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
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
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 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 d 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 Semiconductor 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