Handout 10

Circuit Breakers (CBs) (52)

A circuit breaker is a device for closing, carrying, and interrupting a circuit between separable
contacts under both load and fault conditions.

High-voltage circuit are defined to be circuit breakers that are rated at least 1000 volts.

Circuit breakers are often identified in terms in terms of the medium to aid in the arc extinction during
circuit interruption e.g.

1. Oil circuit breakers (OCBs)

2. Air circuit breakers (ACBs)
3. Air blast circuit breakers
4. Sulfur hexaflouride (SF6 ) circuit breakers
5. Vacuum circuit breakers (VCBs)

Opening time
The time between instant of application of tripping power to the instant of separation of the main
contacts.
Arcing time
The time between the instant of separation of the main circuit breaker contacts to the instant of arc
extinction of short-circuit current.

Total break or clearing time

The time occurrence of fault to the instant of arc extinction of short-circuit current.

Example
On the occurrence of a 3-φ short circuit fault an IDMT relay sends a tripping command to an SF6
circuit breaker. Find the total fault clearing time when the relay operating time (top) is 0.33 secs, CB
opening time is 1 cycle and CB arc quenching time is half cycle.
Symmetrical breaking current
This is the r.m.s value of the a.c component of the current in the pole at the instant of contact
separation

Asymmetrical breaking current

This is the r.m.s value of the total current comprising the a.c. and d.c. component of the current in the
pole at the instant of contact separation

Making current
Making current of a circuit breaker, when closed on a short circuit, is the peak value of the total
current (including both a.c and d.c. components ), which is measured from the envelope of the current
wave at the time of its first major peak.
 Making current = 2 × 1.8 × Symmetrical breaking current
Making current = 2.55 × Symmetrical breaking current

Symmetrical breaking capacity

Symmetrical breaking capacity (expressed in MVA) is equal to 3 times the rated voltage in kV times
the rated symmetrical breaking current in kA.

Asymmetrical breaking capacity

Asymmetrical breaking capacity (expressed in MVA) is equal to 3 times the rated voltage in kV
times the rated asymmetrical breaking current in kA.

Making capacity
Making capacity (expressed in MVA) is equal to 3 times the rated voltage in kV times the rated
makingf current in kA.

Rated Operating voltage

The highest r.m.s line-to-line voltage above the nominal system voltage for which the circuit breaker
is designed.
Nominal voltage Rated voltage
(Approx. 110%)
11 kV 12 kV
33 kV 36 kV
66 kV 72.5 kV
132 kV 145 kV
220 kV 245 kV
500 kV 550 kV
765 kV (proposed) 800 kV
Rated operating duty
Auto-reclosure operations can be performed for circuit breakers in case of temporary and semi–
permanent faults for quick restoration of power supply. For auto-reclosure operations circuit breaker
operating duty has to be considered.

Example:
Consider an 11kV, 800A, 350 MVA, 3 secs, 3-φ oil circuit breaker.
Find :
a. Rated current
b. Rated voltage
c. Symmetrical breaking current
d. Symmetrical breaking capacity
e. Rated making current
f. Short time rating

Solution:
a. 800A r.m.s
b. 12 kV
c. 350 = 3 × 11 × I sym
350
I sym = = 18.37 kA r.m.s
3 × 11
d. 350 MVA
e. Rated making current= 2 × 1.8 × 18.37 =46.84 kA peak
f. 18.37 kA r.m.s for 3 secs

Rated Current
The rated current of a circuit breaker is the designated limit of current in r.m.s which it shall be
capable of carrying continously without exceeding the limit of observable temperature rise.
The current interruption always takes place at zero current of the current waveform. There are two
types of voltages that appear across the circuit breaker poles after arc extinction.

Recovery voltage
The normal frequency r.m.s voltage that occurs across the terminals of a pole of an a.c. circuit
breaker device after arc extinction.

Restrike voltage
The transient voltage that occurs across the terminals of a pole of an a.c. circuit breaker device after
arc extinction and can be responsible for restriking of the arc if not damped is called restrike voltage.

Closing Coil
A closing coil of a circuit breaker is a coil used in the electromagnet that supplies power for closing a
circuit breaker.

Trip Coil
A trip coil of a circuit breaker is a coil used in the electromagnet that initiates the opening of a circuit
breaker.

Automatic tripping (automatic opening)

Automatic tripping of a circuit breaker signifies the tripping of a circuit breaker under predetermined or
other conditions without the intervention of operating personnel. In other words, not manual tripping.

SF6 Circuit Breaker

A circuit breaker in which the current carrying contacts operate in Sulphur Hexafluoride or SF6 gas is
known as an SF6 Circuit Breaker. These circuit breakers are available for the voltage ranges from 33
kV to 800 kV and even more.
Properties of SF6 gas.

1. SF6 is colourless, odourless and non toxic gas.

2. SF6 is an inert gas. So in normal operating condition the metallic parts in contact with the gas
are not corroded. This ensures the life of the breaker and reduces the need for maintenance.

3. SF6 has high thermal conductivity which means the heat dissipation capacity is more. This
implies greater current carrying capacity when surrounded by SF6 .

4. The gas is quite stable. However it disintegrates to other fluorides of Sulphur in the presence
of arc, but after the extinction of the arc the SF6 gas is reformed from the decomposition.

5. SF6 being non-flammable so there is no risk of fire hazard and explosion.

6. SF6 has excellent insulating property. SF6 has high electro-negativity. That means it has high
affinity of absorbing free electron. Whenever a free electron collides with the SF6 gas
molecule, it is absorbed by that gas molecule and forms a negative ion.

7. The attachment of electron with SF6 gas molecules may occur in two different ways:

_ −
SF6 + e → SF6
_ −
SF6 + e → SF5 + F

8. These negative ions obviously much heavier than a free electron and therefore overall mobility
of the charged particle in the SF6 gas is much less as compared other common gases. We
know that mobility of charged particle is majorly responsible for conducting current through a
gas.

9. Hence, for heavier and less mobile charged particles in SF6 gas, it acquires very high dielectric
strength. Not only the gas has a good dielectric strength but also it has the unique property of
fast recombination after the source energizing the spark is removed. Moreover it has high Rate
of Rise of dielectric strength after arc extinction. This characteristics is very much sought for a
circuit breaker to avoid restriking.

10. Due to its high dielectric strength and high cooling effect SF6 gas is approximately 100 times
more effective arc quenching medium than air. Due to these unique properties of this gas SF6
Circuit Breaker is used in complete range of medium voltage and high voltage electrical power
system.

Disadvantages of SF6 Circuit Breaker

The SF6 gas is identified as a greenhouse gas, safety regulation are being introduced in many
countries in order to prevent its release into atmosphere.

Operation of Puffer type SF6 Circuit Breaker

The construction and working principles of SF6 circuit breaker varies from manufacturer to
manufacturer. The Puffer type SF6 breakers of single pressure type are the most favoured types
prevalent in power industry. Here the working principle of Puffer type breaker is illustrated.
As illustrated in the figure the breaker has a cylinder and piston arrangement. Here the piston is fixed
but the cylinder is movable. The cylinder is tied to the moving contact so that for opening the breaker
the cylinder along with the moving contact moves away from the fixed contact. But due to the
presence of fixed piston the SF6 gas inside the cylinder is compressed. The compressed SF6 gas
flows through the nozzle and over the electric arc in axial direction. Due to heat convection and
radiation the arc radius reduces gradually and the arc is finally extinguished at current zero. The
dielectric strength of the medium between the separated contacts increases rapidly and restored
quickly as fresh SF6 gas fills the space. While arc quenching, small quantity of SF6 gas is broken
down to some other fluorides of sulphur which mostly recombine to form SF6 again. A filter is also
suitably placed in the interrupter to absorb the remaining decomposed by product.

The gas pressure inside the cylinder is maintained at around 5 kg/cm2. At higher pressure the
dielectric strength of the gas increases. But at higher pressure the SF6 gas liquify at higher
temperature which is undesired. So heater is required to be arranged for automatic control of the
temperature for circuit breakers where higher pressure is utilised. If the SF6 gas liquifies then it loses
the ability to quench the arc.