4 Ma

n Tea
m
 FUSES
Chapter 5
 01
HISTORY
What is Fuse?

It is an electric / electronic or
mechanical device, which is used to
protect circuits from over current,
overload and make sure the
protection of the circuit.
 Though ‘fuseless’ concept had been catching on
for quite some time, still quite a lot of low-voltage
distribution circuits are protected with fuses.
Further fuses form a major backup protection in
medium-voltage and high-voltage distribution to
11 kV, where switches and contactors with limited
short-circuit capacities are used.
When do fuse
started?

In 1881, Thomas Alva Edison patented his ‘lead

safety wire’, which was officially recognized as
the first fuse.

It was a way to make electricity in the home

much safer. As more people began to install the
Edison-invented lightbulbs in their homes, this
fuse block made things much easier.
However…

…It was also said that Joseph Swan actually

used this device in late 1880 in the
lighting circuits of Lord Armstrong’s house.

He used strips of tin-foil jammed between

brass blocks by plugs of woods.
Types of
Fuses
DC Fuses AC Fuses

DC fuses produce an arc that are In AC circuits, the arc extinguishes

difficult to stop than AC arcs because easily when compared to DC circuits.
there are no zero current flows in the Because the frequency of the AC fuses
circuit. For reducing the DC fuse changes its amplitude from 0º to 60º in
arcing the electrodes are placed at every one second. AC fuse is further
more distance due to which the size of divided into two categories. They are
the fuse increases as compared to AC low voltage fuses and high voltage
fuse. fuses.
 Fuses were often considered as casual
devices until not so long ago. The open tin-
foil (rewireable) sometimes came in for a lot
of abuse. If it blew constantly, then the new
fuse was just increased until it stayed in
permanently. Sometimes hairpins were used.
Greater precision only became possible with
the introduction of the Cartridge fuse.
Rewireable Type

As the name indicates the fuse can be

replaced or ‘rewired’ once it fails.
Fusible wire used to be contained in an
asbestos tube to prevent splashing of
volatile metal.
 Wireable Fuse

 Open to abuse due to incorrect rating of

This type of fuse is popular for domestic replacement elements hence affording
appliances and small commercial units incorrect protection.
because of cheapness and ease of
 Deterioration of element as it is open to the
replacement. It is not recommended for
commercial refrigeration duty because of atmosphere.
these disadvantages:
Cartridge
Fuses
 Cartridge Type (Totally
enclosed type)

 It consists of the heat-resisting ceramic body

enclosed by a metal cap at both ends. The filling
material such as chalk, plaster of Paris, quartz or
marble dust surrounds the body space which acts
as an arc quenching and cooling medium.
 Silver element, specially shaped, enclosed in a
barrel of insulating material, filled with quartz.
 Silver and quartz combine to give a very good
insulator and prevent arc from re-striking.
 Advantages Disadvantages

 There is no risk of reclosing after the trip.  Risk of a one-phase trip on three-phase lines.
 It is easy to replace.
  Slow recovery time on a trip.
It operates fast.
 It can be used in low and high temperatures.  Capable to perform only once. It needs to be
 Can operate considerably faster, suitable for higher changed after tripping.
short-circuit duty:
− Cartridge type can handle 100 000 A  It is old technology.
− Semi-open type can handle 4000 A.
 Most of them should be used with a fuse carrier.
D Type

It consists of an adapter ring, cartridge,

base, and cap. The fuse base is
connected to the fuse cap and the
cartridge is kept inside the fuse cap
through the adapter ring. The circuit
gets completed when the tip of the
cartridge makes contact with the
conductor.
Link-Type Bladed

It has a high breaking capacity. It has

two metal ends on both sides. The
Filling of the fuse with powdered pure
Heat Resisting
quartz acts as an arc extinguishing
agent. The fuse element uses silver or
copper for its construction.

Bolded
Other DC
Type Fuse
Other DC Type Fuse Switch Fuse

They can safely break depending upon rating

Sticker Fuse currents of the order of 3 times the load current.

It can be used for short circuit protection of

medium voltage motors.

Drop Out Fuse

It is an expulsion type fuse to protect
the transformers.
 02
OPERATING
CHARACTERISTI
CS
 Operating Characteristics
of a Fuse

The operating characteristics of a fuse is to

protect the system when there is a fault. It
blocks the
Vefault
nus iscurrent and lessen the
the
damage effect
seconof
d pthe fault on the system.
lanet
from the Su
n
 Energy Let-through/ Let
thru currents

The energy let through or Let-thru current

is that when the current passed by a fuse
while the fuse
Venis
usinterrupting
is the a fault within
the fuse’s
secocurrent-limiting
nd planet range.
from the Su
n
 03
APPLICATION OF
SELECTION OF
FUSES
 Fuse is the most common and widely used
protective device in electrical circuits.

Fuse protect electrical circuits from

OVERCURRENT.

1. Short-circuit
2. Overloading

PPSP
1989
Short-circuit

A path or circuit that allows current to flow

with zero or negligible resistance.
Overloading

Too much current passes through electric

wires. Which goes beyond the rated value
 The fuses blow in case the currents flowing through
them last for more than its withstand time.

 This property limits the use of fuses in circuits

where the inrush currents are quite high and flow
for considerable time like motors, etc., which draw
more than six times their full load current for a
short time ranging from milliseconds to few
seconds depending on the capacity.
 Hence, it is not possible to use fuses as
overload protection in such circuits,
since it may be necessary to select
higher-rated fuse to withstand inrush
currents.

 Accordingly, the fuses are mostly used

as short-circuit protection rather than
as overload protection in such circuits.
PPSP
1989
 Example:
 The fuses can be used as either for Resistive circuits like lamps show such
overload and short-circuit protection characteristics.
or for short-circuit protection as
noted below:
Hence, it is possible to use fuses as overload
protection in such circuits. They also protect
1. Circuits where the load does not vary
against short circuits.
much above normal value during
switching on and operating
conditions.
 Example:
2. Circuits where loads vary considerably 1. Direct-on-line motors
compared to the normal rating e.g. 2. Cranes
3. Rolling mills
4. Welding set, etc. In these cases, fuses are
used to provide short-circuit protection
only as it is not possible to select a size
meeting both overload and inrush
conditions.
 Fuse selection depends on a number of factors:

 • Maximum fault kVA of circuit to be protected.

 • Voltage of circuit.

 The above factors help to calculate the prospective current of circuit to be protected.
 The full prospective current is usually never reached due to rapid operation of the fuse
and hence the following factors need to be considered.
 2. Degree of overcurrent protection
1. Full load current of circuit: required:

Short-circuit tests show that the cut-off It is necessary to consider slightly

current increases as the rating increases. higher rating for the fuses compared to
Hence, greater benefit is derived from maximum normal current expected in a
use of correct or nearest rating cartridge system. This factor is called the fusing
fuses compared to the circuit rating. factor (refer clause 5.5) and can be
anywhere between 1.25 and 1.6 times
the normal rating.
 4. Whether fuses are required to operate or
3. Level of overcurrent required to be carried grade in conjunction with other protective
for a short time without blowing or apparatus. This factor is necessary to
deteriorating ensure that only faulty circuits are isolated
during fault conditions without disturbing
 Example: motor starting currents. This the healthy circuits.
point is important for motor circuits. Fuses
must be able to carry starting surge without
blowing or deteriorating.
General “rules of
thumb”
Short-circuit Protection

 Transformers, fluorescent lighting  Capacitor circuits

circuits. Select fuse rating of 25% or greater than the
full-load rating of the circuit to allow for
 Transient switching surges – take next the extra heating by capacitance effect.’
highest rating above full-load current.
Motor Circuits Overload Protection

 Starting current surge normally lasts for 20 s.

Squirrel cage induction motors:  Recommend 2:1 ratio to give satisfactory
discrimination.
 Direct-on-line takes about 7 times full-load
current
 75% tap auto-transformer takes about 4 times
full load current
 60% tap auto-transformer takes about 2.5
times full-load current
 Star/delta starting takes about 2.5 times full-
load current.
Special Types
Striker Pin

 This type is most commonly used on

medium- and low-voltage circuits.
When the fuse blows, a striker pin
protrudes out of one end of the
cartridge.

 This is used to hit a tripping

mechanism on a three-phase switch
fuse unit, so tripping all three phases.
This prevents single phasing on three-
phase motors.
 Drop-out
Type

 Used mainly on rural distribution systems.

Drops out when fuse blows, isolating the
circuit and giving line patrolman easy
indication of fault location.
 04
GENERAL
The fuse acts as both fault detector
and interrupter. It is satisfactory and
adequate for both
of these functions in many
applications. Its main virtue is speed.

PPSP
1989
 Limitations
It can only detect Its operating
faults that are characteristic cannot
 Fuse can't bear a surge current in the case associated with excess be adjusted or set.
of motor starting. current.
 Fuse is not suitable for overloading.
 Fuse has a low breaking capacity.
 Fuse is not protected to the circuit against
under-voltage.
Venus is th
 It can be replaced e
second plabyn an oversized fuse by
a novice to ensure itedoes
t not blow next
fro m t h e Sun the equipment it is
time. This can damage It requires replacement It can be used only at
supposed to protect. after each operation. low and medium
voltages.
Limiters
 IS-limiter Additional Information

 A very ‘special’ type of fuse is the IS-  Reduces substation cost

 Solves short-circuit problems in new substations and
limiter, originally developed by the substation extensions
company ABB.  Optimum solution for interconnection of
switchboards and substations
 In most cases the only technical solution
 Function of Is-Limiter

The device functions as an ‘intelligent fuse’ as illustrated

in Figure 5.7. The functional
parts are the following:
1. Current transformer (detects the short-circuit current)
2. Measuring and tripping device (measures the current
and provides the
triggering energy)
3. Pulse transformer (converts the tripping pulse to
busbar potential)
4. Insert holder with insert (conducts the operating
current and limits the short-
circuit current).
Thank You, next.
 m ore
ever