Overcurrent Protection - IESL - 08june2019

Design of Electrical Installations-2019: Overcurrent Protection
IESL
Design of Electrical Installation Course- 2019
Structure of IET Regulation 18th Ed.

Part 1: Scope, Objectives and
Fundamental Principles
Part 2: Definitions
Part 3: Assessment of General
Characteristics
Part 4:Protection for Safety Part X
Part 5: Selection & Erection of Chapter XP
Equipment Section XPa
Part 6: Inspection and Testing Sub-Section Xpa.1.
Part 7: Special Installations or Sub-Section Xpa.2.
Locations
Section XPb
Appendices
Chapter XQ
Chapter XR
Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 1

IEE Reg- PART 4: Protection for Safety
 CHAPTER 41: Protection Against Electric Shock
 CHAPTER 42: Protection Against Thermal Effects
 CHAPTER 43: Protection Against Overcurrent
 CHAPTER 44: Protection Against Voltage
Disturbances and EM Disturbances
Reg. 43: Protection Against

Overcurrent
 Overcurrent may be sub-divided into:
1. Overload current and
2. Fault current
1. Short-circuit current (between live conductors) and
2. Earth fault current (between line and earth).

Definitions
 Overcurrent:
 A current exceeding the rated value
 Overloads
 Overloads are overcurrents occurring in healthy circuits.
 Short circuits and earth faults (Fault Current)

 A short-circuit current is the current that will flow when a
‘dead short ’ occurs between live conductors (line-to-neutral
for single-phase; line-to-line for three-phase).
 Earth fault current flows when there is a short between a line
conductor and earth.
Protection against overcurrents
Installations should be protected against

currents which would cause
Excessive Mechanical
temperature forces
Injury to Damage to
life property 6

Overcurrent Protective Devices

 In order to prevent danger, every installation
and every circuit shall be protected against
overcurrent by devices which:
 will operate automatically at values of current which are
suitably related to safe current rating of circuit, and
 are of adequate breaking capacity/making capacity, and
 are suitably located and constructed so as to prevent
danger from overheating, arcing or the scattering of hot
particles when they come into operation and to permit
ready restoration of the supply without danger.
Overcurrent Protective Devices

 Semi-enclosed (rewirable) fuses
 Cartridge Fuses
 High Breaking Capacity (HBC) Fuses
 Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCB)
 Moulded Case Circuit Breakers (MCCB)
 Circuit Breakers incorporating overcurrent

release, or in conjunction with fuse.

Fuse
 A fuse is a device that opens a circuit by means of a strip of
wire, which is designed to melt when an excessive current flows
through it.
 Fuse Terminology
 Fuse current rating :-
 It is the maximum amount of current the fuse can carry without melting
its fuse element Eg. 5A, 10A, 15A, 20A,….100A.
 Fusing current
 It is the maximum amount of current, which is required to heat-up and

melt fuse element
 Fusing factor
 This is the ratio of fusing current to the fuse current rating.
Semi-enclosed (rewirable) fuses

Semi-enclosed fuses to BS 3036 are permitted but not
recommended.
Main disadvantages are

 subject to deterioration with time
 incorrect replacement easy
 higher fusing factor (upto 2) than cartridge fuses (1.25 to
1.6)
 characteristic unreliable making discrimination difficult
 low short-circuit breaking capacity
10

Time/current characteristics for semi-enclosed fuses to BS 3636
11
Sizes of fuse element

(Plain or tinned-copper wire)

Cartridge Fuses
A typical fuse characteristic
Main Advantages
 high fault capacity
 energy limiting
 good discrimination
 predictable
 simple construction
 low cost
13
H.R.C. or H.B.C. fuse

 High-Breaking Capacity (H.B.C.) Fuse or High
Rupturing Capacity (H.R.C.) Fuse
 Main Advantages :
 It operates or interrupts heavy
current fault quickly.
 It is safe to use and less arcing or
sparking effect.
 It is accurate and reliable.
 Blown fuse element is visible through

its ‘indicator’.

Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB)

An electro mechanical device with
current/time relationship
 similar to that of the fuse for the
thermal element
 assumes a fixed interruption time
(greater than 0.01 s), above the set
current, irrespective of the magnitude
of the overcurrent for the
electromagnetic element.
Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCB)

Main Advantages
 re-instatement easy
 testable
 may be used for
switching
 discriminates with mcbs
and with fuses
Main Disadvantages
 more expensive than
fuses
 relatively low short-
16
circuit capacity

Types of MCBs
17
Different types of mcbs are available as follows

Type Will not trip in Will trip in Typical application
100ms at rating 100ms at rating
Low inrush currents (domestic
1 2.7 x 4x
installations)
2 4x 7x General purpose use
3 7x 10 x High inrush currents (motor circuits)
General purpose use (close
B 3x 5x
protection)
Commercial and industrial
C 5x 10 x
applications with fluorescent fittings
Applications where high in-rush
D 10 x 20 x currents are likely (transformers,
welding machines)
MCB Characteristics

MCCB
 Higher breaking capacity
than MCB
 Adjustable characteristics
General characteristics
Ui: rated insulation voltage
Uimp: rated impulse withstand voltage
(Generally, Uimp = 8 kV for industrial circuit-
breakers and Uimp = 6 kV for domestic types)
Icu: ultimate breaking capacity, for various values
of the rated operational voltage Ue
cat: utilisation category
Icw: rated short-time withstand current
Ics: service breaking capacity
In: rated current
suitable for isolation

Compensated thermal-magnetic
tripping
Advance MCCB Models

Overcurrent protection principles

 A protective device is provided at the origin of the
circuit concerned
 Acting to cut-off the current in a time shorter than that
given by the I2t characteristic of the circuit cabling
 But allowing the maximum load current IB to flow

indefinitely
Protection against overcurrents

 Under fault conditions it is the conductor itself that is
susceptible to damage and must be protected.

Let-through energy
 The cut-off point is where the fault current is interrupted and
an arc is formed;
 the time t1 taken to reach this point is called the pre-arcing
time.
 The time t2 is the total time taken to disconnect the fault
 During the time t1, the protective device is allowing energy to
pass through to the load side of the circuit.
 This energy is known as the pre-arcing let-through energy
and is given by I2t1,
where I is the fault current. The total let-through energy from
start to disconnection of the fault is given by I2t2
I2t Characteristic of insulated

conductor
 Insulated conductors when
carrying short-circuit currents
(for periods up to 5 seconds
following short-circuit
initiation) can be determined
approximately by the
formula:
I2t = k2S2
t: Duration of short-circuit current (s)
S: Cross sectional area of insulated
conductor (mm2)
I: Short-circuit current (A r.m.s.)
k: Insulated conductor constant

Limiting Temperatures for Common

Materials
Circuit protection
 cut-off the current in a time

shorter than the I2t
characteristic of cabling
 allow the load current IB to

flow indefinitely

Overload Protection Requirements

 Fundamental requirement according to 433.1.1 is
Ib≤ In≤ Iz
where
Ib is the design current of
the circuit,
In is the nominal current or
current setting of the
protective device,
Iz is the current-carrying
capacity of the
conductor in the
particular installation
conditions.
Fault Current Protection Requirements

 Fault current protection must usually be provided at the origin
of each circuit, or more generally, where there is a reduction in
the size of conductor and hence in the fault current withstand
capacity
 The regulations require that the prospective short-circuit current
at the origin of the installation be established.
 Under certain conditions, the fault current protection may be located on

the load side of normally recommended position .
 Under certain circumstances, the fault current protection may be omitted
altogether .

Fault protection requirements

 For protection against short circuit, the overcurrent device
must be able to:
 withstand the short circuit current (device breaking capacity); and
 disconnect sufficiently quickly to prevent damage to the cables.
Fault Protection
 Condition Iz
≤ ≤ Load Ib
2 ≤ 1.45
In
The factor 1.45 is based on experience and investigation.

Practical values for a protective

scheme-General rules
Circuit protection by CB and Fuses

Example 01
 Load : 3 phase, 400 V, 150 kW, 0.8 p.f induction motor has
starting current 5.6xIr. Starting duration of the motor is 90 s.
 Fault level at motor terminal : 2.5 kA
 Cable current carrying capacity : 293.1 A
 Select suitable CB
Breaker Specification:

Location of protective devices

 General rule
 A protective device is necessary at the origin of each
circuit where a reduction of permissible maximum
current level occurs.
Socket Outlet Circuits in SL

 Type G socket outlets are approved by the Cabinet as
“Single Standard Socket Outlet in SL” on 16th August 2016.
 From 16th August 2017, import of any socket, plug,
converters or extension cord not conforming to SLS and type
G, prohibited.
 From 1st January 2019, manufacture and sale allowed
only for sockets, plugs, extension cords (must be all type G)
or converters (all type G, or type D to G and vice versa), all
conforming SLS. Everything else is prohibited,
 From 1st January 2019, all appliances sold MUST carry a
type G (13 A) plug top.

O/C Protection of Ring and radial

final circuits
 433.1.4 Accessories to BS 1363 may be supplied through a ring final
circuit, with or without unfused spurs, protected by a 30 A or 32 A
protective device
 Regulation do not directly limit on the number of outlets, but specifies the
maximum floor area that can be served by the ring.
 Ring circuit with 30A (or 32A) protective device can serve a maximum of 100m2
of floor area, (10mx10m)
 Radial circuit with 30A (or 32A) protective device can serve maximum of 50m2
of floor area, (~7mx7m)
 Radial circuit with 20A protective device can serve maximum of 20m2 of floor
area. (~4.5mx4.5m)
 The circuit shall be wired with copper conductors having line and neutral
conductors with a minimum cross-sectional area of 2.5 mm2
Ring Cct

Radial Cct

 General rule
 A protective device is necessary at the origin of each
circuit where a reduction of permissible maximum
current level occurs.


 Possible alternative upstream device P1
protects the circuit
locations in certain
minimum risk of a
circumstances short-circuit
overload device (S)
is located adjacent
 The protective device may to the load
be placed part way along

the circuit:
 If the cable is not in
proximity to combustible
material, and
 If no socket-outlets or branch
connections are taken from
the particular cable
Location of protective devices Cont..

 Circuits with no protection
 Either
 The protective device is calibrated to protect the
cable (S2) against overloads and short-circuits
Or
 Where the breaking of a circuit constitutes a risk:
 Excitation circuits of rotating machines
 circuits of large lifting electromagnets
 the secondary circuits of current transformers
 no circuit interruption can be tolerated, and the protection of
the cabling is of secondary importance.

Number of Poles of O/C device

 SP, DP, TP, 4P
Protection of the neutral conductor

 Protection against overload
 If the neutral conductor is correctly sized (including
harmonics), no specific protection of the neutral
conductor is required because it is protected by the
phase protection.
 However, in practice, if the cross-section area (c.s.a.) of

the neutral conductor is lower than the phase c.s.a, a
neutral overload protection must be installed.


Cont..
 Protection against short-circuit
 If the c.s.a. of the neutral conductor is lower than the
c.s.a. of the phase conductor, the neutral conductor
must be protected against short-circuit.
 If the c.s.a. of the neutral conductor is equal or greater

than the c.s.a. of the phase conductor, no specific
protection of the neutral conductor is required because
it is protected by the phase protection.

Cont..
 Breaking of the neutral conductor
 In TN-C scheme
 The neutral conductor must not be open-circuited under
any circumstances since it constitutes a PE as well as a
neutral conductor.
 In TT, TN-S and IT schemes
 In the event of a fault, the circuit-breaker will open all poles,
including the neutral pole,

Fault Currents
 Fault current can be:
 Phase-to-earth (80%
of faults)
 Phase-to-phase (15%
of faults).
 This type of fault
often degenerates
into a three phase
fault
 Three-phase (only 5%
of initial faults)

Various Fault currents
Various short-circuit currents

Calculation of Isc
 Calculation of the short-circuit
current requires calculation of the
impedance equal to all the
impedances through which Isc
flows from the source to the
location of the fault (Zsc)
Simplified network diagram

Network impedances
 Equivalent upstream network impedance
 Ssc is short-circuit power in MVA

 U is the no-load phase-to-phase voltage of the network
Internal transformer impedance
 U = no-load phase-to-phase voltage of the

transformer;
 Sn = transformer kVA rating
 Standardized short-circuit voltage for public

distribution transformers.

Simplified calculations
Example
 Calculate worst case fault current at the LV terminal
of a 400 kVA, 11kV/400 V transformer at no load
Usc= 4%

Several Transformers in Parallel
Example 02
 Upstream network: Ur= 33 kV
Ssc = 500 MVA
Rup / Zup ≈0.2
 Transformer: Sr= 1600 kVA
uk% = 6%
U1r/ U2r=33 kV/400 V
 Motor: Pr= 220 kW
Istart/Ir= 6.6
cosϕr = 0.9
η= 0.917
 Generic load: IrL= 1443.4 A
cosϕr= 0.9

Example :
Motor Contribution to S/C Level

 Motor's contribution is the current generated by a
motor or motors during a short circuit condition
 Regardless of the size or voltage rating of a motor,

it can be demonstrated that motor contribution is
present during a fault.

Motor Operation
 During normal operation a motor converts electrical energy
into mechanical energy.
 Current flowing in the stator produces a rotating magnetic field
with the poles facing toward the rotor.
 This rotating magnetic field induces a current into the rotor.
 A magnetic field with the poles facing out is produced in the
rotor due to the stator induced current.
 This causes the rotor (motor shaft) to rotate.
 As long as the stator is supplied to a stable voltage supply, the
motor shaft will continue to rotate.
Motor During a Fault

 During a short circuit condition the system voltage will decay.
 The rotating magnetic field in the rotor will attempt to support
the reduced voltage condition by becoming a power source.
 The motor is now providing additional current into the faulted
electrical system.
 This phenomena is called "motor contribution".
 The amount of current is dependent on the motor impedance.

During a Fault
 At first there is an asymmetrical current containing both AC and DC
components.
 Lack of a stable voltage supply causes the AC component to decay when
the rotor flux begins to drop.
 Without a stable voltage supply, the transient DC component also decays.
 The current supplied by the
motor at first differs in
frequency from the system
frequency due to motor slip.

 The motor and load inertia
determine the rate of decay
Motor Contribution
 Induction motor contribution typically lasts from one to four
cycles from time equal zero during a short circuit condition.
 No excitation system
 However, synchronous motors' short circuit contribution can last
from six to eight cycles.
 ANSI standard C37.010 offers guidance when calculating

motor contribution for a group of low voltage motors
 A practical estimate of motor short circuit contribution is to
multiply the total motor current in amps by 4. Values of 4 to
6 are commonly accepted.

Earth Fault Current
 TN system IT system
*** RCD is compulsory for E/F protection in the TT system
Requirement for E/F Protection
System Protective Device Application Breaking

Condition
TT Residual Current
Insulation Monitoring RA.Ia≤ 50V
Over Current Not Always
TN-C Over Current Zs.Ia≤ Uo
TN-S Residual Current Zs.Ia≤ Uo

Over Current
TN-C-S Residual Current Zs.Ia≤ Uo
Over Current
IT Residual Current Not Always RA.Id≤ 50V
Insulation Monitoring
Over Current
RA=Earth Resistance, Zs= Earth loop impedance,

Ia= Operating current of Device, Id= Fault current,
Uo= Rated Voltage against earth

Maximum disconnection times
Use of Over Current Devices for E/F Protection
Earth Loop Impedance=Zl

(Say 1.5Ω)
Earth Fault Current =Uo/Zl
=230/1.5
=153.3A
Magnetic Tripping
Current of MCB =10xIn
To operate the O/C device within
0.4S,
0.4 S 153.3≥10xIn
Rating of the MCB In≤15.3A

Example 03
It is found that a certain TN-C-S installation have following details;
Transformer (Dy11) winding resistance (Reference to secondary side) = 0.001 Ω/phase

Phase conductors of Main Supply = 35mm2 PVC/PVC/Cu
Neutral conductor of Main Supply = 35mm2 PVC/PVC/Cu
Phase conductors within installation = 25mm2 PVC/PVC/Cu
Neutral conductor within installation = 25mm2 PVC/PVC/Cu
Source earth electrode resistance = 2.5 Ω
Distance from source to installation MDB = 50 m
Distance from MDB to load = 10 m
Main Supply cable installation method = In Air
Cable installation method within installation = In Duct
 By considering worse case, calculate the maximum possible earth fault current at the
load terminals.
 What is the maximum rating of O/C protective device, that can be used as earth fault
protection.
Current Carrying Capacity and Approx. Voltage Drop of Copper Cables
Ambient Temp. 30 o C
Max. Operating Temp. 70 o C
Conductor Current Rating (A) Approx. voltage drop per Ampere per meter
cross- (mV)
sectional
Direct in In Single Insulate Direct in In Single way Insulated in Air
area (mm 2)
Ground way Duct d in Air Ground Duct
1 10.5 12 14 37 42 37
1.5 13.5 15 18 24 28 24
2.5 18 21 25 15 17 15
4 24 28 33 9.2 11 9.2
6 31 36 43 6.2 7.1 6.2
10 42 50 59 3.7 4.2 3.7
16 56 68 79 2.3 2.7 2.3
25 73 89 104 1.5 1.7 1.5
35 89 110 129 1.1 1.3 1.1
50 108 134 167 0.84 0.97 0.82
70 136 171 214 0.62 0.71 0.59
95 164 207 261 0.48 0.56 0.45
120 188 239 303 0.42 0.48 0.38

Discrimination co-ordination
 An overall ‘system’ design view has to be taken on
discrimination and co-ordination as otherwise this
can lead to uneconomic schemes.
 Regulation 536.1: Discrimination should be
considered to prevent danger and where required
for proper functioning of the installation.

Discrimination techniques
 Discrimination be achieved by:
 Creating a difference between the trip thresholds,
which is current discrimination
 Delaying - by a few tens or hundreds of milliseconds -

tripping of the upstream circuit-breaker, which is time
discrimination
Current discrimination for S/C

 Discrimination is
ensured if the
maximum threshold of
the trip unit for the
downstream device is
less than the minimum
threshold of that for
the upstream device,
including all tolerances.

Time discrimination for S/C

 On two circuit-
breakers in series, the
different time bands,
when they exist, are
arranged so that they
discriminate between
one another.
Lack of discrimination

Thank You
Dr. Asanka Rodrigo
Department of Electrical Engineering
University of Moratuwa-Sri Lanka
+94 11 2640312 (Direct)
+94 11 2650301 Ext: 3210
+94 77 7958976
asankar@uom.lk
https://www.mrt.ac.lk/web/elect/staff/academic/asanka/

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Design of Electrical Installations-2019: Overcurrent Protection

Structure of IET Regulation 18th Ed.

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 1

IEE Reg- PART 4: Protection for Safety

 CHAPTER 41: Protection Against Electric Shock

 CHAPTER 42: Protection Against Thermal Effects

 CHAPTER 43: Protection Against Overcurrent

 CHAPTER 44: Protection Against Voltage

Disturbances and EM Disturbances

Reg. 43: Protection Against

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 2

 Short circuits and earth faults (Fault Current)

Protection against overcurrents

Installations should be protected against

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 3

Overcurrent Protective Devices

Overcurrent Protective Devices

 High Breaking Capacity (HBC) Fuses

 Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCB)

 Moulded Case Circuit Breakers (MCCB)

 Circuit Breakers incorporating overcurrent

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 4

 It is the maximum amount of current, which is required to heat-up and

 This is the ratio of fusing current to the fuse current rating.

Semi-enclosed (rewirable) fuses

Main disadvantages are

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 5

Time/current characteristics for semi-enclosed fuses to BS 3636

Sizes of fuse element

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 6

H.R.C. or H.B.C. fuse

 Blown fuse element is visible through

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 7

Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB)

Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCB)

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 8

Different types of mcbs are available as follows

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 9

suitable for isolation

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 10

Advance MCCB Models

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 11

Overcurrent protection principles

 But allowing the maximum load current IB to flow

Protection against overcurrents

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 12

I2t Characteristic of insulated

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 13

Limiting Temperatures for Common

 cut-off the current in a time

 allow the load current IB to

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 14

Overload Protection Requirements

Fault Current Protection Requirements

 Under certain conditions, the fault current protection may be located on

Copyrighted@Dr. Asanka S. Rodrigo (asankar@uom.lk) 15

Fault protection requirements