SWITCHGEAR

&
PROTECTION

Fuse
Semi-enclosed rewirable fuse
The detachable fuse carrier permits the
replacement of fuse element without any
danger of coming in contact with live
parts.
The cost of replacement is negligible.
High-Rupturing capacity (H.R.C.) cartridge
fuse
They are capable of clearing high as well
as low fault currents.
They do not deteriorate with age.
They have high speed of operation.

Isolator

Arc

Circuit Breaker
Electrical circuit breaker is a switching device which can be
operated both manually and automatically for controlling and
protection of any electrical power system.
During interruption of huge current, there would be large arcing
in between switching contacts, so care should be taken to
quench these arcs in circuit breaker in safe manner.
The dielectric strength of the media in between contacts can be
increased in numbers of ways, like by compressing the ionized
arcing media since compressing accelerates the deionization
process of the media, by cooling the arcing media since cooling
increase the resistance of arcing path or by replacing the ionized
arcing media by fresh gasses.

Classification (H.T.)
Oil circuit breakers which employ some insulating oil (e.g.,
transformer oil) for arc extinction.
Bulk oil circuit breaker.
Minimum oil circuit breaker.

Air-blast circuit breakers in which high pressure air-blast is used

for extinguishing the arc.
Sulphur hexafluoride circuit breakers in which sulphur
hexafluoride (SF6) gas is used for arc extinction.
Vacuum circuit breakers in which vacuum is used for arc
extinction.

Classification (L.T.)
Air Circuit breaker
Miniature circuit breaker
Moulded case circuit breaker
Earth leakage circuit breaker

Bulk Oil Circuit Breaker

In oil circuit breaker the fixed contact and
moving contact are immerged inside the
insulating oil.
Whenever there is a separation of current
carrying contacts in the oil, the arc in
circuit breaker is initialized.
Due to this arc the oil is vaporized and
decomposed in mostly hydrogen gas and
ultimately creates a hydrogen bubble
around the arc.
This highly compressed gas bubble
around the arc prevents re-striking of the

Bulk Oil Circuit Breaker

The construction is simple and it
consists of fixed and moving
contacts enclosed in a strong
weather tight earthed tank
containing oil up to a certain level
and an air cushion above the oil
level.
These breakers are used up to 11
KV with an interrupting capacity of
250MVA.

Minimum Oil Circuit Breaker

These types of circuit breakers utilize oil
as the interrupting media.
The insulating oil is available only in
interrupting chamber.
The features of designing MOCB is to
reduce requirement of oil, and hence these
breaker are called minimum oil circuit
breaker.

Minimum oil circuit breaker

Constructional features
Supporting chamber
It is a porcelain chamber mounted on a metal
chamber.

Circuit breaking chamber

It is a porcelain enclosure mounted on the top of the
supporting compartment. It contains the main circuit
breaking components.

Top chamber
It is a metal chamber and is mounted on the circuitbreaking chamber. It provides expansion space for the
oil in the circuit breaking compartment.

Sulphur Hexafluoride 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.
SF6 has high electro-negativity. That
means it has high affinity of absorbing
free electron.
The movement of the moving contact
is synchronised with the opening of a
valve which permits SF6 gas at 14
kg/cm2 pressure from the reservoir to
the arc interruption chamber.

Sulphur Hexafluoride Circuit

Breaker
Due to the superior arc quenching
property of SF6, such circuit
breakers have very short arcing
time.
Dielectric strength of SF6 gas is 2 to
3 times that of air, such breakers
can interrupt much larger currents.
The SF6 circuit breaker gives
noiseless operation due to its closed
gas circuit and no exhaust to
atmosphere unlike the air blast
circuit breaker.
There is no risk of fire in such

Vacuum Circuit Breaker

The dielectric strength of vacuum is eight
times greater than that of air and four
times greater than that of SF6 gas.
The high dielectric strength makes it
possible to quench a vacuum arc within
very small contact gap.
As it is vacuum, the metal on the contact
surface is easily vaporized due to that hot
spot and create a conducting media for arc
path.
At current zero this vacuum arc is
extinguished and the conducting metal
vapour is re-condensed on the contact
surface.

Air Circuit Breaker

Miniature Circuit Breaker

Moulded Case Circuit Breaker

Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker

Attracted Armature Type Relay

Solenoid Type Relay

Balanced Beam Type Relay

Shaded Pole Type Relay

Watthour Meter Type Relay

Static Relay

Microprocessor Based Relay

Definite Distance Relay

Time Distance Relay

MHO Relay

Directional Relay

Current Differential Relay

Voltage Differential Relay