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09 Electrics and Electronics

01.07 Circuit Protection

Fuses and Circuit Breakers
01 Explain the working principle of a fuse and a circuit breaker.
02 Explain how a fuse is rated.

In an electrical circuit, abnormal conditions may arise for a variety of reasons, which can cause
overcurrent or overvoltage conditions.

If allowed to persist, these abnormal conditions or faults will lead to damage or destruction of
equipment and, in extreme cases, loss of life. Certainly, the essential power supplies will fail, and
it is therefore necessary to protect circuits against all such faults, by the use of fuses and circuit
breakers.

There are a number of protection devices used in aircraft electrical systems but only 2 basic
types are discussed here:

• Fuses
• Circuit breakers
The fundamental difference in the type of protection provided by fuses and circuit breakers is in
their time of operation relative to the attainment of maximum fault current.

Fuses
Fuses normally open the circuit before full fault current is reached, whereas the circuit breaker
opens after the full fault current is reached.

This means that when circuit breakers are used as the protection device, both the circuit breaker
and the component must be capable of withstanding the full fault current for a short time.

The cartridge type fuse consists of a tubular glass or ceramic body, 2 brass end caps, and a fuse
element.

The element may be one of the following:

• Tinned copper wire

• Silver wire
• A strip of pure zinc - electro tinned

A fuse operates when the current flowing

through it is sufficient to melt the wire or strip
element, the time taken varying inversely with
the current.

Figure 1.41 Fuse

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Fuse Rating

All fuses are rated at a specific current value in amps, i.e., the rating indicates the current they
will carry continuously or intermittently without unduly heating up or deteriorating.

The rating of a fuse for a particular circuit is such that it is not less than the normal current
flowing in the circuit, but that it operates (‘blows’) at a current level below the safety limit of the
equipment or cable used.

For this reason, only the specified fuse should be used in a particular circuit. The diagram shows
a typical aircraft fuse; the ratings can vary between 0 .5 and 500 amps, the higher ratings being
limited to current limiter types.

Fuses are made of a type of wire which has a low melting point, and when it is placed in series
with the electrical load, it will melt, blow, or rupture when a current of higher value than its
ampere rating is placed upon it.

A blown fuse may be replaced with another of the correct rating only once. If it blows again when
switching on, there is a defect in the system and the fuse must not be changed again until the
circuit has been investigated.

Current limiters, as the name suggests, are designed to limit the current to some predetermined
amperage value.

They are also thermal devices, but unlike ordinary fuses, they have a high melting point, so that
their time/ current characteristics permit them to carry a considerable overload current before
rupturing.

For this reason, their application is confined to the protection of heavy-duty power distribution
circuits. The output of a transformer rectifier unit would be a prime location for a current
limiter to be used.

Figure 1.42 Distribution circuits

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Circuit Breaker (CB)

Circuit breakers combine the function of fuse and switch and can be used for switching circuits
on and off in limited circumstances, e.g., required by checklist or for maintenance actions.

They are fitted to protect equipment from damage resulting from overload or fault conditions.
The design and construction of CBs is wide and varied.

Generally, the CB incorporates an automatic thermo-sensitive tripping device and a manually or

electrically operated switch.

The smaller type single button CBs range from 5 to 45 AMP.

Figure 1.43 Circuit breaker

Figure 1.44 Circuit breaker panel

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Thermal and Magnetic Circuit Breakers

03 Describe the principal difference between the following types of circuit breakers:
• thermal circuit breaker sensing magnitude of current.
• magnetic circuit breaker sensing direction of current.

Thermal Circuit Breaker

Figure 1.45 Thermal circuit breaker

When the circuit current reaches the CB rated current, the bimetallic strip will expand due to the
increase in wire temperature, and the latch will open the main contacts. When tripped, the white
band is visible to ease CB identification.

Magnetic Circuit Breaker

Some electrically operated CBs may also include electromagnetic and reverse current tripping
devices.

These CBs are designed to protect power supply systems and associated circuits against fault
currents reversing against the normal current direction of flow of a magnitude greater than
those at which cut-outs normally operate.

They are furthermore designed to remain in a “locked-out” condition to ensure complete isolation
of a circuit until a fault has been cleared.

Reset of Circuit Breakers

04 Describe how circuit breakers may be used to reset aircraft systems/computers in the event of
system failure (the ‘when’ part of a describe procedure).

Unlike the fuse, the circuit breaker has the capability of being reset after a CB pops out. This
should always be done with caution.

In flight the basic rule is: do not reset except when required by a checklist or at the captain’s
discretion, if flight safety requires it.

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Short Circuit
05 Explain a short circuit in practical terms using Ohm’s Law, power, and energy expressions
highlighting the risk of fire due to power transfer and extreme energy dissipation.
06 Explain the risk of fire resulting from excessive heat in a circuit subject overcurrent.

In the following circuit supplied with 24 V DC, a resistance of 1kΩ is energised when the switch
is selected to ON.

Following Ohm’s law, the current is 24 V/1000Ω = 0.024 AMP (or 24 mA), and the power used by
the resistance is 24 V x 0.024 AMP = 0.576 W.

If the distribution bar is directly connected to the return line, i.e., the negative pole line of the
generator (see the red line), the short circuit is made.
The resistance of this connection is very low compared with the 1kΩ resistance.

Given the short circuit resistance being 0.02 Ω, the total resistance of the circuit is lower than
0.02 Ω (review 01.02.06 paralleling resistances), and the current is higher than 24 V/0.02 = 1,200
AMP. The power dissipated by the short circuit is at least 24 V x 1,200 AMP = 28.8 kW! The heat
dissipated per second is 28,800 J.
This high energy development quickly results in a fire in the circuit or a battery explosion.

Figure 1.46 High energy development

Transient Overcurrent
07 Explain that overcurrent situations may be transient.

Current peaks can momentarily occur in case of switching on high load devices, e.g., starting of
electrical motors.

The voltage supply to electrical networks is controlled to stay constant (see chapter 3 part 1 and
2: Generation). Voltage regulation can react with some time delay while switching loads on or off,
and during generator acceleration, momentarily allowing the current to rise.

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Hazards of Multiple Resets of a Circuit Breaker or Use of

Incorrect Fuse Rating
08 Explain the hazards of multiple resets of a circuit breaker or the use of incorrect fuse rating
when replacing blown fuses.

Circuit Breakers

CBs should not be used by flight crews for switching systems on or off. Selection of systems must
be done by using the associated switches or pushbuttons.

After tripping of a thermal CB, a time delay of up to 2 minutes should be used before a reset to
allow cooling of the bimetallic strip.

Multiple resets after tripping of a CB may damage it mechanically and could lead to a fire hazard.
The risk is that the CB will not react to an overcurrent, but the conductors and the components
of the system protected by the CB will overheat and catch fire.

Fuses

Same rules for resetting CB apply to a blown fuse, e.g., do not replace a fuse in flight.

If for safety reasons a fuse needs to be replaced, caution must be taken to use a fuse with the
correct current rating.

A lower rating may blow the fuse with normal operation current, making the associated system
components unusable.

A higher rating can lead to a fuse not reacting on an overcurrent condition, resulting in the
conductors and the components of the system protected by the fuse to overheat and catch fire.

01.08 Semiconductors and Logic Circuits

Semiconductors
01 Describe the effect of temperature on semiconductors with regard to temperature and
longevity of the component.

Definition of Semiconductors

021.09.01.02.02
Conductors
These atoms are held together by the bonds formed between the valence electrons in the outer
shells. Electrons in the outer shells are less tightly bonded to their parent atom than those on
the inner shells and are free to move from one atom to the next.
These electrons, known as free electrons, form the basis for current flow within the material.
Conductors, formed by atoms held together by electrovalent bonds, or ionic bonds, possess
large numbers of free electrons, and this allows current to flow easily through the material. Put
another way, the material has high conductivity (low resistivity). Gold, silver, and copper are all
examples of good conductors.

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