Electrical Fuse

Electrical fuse
• On what principle does the fuse
operate ?
the action of a fuse is based upon
the heating effect of the electrical
current. During overloads or short
circuits the fuse gets heated up to
melting point due to excessive
current and breaks the circuit
 Electrical Fuse
• Fuse : Fuse is a current interrupting device
which breaks or opens the circuit (in which it is
inserted)
by fusing the element in the circuit when
current exceed a certain value
• Current rating : it is defined the r.m.s value of
current which the fuse wire can carry
continuously without deterioration and with
temperature rise within specified limit
• Fusing current : it is defined as the minimum
value of current at which the fuse element or
fuse wire melts. its value will be more than the
current rating of the element
 Electrical Fuse
• Fusing factor : The ratio of fusing current and
the current rating of fuse element is known
as fusing factor
• The smaller the fusing factor , the greater is
the difficulty in avoiding deterioration due to
overheating and oxidation at rated carrying
current
• For semi enclosed or rewirable fuse which
employs copper wire as the fuse element,
fusing factor is equal to 1.9 to 2.0
• For the standard duty cartridge fuses fusing
factor is equal to 1.45
 Electrical Fuse
• Fusing current depends upon a various factor such as
- Types of material used
- The cross sectional area ( round or rectangular section )
- Length ( shorter the fuse the greater the current fuse of
smaller length heat is easily conducted away)
- Diameter of wire
- Types of enclosure employed
• Size and location of the Terminals
• The approximate value fusing current of a round wire is
I=k √d³ Where k= constant depending upon the metal
of the wire d= diameter of the wire
 Electrical Fuse
• Breaking Capacity : The breaking capacity is the
maximum current that can be safely interrupted
by the fuse. Some fuse are designated High
Rupture capacity (HRC)
• Voltage Rating : as well as a current rating , fuses
also carry voltage rating indicating the maximum
circuit voltage in which the fuse can be used
Fuse carrying a 250 volt rating may be safely
used in 125 Volt circuit, but reverse is not true as
the fuse may not be capable of safely interrupting
the arc in a circuit of higher voltage.
 Power system Protection
(Fuse)
Circuit Breakers V.S. Relays
Relays are like human brain; circuit
breakers are like human muscle.
Relays ‘make decisions’ based on
settings.
Relays send signals to circuit breakers.
Based the sending signals circuit
breakers will open/close.
 Power system Protection
(Fuse)
Fuses V.S. Relays
• Relays have different settings and can
be set based on protection
requirements.
• Relays can be reset.
• Fuses only have one specific
characteristic for a individual type.
• Fuses cannot be reset but replaced if
they blow.
HRC Fuse
HRC Fuse Multiple segment
Type
 HRC Fuse
• Fuse Action
• Heating/melting (pre arc)
• Melting/ vaporising (arcing)
• Silica (quartz sand)
• Cools the arc
• React with molten silver, to form a glass
like material which permanently open
circuit.
• HRC Fuse ( multiple segment type ) used
for high current rating ,internal element
consist of multiple notches or even multiple
elements in parallel. For high fault
currents , all notches melt and arc
simultaneously.
 HRC Fuse
• Advantages of HRC fuses
- Cheap compared with other types of circuit interrupters of same
breaking capacity
- simple and easy installation
- No maintenance is required
- High breaking capacity
- Do not deteriorate with time
- Consistent in performance
Disadvantages of HRC fuses
- Time is lost in replacing fuse after each operation
- Interlocking is not possible
- It causes overheating of adjacent contacts
Fuse time current
characteristic
 Fuse characteristic
• For a fuse to satisfactorily protect a cable, its
characteristic must match, as closely as
possible, the heating characteristic of the cable.

• This means that fuses have an inverse time

characteristic, i.e. the larger the over current,
the faster the blowing time of the fuse.

• Fuse characteristics are drawn on log/log scale

as this enables a wide range of currents along
with a wide range of time intervals to be charted
Fuse characteristic
discrimination
 Fuse characteristic
discrimination
• In a correctly designed installation, in the
event of a fault, the fuse nearest to the
fault should interrupt the circuit before
any other device has a chance of
interrupting it. This is known as
discrimination.
Electrical Fuse
Electrical Fuse
Electrical fuse
 Electrical Fuse
• The total let through energy is
proportional to the energy dissipation
during the pre-arcing and arcing
intervals and is referred to as the I2t
characteristic of the fuse/protective
device.
 Electrical Fuse
• A fuse and its type should be
matched to the device I2t let through
– motors, conductors
(cables) and semi-conductor devices
all have different I2t Value. e.g Semi-
conductor requires a “fast” fuse type
 Electrical Fuse Selection Guide
• The fuse must carry the normal load current of the circuit without
nuisance openings. However, when an over current occurs the fuse
must interrupt the over current, limit the energy let-through, and
withstand the voltage across the fuse during arcing. To properly
select a fuse the followings must be considered:
• Normal operating current (The current rating of a fuse is typically
derated 25% for operation at 25C to avoid nuisance blowing. For
example, a fuse with a current rating of 10A is not usually
recommended for operation at more than 7.5A in a 25C ambient.)
• Overload current and time interval in which the fuse must open.
• Application voltage (AC or DC Voltage).
• Inrush currents, surge currents, pulses, start-up currents
characteristics.
• Ambient temperature.
• Applicable standards agency required, such as UL, CSA, VDE.
• Considerations: Reduce installation cost, ease of removal, mounting
type/form factor, etc.
 Basic types of Electrical Fuse
• Fuse Type There are three basic types of fuses:
 
(1) Slow Blow/Time Lag/ Time Delay fuses
(2) Fast acting fuses
(3) Very fast acting fuses
 
A major type of Time Delay fuse is the dual-element
fuse.
This fuse consists of a short circuit strip, soldered joint
and spring connection. During overload conditions, the
soldered joint gets hot enough to melt and the spring
shears the junction loose. Under short circuit
conditions, the short circuit element operates to open
the circuit.
 Electrical Fuse
• Slow-blow fuse allows temporary and harmless
inrush currents to pass without opening, but is so
designed to open on sustained overloads and short
circuits. Slow-blow fuses are ideal for circuits with a
transient surge or power-on inrush. These circuits
include: motors, transformers, incandescent lamps
and capacitate loads.
• This inrush may be many times the circuit's full load
amperes. Slow-blow fuses allow close rating of the
fuse without nuisance opening. Typically, Slow Blow
fuses are rated between 125% to 150% of the
circuit's full load amperes.
Electrical Fuse