SELECTION OF CIRCUIT BREAKERS

AND CONTACTORS FOR BUILDING

AND FACTORY ENVIRONMENT

D G R Fernando
Protection Against Over Load
 To avoid cables getting over loaded and the
devices not getting overloaded the selection of all
cables and protective devices shall be proper
 To Carry out this according to regulations
1. Assessment of load is done according to regulations or as
appropriate
2. Do the given examples for assessment of the load
3. Then following criteria is followed to select the components
Selection of the components (cables and
O/L devices)
 Say
 Ib - is the design current
 In - the nominal current
 Iz - rating of the cable (after applying the de-
rating factors)
 I2 - the current causing the effective operation of
the device
 Now
Ib < I n

In < Iz

I2 <1.45 Iz

1.45 factor is based on the calculations and the

investigations by experiments.
General Condition
 b I < In < I2 < 1.45 Iz

 It should be noted now the conditions of selections

of the components will be accurate on calculation of
the Ib .
 For semi enclosed fuses a fusing factor of 2 is
considered, hence In < 1.45 Iz
Cost Considerations
 Minimum cross section conductor to be determined
(However method adopted here is not the cost
optimization on a specific period of operations)
 Switchgear positioning will play a overall cost
optimization.
 Selection of PVC and XLPE also plays a role in cost
optimization.
Determination of minimum cross sectional
areas of phase conductors
 Determine the Current carrying by the conductor (Ib) and the
nominal current of the O/C device (In )
 Then the De-rating Factors to be decided
1. Ca – expected ambient temperature corrections
2. Cg – Grouping factor how many cables per
phase to be used in parallel
3. Ci - If there is a thermally insulated material

 In > I b
 Determine Route length and then the voltage drop
 Determine Cf if the protective device used is according to
semi enclosed fuses to BS3036 and Over load with or without
short Circuit
 Then
 Calculate Ib / Ca Cg Ci Cf
 Then Select the cable I t from the tables which is
greater than Ib / Ca Cg Ci Cf
 Reiterating methods can be used in vise versa steps
on calculation .

Now the cable and the breaker sizes can be

determined and both can be coordinated for a
proper operational conditions.
The above is simply as per regulations

Considerations beyond the IEE

Regulations

•Discrimination
•Back-up Protection

•IEC 60047- 2
•IEC 60364
Discrimination
Ideally only C1 should operate for all overloads up to
its rated overload breaking capacity

Supply Load

C2 C1
Back-up Protection
Ideally C2 should operate if C1 fails to operate within
operating time or if short circuit current exceeds rated
overload breaking capacity of C1

Supply Load

C2 C1
Some Important Parameters
 cuI , rated ultimate short circuit breaking capacity
 Ics, rated service short circuit breaking capacity
 SCPD, short circuit protection device
 Is, selectivity limit current
 IB, take over current
Design Method
 Use the characteristic curves of the breakers to
decide operating conditions
 Use practical tests to verify or decide the set points
of breakers
 Some Examples

Discrimination of a
breaker and a fuse
 A – Pre arching characteristic of fuse
 B – Operating characteristic of fuse
 C – Operating characteristic of the non
current limiting circuit breaker
 (Current limiting circuit breaker is with break time
short enough to prevent the short circuit current
reaching its attainable peak value)
Some practical considerations
 S I should not be too low – this can cause loss of
discrimination
 ICU of C1 should not be smaller that IB of the
association
Since the instantaneous release cannon be stopped once started
a practical test must be done to determine selectivity in the
shaded area
C1 – Non current limiting circuit breaker
C2 – Current limiting circuit breaker
C1,C2 – Non current limiting circuit breakers
Utilization Category –
Extract from IEC 60947-1 pg 81
Duty Cycles
Where
Selection of a Contactor
Utilization Categories of the Circuit Breakers
 Thank you !