INTRODUCTION TO

SFU,MCB ,ELCB,MCCB,ACB
SWITCHGEAR
Switchgear: The apparatus used for switching, controlling and protecting the
electrical circuits and equipment is known as switchgear. The term ‘switchgear’ is
a generic term encompassing a wide range of products like circuit breakers,
switches, switch fuse units, off-load isolators, HRC fuses, contactors, earth
leakage circuit breaker, etc...
SWITCH
FUSE
UNIT
 FUSE
Fuse is perhaps the simplest and cheapest
device used for interrupting an electrical
circuit under short circuit, or excessive
overload, current magnitudes. The action of
a fuse is based upon the heating effect of
the electric circuit.
The part which actually melts and opens the
circuit is known as the fuse element.
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
1. It is cheapest form of 1. Considerable time is lost
protection available. in rewiring or replacing
a fuse after operation.
2. It needs no 2. On heavy short circuits,
maintenance. discrimination between
3. Its operation is fuses in series cannot be
inherently completely obtained unless there is
automatic unlike a considerable differences
in the relative sizes of
circuit breaker which the fuse concerned.
requires an elaborate 3. The current-time
equipment for characteristics of a fuse
automatic action. cannot always be
4. It interrupts enormous correlated with that of
the protected device.
short circuit currents
without noise, flame,
gas or smoke.
FUSE UNITS:

•The various types of fuse units, most

commonly available are:
• 1. Round type fuse unit.
•2. Kit-kat type fuse unit.
•3. Cartridge type fuse unit.
•4. HRC (High Rupturing Capacity) fuse units
• 5. Semiconductor fuse units.
Round type
fuse unit:
•This type of fuse unit consists of a porcelain or bakelite box
and two separated wire terminals for holding the fuse wire
between them.

•This type of fuse is not common use on account of its

following disadvantages:
• One of the terminals remain always energized and,
therefore, for replacement of fuse either the worker
will have to touch the live mains or open the main
switch.
• Appreciable arching takes place at the instant of
blowing off fuse and thus damage the terminals. After
two or three arcing the fuse unit becomes unusable.
Re wirable or
Kit-kat Type
Fuses:
•The most commonly used fuse in
“house wiring’ and small current
circuits is the semi-enclosed or
rewirable fuse (also sometimes
known as kitkat type fuse). It
consists of a porcelain base carrying
the fixed contacts to which the
incoming and outgoing live or phase
wires are connected and a porcelain
fuse carrier holding the fuse
element, consisting of one or more
strands of fuse wire, stretched
between its terminals.
Re wirable or
Kit-kat Type
Fuses:
The fuse wire may be of lead, tinned
copper, aluminium or an alloy of tin-
lead. The actual fusing current will be
about twice the rated current. The
specifications for rewirable fuses are
covered by IS: 2086-1963.

Standard ratings are 6, 16, 32, 63 and

100A. A fuse wire of any rating not
exceeding the rating of the fuse may
be used in it i.e. a 80A fuse wire can
be used in a 100A fuse, but not in the
63A fuse.
Cartridge Type
Fuses:
•This is a totally enclosed type fuse unit. It
essentially consists of an insulating container
of bulb or tube shape and sealed at its ends
with metallic cap known as cartridge
enclosing the fuse element and filled with
powder or granular material known as filler.
There are various types of materials used as
filler like sand, calcium carbonate, quartz
etc. This type of fuse is available upto 660V
and the current rating upto 800 A.
High Rupturing
Capacity (HRC)
Fuses

•With a very heavy generating capacities

of the modern power stations,
extremely heavy currents would flow
into the fault and fuse clearing the fault
would be required to withstand
extremely high stresses in this process.
 •Switch fuse is a combined unit and is known
Switch Fuse Unit (SFU): as an iron clad switch, being made of iron. It
may be double pole for controlling single
phase two-wire circuits or triple pole for
controlling three-phase, 3-wire circuits or
triple pole with neutral link for controlling 3-
phase, 4-wire circuits. The respective
switches are known as double pole iron clad
(DPIC), triple pole iron clad (TPIC), and triple
pole with neutral link iron clad (TPNIC)
switches.

For Two-wire DC Circuits or Single Phase AC Circuits: 240V, 16A, DPIC

switch fuse

2. For Three-Wire DC Circuits: 500V, 32A (63/100/150 or higher

amperes), IS approved TPIC switch fuse.

3. For Three-Phase Balanced Load Circuits: 415V, 32A (63/100/150 or

higher amperes), IS approved TPIC switch fuse.
Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB):
On occurrence of short circuit, the rising current energizes the
solenoid, operating the plunger to strike the trip lever causing
immediate release of the latch mechanism. Rapidity of the
magnetic solenoid operation causes instantaneous opening of
contacts. MCBs are available with different current ratings of
0.5, 1.2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.5, 10, 16, 20, 25, 32, 35, 40, 63, 100,
125, 160 A and voltage rating of 240/415 V AC and up to 220 V
DC. Operating time is very short (less than 5 ms). They are
suitable for the protection of important and sophisticated
equipment, such as air-conditioners, refrigerators, computers
etc

A device which provides definite protection to the wiring

installations and sophisticated equipment against over-currents
and short-circuit faults. Thermal operation (overload
protection) is achieved with a bimetallic strip, which deflects
when heated by any over currents flowing through it. In doing
so, releases the latch mechanism and causes the contacts to
open. Inverse-time current characteristics result. i.e. greater the
overload or excessive current, shorter the time required to
operate the MCB.
EARTH LEACKAGE
CIRCUIT BREAKER :
•It is a device that provides protection against earth
leakage. These are of two types.
• 1.Current operated earth leakage circuit breaker:
• 2. Voltage operated earth leakage circuit breaker.
• It is used when the product of the operating
current in amperes and the earth-loop impedance in
ohms does not exceed 40. such circuit breakers is
used where consumer’s earthing terminal is
connected to a suitable earth electrode.
Current operated earth leakage circuit
breaker:

•A current-operated earth leakage

circuit breaker is applied to a 3-
phase, 3-wire circuit. In normal
condition when there is no earth
leakage, the algebraic sum of the
currents in the three coils of the
current transformers is zero, and no
current flows through the trip coil. In
case of any earth leakage, the
currents are unbalanced and the trip
coil is energized and thus the circuit
breaker is tripped.
Molded Case
Circuit Breaker
(MCCB) :
•It is a type of electrical protection device that can
be used for a wide range of voltages, and
frequencies of both 50 Hz and 60 Hz, the main
distinctions between molded case and miniature
circuit breaker are that MCCB can have current
rating up to 2500 amperes, and its trip setting are
normally adjustable. MCCBs are much larger than
MCBs. An MCCB has three main functions:
• Protection against overload.
• Protection against electrical faults.
• Switching a circuit ON and OFF. This is a less
common function of circuit breakers, but they can
be used for that purpose if there is not an
adequate manual switch.
 The wide range of current ratings available from molded-case circuit breakers allows them to be used in
a wide variety of applications. MCCBs are available with current ratings that range from low values such
as 15 amperes, to industrial ratings such as 2500 amperes. This allows them to be used in both low
power and high power applications.

Operating Mechanism: At its core, the protection mechanism employed by MCCBs is based on
the same physical principles used by all types of thermal-magnetic circuit breakers. • Overload
protection is accomplished by means of a thermal mechanism. MCCBs have a bimetallic contact
what expands and contracts in response to changes in temperature. Under normal operating
conditions, the contact allows electric current through the MCCB. However, as soon as the
current exceeds the adjusted trip value, the contact will start to heat and expand until the circuit
is interrupted
On the other hand, fault protection is accomplished with electromagnetic induction, and the
response is instant. Fault currents should be interrupted immediately, no matter if their duration is
short or long. Whenever a fault occurs, the extremely high current induces a magnetic field in a
solenoid coil located inside the breaker-this magnetic induction trips a contact and current is
interrupted. As a complement to the magnetic protection mechanism, MCCBs have internal arc
dissipation measures to facilitate interruption.