Transmission and Generation: Properties and Types of Circuit Breakers and Fuses

The report discusses the properties and types of circuit breakers and fuses, as well as their usage and advantages. ANL/ANE fuses were also discussed, which are commonly used in car audio systems. Overall, the report highlights the importance of these components in ensuring the safety and reliability of the electrical power system.

Running head: TRANSMISSION AND GENERATION
TRANSMISSION AND GENERATION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Properties of circuit breaker.......................................................................................................3
Types of circuit breaker.............................................................................................................4
Fuses...........................................................................................................................................5
Property of fuses........................................................................................................................5
Usage of fuses............................................................................................................................6
ANL/ANE Fuses........................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The electrical circuit breaker can be considered to be a switching device which can be
directly operated automatically and manually for the aspect of protection and controlling of
electrical power system. In recent times modern power system deal with huge amount of
current so it can be stated here that the mechanism which is related to the circuit breaker
should be given upmost propriety as it would be controlling the overall system. In the event
of any type of fault which is related to short circuit or any types of fault in the system it can
be stated that the equipment as well as other power devices suffer a huge stress which can
directly impact the functionality of the overall system. In order to protect the system the fault
current should be removed or evacuated from the system as soon as possible after the event
has occurred (Razi-Kazemi, 2015). After the current is removed the system, the system must
regain its overall working for the aspect of delivering reliable quality power at the end of the
receiver. In this context different types of switching operation must be performed in order
regain the original functionality of the system. The circuit breaker can be stated as a special
device which does all the switching operation which is required during the process of current
carrying operation.
The main focus point of the report is to take into consideration different aspects which
are related to the concept of the circuit breaker and fuses. The main factors which are majorly
discussed are the property which are related to the circuit breakers with short circuit breaking
and making capabilities.
Properties of circuit breaker
The circuit breaker usually consist of moving contacts and fixed contacts. In the
condition of “ON” relating to the circuit breaker these two contacts are very much physically
connected to each other due to the applied mechanical pressure which is related to the

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moving contracts. There is an arrangement of stored potential energy in the concept of the
operating system which is related to the circuit breaker which is directly released if the signal
of switching is given directly to the breaker. These type of potential energy can be stored in
the circuit breaker by different ways for example deforming of the spring metal by means of
compressing air or by the concept of hydraulic pressure (Razi-Kazemi et al., 2014). It can be
stated here that whatever may be the potential energy it should be always released during the
aspect of operation. The aspect of the release of the potential energy can be considered to be
making sliding relating to the moving contact at a speed which is extremely fast in manner.
All the circuit breakers related to short circuit breaking consist of an operating coil
(close coil and tripping coil) whenever this type of coils are directly energized by the
switching pulses and the plunger which are placed inside them would be displaced. The
attachment of the operating mechanism which is related to the circuit breaker is directly
attached to the operating mechanism which is related to the circuit breaker (Razi-Kazemi,
2015). This concept result in the aspect of mechanically storing of the concept which is
related to the potential energy in the breaker mechanism which is directly released in the
form of kinetic energy. After the aspect of the cycle completion the potential gain of energy
again is maintained in the operating mechanism of the circuit breaker by means of spring
charging motor or the air compressor or by any other forms. The implementation of the
circuit breaker is based on the aspect of the functionality of the sector which is being focused
upon. The main concern sector is the section of the circuit breaker which is being
implemented. There can be different scenario which can be related to the concept of the
different devices which should be kept secured in a manner of securing the circuit (Peng,
Husain & Huang, 2015).

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Figure 1: (CIRCUIT BREAKER)
(SOURCE: Peng et al., 2016).
Types of circuit breaker
There are different types of circuit breaker which can be implemented according to the
requirement and the system in which it would be implemented. The following are the basic
division which can be done relating to the type of the circuit.

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 Air circuit breaker: This type of circuit breaker usually operate in air under the
pressure of atmospheric pressure. The main working which is related to the air circuit
breaker can be directly related to the aspect of reestablishment of the arcing after the
current zero by means of creating a situation where the gap of the contact will
withstand the system voltage of recovery. Taking into consideration the aspect which
is related to the interrupting arc it creates an arc of voltage which is in excess to the
supply voltage. The arc voltage can be defined as a concept which is a voltage which
has to be maintained in order to keep the arc in a working condition.
 Oil circuit breaker: In the concept of the oil circuit breaker the moving contact and the
fixed contact are immersed inside a liberating oil. Whenever there is a separation of
the current carrying contact in the oil, the arc of the circuit breaker is initiated at the
moment of the separation of the contacts. Due to this arc the oil is directly
decomposed and vaporized in mostly hydrogen gas and ultimately create a bubble of
hydrogen around the arc. After the current reaches the zero crossing relating to the
cycle the highly compressed gas bubble around the arc is directly prevented from re-
striking of the arc.
 Vacuum circuit breaker: The vacuum circuit breaker can be considered as a kind of
circuit breaker where the quenching directly takes place in the vacuum. The
technology can be directly be used in the concept of the voltage application. For the
concept of the voltage vacuum technology it can be stated that it is developed but on
the other hand it is not implemented commercially.
 SF6 circuit breaker: The SF6 can be considered as a circuit breaker which operates in
the sulphur hexafluoride or the SF6. The SF6 can be considered to be excellent in the
aspect of insulting property and has a high percentage of electronegativity. Taking
into consideration this aspect it can be stated that it has a high affinity which is related

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to the free electron absorption. The main mechanism which is followed is that when
the free electrons collide with the SF6 gas molecules, it is directly absorbed by the gas
and forms a negative ion (Peng et al., 2016).
In some of the cases it is seen that the circuit breaker does not work according to the
functionality of the system due to the factor that most of the current which are indulged into
the circuit are broken down periodically. The main aspect which is related to the breaking of
the circuit is to resolve the current which flows into the circuit at one particular time.
Figure 2: (TYPES OF CIRCUIT BREAKER)
(SOURCE: Peng et al., 2016).

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Fuses
The fuses can be considered as a current sensitive device which is designed basically
for the purpose of serving as an intentional weak link in the electrical circuit. The main
functionality which is related to the concept is to provide a mechanism of protection relating
to the discrete components or of the complete circuit by means reliable meting under current
overload conditions. There are few characteristics which are related to the aspect of fuses
which can be considered as one of the most important factors which are majorly discussed
below:
 Breaking capacity: this concept is also known as interrupting rating or the short circuit
rating. This can be stated as the maximum approved current which can be directly broken
by the fuse at a rated voltage.
 Ambient temperature: This mainly refers to the aspect of temperature of the air
immediately surround the fuse and this concept cannot be confused with the aspect of the
“room temperature”. The ambient fuse temperature can be considered to be in many cases
higher due to the factor of mounted or enclosed (as in the panel mount fuse holder) near
other products which are high generating products for example transformer and resistor.
 Current rating: the current rating can be considered as the value which is related to the
amperage of the fuse. The concept was manufactured as a value which is related to the
current which the fuse can carry which is based on a controlled set of parameters and test
condition.
 Rerating: taking into consideration a temperature which is 25ºC ambient temperature it
can directly recommended that the fuse operates at more than 75% of the nominal current
rating which is established using the controlled conditions of the test condition. The test
cases are directly a part of UL/CSA/ANCE (Mexico) 248-14 “fuses for supplementary
overcurrent protection” (Razi-Kazemi, 2015).

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Property of fuses
The property of the fuses can be directly related to the types of fuses and where it is
directly implemented. There are basically two types of fuses which can be differentiated on
the basis of input supply voltage.
 AC Fuse
 DC Fuse
There is a very little difference between the DC and the AC switches which are
implemented in the DC and AC switches (Peng, Husain & Huang, 2015). In the DC system
when the metallic wire melts due to the factor of the generation of heat by the aspect of the
overcurrent, then the Arc is directly produced as it can be considered to be very much
difficult to extend the arc because of the DC value being constant. It can be stated here that in
order to decrease the fuse arching the DC switches are little bit bigger than the AC switches.
This concept is beneficial in a way of increasing the distance which is between the electrodes
to reduce the arc of the fuse.
On the basis of the operation the fuses can be divided mainly into two parts which include
the one time use only fuse and resettable fuses (Xu et al., 2016).
One time use only fuse: The main aspect which is related to one time fuses contains a
metallic wire which burns out when an over current condition is reached due to mismatched
load or overload. The user have to manually replace these switches. It can be stated here that
this type of switches are very much cheap is used in most of the electronic devices. There are
different categorization of the onetime use only fuse which are stated below”:
 Breaking capacity: The maximum value of the current which can be tackled by the
fuse.

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 I2t value of fuse: The term I2t can be related to the fuse which is normally used in
conditions short circuit. It can be stated as the value which is related to the energy
which is related to the electrical fault which is cleared by the elements of the fuse.
 Responsive characteristics. It can be considered as a speed at which the fuse blows,
this directly depends on the aspect of the current which is flowing through the wire. It
can be stated that higher the amount of the current which is flowing through the wire
faster will be the response time. The responsive characteristics directly shows the
response time which is related to the over current events. The fuses which can
respond fast to the aspect of the over current situation can be considered as an ultra-
fast fuses or fast fuses. The implementation of the fuses are directly used in the aspect
of the many semiconductors due to the factor that semiconductor devices may vet
damaged by the over current aspect.
 Package size: There are different packages which can be implemented in the concept
of the according to the need of the circuit (Wen et al., 2015).
 Current carrying capacity of the fuse: Each of the fuse has a rating of the current
which is attached to the concept. It can be stated that if a fuse is designer for the
aspect of 32 volts it cannot be used with a 220 volts, different amount and level of
isolation are available and the implementation of the fuses have to done accordingly.
Usage of fuses
The main use of the fuses can be related to the aspect of protection of the circuits and
the components which are involved into the circuit. It can be stated in a real life scenario it
can be stated that the current which is flowing through the wires may not be uniform
throughout the process. In such conditions the device may get overheated. There can also be
chances of the circuit getting caught into the aspect of fire if the fuses are not installed into
the system. In recent times the concept of the circuit breaker is applying a vital role but it can

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be stated here that the aspect which is related to the fuses are also being installed in most of
the system. The main advantage which can be achieved from the concept of the security of
the circuit which can be easily achieved from the implementation of the fuses (Peng, Husain
& Huang, 2015).
ANL/ANE Fuses
ANL can be considered as type of fuse which are mainly used in the car in the aspect
of the audio system. The availability of the ANL/ANE fuses are available in different size.
The only aspect which is a concern sector in this fuses is that it should be checked with the
supply voltage into which it would be implemented (Li et al., 2016).
Conclusion
The report can be concluded on a note that the circuit breaker and the fuses play a
very vital role in the concept of the any circuit in order to safe guard the circuit and protect
the other components which are involved into the concept. In most of the cases it can be
noticed that the aspect of the circuit breaker is implemented due to the factor of the
precaution which can be achieved and it can be considered one of the most secured manners
or process by which a circuit can be secured form different conditions such as over flow of
current etc. In the above report focus in put on the aspect of how they can be implemented
and what the properties which are attached with the concept. The implementation details of
both the fuses and the circuit breaker are also majorly discussed in the report which would be
giving a direct overview of the process that are involved into the fundamental working.

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References
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research of motor drive mechanism for high voltage circuit breaker. In Electric Power
Equipment-Switching Technology (ICEPE-ST), 2017 4th International Conference on
(pp. 899-904). IEEE.
Jo, J. Y., Yang, H. I., Ahn, K. Y., Park, Y. I., & Kim, Y. G. (2015, October). A study on the
dynamic behavior of multibody dynamics model on vacuum circuit breaker:
Operating characteritics improvement of the VCB using Taguchi method. In Electric
Power Equipment–Switching Technology (ICEPE-ST), 2015 3rd International
Conference on (pp. 50-53). IEEE.
Li, X., Wang, X., Rong, M., Gao, Q., Fu, Y., Yin, N., & Liu, S. (2016, September). Research
on modeling and fault analysis of permanent magnet operating mechanism of vacuum
circuit breaker. In Condition Monitoring and Diagnosis (CMD), 2016 International
Conference on (pp. 526-529). IEEE.
Li, X., Wang, X., Yin, N., Gao, Q., Miao, S., Shan, C., & Huang, X. (2016, September).
Simulation on failure analysis of vacuum circuit breaker permanent magnet operating
mechanism based on three-parameter method. In Power System Technology
(POWERCON), 2016 IEEE International Conference on (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Peng, C., Husain, I., & Huang, A. Q. (2015, March). Evaluation of design variables in
Thompson coil based operating mechanisms for ultra-fast opening in hybrid AC and
DC circuit breakers. In Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition
(APEC), 2015 IEEE (pp. 2325-2332). IEEE.

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Peng, C., Husain, I., Huang, A. Q., Lequesne, B., & Briggs, R. (2016). A fast mechanical
switch for medium-voltage hybrid DC and AC circuit breakers. IEEE Transactions on
Industry Applications, 52(4), 2911-2918.
Peng, C., Song, X., Huang, A. Q., & Husain, I. (2017). A Medium-Voltage Hybrid DC
Circuit Breaker—Part II: Ultrafast Mechanical Switch. IEEE Journal of Emerging
and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, 5(1), 289-296.
Razi-Kazemi, A. A. (2015). Applicability of auxiliary contacts in circuit breaker online
condition assessment. Electric Power Systems Research, 128, 53-59.
Razi-Kazemi, A. A., Vakilian, M., Niayesh, K., & Lehtonen, M. (2014). Circuit-breaker
automated failure tracking based on coil current signature. IEEE Transactions on
Power Delivery, 29(1), 283-290.
Tobias, J., Biasse, J. M., Picot, P., Perrin, D., Bonjean, M., & PUJADAS, E. (2015, June).
Impact of operating mechanism type on MV vacuum circuit-breaker reliability. In
CIRED Conf.
Wen, W., Huang, Y., Al-Dweikat, M., Zhang, Z. A., Cheng, T., Gao, S., & Liu, W. (2015).
Research on operating mechanism for ultra-fast 40.5-kV vacuum switches. IEEE
Transactions on Power Delivery, 30(6), 2553-2560.
Xu, B., Ding, R., Zhang, J., Sha, L., & Cheng, M. (2016). Multiphysics-coupled modeling:
Simulation of the hydraulic-operating mechanism for a sf6 high-voltage circuit
breaker. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 21(1), 379-393.

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