TOPIC 4 CIRCUIT BREAKERS AND

SWITCHGEAR
UEEA3993 Power Protection and Switchgear
Prepared by: Ir. Dr. Wong Jianhui

1 Updated Jan 2022

 Physic of Arc Phenomena

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What is Arc?
 Electrical arc is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produce electrical
discharge.
 Arc is formed during circuit breaker operation where contact is physically
parted (separated).
 The study of arc and its behavior is necessary for switchgear designers.
 The basic design of a circuit breaker interrupter depends on how the arc is
removed (arc extinction).

Arc Circuit breaker contacts

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Arcing During Air-blast Circuit Breaker Opening

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Role of Arc in Current Interruption
 Circuit breaker has two contacts, fixed contact and moving contact. Under
normal operation, these contacts remain closed and will not open until the
system become faulty.
 When two current-carrying contacts open, an arc bridges the contact gap and
prevents a sudden interruption of the current.
Circuit breaker
Contact
Circuit breaker Circuit breaker
Contact Contact gap Contact

Formation of arc Circuit breaker

Contact

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Role of Arc in Current Interruption
Why an arc is form?
 It is noticed that when these two contacts first separated; the tips (the area)
of both contacts are reduced.
 With the same amount of current flows, the current density (current per area)
increased, causing the temperature on the tips to rise. Circuit breaker
Contact
Current density on the
tip is very high

Circuit breaker
Contact

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Role of Arc in Current Interruption
 The heat produced in the medium between the contacts is sufficient to ionize
the air.
 This ionized air becomes a conductor, and the tip becomes the source of
electron emission.
 As a result, an arc is formed. Circuit breaker
Contact
ionize air (electron breaks away from atom)

Circuit breaker
Contact

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Role of Arc in Current Interruption
 Arc happened due to field emission between two contacts;
 The electric field, ε (epsilon) between two contacts can be calculated as:
𝑉
𝜀=
𝑑
 V = potential difference between two contacts
 D = separation between two contacts
 The potential difference, V is very small, and just enough to maintain the arc

Separation distance

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Role of Arc in Current Interruption
 From the equation, it is noticed that the electric field, ε is high when the
separation distance is small.
𝑉
𝜀=
𝑑
 If the electric field is high, then large amount of electrons are emitted.
 These large amount of electrons are discharged and continue to flow across
the contact.
 This indicates that the circuit is yet to break (there are still electrons flowing
between these two contacts).

Electron continues to flow

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Role of Arc in Current Interruption
 The arc has low resistance, the current in the circuit remain uninterrupted so
long the arc is present.
 During the arcing period, the current flowing between the contacts depends
on the arc resistance.
 If the arc resistance is higher, then current flows is lesser.

Electron continues to flow

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Role of Arc in Current Interruption
The arc resistance depends on the following:
 Degree of ionization – the arc resistance increases with the decrease in the
number of ionized particles between the contacts.
 Length of the arc – the arc resistance increases with the length of the arc.
 Cross-section of arc – the arc resistance increases with the decrease in area
of the arc.

Electron continues to flow

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Role of Arc in Current Interruption
 Separating the contacts DOES NOT break the current flow in the circuit.
 ARC need to be extinguished (removed) (arc extinction/ arc quenching/ arc
interruption).
 In General, there are two processes involved in circuit interruption:
a. The establishment of an arc discharge (formation of arc)
b. The extinguishing (removing) of the arc
Remove the arc is
important in circuit
breaking

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 Interrupting Arc

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Arc Interruption
There are methods to interrupt the arc:
 A. High impedance method
 B. Low impedance method

Remove the arc is

important in circuit
breaking

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High Impedance Method
 High impedance method increases the arc resistance so that the current is
reduced to a smaller value that is insufficient to maintain the arc.
 The arc resistance can be increased by:
 Lengthening the arc
 Arc resistance increases by the length of the contacts.
 But this is impractical for high voltage system, because it requires longer distance
than the low voltage system.

Increasing the arc resistance

Move this contact further away

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High Impedance Method
 The arc resistance can be increased by:
 Cooling the arc
 Cooling helps in the de-ionization of the medium between the contacts.
 This increases the arc resistance.

Reduce the temperature of the surrounding

Increasing the arc resistance

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High Impedance Method
 The arc resistance can be increased by:
 Reducing the cross-sectional area of the arc/ Splitting the arc:
• If the area the arc is reduced, electron emissions are reduced,
• Hence, the voltage required to maintain the arc is increased.
• This indicating the resistance of the arc path is increased.
 The cross-section of the arc can be reduced by letting the arc pass through a
narrow opening or by having smaller area of contacts.
Arc splitter to chop the arc into smaller area.
Increasing the arc resistance

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 High Impedance Method
Handle Arc
Arc runner
(guide the arc
to the arc
splitter)

Arc splitter
Moving (split to smaller
contact arc)

Fixed
contact

Arc runner
Terminals
Schematic diagram of miniature circuit breaker
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High Impedance Method

Arc moving upwards to the arc splitter.

High impedance method is common for DC circuit breaker or low power AC

circuit. Because this method produce heat during circuit breaking.
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Terasaki 800A Air Circuit Breaker

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Low Impedance Method
 Low impedance method also known as current zero method.
 The arc is said to extinguish for a momentary period during zero crossing of the
current waveform. Because, in AC, the current drops to zero every half cycle.
 The medium (for example, air) between the contacts contains ions and electrons that
has a small dielectric strength.
 This dielectric strength can be easily break down if the contact voltage (restriking
voltage) rises.

Fault current
zero crossing
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Low Impedance Method
 The dielectric strength is the maximum voltage that can be applied to a given
material without causing it to break down, usually expressed in volts or kilovolts per
unit of thickness.
 Restriking voltage is the transient voltage that appears across the contacts at or
near current zero during arcing period.
 Transient voltage → Voltage that last only a short period time.
Transient – last only a few
cycles; and it is oscillating

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Low Impedance Method
 Hence, if the restriking voltage larger than the dielectric strength, then the material
(medium between contact ) will break down → arc will continue.

If dielectric strength > restriking voltage; The arc If the restriking voltage > dielectric strength; The
fails to restrike, and the current will be interrupted. arc will present for another half-cycle because the
material has breakdown.
𝑑(𝐷𝑠) 𝑑(𝑅𝑣)
> 𝑑(𝐷𝑠) 𝑑(𝑅𝑣)
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
<
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

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Low Impedance Method
 Therefore, in low impedance method, interrupting medium is added in the circuit
breaker.
 This is to build up the dielectric strength of the medium (between the circuit breaker
contacts) than the restriking voltage to avoid the breakdown, and to extinguish the
arc.

High pressure
SF6 gas

High pressure
air (air blast)

Vacuum

Contact separation
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Low Impedance Method
 When the arc is finally removed (extinguished), the RMS voltage that appears
between the circuit breaker contact is known as the recovery voltage (after
the transient died out).

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 Circuit Breaker

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Circuit Breaker
 Circuit breaker is used to open (break) or close (make) a circuit manually or
automatically.
 During normal conditions, the contacts are in closed position,
 Otherwise, they are in an open position.

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Circuit Breaker
Challenge in circuit breaking:
 When opening the circuit breaker,
electric arc appeared as an
obstacle to break the circuit.
 The arc will cause substantial
heating, creating carbon at the
contact surfaces.
 These can damage the surface
and increase the contact
resistance when they reclose after
operation.
 The arc can be limited by opening
the breaker in a very short instant Arcing present here
during opening
(mechanical operation).

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Circuit Breaking
 The overall circuit interruption time is composed of the following:
 A circuit breaker unlatching time
(time for opening a circuit breaker)
 Spring activation time
(release of energy to separate the contacts)
 Contact separation time
 Arcing time
 During the interruption period, the circuit is carrying full current.
 Even before the arc in the circuit breaker is generated, there maybe some
damage due to electrodynamics forces and thermal effects occur in parts of
the system.

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 Circuit Breakers’ Classification
Circuit Breakers
Classification Based on:

Intended voltage Location of the Interrupting medium

applications installation used for arc extinction

• Low voltage circuit breaker • Applied Indoor (inside • Air (air-break)

• Medium voltage circuit breaker the building) i.e metal • Air-blast
• High voltage (HV) circuit breaker clad switchgear • Oil
• Extra HV circuit breaker • Applied Outdoor • SF6 (sulfurhexafluoride)
• Ultra HV circuit breaker (weather resistance) • Vacuum

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Circuit Breakers’ Classification
 Even though there are many ways to classify circuit breakers, but classifying
in terms of the interrupting medium is often used in the industry.
 In this chapter, we will look into these common breakers;
 Air Circuit Breaker (Air-break)
 Air-blast Circuit Breaker
 Oil Circuit Breaker
 SF6 Gas Circuit Breaker
 Vacuum Circuit Breaker

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Air Circuit Breaker
1. Air Circuit Breaker:
 Air circuit breaker (ACB) is common for low voltage applications (up to 400V);
 The rated current of an air circuit breaker is ranging from 100 A to 4000 A.
 Breaking capacity up to 80kA.
 **Breaking capacity is the maximum current that a circuit breaker is capable
to interrupt without being destroyed (or causing arc formation with
unacceptable duration).
 The arc quenching is done by lengthening, splitting and cooling of the arc.

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Air Circuit Breaker
Arc splitter enclosed inside the circuit breaker to
1. Air Circuit Breaker: reduce the area of the arc/ splitting the arc

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Air Circuit Breaker
Miniature Circuit Breaker has arc splitter as well:
Typical schematic diagram of miniature Arc splitter plates to
circuit breaker chop the arc into
smaller arc.

Current flows
direction

Circuit breaker is Circuit breaker is

closed: opened:
Circuit is Current cannot flows
energized. through

Separate the
contacts
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Air-blast Circuit Breaker
2. Air-blast Circuit Breaker:
 The dielectric strength of the pressurised air increases many times as
compared to normal air at ambient temperature and pressure.
 Air-blast circuit breaker extinguishes the arc by increasing the pressure in
the vicinity of the air (by blasting/ forcing/ compressing the air).

Air blast
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Air-blast Circuit Breaker
2. Air-blast Circuit Breaker:
 When fault happened, the breaker contacts start to separate, a blast valve control
the air-blast to cool and swept away the arc to prevent the arc from restriking.
 Air-blast circuit breakers are commonly applied in switchyard.
 The application can be installed at a voltage level up to 800 kV.

The air flow is perpendicular

to the arc path

Moving away from fixed

contact when opening the
breaker
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Air-blast Circuit Breaker
2. Air-blast Circuit Breaker:
Advantages:
 Arc is completely removed by air blast, hence there is no fire risk, because it
is not involving any explosive medium (unlike oil is flammable).
 The dielectric strength is build up faster as compared to air at
atmospheric pressure. Hence, the contact gap (separation distance can be
less).
 Arcing time is very small, arc energy is small.
 Air-blast circuit breaker is suitable for frequent application (frequently open
and close).
Disadvantage:
 Air blast supplied by compressor required considerable maintenance.

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 Bulk Oil-volume Circuit Breaker
3. Bulk Oil-Volume Circuit Breaker:
 In oil circuit breaker, an insulating oil is used as arc extinguishing medium.

1. The contacts are opened in oil,

when the arc strikes, the
surrounding oil is evaporated as
hydrogen gas.

2. The hydrogen gas bubble will

surround the arc region, and the
gas causes turbulence in the
surrounding oil to push away all
arcing products.

3. The hydrogen gas has high

thermal conductivity, hence it is
used to cools the arc and
deionize the medium.

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Bulk Oil-volume Circuit Breaker
3. Bulk Oil-Volume Circuit Breaker:
 Bulk-oil circuit breaker is not common now, the technology has been
obsolete. This breaker is not preferred if beyond 66kV.
Advantages:
 Oil provides good insulation.
 Hydrogen produced during arcing has excellent cooling properties to
extinguish the arc.
Disadvantages:
 Oil is flammable, may cause fire hazards.
 Hydrogen combined with air form explosive mixture.
 During arcing, oil becomes polluted by carbon particles, reduces the dielectric
strength. Required periodic maintenance.

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SF6 Circuit Breaker
4. SF6 (Sulfur Hexafluoride) Circuit Breaker:
 Sulfurhexafluoride is a chemical formula.
 The rate of recovery for dielectric strength is higher as compared to air-blast.
 SF6 is applicable for voltage level ranging between 6.6kV to 800 kV.
 SF6 gas also commonly used in GIS (gas insulated switchgear).
 GIS is a compact metal encapsulated switchgear consisting of high voltage
components which can be safely operated in confined spaces.

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SF6 Circuit Breaker
4. SF6 (Sulfur Hexafluoride) Circuit Breaker:
Advantages:
 Superior arc extinguishing property.
 Can interrupt a larger current as the dielectric strength is almost 3 times
greater than air.
 Noise free operation due to an enclosed gas circuit
 No exhaust to atmosphere unlike the air-blast circuit breaker.
 SF6 gas is inflammable, so there is no risk of fire and explosion in SF6
breakers.
 Suitable for the application of explosive atmosphere (i.e mining/ gas
industries).

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SF6 Circuit Breaker
4. SF6 (Sulfur Hexafluoride) Circuit Breaker:
Disadvantages:
 SF6 circuit breaker is expensive due to the high cost of SF6 gas.
 Since SF6 gas has to be reconditioned after every operation of the breaker,
additional equipment is required for this purpose.
 The SF6 gas has been identified as a greenhouse gas, so can be harmful for
population in its area of operation.

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Vacuum Circuit Breaker
5. Vacuum Circuit Breaker (VCB):
 Vacuum circuit breaker is considered as one of the modern technology.
 It offers superior arc extinguishing properties as compared to others medium
because it has the highest insulating strength.
 Can only applied in the medium voltage switchgear up to 33kV.
 Advantages:
 No fire hazards
 Least maintenance
 Compact in size
 No generation of gases

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Vacuum Circuit Breaker
5. Vacuum Circuit Breaker (VCB):
Disadvantages:
 Loss of vacuum makes the entire interruption useless, and it cannot be
repaired at site.
 Vacuum circuit breaker is not economical for application above 33 kV.

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Circuit Breakers: Comparison
Factor Oil Breakers Air Breakers Vacuum/ SF6
Arc Quenching Dielectric oil (transformer Air at atmosphere Vacuum/ SF6
Medium oil) pressure
Design One tank filled with arc Arc runner/ arc Vacuum sealed/ one
Features control devices splitters interrupter
Safety Risk of explosion and fire Emission of hot No risk of explosion
due to increase in air and ionized
pressure during multiple gas to the
operations surroundings
Size Bulky Medium Smaller
Maintenance Regular oil replacement Replacement of Minimum lubrication
arcing contacts for mechanical
control devices

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Circuit Breaker Ratings
➢ Rating is used to categorize the circuit breaker according to the levels for
which they are to be employed.
➢ It is important to explore its:
➢ Rated voltage
➢ Current
➢ Frequency
➢ Breaking capacity
➢ Making capacity
➢ Short time capability

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Circuit Breaker Ratings
 The rating of a circuit breaker is given according to the duties that they are
performed. For complete specifications, standard ratings and various tests for
circuit breakers may be consulted.
 A circuit breaker is required to perform the following:
1. A circuit breaker must be capable of breaking the circuit and isolate the
faulty section in case of fault. This is described as breaking capacity.
2. In practice, a circuit is put on 2-3 times in order to ensure the permanency
of the fault. Hence, it must be capable of making circuit in the greatest
asymmetrical peak in current wave.
3. Capable of carrying fault current for a short time while another breaker is
clearing the fault.

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Circuit Breaker Ratings
1. Rated Voltage:
During normal operating conditions, the voltage at any point of the power
system is not constant. Due to this the manufacturer guarantees perfect
operation of the circuit breaker at rated max. voltage.
2. Rated Current:
The rated normal current of a circuit breaker is the rms value of the current
which the circuit breaker shall be able to carry at rated frequency at rated
voltage.

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Circuit Breaker Ratings
3. Breaking Capacity:
The highest rms value of the short circuit current that the breaker is capable of
breaking.
4. Making Capacity:
There is always a possibility that the circuit breaker is closed under short-
circuit. Making capacity is the peak value of current (including d.c. component)
during the first cycle of current wave after the closure of circuit breaker. This is
because maximum fault current possible occurs in the first cycle only when
maximum asymmetry occurs in any phase of the breaker. Hence, making
capacity usually is equal to the maximum of asymmetrical current.

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Circuit Breaker Ratings
4. Making Capacity(Con’t)
It can be estimated by multiply a factor of 1.8 to accommodate the doubling
effect of max. asymmetry, and root 2 to convert the RMS to peak value.
 Making capacity = 1.8 x 2 x Symmetrical breaking capacity.

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Circuit Breaker Ratings
5. Short-time Current Rating
It is the period for which the circuit breaker is able to carry fault current while
remaining closed.
 Sometimes a fault persists for 1-2 seconds after the fault is cleared.
 In the interest of continuity supply, the breaker should not trip in such
situation. Hence, circuit breaker is sometimes required to carry short-circuit
current for a short intervals without tripping.
 For this reason, circuit breakers are short-time rated and they trip only when
the fault persists for a duration longer than the specified time limit.

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Circuit Breaker Ratings
A circuit breaker is rated as 1500 A, 1000 MVA, 33 kV, 3-second, 3-phase oil
circuit breaker. Find
(i) rated normal current – 1500A
(ii) breaking capacity – 1000MVA
(iii) rated symmetrical breaking current – 1000M/( 3x33k) = 17496A
(iv) rated making current – 1.8 x 2 x 17496 = 44614A
(v) short-time rating - 17496A for 3s
(vi) rated service voltage – 33kV (rms)

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