Circuit breakers time-current characteristic curve could be shaped to

allow adjustment of individual circuit breakers for proper coordination

between upstream and downstream protective devices.

Time-Current Characteristics
The basic adjustable functions are:
Continuous Current (I )
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Continuous Current
This is the magnitude of current that a circuit breaker can carry
without tripping. I is a percentage of the circuit breaker nominal
rating (I ).
Adjustment of this setting will vary the continuous current from
about 20% to 100% of the circuit breaker nominal rating (I ).
Example:
I = 1000A
Adjusting the setting to 60% will make the maximum continuous
current rating of the circuit breaker to
= (60% x 1000) = 600 A
Long Time Delay
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Long Time Delay

Long-time delay causes the breaker to wait a certain amount of
time to allow temporary inrush currents, such as starting a motor,
to flow without tripping.
Usually, the time adjustment is on a multiple of the continuous
current rating (I ). A common multiple is 6xI as most motors draw
current six (6) times its full load current during starting. The
setting depends on the motor driven load. The unit adjustment
for this setting is seconds. The long-time delay effects the
position of an I t slope which means that lower levels of contiuous
current setting will allow the circuit breaker to remain online for
longer periods of time.
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Short Time Pickup

Short Time Pickup

Short-time pickup is used for discrimination or selective tripping.
The short-time pickup function determines the amount of current
the circuit breaker will carry for a short period of time, allowing
downstream protective devices to clear short-circuits without
tripping the upstream device.
This setting could be adjustable from 1.5 to 10 times the trip unit
continuous current setting (I ). For example, a 1000 ampere frame
can be adjusted to trip anywhere from 1500 to 10,000 amps.
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If this function is set to OFF

position, the short-time pickup and short-time delay
will be disabled.
Short Time Delay

Short Time Delay

Short-time delay, used in conjunction with short-time pickup,
controls the time duration before a short-time pickup trip.
There are two modes:
Fixed time
A fixed instantaneous trip point, trips the breaker
automatically and overrides any pre-programmed settings.
I t ramp
The I t ramp mode is adjustable providing a short inverse
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time ramp. This allows better coordination with downstream

thermal-magnetic circuit breakers and fuses.
Instantaneous Pickup

Instantaneous Pickup
Instantaneous Pickup is used to trip the circuit breaker with no
intentional delay at any current between 2 and 40 times the
breakers continuous ampere setting (I ).
Example:
Continuous Current Setting (I ) = 60% x I = 600 A
Instantaneous pickup = 10 x I = 10 x 600 = 6000 A
A setting higher than the fixed instantaneous override will
automatically trips the breaker at the fixed instantaneous
override regardless of the instantaneous pickup setting
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