Fault scenario simulation in a feeder

Feeders are line conductors which connect the stations to the areas to
be fed by those stations. So when there is a fault in a feeder, there will
be a surge in a current. So for the safety against such faults, circuit
breakers are used. These conditions can be viewed in the work station
with the help of DCS. Let us see feeders and circuit breakers in detail :
Transmission and distribution of electrical power
By transmission and distribution of electrical power is meant its
conveyance from the central station where it is generated to the places
where it is demanded by the consumers (like pumping stations,
residential and commercial buildings, mills, factories etc.)
The maximum generated voltage in advanced countries is 33kV
while that in India is 11kV.
The amount of power that has to be transmitted through
transmission lines is very large and of this power is transmitted at
11kV (or 33kV) the line current and power loss would be very
large. Therefore this voltage is stepped up to a higher value by
using step up transformers located in sub-stations.
The transmission voltages in India are 400 kV, 220 kV and 132
kV.
The transmission lines and feeders are 3-phase 3-wire circuits.
The distributors are 3-phase 4-wire circuits because a neutral wire
is necessary to supply the single-phase loads of domestic and
commercial consumers.
The transmission network is commonly known as Grid.

Electric supply system:
An electric supply system comprises of the following three principle
components:
a) Power station.
b) Transmission lines.
c) Distribution lines.

The electrical system is broadly classified as follows:
1) D.C. or A.C. system.
2) Overhead or underground system.
The overhead system is less expensive than the underground one. In
our country this system is mostly adopted for transmission and
distribution of power.


Fig (a)

The above fig shows a typical layout of power system between
generation and use of electric power.
The various components are discussed below:
a) Generating station (GS): In generating station electric power is
produced by 3-phase alternators operating in parallel. The normal
generation voltage is 11kv (it may be 6.6kV or even 33kV in some
cases). This voltage is stepped upto 132kV (or more) with the help
of 3-phase transformers. Generally the transmission is carried at
66kV, 132kV, 220kV or 400kV.
Note : Whereas the use of high voltage leads to several advantages including
saving of conductor material and high transmission efficiency, on the other
hand, introduces insulation problems and increases cost of switchgear and
transformer equipment.
b) Primary transmission: In this type of transmission, the electric
power at 132kV is supplied to the other system by 3-phase 3-wire
overhead system.
c) Secondary transmission: The primary transmission line terminates
at the receiving station (RS) where the voltage is reduced to 33kV
by step down transformers. From this station, the electric power is
transmitted at 33kV to large consumers by 3-phase, 3-wire
overhead system, and this forms the secondary transmission.
d) Primary distribution: The secondary transmission line terminates at
sub-stations(SS) where voltage is reduced from 33kV to 11kV. The
11kV(3-phase,3-wire) lines run along the important road sides of
the city.
Note: The large/big consumers(having demand more than 50kw) are normally
supplied power at 11kV which they handle it individually with their own
substations.
e) Secondary distribution: The electric power available at 11kv from
the primary distribution line is delivered to distribution substations
(DSS, located near the locality of the consumers) which step down
the voltage to 400V, 3-phase, 4-wire secondary distribution. The
single phase residential lighting load is connected between any
phase and neutral (230V) and 3-phase motor load is connected
across 3-phase lines (400V) directly.
The secondary distribution system consists of feeders, distributors
and service mains (see fig (b))



Fig (b)
Low voltage (L.V.) distribution system.

Feeders: These are line conductors which connect the
stations to the areas, to be fed by those stations. Normally
no tapping are taken from feeders. They are designed mainly
from point of their current carrying capacities.
Distributors: These are conductors from which several
tappings for the supply to the consumers are taken. They are
designed from the point of view of the voltage drop in them.
Service mains: These are the terminals which connect the
consumers terminals to the distributors.







Comparison between D.C. and A.C. systems of
transmission and distribution

D.C. system:
Few advantages: The transmission of electric power by high voltage
D.C. systems has following advantages over high voltage A.C. system:
DC systems are economical for long distance bulk power
transmission by overhead lines.
Simple line construction.
Greater power per conductor.
Ground return is possible.
In DC system, only IR drop is present and IX drop is nil. Therefore
voltage regulation problem is much less serious.
The power flow through a DC link is easily reversible and
controlled.
In DC transmission, there is no inductance, capacitance, phase
displacement and surge problem.
A DC line has less corona loss.
A DC line has reduced interference with communication circuits.
There is no skin effect in DC, X-section of line conductor is
therefore fully utilized.
Because of less potential stress and negligible dielectric loss,
underground cable can be used.
No stability problems.
No synchronizing difficulties.
In a DC system, potential stress on the insulation is 1/2 times
that in AC system for same working voltage, therefore less
insulation is required in DC system.


Disadvantages
The high voltage DC systems have the following disadvantages:
DC system uses complicated converters and DC switch gear is
expensive. Thus installation is costly.
Electric power cannot be generated at high DC voltage due to
commutator problems.
In DC system harmonics are generated which require filters.
Converters require considerable reactive power.
Converters do not have overload capability.

AC SYSTEM
Nowadays electrical energy is almost exclusively generated,
transmitted and distributed in the form of A.C. Let us see its advantages
and disadvantages.
Advantages:-
(1) In A.C. system, the electric power can be generated at high
voltage.
(2) Maintenance of substations is easy and comparatively at a lower
cost.
(3) Stepping-up and stepping down of an A.C voltage can be done
easily and efficiently with the help of transformers.
Disadvantages:-
(1) There is a need to synchronize the alternators before they are put
in parallel.
(2) Transmission line construction is comparatively difficult and the
amount of copper required is comparatively more.
(3) In order to avoid corona loss and also to provide adequate
amount of insulation in case of overhead lines, more spacing
between the conductors is required.
(4) As a result of skin effect, the resistance of the line is increased.
(5) A.C line has capacitance, because of which there is a continues
loss of power due to charging current even when the line is open.
Note:-
(a) The best method is to use A.C system for generation and
distribution purpose and DC system for transmission purpose.
(b) By using mercury are rectifiers and thyratrons, it is possible to
transmit electric power by DC system, which can convert AC into
DC and vice-versa directly at a reasonable cost. These devices
can handle 30 Megawatt at 400V.


Line diagram of typical H.V.D.C transmission lines

The above figure shows a single line diagram of high voltage DC
(H.V.D.C) transmission. The generating station generates electric power
which is AC. This voltage is stepped to high voltage by the use of step-
up transformers. This A.C power at high voltage is fed to the mercury
are rectifiers which converts AC into DC. This high DC voltage is
transmitted. At receiving end the DC power converted to AC power using
thyratrons. This AC voltage is then stepped down to low voltage for
distribution by using a step-down transformer.
Choice of Transmission Voltage
Whenever transmission lines are concerned there is a specific limit for
the voltage to be used, beyond which there is no economical profit. The
limit is reached when the cost of conductor, transformer, insulator,
supports, switchgear, lightning arrester and the erection cost is
minimum.


Fig (c)

(i) According to modern American practice (based on empirical
formula) empirical lineto-line voltage (kV) is
V=5.5(0.62 +


)
Where,
l=Distance of transmission in km,
P=Estimated maximum KW/phase to be delivered over a single circuit.
(ii) Voltage in kV(line-to-line),
V=5.5(0.62 +


)
Where,
l=Distance of transmission in km and kVA=Total power.
Underground cables and overhead lines
Overhead lines and underground cables are the 2 ways for transmission
or distribution of electric power. Most of the time overhead lines are
used; underground cables are rarely used for the following reason:
(i) Power is generally transmitted over long distances to load
centres.
(ii) Installation costs are very high. Therefore, transmission of
power over long distances is carried out by using overhead
lines.
Important components of overhead lines:
(1) Conductors:-
Conductors carry power from sending end station to receiving end
station.
(2) Supports:-
These are the structures which keep the conductors at a suitable
level above the ground; they can be poles or towers, depending
upon the working voltage and the place where they are used.
(3) Cross-arms: - Cross arms provide the necessary support to the
insulators.
(4) Insulators: - They provide insulation to high voltage wire with the
metal structure and also provide support to the conductor. They
also provide support to bus-bar conductors and other love high
voltage equipment terminals.

(5) Other miscellaneous items:
(1) Lightning arresters.
(2) Fuse
(3) Isolating switches
(4) Guard wire
(5) Phase plates
(6) Vee guards
(7) Anticlimbing wires etc.



Conductors
The following are the characteristics that conductor used for
transmission and distribution should possess:
(a) In order to withstand mechanical stress, it should have high
tensile strength.
(b) Low resistivity, so that it has high electrical conductivity.
(c) In order to have small weight per unit volume it should have low
specific gravity.
(d) Low cost.
All these characteristics are not found in a single material. So, while
selecting a conductor material for a particular case, a compromise is
made between cost and electrical and mechanical properties.
Material used for transmission lines
The most important leading material used for transmission lines is
copper because it has tensile strength and high conductivity. Aluminium
is also used to large extent especially with a steel core for high voltage
line. The selection of materials depends upon the following criteria:
(i) Required mechanical strength and electrical properties.
(ii) Cost of materials.
(iii) Local conditions.

List of other materials used for transmission lines are:
(a) Galvanised steel materials.
(b) Galvanised iron.
(c) Steel core copper.
(d) Cadmium copper materials etc.
(e) Phosphor bronze materials etc.
Let us see few of them in brief.
(1) Copper :-
Copper that has not been annealed after being drawn (Hard
drawn copper) conductor is one of the best conductors due
to its high electrical conductivity and high tensile strength for
all types of transmission. Hard drawing reduces electrical
conductivity by a small amount but it increases the tensile
strength considerably.
It is a homogeneous material, durability is high and has high
scrap value.
It has a high current density so lesser X-sectional area of
conductor is required.

Copper conductor having steel core are employed for long span
transmission lines, where a combination of high conductivity,
small sag and minimum cross-section are desired.

(2) Aluminium :-
(i) Lighter in weight as compared to copper, but has smaller
conductivity and tensile strength.
(ii) Aluminium has 1.6 items the resistivity of copper. So for the
same loss and length of conductor an aluminium conductor
should have 60% greater x-sectional area than that of copper
conductor. This increased X-section of aluminium exposes a
greater surface to wind pressure. So the supporting towers
must be designed for greater transvers strength. As
consequences of greater sag, the use of higher towers is
often required.
(iii) The sag in aluminium conductors is greater than the copper
conductors.
(iv) They are particularly suitable for operation in very high
ambient temperature.

(3) Steel cored aluminium (A.C.S.R)
Aluminium has low tensile strength, as a result produce greater
sag which prohibits their use for longer spans and makes them
unsuitable for long distance transmissions. So in order to increase
the tensile strength of the aluminium conductor, it is used with a
core of galvanized steel wires. The combinational conductor thus
obtained is called as A.C.S.R. (Aluminium Conductor Steel
Reinforced).

Fig (d)
A.S.C.R conductor


The above figure shows, one steel cored conductor wire
surrounded by 18 wires of aluminium. The aluminium carries bulk
of current while the steel core takes a greater percentage of
mechanical stress.
Produces small lag and therefore can be used for longer
spans.
A.C.S.R. Conductor gets deteriorated in service due to
atmospheric corrosion.

(4) Galvanised steel
Used for extremely long spans. Because of poor conductivity
and high resistance of steel, they are not suitable for
transmitting large power over a long distance.
Steel wire or iron wire is most advantageous for transmission
of small power over a short distance.


(5) Cadmium copper
Sometimes copper alloyed with cadmium is used. When 1 or 2
percentage of cadmium is added to copper it increases the tensile
strength by about 40 percentages but reduces the conductivity
only by 17 percentages. Cadmium copper is expensive than
copper.
Economical for a line with long spans and small cross-
section.

Line support:-
The following are the characteristics of line supports used for
transmission and distribution of electric power.
Light in weight and less expensive.
It should have high mechanical strength.
Low maintenance cost and longer life.
These lines support can be wooden poles, steel poles, RCC poles and
steel towers.

(1) Wooden poles:
Cheap, easily available has insulating properties and are
most widely used for distribution purpose in rural areas.
Used for short spans, up to 60 metres.
The portion of the poles, which is below the ground level, is
impregnated with preservative compounds like creosite oil.
In order to obtain high transverse strength, double pole
structures like A or H type (fig e) are used.
Short life, up to 25 to 30 years.



Fig (e)

(2) Steel poles
Has great mechanical strength and thus can be used for
longer spans (50-80 metres), but they are costly.
Majority of 3 types:
(i) Rail poles
(ii) Rolled steel joints
(iii) Tabular poles

Average life more than 40 years.

(3) R.C.C. poles
R.C.C poles possess greater mechanical strength and can
be used for longer span than steel poles(80-200 metres)
Good insulating properties and low maintenance.
They have a very long life.



Fig (f)
R.C.C poles


(4) Steel towers
Wooden poles, steel poles, R.C.C. poles are used for
distribution purpose at low voltage (say 11kV), but steel
towers are invariably employed for long distance
transmission at higher voltage.
Troubles regarding lightning are minimised as each tower
acts as a lightning conductor.
Steel tower has greater mechanical strength.
Longer life span.
Steel towers can withstand most severe climate conditions.
Steel towers are suitable for longer spans.


Single circuit tower Double circuit tower
Fig (g)


OVERHEAD LINE INSULATORS
Insulators are used in order to provide safety and necessary clearance
between live transmission conductors, which are completely bare and do
not have any insulated coating over it.
Required characteristics of an insulator:-
(i) It should have insulation resistance to avoid current leakage to
earth.
(ii) It should have very high mechanical strength.
(iii) It should have high dielectric strength to provide high relative
permittivity. Also, it should have high ratio of rapture strength to
flash over voltage.
Materials used for insulation
(a) Porcelain
(b) Steatite
(c) Glass
(d) Synthetic resin

(1) Porcelain
Most commonly used material for insulator in overhead lines.
Porcelain is usually weak in tension and does not withstand
tensile strength more than 50MN/m
2

A good porcelain insulator has compressive strength of
about 7000N/m
2
and dielectric strength of 60kV/cm of its
thickness.
Porcelain is mechanically stronger than glass.


(2) Glass
Mainly used for E.H.V, AC and DC systems.
Glass insulator is cheaper than porcelain when simple
shapes are considered.
Under ordinary atmospheric conditions the glass insulator
can be used up to 25kV and in dry atmosphere, it can be
used up to 50kV.
In H.V lines having voltage above 100kV, toughened glass is
employed for insulation.

(3) Steatite
It is produced by mixing hydrated magnesium silicate with
small portion of clay and felspar.
It has high insulation resistance.
Steatite has much greater tensile and bending stress than
porcelain. Thus can be used at tension towers or when the
transmission lines take a sharp turn.


(4) Synthetic resin
Synthetic resin is an insulator which is made up materials
like rubber, silicon, resin etc.
Synthetic resin insulator has high strength and lower weight.
Leakage current is higher and longevity is low.
Comparatively cheaper.
Used in various indoor application.
Synthetic resin insulators are extensively used for bushings.

Types of insulators
(a) Pin type insulators.
(b) Suspension type insulators.
(c) Strain type insulators.
(d) Shackle insulators.

(a) Pin type insulators
A pin type insulator is designed to be mounted on a pin, which in
turn is installed on cross-arm of the pole. The insulator on the pin
and electrical conductor is placed in the groove at the top of the
insulator and soft aluminium binding wire according to the material
of the conductor.
Pin type insulators made of glass are generally used for low
voltages.
Pin type insulators made of porcelain can be used up to
90kV but are rarely used on lines above 60kV.


Pin type insulator
Fig (h)

(b) Suspension type insulators
In a pin type insulator its cost is increased rapidly as the
working voltage is increased. Therefore pin type insulator is
not economical beyond 33kV. So it is as usual practice to
use suspension type insulators for voltage higher than 33kV.
A pin type insulator sits on top of the cross arm, whereas a
suspension insulator hangs from the cross arm. The line
conductor is attached to its lower end.
Few advantages of suspension type insulators over Pin type
insulators are:
o Usually cheaper in cost for operating voltage above
50kV.
o Flexibility is increased with suspension insulators.
o If line insulation needs to be increased, the additional
insulators can be easily added to the string. In case
there is damage in any insulator, the damaged
insulator can be easily replaced.



Suspension type insulator
Fig (i)


Fig (j)


(c) Strain insulators
Strain insulators can be of pin type insulator or suspension type
insulator. Strain insulators are made use when making very long
spans or corners of transmission lines.


Fig (k)








(d) Shackle insulators
Shackle insulators can be fixed to a pole directly with a bolt or to
the cross arm. The line conductor is fixed in the groove with a soft
binding wire. Before, shackle insulators were used as strain
insulator, but these days they are used for low voltage distribution
lines.

Shackle insulator
Fig (l)


The reason for failure of insulators
(1) Mechanical stress
(2) Short circuits
(3) Flash-over
(4) Cracking of insulator, dust deposition, porosity of material etc.

Sag in overhead lines:
In transmission lines, the conductors are supported at the towers
or poles. When the conductor supported in this manner it will sag
or dip under its own weight and it takes the shape of catenary.
The distance between the adjacent supporting towers is called the
span. The difference in level between the points of supports and
the lowest points is known as sag.
The factors affecting the sag in overhead lines are:
(i) Weight of the conductor: The weight of the conductor directly
affects the sag. Heavier the conductor, greater will be the
sag.
(ii) Span length: Sag is directly proportional to the square of the
span length, provided other conditions remain unchanged.
(iii) If other conditions are remaining the same, then the sag is
inversely proportional to the working tensile strength.
(iv) Sag increases with the increase in temperature.

Note: - Few important terms:
(a) Skin effect:
When direct currents are concerned, the direct current distributes
themselves uniformly over the cross-section of the conductor and
therefore use the centre of the conductor as effectively as they use
the periphery. When alternating current is concerned, ac owing to
inductance effects within the conductor, crowd toward the outside of
the conductor. This behaviour is termed as skin effect. Skin effect
raises the apparent resistance of the conducting material, only the
total resistance of conductor is changed depending upon the
frequency of the current and also the diameter of the conductor. The
total resistance of the conductor increases, as the frequency of the
current increases, and also increases with the increase in the
diameter of the conductor. The current carried by the centre portion of
the conductors is reduced by skin effect, thus hollow conductors are
sometimes employed to use them more effectively. More often
instead of hollow conductor, Aluminium cable steel reinforced (ACSR)
is used.
The skin effect is negligible when the supply frequency is low (<50Hz)
and the conductor diameter is small (<1cm)

(b) Proximity Effect:
The alternating magnetic flux in a conductor caused by the current
following in a neighbouring conductor gives rise to circulating currents
which cause an apparent increase in the resistance of a conductor.
This phenomenon is called proximity effect.
Proximity effect is always of negligible order for normal spinning of
overhead lines. However, for underground cables where conductors
are spaced closely to each other, the effective resistance of the
conductor is greatly increased due to proximity effect.
The factors which effect skin and proximity effects are: -
(i) Frequency of the current.
(ii) Permeability of the conductor material.
(iii) Size of the conductor and distance between the conductors.

Classification of transmission lines
The transmission lines can be generally classified as follows;
(a) Short transmission lines.
(b) Medium transmission lines.
(c) Long transmission line.

Short transmission lines
Length less than 50km
Operating voltage less than 20kV.


Medium transmission lines
Length between 50km and 160km.
Operating voltage is between 21kV and 100kV.

Long transmission lines
Length more than 160km.
Operating voltage is above 100kV.


Circuit breakers

A circuit breaker is an automatically operated electrical switch designed
for to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or
short circuit. Or, in other words, the function of a circuit breaker is to
isolate the faulty part of the power system in case of abnormal
conditions. A protective relay detects abnormal conditions and sends a
tripping signal to the circuit breaker. After receiving the trip command
signal from the relay the circuit breaker isolates the faulty part of the
power system.

Fig (m)
Separation of the contacts of the circuit breaker

A circuit breaker has two contacts- a fixed contact and a moving contact.
Under normal conditions these two contacts remain in closed position.
When the circuit breaker is required to isolate the faulty part, the moving
contact moves to interrupt the circuit. On the separation of the contacts,
the flow of current is interrupted, resulting in the formation of an arc
between the contacts. These contacts are placed in a closed chamber
containing some insulating medium (like gas or liquid) which extinguish
the arc.
Insulating fluid is used for arc extension and the fluid chosen depends
upon the rating and type of circuit breaker. The insulating fluids
commonly used for circuit breaker are:
(i) Air at atmospheric pressure
(ii) Compressed air
(iii) Ultra high vacuum
(iv) Oil which produces hydrogen for arc extension
(v) Sulphur hexafluoride (SF
6
)
Some of the gases which have been used in circuit breaker are:
Electromagnetic gases : Sulphur hexafluoride , arcton
Simple gases: Air, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
The important characteristics of the fluids used in circuit breaker are:
(i) It should have good thermal and chemical stability
(ii) It should have high declarative strength.
(iii) Non-inflammability and high thermal conductivity.
(iv) Arc extinguish ability.

Classification of circuit breakers
(1) High voltage circuit breakers
(2) Low voltage circuit breakers

High voltage circuit breakers :-
(a) Oil circuit breakers :-

(i) Bulk oil circuit breakers using a large quantity of oil.
(ii) Low oil circuit breakers which operate with a minimum
amount of oil.
(b) Oil less circuit breakers :-
(i) Hard gas circuit breakers
(ii) Air blast circuit breakers
(iii) Sulphur hexafluoride circuit breaker
(iv) Water circuit breakers
(v) Vacuum circuit breakers

Characteristics of high voltage rating circuit breaker :-
(i) High voltage rating circuit breaker should have high reliability
electrically and mechanically.
(ii) High voltage rating circuit breaker should be capable of
interrupting capacitive and inductive circuits and fault currents
of all values within their rating.


Let us see some of the features of major circuit breakers:
(1) OIL CIRCUIT BREAKERS (O.C.B)
Oil circuit breakers are the most common and oldest type of circuit
breakers. The rating range of circuit breakers lies in range of
25MVA at 2.5kV and 5000MVA at 250kV.
In oil circuit breaker, the separating contacts are made to separate
within insulating oil medium, which has better insulating properties
than air.
Few advantages of using oil as an Arc quenching medium:-
(a) Dielectric strength is high
(b) As a result of decomposition of oil, it has good cooling property.
(c) It acts as an insulator between live part and earth.
(d) Surrounding oil in close proximity to the arc presents a large
cooling surface.
Few disadvantages:-
(a) Highly inflammable and can cause an explosion by mixing with
air.
(b) It requires maintenance.
(c) Periodic replacement.


(2) AIR BLAST CIRCUIT BREAKERS:-
Air blast circuit breakers is a type of circuit breaker which use a
high pressure air blast (at a pressure of 20bar) as an arc
quenching medium.

Range 132kV and above up to 400kV ,with the braking capacity
up to 7500MVA .But can also be designed to cover the wide range
of 66kV to 132kV.

Few advantages:-
(a) No risk of explosion and fire hazards.
(b) Consistent and short arc duration
(c) Since the arc duration is short and consistent, the burning of the
contact is less due to less arc energy.
(d) High speed enclosures facility.
(e) Comparatively less maintenance required.

Few disadvantages:-
(a) Current chopping
(b) Sensitivity to restricting voltage

(3) SULPHUR HEXAFLUORIDE(SF
6
) CIRCUIT BREAKER:-
Sulphur hexafluoride to other medium such as oil or air for the use
in circuit breakers for the following reasons:
(1) Being an Inert gas, it is non-reactive to the other components
of circuit breakers.
(2) Sulphur hexafluoride has high dielectric strength (about 24
times that of air and it is comparable to that of oil)
(3) When extinction of arc is concerned it is about 100 times more
effective than air.
(4) Its heat transfer property is about 16times that of air because of
its high density.
Applications:-
(1) The circuit breakers are designed for voltages 115kV to 230kV,
power rating of 10MVA to 20MVA and interrupting times less
than 3cycles.
(2) A typical sulphur hexafluoride circuit breaker consist of
interrupter units, each capable of dealing with currents up to
60000A and voltage in the range of 50 to 80kV.A number of
units are connected in series according to the voltage of the
system.

Few Advantages:-
(a) No risk of fire.
(b) No reduction of dielectric strength.
(c) Arcing time is very short; this reduces the erosion of contact.
(d) Its operation is very silent.
(e) The current chopping tendency is minimized by using
sulphur hexafluoride gas at low pressure and low velocity.
(f) The breaker is compact in size and totally enclosed. Thus
electrical clearances are drastically reduced and are
particularly suitable where explosion hazard exists, like coal
mines.
Disadvantages:-
(a) Expensive
(b) Sulphur hexafluoride gas has to be reconditioned after every
operation of the breaker and additional equipment is required
for this purpose.

(3) VACUUM CIRCUIT BREAKERS(V.C.B):-
Vacuum means the pressure below atmospheric pressure
which is 760 mm of Hg. In a vacuum circuit breaker, vacuum of
the order of 10
-5
to 10
-7
(1 torr =1 mm of Hg) is used as the arc
quenching medium. The dielectric strength of the vacuum is
1000 times more than that of any other medium.

Applications:-
(1) Vacuum breakers are being used for outdoor applications
ranging from 22kV to 66kV. They are also suitable for
majority of applications in several areas even with limited
rating say 60 to 100MVA.
(2) Vacuum circuit breakers are used for capacitor-bank
switching, transformer, reacting switching, where the
voltages are high and current to be interrupted is low.
Few important terms regarding circuit breakers:-
(1) Arc voltage :-
The voltage across the contacts during the arcing period is
known as the arc voltage .
(2) Restriking voltage:-
The transient voltage appearing across the contacts during
arc period is called the restriking voltage.
(3) Recovery voltage:-
It is normal frequency (50Hz) r.m.s. voltage that appears
across the contact of the circuit breaker after the final
extinction. It is approximately equal to the system voltage.
(4) Rate of Rise of restriking voltage(RRRV):-

Peak value of restriking voltage
The average RRRV =
Time taken to reach the peak value
(5) Current Chopping:-
When low inductive current (e.g. current to a shunt reactor
or magnetising current of a transformer) is interrupted by a
circuit breaker and the arc quenching force of the circuit
breaker is more than necessary to interrupt a low magnitude
of current, the current will be interrupted before its manual
zero instant. It is termed as current chopping.
Rating of circuit breakers:-
A circuit breaker is expected to perform the following duties (besides
normal working) under short circuit/fault conditions:
(a) To open the contacts to clear the fault and isolating the faulty
section.
(b) To close the contacts on to a fault.
(c) It must be able to carry fault current for a short time while another
circuit breaker (in series) is clearing the fault.

Therefore, in addition to the rated voltage, current and
frequency, circuit breakers have the following important ratings.
(i) Breaking capacity
(ii) Making capacity
(iii) Short-time capacity



(i) Breaking capacity:-
It is the current (r.m.s. value) that a circuit breaker is capable of
breaking under specified conditions (e.g. PPPV, power factor)
and given recovery voltage.

Breaking capacity for a 3-phase circuit breaker =3
10
-6
MVA ;
Where V=Rated service lines in volts,
I =rated breaking current (symmetrical or asymmetrical)
in ampere.
(ii) Making capacity:-
The peak value of current (including the DC component) during
first cycle of current wave after the closure of circuit breaker is
known as making capacity.
Making capacity =2.55 symmetrical breaking capacity

(iii) Short-time capacity:-
The short time rating of a circuit breaker depends upon its
ability to withstand the temperature rise and the electromagnetic
force effects. The oil circuit breakers have a specified limit of 3
seconds when the ratio of symmetrical breaking current to the
rated normal current does not exceed 40. However if this ratio
exceeds 40, then the specified limit is 1second.



Normal current rating:-
It is the r.m.s value of current which the circuit breaker is
capable of carrying continuously at its rated frequency under
specified conditions.