characteristic and application. 2. Fuse element, rated fuse current, minimum fusing factor, fusing factor, pre arcing and arcing time. 3. Merits and Demerits of different types of fuses. 1. Fuse: A fuse is an electrical safety device that operates to provide over current protection of an electrical circuit. Its essential component is a metal wire or strip that melts when too much current flows through it, thereby stopping or interrupting the current.
2. Fuse Element (or Fuse wire):
It is that part of the fuse which melts when the current flowing in the circuit exceeds a certain predetermined value and thus break the circuit. The function of fuse wire is to carry the normal current without excessive heating but more than normal current when pass through fuse wire, it rapidly heats up and melts. The materials used for fuse wires are mainly tin, lead, copper, aluminum etc. 3. Rated fuse Current: It is the rms value of current which the fuse wire can carry continuously without deterioration and with temperature rise within specified limits. 4. Minimum fusing Current: It is the minimum value of current at which the fuse wire melts. Obviously, the value of fusing current will be more than Rated fuse current. An approximate value of the minimum fusing current for a round fuse wire is given by
Where, k = fuse constant; d = diameter of wire
The value of fuse constant “k” depends upon various factors such as; type of material used, cross section area i.e. round or rectangular, length of wire, enclosure type, diameter of wire etc. 5. Fusing factor: The ratio of minimum fusing current and the current rating of fuse element is known as fusing factor. This factor is always more than unity.
Cut-off Characteristics 6. Prospective Current: Figure 15.1 shows the first major loop of the fault current. The prospective current ( shown dotted) is the current which would have flown in the circuit if the fuse had been absent. It is measured in terms of the rms value of the ac ( symmetrical ) component of the fault current in the first major loop. In fig. 15.1, Ip is the peak value of the prospective current.
7. Cut - off current:
The current at which the fuse element melts is called cut-off current ( ic in Fig. 15.1) and is measured as an instantaneous value. The melting of fuse element before the current reaches the prospective peak is called the cut‐off. 8. Pre arching time of fuse: This is the time taken by a fuse wire to be broken by melting. It is counted from the instant; the over current starts to flow through fuse, to the instant when fuse wire is just broken by melting. Fig. 15.1, oa is the pre arcing time (tpa). 9. Arching time of fuse: This is the time taken from the instant of cut-off (arc initiation) to the instant of arc being extinguished or the current finally becoming zero. In Fig. 15.1, ab is the arcing time (ta) 10. Operating time of fuse: The operating time of fuse is the time gap between the instant when the over rated current just starts to flow through the fuse and the instant when the arc in fuse finally extinguished. Operating time of fuse = pre arcing time + arcing time of fuse. 10. Rupturing Capacity ( or breaking capacity): It is the product of service voltage in kV and the rms value of the prospective current in kA it can handle. It is expressed in MVA. Breaking capacity is the maximum amount of current at a specified voltage the fuse can handle before causing physical damage to the fuse body, exploding, or causing excessive arc upon opening. There are two types of fuses in general: 1. Low Voltage fuse 2. High Voltage fuse
Low Voltage fuse can be subdivided into two groups:
a. Rewirable or semi-enclosed type b. Cartridge or totally enclosed type
a. Rewirable or semi-enclosed type
It consists of a porcelain base carrying
the fixed contacts and a porcelain fuse carrier holding the fuse element.
Fig: Kit‐ kat fuse
The fuse carrier can be taken out or inserted in the base without risk, even without opening the main switch. The fuse wire can be replaced in the case of damage. It means the fuse base and the fuse holder need not to change in the case of fuse wire burnt. The fuse wire may be of lead, tinned copper, aluminum or alloy of tin‐lead. Generally the fusing current is twice of the rated current. The specifications are covered by IS : 2086‐1963. Standard ratings are 6, 16, 32, 63 and 100 A
Advantages: 1. easy removal or replacement of fuse element without any danger. 2. negligible replacement cost Disadvantages: 1. Unreliable operation 2. Lack of discrimination 3. Low rupturing capacity (A fuse of 16 A rating have a breaking capacity of 2 kA and those up to 200 A have 4 kA) 4. Slow speed of operation 5. Risk of flame and fire
b. Cartridge or totally enclosed type fuse
The fuse element is enclosed in an enclosed container
and is provided with metal contacts on both sides. The fuses are further classified as D type and Link type. i. D type Cartridge fuses This is a fuse comprising a fuse base, adaptor ring, cartridge and a fuse cap. The cartridge with the fuse element is pushed in the fuse cap and the cap is screwed on the fuse base through the adapter ring and the connection is complete only when the tip of the cartridge touch the conductor.. The standard ratings are 6, 16, 32, and 63 A. the breaking or rupturing capacity is of the order of 4 kA for 2 and 4 A fuses and 16 kA for 6 to 63 A fuses.
These types of fuses do not have the drawbacks
of the rewirable fuses. These are reliable and discrimination and coordination are achieved to a reasonable extent. ii. Link type or HRC fuse
Construction: A HRC fuse consists of a quartz powder, brass end-caps cylindrical body of ceramic material, pure and copper contact blades.
The fuse element is fitted inside the ceramic body
and the space within the body surrounding the element is completely filled with pure powdered quartz. The ends of the fuse element are connected to the metal end-caps which are screwed to the ceramic body by means of special forged screws. End contacts are welded to the metal end-caps. The contact blades are bolted on the stationary contacts on the panel. Normally the element has two or more sections joined together by means of a tin joint. Operation: When the fuse carries normal rated current, the heat energy generated is not sufficient to melt the fuse element. But when a fault occurs, the fuse element melts before the fault current reaches its first peak. As the element melts, it vaporizes and disperses. During the arcing period, the chemical reaction between the metal vapour and quartz powder forms a high resistance substance which helps in quenching the arc. Thus the current is interrupted. Advantages: 1. Capability of clearing high fault currents. 2. Fast operation 3. Non-deterioration for long periods 4. Reliable discrimination 5. Current limitation by cut off action Disadvantages: 1. This has to be replaced after each operation. 2. In every operation, it produces heat which affects associate contacts.
Applications of HRC Fuse:
Protection of low voltage distribution systems against overloads and short circuits. Protection of cables Protection of bus bars Protection of motors Back up protection to circuit breakers 1. Time Current Characteristics A Fuse operates when its element melts due to heat produced by I2RF, where RF is Fuse resistance. This heat produced increases if the current flowing through the Fuse element increases. Therefore, we can conclude that a Fuse element will melt faster for large fault current while it will take some time for lower value of fault current. This time-current relationship of Fuse is known as Characteristics of Fuse.
In the above figure, curve for three Fuses of rating 60 A,
100 A and 200 A are give. We select Fuse of rating 60 A for the sake of understanding. See, if the current flowing through the Fuse element is around 350 A then the Fuse element will melt in .02 sec i.e. 20 ms while if the current is around 225 A then it will take 50 ms to melt. Thus we see that the Fuse characteristic is Inverse Time. Higher the current, lower will be the time to melt. 2. I2t characteristics: The I2t rating is related to the amount of energy let through by the fuse element when it clears the electrical fault. This term is normally used in short circuit conditions and the values are used to perform co-ordination studies in electrical networks.
For coordination of fuse operation with upstream or downstream
devices, both melting I2t and clearing I2t are specified. The melting I2t is proportional to the amount of energy required to begin melting the fuse element. The clearing I2t is proportional to the total energy let through by the fuse when clearing a fault.
The energy is mainly dependent on current and time for fuses as
well as the available fault level and system voltage. Since the I2t rating of the fuse is proportional to the energy it lets through, it is a measure of the thermal damage from the heat and magnetic forces that will be produced by a fault 3. Cut off Characteristics
The ability of HRC fuse to limit the short circuit current is
known as cut‐off as illustrated in fig above. Due to this cut‐off property the short circuit current does not attain the prospective current. Hence the circuit is not subjected to electrodynamics stresses corresponding to peak prospective current. Because of this property of HRC fuse the operating time is as low as one fourth of a cycle. 1. Cartridge type HV HRC fuse 2. Liquid type HV fuse 3. Expulsion type HV fuse 1. Cartridge type HV HRC fuse This is similar in general construction to the low voltage type except that some special design features are incorporated. In some designs the element is wound in the shape of helix so as to avoid corona affect at higher voltages. In some design two fuse elements in parallel are employed; one of low resistance carries the normal current, the other is of high resistance (tungsten wire) and, after the low resistance has blown off, reduces the short circuit current and finally breaks the circuit. HV cartridge fuses are used up to 33 kV, with rupturing capacity of about 8760 A at that voltage. Ratings of the order of 200 A at 6.6 kV and 11 kV, and 50 A at 33 kV are also available. 2. Liquid type HV HRC fuse In liquid fuse carbon tetra chloride is used for arc extinction. Liquid type HRC fuse consists of a carbon tetra chloride filled glass tube sealed at both ends with brass caps. One end of the fuse element is sealed with the cap and the other end is held by a strong phosphor bronze spring fixed at the other end of the tube. On the occurrence of fault the fuse element melts and the springs pulls it into the carbon tetra chloride solution, thereby extinguishing the arc. It is used for the transformer protection or for the circuit up to about 400A rated current on system up to 132KV or higher and may have the breaking capacity of 6100A at 33KV (350MVA, 3 phase) 3. Expulsion type HV fuse: In an expulsion type fuse, the arc caused by operation of the fuse is extinguished by expulsion of gases produced by the arc. An expulsion fuse contains a hollow tube made of synthetic-resin-bonded paper in which the fuse element is placed and the ends of the element are connected to suitable fittings at each end. The length of the tube is generally longer than the conventional enclosed fuses. On the occurrence of a fault, the arc produced by fusing of the fuse element causes decomposition of the inner coating of the tube resulting in the formation of gases which assist arc extinction. Such fuses are developed for 11 kV, 250 MVA and are commonly used for protection of distribution transformers, overhead lines and cables terminating with overhead lines. High voltage expulsion fuses surround the fusible link with gas- evolving substances, such as boric acid. When the fuse blows, heat from the arc causes the boric acid to evolve large volumes of gases. Drop Out Fuse: Drop Out Fuses are protection devices that protect networks and equipment from current surges and overloads. An overcurrent will melt the fuse element in the carrier disconnecting the line or equipment.
The melting of fuse causes the fuse element
to drop under gravity about its lower support which creates visible isolation. Such fuses are employed for protection of outdoor transformers.
On blowing off fuse the complete tube can
be lifted from the hinge by means of a special insulator rod and brought down for replacement of fuse element. After replacing the element the tube is placed in the hinge and the device is closed in a way similar to closing of isolators. Write short notes on: a. High voltage HRC fuse b. Drop out Fuse [2079 Jestha] Explain the cut-off characteristics and the time-current characteristics of a fuse. [2078 Chaitra] Define fusing current and current capacity of a fuse with an example. [2077 Chaitra] What are the considerations in selecting a fuse for a. Transformer Protection b. Capacitor protection c. lighting loads [2076 Bhadra] Write short notes on the following: a. Low voltage HRC fuse b. Drop out fuse [2075 Bhadra] Describe the time/current I squared T characteristics of a HRC fuse and explain how they are used to select the rating of fuses in series. [2075 Baisakh] Explain the construction and operation of HRC fuse. Also mention the differences between fuse and MCB. [2074 Bhadra] What factors govern the time-current characteristics of a fuse link? Explain what is meant by “fuse coordination”. [2073 Magh] Explain the following terms showing the sketch of the cut off characteristics of fuse: a. Minimum fusing current b. Rated current c. Perspective current d. Cut off current e. Fusing factor. [2073 Bhadra] Explain the constructional details of HRC fuse. State advantage of HRC fuse. [2072 Magh] An induction motor is required to protect through a fuse and contactor. Suggest a suitable guide line for selection of rating of fuse and contactor. State any assumptions made. [2071 Magh] In relation to a fuse, explain what do you mean by a. Prospective current b. Cut off current c. time delay fuse. [2071 Bhadra] A transformer having capacity of 250 KVA, 11/0.415 KV, percentage impedance of 4.75% is required to be protected with fuses. Suggest guide line for selection of HV and LV side fuses. State any assumptions made. [2070 Magh] What is the main differences between fuse and MCB? Define the following terms for HRC fuse. a. cut off b. pre arcing time c. arching time [2070 Bhadra]
