SEMINAR

REPORT

ON

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WHAT IS A CIRCUIT
BREAKER?
A circuit breaker is an equipment which
can

make or break a circuit either

manually
or automatically under
normal conditions
break a circuit under abnormal
conditions

POINTS TO BE DISCUSSED:PRINCIPLE
ARCS
CLASSIFICATION
SF6 CIRCUIT BREAKERDETAILS
CONCLUSION

Fixed
contact

Fixed
contact
ARC

Moving
contact

OPERATING
PRINCIPLE OF
BREAKER

ARC IS QUENCHED
ARC
BY MEDIUM

Moving
contact

IN A CIRCUIT BREAKER

OVERVIEW OF ARCS IN BREAKERS-:

During the separation
of contacts, due to
large fault current and
high current density
at the contact region
the surrounding
medium ionises and
thus a conducting
medium is formed.
This is called the ARC.

PRINCIPLES OF ARC
EXTINCTION
Factors responsible for arc:-

Potential difference between the

contacts
Ionised particles between the contacts

By removing any one of these the arc

can be quenched.

CLASSIFICTION OF CIRCUIT
BREAKERS
OIL

AIR

VACCUM

SF6

SF6
OIL
AIR
VACCUM
CIRCUIT BLAST
CIRCUIT CIRCUIT
BREAKER CIRCUIT BREAKER BREAKER
BREAKER

OVERVIEW OF SF6 GAS:Electrical properties

1.
1. High
High dielectric
dielectric strength
strength
2.
2. Excellent
Excellent arc
arc quenching
quenching ability
ability
3.
3. Excellent
Excellent thermal
thermal stability
stability
4.
4. Good
Good thermal
thermal conductivity
conductivity

Physical & Chemical properties

1.
1. Chemically
Chemically inert
inert
2.
2. Non-toxic
Non-toxic
3.
3. Non-corrosive
Non-corrosive
4.
4. Non-flammable
Non-flammable

Dielectric properties of SF6 gas: DS of sf6 is 2.5 times of

air
DS of sf6 is 30% less
than oil
DS of sf6 is equal to oil
at 63700 N/m2
And 15% higher at
122500 N/m2

Advantages of SF6 gas:1.

1. Increased
Increased safety
safety
2.
2. Reduced
Reduced size
size
3.
3. Easy
Easy installation
installation
4.
4. Low
Low maintenance
maintenance

SF6 CIRCUIT BREAKER

OPERATION

SF6 DECOMPOSITION PRODUCTS

SF6
SPARK

SF4 + 2F
H2O

SOF2 + 2HF

MFn

H2O

SO2 + HF

SiO2

SiF4 + 2 H2O

Amount of each decomposition product depends

on :-

magnitude & duration of discharge

materials of construction of equipment
contamination levels of moisture and air inside

REMOVAL OF SF6 BYPRODUCTS:Byproducts are corrosive & likely to affect

the organic materials.
Absorbent materials used in circuit breakers

activated alumina( effective for SOF2,H2S,SF2)

molecular sieves( sodalime-CaO.NaOH)removes stable gases such as SF4,SiF4 & S2F2

So suggested mix is 50/50 of sodalime &

alumina. The suggested weight of
absorbent is 10% of the weight of the gas

ADVANTAGES OF SF6 CIRCUIT

BREAKERS
Very short arcing
period
Can interrupt much
larger currents as
compared to other
breakers
No risk of fire
Low maintenance, light
foundation, minimum
auxiliary equipments

CONCLUSION
Harnessing the utilities of SF6 gas
in power system and power
system equipments, makes it
more reliable and safer to use.
The countless advantages this
SF6 gas has to offer will take us to
new heights in the prevalent
orthodox power system.