CIRCUIT BREAKERS

ZAFAR ULLAH KHAN

INTRODUCTION
TYPES OF CIRCUIT BREAKERS
ARC PHENOMENA
RACKING POSITIONS
IMPORTANT TERMS
 INTRODUCTION
• WHAT IS A CIRCUIT BREAKER?

A circuit breaker is a piece of equipment which can:

1. Make or break a circuit either normally or by remote control in

normal conditions.

2. Break a circuit automatically under fault condition.

3. Make a circuit manually or by remote control.

WHY CIRCUIT BREAKERS ARE USED?
•In earlier days switching functions are used to be performed by switch and a
fuse placed in series with the circuit.

•This type of control is limited to low voltage and small capacity circuits where
frequent operations are not expected.

•The reason behind this is that fuses when blow out it takes some time to
replace and restore the supply to the customers.

•Secondly a fuse can’t interrupt heavy fault currents that results in the faults
on modern high voltage lines.
 OPERATING MODES

•A circuit breaker essentially consist of a fixed and a moving contact

called the electrodes.

•Under the normal operating condition these contacts remain closed.

•Under the fault condition the trip coils of the C.B. gets energized and
thus opens the CB.

•The contacts can be opened manually or by remote control whenever

desired.
 WHAT IS AN ELECTRICAL ARC?

•An electrical arc is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces

an ongoing plasma discharge resulting in a current through
normally non conductive media such as air.

ELECTRIC ARC BETWEEN TWO NAILS

 ARC PHENOMENA IN CIRCUIT BREAKERS
 When a short circuit occurs heavy current flows through the
contacts of the circuit breaker before they are operated by the
protective system.

 At the instant when the contacts begin to separate the contact

area decreases rapidly and large fault current causes increased
current density and hence rise in temperature.

 The heat produced in the medium between the contacts is

sufficient to ionize the air or vaporize the oil.

 Thus an arc is struck between the contacts and the potential

difference between the contacts is just sufficient to maintain the
arc.
 FACTORS ON WHICH ARC SUSTAINABILITY
DEPENDS
Factors responsible for the maintenance of arc between the contacts are:

 POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CONTACTS.

• When the contacts have a small separation the potential difference is
sufficient to maintain the arc.

 IONISED PARTICLES BETWEEN THE CONTACTS.

• The ionized particles in the medium between the contacts tends to
maintain the low resistive conductive path for the arc.
 METHODS OF ARC EXTINCTION
There are two methods used for arc extinction.
• HIGH RESISTANCE METHOD
In this method arc resistance is made to increase with time so that
current is reduced to value insufficient to maintain the arc , thus arc is
extinguished.

• LOW RESISTANCE OR CURRENT ZERO METHOD

In this method the arc resistance is kept low until current is zero and thus
the arc extinguishes naturally and is prevented from restriking inspite of
the rising voltage.
 ARC EXTINCTION BY HIGH RESISTANCE METHOD

LENGTHENING COOLING THE

OF THE ARC ARC

HIGH
RESISTANCE
METHOD
REDUCTION IN
SPLITTING THE THE AREA OF
ARC CROSSECTION
OF THE ARC
 ARC EXTINCTION BY HIGH RESISTANCE METHOD

•The resistance of the arc is directly proportional to its length ,the

length of the arc can be increased by increasing the length of the
contact.

•Cooling helps in deionization in the medium between the contacts.

This increases the arc resistance this can be obtained by gas blast
directed along the arc.

•If the area of crossection of the arc is reduced the voltage necessary
to maintain the arc is increased .This can be obtained by letting the arc
pass through a narrower opening.

•The resistance of arc can be increased by splitting the arc into smaller
arcs in series.
 ARC EXTINCTION BY HIGH RESISTANCE METHOD
LENGTHENING OF THE ARC
ARC INTENSITY
HIGH

MOVING CONTACT FIXED CONTACT

MOVING CONTACT FIXED CONTACT

ARC INTENSITY DECREASES WITH

THE INCREASE IN THE GAP
BETWEEN THE CONTACTS
 ARC EXTINCTION BY HIGH RESISTANCE METHOD
COOLING THE ARC
ARC RESISTANCE
LOW

MOVING CONTACT FIXED CONTACT

MEDIUM IONIZED

GAS BLASTING

MOVING CONTACT FIXED CONTACT

COOLING BY GAS BLASTING

CAUSES DEIONIZATION AND THE
ARC UNABLE TO ESTABLISH
 ARC EXTINCTION BY HIGH RESISTANCE METHOD
SPLITTING THE ARC
ARC RESISTANCE
LOW

MOVING CONTACT FIXED CONTACT

MEDIUM IONIZED

MOVING CONTACT FIXED CONTACT

SPLITTING THE ARC THUS

ARC STRENGTH
DECREASES
 ARC EXTINCTION BY HIGH RESISTANCE METHOD
SPLITTING THE ARC
ARC RESISTANCE
LOW

MOVING CONTACT FIXED CONTACT

MEDIUM IONIZED

MOVING CONTACT FIXED CONTACT

REDUCTION IN THE AREA

OF CROSSECTION OF THE
ARC
 ARC EXTINCTION BY LOW RESISTANCE METHOD

LENGTHENING COOLING THE

OF THE GAP ARC

LOW
RESISTANCE
METHOD

HIGH
BLAST EFFECT
PRESSURE
 ARC EXTINCTION BY LOW RESISTANCE METHOD

• The dielectric strength of the medium is proportional to the length of the gap
between contacts therefore by opening the contacts rapidly higher dielectric
strength can be achieved.

• If the pressure in the vicinity of the arc is increased. The density of the particles
constituting the discharge also increases. This causes high rate of deionization.

• Natural combination of ionized particles takes more rapidly if they are allowed to
cool thus deionization increases.

• If the ionized particles between the contacts are swept away and replaced by
deionized particles. Arc resistance will increase
 ARC EXTINCTION BY LOW RESISTANCE METHOD

• WHY LOW RESISTANCE METHOD IS USED FOR AC CIRCUITS?

In ac circuits current drops to zero after every half cycle that is the point
where arc is extinguished for a very brief moment. At this moment if the
arc achieves the required voltage called the restriking voltage the arc will
survive. But if we increases the dielectric strength between the contacts
by the low resistance method the arc extinguishes.
 CLASSIFICATION OF CIRCUIT BREAKERS

• CIRCUIT BREAKERS CAN BE CLASSIFIED ON THE FOLLOWING

BASIS:

1. BY VOLTAGE CLASS
2. BY LOCATION
3. BY EXTERNAL DESIGN
4. BY ARC EXTINGUISHING MEDIUM
 CLASSIFICATION ON THE BASIS OF VOLTAGE

• LOW VOLTAGE BREAKERS

Breakers with voltage rating upto 1KV.
• MEDIUM VOLTAGE BREAKERS
Breakers with voltage rating from 1KV TO 72KV.
• HIGH VOLTAGE BREAKERS
Breakers with voltage rating above 72KV.
 TYPES OF LOW VOLTAGE CIRCUIT BREAKERS

• MCB(MINIATURE CIRCUIT BREAKER)

Breakers with rated current not more than 100 A. Trip characteristics
normally not adjustable.

• MCCB(MOULDED CASE CIRCUIT BREAKER)

Breakers with rated current up to 2500 a. Thermal or thermal-magnetic
operation. Trip current may be adjustable in larger ratings.
 TYPES OF LOW VOLTAGE CIRCUIT BREAKERS

• MAGNETIC CIRCUIT BREAKERS

Magnetic circuit breakers use a solenoid (electromagnet) whose pulling

force increases with the current. Certain designs utilize electromagnetic
forces in addition to those of the solenoid. The circuit breaker contacts are
held closed by a latch. As the current in the solenoid increases beyond the
rating of the circuit breaker, the solenoid's pull releases the latch, which
lets the contacts open by spring action.
 TYPES OF LOW VOLTAGE CIRCUIT BREAKERS

• THERMAL MAGNETIC CIRCUIT BREAKERS

Thermal magnetic circuit breakers, which are the type found in

most distribution boards, incorporate both techniques with the
electromagnet responding instantaneously to large surges in current
(short circuits) and the bimetallic strip responding to less extreme but
longer-term over-current conditions. The thermal portion of the circuit
breaker provides an "inverse time" response feature, which provides faster
or slower response for larger or smaller over currents respectively.
 TYPES OF LOW VOLTAGE CIRCUIT BREAKERS

• COMMON TRIP BREAKERS

When supplying a branch circuit with more than one live conductor, each
live conductor must be protected by a breaker pole. To ensure that all live
conductors are interrupted when any pole trips, a "common trip" breaker
must be used. These may either contain two or three tripping mechanisms
within one case, or for small breakers, may externally tie the poles
together via their operating handles.
 CLASSIFICATION ON THE BASIS OF EXTERNAL DESIGN

• LIVE TANK
In live tank circuit breakers, the interrupter is located In an insulator
bushing, at a potential above ground potential. The live tank circuit
breakers are cheaper (with no current transformer), and require less
mounting space.

• DEAD TANK
In the dead tank circuit breakers, the switching device is located, with
suitable insulator supports, inside a metallic vessel at ground potential and
filled with insulating medium. In dead tank circuit breakers, the incoming
and outgoing conductors are taken out through suitable insulator
bushings, and low voltage type current transformers are located at lower
end of both insulator bushings, i.e at the line side and the load side.
 CLASSIFICATION ON THE BASIS OF ARC
EXTINGUISHING MEDIUM

VACUUM CIRCUIT
BREAKER

TYPES OF
SF6 OIL CIRCUIT
CIRCUIT
CIRCUIT BREAKER BREAKER
BREAKER

AIR BLAST
CIRCUIT BREAKER
 AIR CIRCUIT BREAKERS
• Air circuit breaker is defined as a circuit breaker, in which the contacts
open and close in air at atmospheric pressure. In general, the use of this
type of circuit breakers is restricted to low voltage applications or high
security installations where the risk of an oil fire or oil contamination of
the environment is too high to be tolerated. Countries following the
American practice used air circuit breakers almost exclusively for systems
up to 15 kV until the advent of the new vacuum and SF6 technologies.
 VACCUM CIRCUIT BREAKER
• Advantages:
1.The vacuum circuit breakers are compact in size and have longer lives.
2.Operating energy requirements are low, because the mechanism must
move only relatively small masses at moderate speed, over very short
distances.
3.Because of the very low voltage across the metal vapor arc, energy is very
low.(Arc voltage is between 50 and 100V.)
4.Due to the very low arc energy, the rapid movement of the arc root over the
contact and to the fact that most of the metal vapor re-condenses on the
contact , contact erosion is extremely small.
5.There is no generation of gases during and after the circuit breaker
operation.
6.The outstanding feature of these breakers is that it can break any heavy
fault current perfectly just before the contacts reach a definite open
position.
 VACCUM CIRCUIT BREAKER
• APPLICATIONS
For a country like Pakistan, where distances are quite long and
accessibility to remote areas are difficult, the installation of such outdoor,
maintenance-free circuit breakers should prove a definite advantage.
Vacuum circuit breakers are being employed for outdoor applications
ranging from 22 kv to 66 kv. This technology has been found to be most
suitable for medium voltage application though the experimental
interrupters for the 72.5 kv and 145 kv have been developed, they were
not found to be commercially viable
 OIL CIRCUIT BREAKERS
• In such circuit breakers, some insulating oil (i.E., Transformer oil) is used as
an arc quenching medium. The contacts are opened under oil and an arc is
struck between them. The heat of the arc evaporates the surrounding oil
and dissociates it into a substantial volume of hydrogen gas at a high
pressure.

• The arc extinction is facilitated mainly by two processes:

1.Firstly, the hydrogen gas has high heat conductivity and cools the arc, thus
aiding the de-ionization of the medium between the contacts.
2.Secondly, the gas sets up turbulence in the oil and forces it into
the space between contacts, thus eliminating the arcing products from the
arc path. This results in extinguishing the arc and as a result the circuit
current is interrupted.
 OIL CIRCUIT BREAKERS
• ADVANTAGES:

• 1.Oil absorbs the arc energy to produces hydrogen gas during arcing. The
hydrogen has excellent cooling properties and helps extinguish the arc.

• 2.The oil provides insulation for the live exposed contacts from the
earthed portions of the container.

• 3.Oil provides insulation between the contacts after the arc

has been extinguished.

• 4.The oil close to the arc region provides cooling surface.

 OIL CIRCUIT BREAKERS
• DISADVANTAGES:
• 1.Oil is inflammable and may cause fire hazards. When a defective circuit
breaker fails under pressure, it may cause an explosion.

• 2.The hydrogen generated during arcing, when combined with air, may
form an explosive mixture.

• 3.During arcing, oil decomposes and becomes polluted by carbon

particles, which reduces its dielectric strength. Hence, it requires periodic
maintenance and replacement
 SF6 Circuit Breakers
• In these circuit breakers, Sulphur hexafluoride gas (SF6) is used as the arc
quenching medium. The SF6 is an electronegative gas and has a strong
tendency to absorb free electrons. The contacts of the breaker are opened
in a high pressure flow of SF6 gas and an arc is struck between them. The
conducting free electrons in the arc are rapidly captured by the gas to
form relatively immobile negative ions . This loss of conducting electrons
in the arc quickly builds up enough insulation strength to extinguish the
arc. The SF6 circuit breakers have been found to be very effective for high
power and high voltage services.
 SF6 Circuit Breakers
• Advantages
1.Because of the high conductivity of the arc in the SF6 gas, the arc energy is
low.(Arc voltage is between 150 and 200V.)
2.Due to the low energy the contact erosion is small.
3.The gaseous medium SF6 possesses excellent dielectric and arc quenching
properties. After arc extinction, the dissociated gas molecules recombine
almost completely to reform SF6. This means that practically no
loss/consumption of the quenching medium occurs.
4.Due to the superior arc quenching property of the SF6 gas, such circuit
breakers have very short arcing time. Furthermore, they can interrupt
much larger current.
5.These breakers give noiseless operation due to its closed gas circuit and no
exhaust to atmosphere unlike the air-blast circuit breaker.
 SF6 Circuit Breakers
• Disadvantages:
• 1.These circuit breakers are expensive due to the high cost of SF6 gas.
• 2.Since SF6 gas has to be reconditioned after every operation of the
breaker , additional equipment is required for this purpose.
• 3.The SF6 gas has been identified as a greenhouse gas, and safety
regulations are being introduced in many countries in order to prevent its
release into the atmosphere . Therefore, the HV circuit breaker would be
designed to ensure that there is minimum leakage during the service
period and that the utilities let out the least amount of SF6 gas into the
atmosphere during maintenance. As SF6 gas has an impact 23 times
stronger than the CO2 gas on the greenhouse effect, in order to minimize
the emission of SF6 gas, N2- SF6 and CF4- SF6 gas mixtures use may be
more prominent in future as an alternative to using pure SF6 gas.
 SF6 Main Equipments
CB Type- MFPT-200-40L, PA / PAR
M : Metal Clad
F : Gas Circuit Breaker
P : Puffer Type
T : Tank Type
40 : Rated Short Circuit current (KA)
L : Line Use Circuit Breaker
P : Pneumatic Operating Type
A : Auxiliary Switch Provided
R : High Speed Reclosing Type
 SF6 Main Equipments
Rapid E/S Type- FGM-PA
F : SF6 Gas
G : Earthing Switch
M : Making Capacity
P : Pneumatic Operated type
A : Auxiliary Switch
BQPS SF6 Switch Gear
RATING
 220 KV Switch Gear
Operation Modes

Can be Operated from

 LOCAL ( Push Buttons) @ Local On Control Cubicles

 REMOTE @ NCR

By Selecting Local / Remote Selector Key in NCR

 BQPS 6.6 KV Switch Gear

Positions
 Rack In Position
 Rack Out Position
 Test Position

Types
 Unit 1 &2
• Minimum Oil Circuit Breakers
• Vacuum Circuit Breakers
 Unit 3 / 4 & 5 / 6
• Vacuum Circuit Breakers
 Positions Of Breaker
BREAKER RACK IN

 Ensure Proper PPE’s

 Ensure Breaker is OFF
 Slide the CB Trolley INWARD Gently on Rails
 Insert the Control Plug of the CB
 Slide IN CB Trolley
 Turn the handle to Rack IN Position
 Breaker RACKED IN
 Positions Of Breaker
BREAKER RACK OUT

 Ensure Proper PPE’s

 Ensure Breaker is OFF
 Turn the handle to Rack OUT Position
 Slide the CB Trolley OUTWARDS Until the Shutter Closes
 Take Out the Control Plug of the CB
 Breaker Racked OUT
 Positions Of Breaker
BREAKER TEST POSITION

 Ensure Proper PPE’s

 Ensure Breaker is OFF
 Slide the CB Trolley INWARDS Gently on Rails
 Insert the Control Plug of the CB
 Don’t Slide more
 Turn the CB Handle to Rack In Position
 Breaker in TEST Position
 6.6 KV Switch Gear
Operation Modes
Two Operating Modes:

 LOCAL MODE
• Electrically Turned Off
• Mechanically Turned ON & OFF

 REMOTE MODE
• Electrically Turned ON / OFF from Control Room

By Selecting the Selector Switch on Switch Gear

 6.6 KV Switch Gear
Breaker Mechanism
 Motorized Spring Charging
• Breaker Charged and Open
• Breaker Closed and Spring discharged
• Breaker Opened and Spring Recharged
• Ready for Next Operation
 After One Complete Operation Spring Charged Again by DC 220V Motor.
 Ready For Next Operation.

 Manually Spring Charging

• Manually the spring can be charged by turning 21 turns through handle.
 6.6KV Switch Gear
Routine Inspections & Maintenance
 Oil Circuit Breakers maintenance extensive.
• Oil level checks and Oil Change.
• Power Tulip Contacts Inspection.
• Inspection Of Arc Control Chamber.
• Circuit Breaker Mechanism Inspection.

 Vacuum Circuit Breakers are maintenance free.

• Vacuum Bottles High Voltage Test Performed.
• Power Tulip Contacts Inspection
• Circuit Breaker Mechanism Inspection.
 6.6 KV Switch gear
Maintenance Schedule
 BQPS 0.4 KV Switch Gears
Types
 Unit 1 &2
• Air Circuit Breakers

 Unit 3 / 4
• Air Circuit Breakers

 Unit 5 / 6
• Air Circuit Breakers
 BQPS 0.4 KV Switch Gear
POSITIONS

 Rack In Position
 Rack Out Position
 Test Position
 Positions Of Breaker
BREAKER RACK IN

 Ensure Proper PPE’s

 Ensure Breaker is OFF
 Slide the CB Trolley INWARD Gently on Rails
 1st Interlock through Handle
 Slide in More 2nd Interlock through levers
 Finally 3rd Interlock through Handle Breaker Contacts on Bus
bar.
 Breaker RACKED IN
 Positions Of Breaker
BREAKER RACK OUT

 Ensure Proper PPE’s

 Ensure Breaker is OFF
 Release Breaker from Bus bar 1st Interlock from Handle.
 Release 2nd interlock through lever and slide out.
 Finally 3rd interlock through Handle Pull Breaker Out.
 Breaker Racked OUT
 Positions Of Breaker
BREAKER TEST POSITION

 Ensure Proper PPE’s

 Ensure Breaker is OFF
 Slide the CB Trolley INWARD Gently on Rails
 1st Interlock through Handle
 Slide in More 2nd Interlock through levers.
 Breaker in TEST Position.
 0.4 KV Switch Gear
Operation Modes
Can be Operated from

 LOCAL MODE
• Mechanically Turned ON by pressing Push Button.
• Mechanically Turned Off by pressing Push Button.

 REMOTE MODE
• Electrically Turned ON / OFF from Control Room.
 0.4 KV Switch Gear
Breaker Mechanism
 Motorized Spring Charging
 One Complete Operation
• Breaker Closed (Spring Charged)
• Breaker Opened (Spring Discharged)
 After One Complete Operation Spring Charged Again by DC 220V Motor.
 Ready For Next Operation.

 Manually Spring Charging

• Manually the spring can be charged by depressing lever / handle.
 0.4 KV Switch Gear
Maintenance & Inspection
 IMPORTANT TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH BREAKER

• ARC VOLTAGE
IT IS THE VOLTAGE THAT APPEARS ACROSS THE CONTACTS OF CIRCUIT
BREAKER DURING THE ARCING PERIOD.

• RESTRIKING VOLTAGE
IT IS THE TRANSIENT VOLTAGE THAT APPEARS ACROSS THE CONTACTS AT
CURRENT ZERO OF AC CYCLE DURING ARCING PERIOD.

• RECOVERY VOLTAGE
• IT IS THE NORMAL VOLTAGE THAT APPEARS ACROSS THE CB AFTER FINAL
ARC EXTINCTION
Q&A

THANKS