Switch fuse unit

Fuse
A short piece of metal wire, inserted in series with the circuit which melts when predetermined value
of current flows thru it and breaks the circuit.

 Under normal conditions, it carriers current without over-heating itself but when an
excessive current flows, its temp. raises and it melts.
 Excessive current flows under 2 conditions- overloads/short circuit
 Acc. to i2Rt, as temp. increases, heat is produced
 Time required to blow a fuse is dependent on the magnitude of the excessive current.
A fuse has inverse time-current characteristic.
 Fuse is connected in phase wire -> current enter from phase->neutral wire so, to protect the
load/appliance
 Advantages:
 Cost of the device is low
 Requires no maintenance
 Interrupts heavy current without smoke/noise
 Min. time of operation can be predetermined by selecting proper material for the
fuse wire
 Its inverse time-current characteristic makes it suitable for protection
 Disadvantages:
 Time lost in re-wirinf or replacing the fuse after every operation
 On short-circuit, differentiation between fuses in series can be done only if there is a
size difference between them.

The SFU consists of various porcelain rewireable fuses or HRC fuse fittings with their conductin

Miniature Circuit Breaker

An automatic operated switch under overload/short-circuit conditions

 Ensures protection of wiring system, equipment/appliances.

 Construction:
 Working:
 Overload condition: detection is achieved by the thermal expansion of a bimetallic
strip which deflects in response to the current passing thru it. The strip moves
against the trip lever releasing the trip mech.
 Short circuit condition: when the current flowing thru the MCB reaches a
predetermined value, it pushes the solenoid plunger which releases the trip mech.
This action is achieved via electromagnetic mechanism.
 Applications:
 Available in different current ratings and have very smol breaking time so are used to
protect commercial and domestic appliances like computers, acs, refrigerators
Earth leakage circuit breaker (ELCB)
 Principle of operation :
 Under normal conditions, current flowing thru the phase and neutral wires is
same but when earth leakage (flux leakage) occurs, current in neutral will be
less than phase. This sets up a flux in the core of the core balanced
transformer which in turn induces an emf in the coil. Hence, the relay is
energised and the plunger disconnects the load from the supply
Thus, it protects the system from leakage.

Use of test knob

For the periodic checking of the mech. and function of ELCB

Moulded case circuit breaker (MCCB)

 Used when the load current exceeds the capabilities of MCB
 The 3 major functions of the MCCB:
 Protection against overload
 Protection against electrical faults
 Switching the circuit on and off
 Mechanism:
 Overload protection: occurs by means of thermal mechanism. They have a bimetallic
which expands/contracts in response to changes in temp. As soon as temp. exceeds
the adjusted trip value, the contact will heat and expand until the circuit is
interrupted.
 Fault protection: whenever a fault occurs, extremely high current induces a magnetic
field in the solenoid coil and this magnetic induction trips a contact and the current
is interruputed.
  Manual operation: has disconnection switch which is used to trip the breaker
manually.

Types of wires and cables

Cable
A solid or stranded conductor covered with insulation is a cable