted servicevottage-33 kV r.m-s. (tne voltage[

_ 44.62bt(I,cee)