ACB

Air blast circuit breakers employ a high

pressure air blast as an arc quenching
medium.

Types:
Air Circuit Breaker
Air Blast Circuit Breaker.
 Air ciruit breaker
Air Circuit Breakers are usually used in low
voltage applications below 450 volts.in
Distribution Panels
Air Blast Circuit Breakers are high capacity
breakers and can be seen in old substations
mainly above 132 kV.
 Arc Circuit breaker
ABCs with appropriate arc control device, are good choice.
These breakers normally have two pairs of contacts.
The main pair of contacts carries the current at normal load and
these contacts are made of copper.
.When circuit breaker is being opened, the main contacts open
first and during opening of main contacts the arcing contacts
are still in touch with each other
The arcing is only initiated when finally the arcing contacts are
separated. The each of the arc contacts is fitted with an arc
runner which helps, the arc discharge to move upward due to
both thermal and electromagnetic effects
The arc is driven upward it enters in the arc chute, consisting
of splitters. The arc in chute will become colder, lengthen and
split
Arc chute Circuit breaker
 Air Blast Circuit Breakers

On the basis the direction of air blast to

the arc. CB's classified as

1. Axial Blast Type -

air blast is directed along the arc path.

2. Cross Blast Type -

air blast is directed at right angles to the
arc path.

3. Radial Blast Type -

Air blast is directed radially.
 Principle of ACB
Under normal condition the contacts are closed. When
a fault occurs contacts are opened and an arc is struck
between the them.

The opening of contacts are done by a flow of air blast

established by the opening of blast valve (located
between air reservoir and arcing chamber ).

The air blast cools the arc and sweeps away the
arching products in to the atmosphere.

Thus the dielectric strength of the medium is

increased, prevents from re-establishing the arc. The
arc get extinguished and flow of current is interrupted.
 Axial Circuit breakers
Under normal conditions

The FC and MC are held in closed position

with the help of spring pressure.
There is an Air Reservoir connected to the
arcing chamber through an air valve.
The air valve control the flow of air into the
arcing chamber.
The valve is closed under normal
conditions.
Axial Blast Circuit breaker
Normal conditions
FC and MC open
 Under Faulty Condition
When a fault occurs a tripping impulse is produced
which causes opening of the air valve.
Since the air valve connects the air reservoir and the
arcing chamber, a high pressure air enters to the
arcing chamber.
This air pushes away the moving contact against the
spring pressure.
The moving contact is separated and an arc is struck.
At the same time high pressure air blast flows along the
arc and takes away the ionised gases along with it.
Consequently the arc is extinguished and current flow is
interrupted.
 Note
The contact seperation required for arc
extinction is very Very small.
This small gap may sometimes inadequate
clearence for the normal sevice voltage.
Therefore an isolating switch is included as a
part of this CB.
This switch opens immediately after the fault
interruption to provide necessary clearence
for insulation
 Cross Blast Circuit Breaker
In this type of breaker, an air-blast is directed at
right angles to the arc.
The cross blast lengthens and forces the arc
into a suitable chute for arc extinction.
When the moving contact is withdrawn, an arc
is struck between the FC and MC contacts.
The high pressure cross-blast forces the arc
into a chute consisting of arc splitters and
baffles.
Cross blast
ABCB
 The splitters serve to increase the length of
the arc and baffles give improved cooling.
The result is that arc is extinguished and flow of
current is interrupted. Since blast pressure is
same for all currents, the inefficiency at low
currents is eliminated.
The final gap for interruption is great enough to
give normal iusulation clearance so that a
series isolating switch is not necessary.