An Introduction to IEEE Std 1458-2005 Recommended Practice for the

Selection, Field Testing, and Life Expectancy of Molded Case Circuit

Breakers for Industrial Applications
Copyright Material IEEE
Paper No. PCIC-2006-17
Gary Donner Clive Kimblin
Fellow IEEE Fellow IEEE
Shell Oil Products - Retired Eaton Electrical
27215 Eastvale Road 170, Industry Drive
Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA, 90274 Pittsburgh, PA, 15205
gldonner@ieee.org CliveWKimblin@eaton.com
ABSTRACT IEEE Std 1458-2005 is a new
Recommended Practice that, for the first time,
provides in one document the information that is
necessary to select, apply, and maintain (determine
the remaining life of) molded case circuit breakers.
The document also provides information on the
basics of circuit breaker design, and presents a
detailed procedure to determine when molded case
circuit breakers must be replaced.
At the 1991 PCIC conference in Toronto, Ontario
Canada, Arthur J. Smith, III presented a paper entitled
Short Circuit Ratings, Labels and Fault Withstandability
of Molded-Case and Insulated-Case Circuit Breakers
and Combination Motor Starters (1). This paper
started several very active discussions within the PCIC
membership about molded case circuit breakers built to
UL 489 (2) requirements. The discussions revealed
that there was a very low level of understanding about
these breakers within industry in general, and in the
petroleum and chemical industry in particular. Further,
there was a perceived lack of easily understandable
information about molded case circuit breakers. NEMA
AB-4 (3) was available but not widely used and IEEE
Std. 1015 (4) was still in the formative stages. The
PCIC Standards Committee therefore decided, at the
1995 PCIC Meeting in Denver, that a new IEEE
Recommended Practice was needed that would be all
inclusive. The purpose of the new Recommended
Practice was to raise the general level of understanding
for specifiers and users of UL 489 molded case circuit
breakers which are the primary type of circuit breaker
used domestically. It was also intended to present
circuit breaker information in a single illustrated
document that would be easily understood by the
typical electrical engineer and by maintenance
personnel. On November 16, 1995 an IEEE Project
Authorization Request (PAR) was submitted to the
IEEE. On March 21, 1996 the IEEE Standards Board
approved the project. A working committee was formed
to draft the new document which was approved on
January 24, 2005 and published by the IEEE on June
24, 2005. The final working group membership was:
Donald Colaberardino, Gary Donner, John Gardner,
George D. Gregory, Dennis W. Heath, Clive W. Kimblin,
Andrew R. Leoni, Daniel Neeser, Vincent Saporita and
Arthur J. Smith, III.
I. INTRODUCTION
II. THE NEW RECOMMENDED PRACTICE
The Recommended Practice is intended to be used
by the typical electrical engineer or electrical
maintenance supervisor working in a facility. The
following description of the document corresponds, in
numbering, to the actual document. The document first
provides:
1. An overview
2. Normative references
and the circuit breaker details subsequently appear in
sections dealing with:
3. Molded Case Circuit Breaker Basics
4. Molded Case Circuit Breaker Safety Considerations
5. Selection of Molded Case Circuit Breakers
6. Estimated Available Fault Current at Transformer
Secondary
7. Simplified Method to Calculate Available Fault
Current at Transformer Secondary
8. Procedures for Field Testing and Determining the
Remaining Life of Molded Case Circuit Breakers
1-4244-0559-9/06/$20.00 2006 IEEE

1) Overview

This deals with the scope of the standard and the
purpose: to provide a single document for molded case
circuit breakers, written in simple language, that covers
breaker operation, how to correctly size and select the
breakers, how to safely maintain the breakers, and how
to determine when a breaker must be replaced.

2) Normative References

Reference is made to the use of complementary
standards IEEE STD 242 (the Buff Book) and IEEE
STD 1015 (The Blue Book).

3) Molded Case Circuit Breaker Basics

This section describes the basic components of a
molded case circuit breaker and how the components
work. This section of the Recommended Practice, as
well as the entire document, relies heavily on the use of
photographs, graphics and drawings to help convey its
information. As an example of the many photographs
used in the document, the photograph of Fig. 1 shows
the types of molded case circuit breakers covered by
the document where the focus is on industrial molded
case circuit breakers (600V and below).




Fig. 1. Example of the circuit breakers covered by the
Recommended Practice

Circuit breakers provide protection against
overcurrents. These are defined in the NEC [5] as:
Any current in excess of the rated current of equipment
of the ampacity of a conductor. It may result in
overload, short circuit or ground. Overloads are a
subset of overcurrents and are defined in the NEC as:
Operation of equipment in excess of normal, full-load
rating, or of a conductor in excess of rated ampacity
that, when it persists for a sufficient length of time,
would cause damage or dangerous overheating. A
fault, such as a short circuit or ground fault, is not an
overload. As further clarification, an overload is
defined [6] as: Operating conditions in an electrically
undamaged circuit which causes an over-current.
The section provides a detailed discussion of:
3.1. Molded Case Circuit Breaker Basics
3.2. Circuit breakers in general.
3.3. Circuit breaker standards
3.4. Contacts open and close
3.5. Means to open and close a circuit breakers
contacts
3.6. Means to extinguish an arc in a circuit breaker
3.7. Means to respond to overcurrents
3.8. Method for enclosing circuit breaker components
3.10. Molded case circuit breaker components
3.11. Thermal conditions
3.12. Short circuit conditions
3.13. Ground fault conditions
3.14. Types of circuit breaker trip units
3.15. Circuit breaker selectivity


4) Molded Case Circuit Breaker Safety
Considerations

This section is associated with safe work practices
during circuit breaker maintenance. The section
discusses the dangers of performing work on energized
equipment and stresses that working on energized
equipment should be avoided. The section also
provides information on OSHA related documents that
elaborate on the specific procedures for energized
work.

5) Selection of Molded Case Circuit Breakers

This section includes a significant amount of basic
application data that is not readily available to the
average user. As an example, Fig. 2 is a graph that
provides an indication of the affect of ambient
temperature on the continuous current carrying ability of
a molded case circuit breaker:


Fig. 2 Graph providing an indication of the affect of
ambient temperature on the continuous current carrying
ability of a molded case circuit breaker.

The section first distinguishes between:

5.1. Standard rated molded case circuit breakers and
5.2. 100-Percent rated molded case circuit breakers
and then discusses breaker selection based on
5.3. Voltage rating selection
5.4. Current ratings
5.5. Current rating selection
The relationship between circuit breaker rating and
wiring ampacity is discussed in:
5.6. Selection of circuit breaker current rating
followed by a brief discussion of
5.7. Circuit breaker interrupting rating

It is noted that the circuit breaker interrupting rating
shall be equal to or greater than the amount of short-
circuit currents at that point in the system where the
circuit breaker is applied. The circuit breaker
interrupting rating shall be larger than the value of the
short circuit calculated in section 6 or 7 (also referenced
below)

6) Estimated Available Fault Current at Transformer
Secondary

As an aid in circuit breaker selection, this section
presents a very simple method of calculating the
estimated fault current in a circuit, based on the
available fault current from the transformer, as well as
providing several tables presenting the same
information.

Table 1 is an abbreviated table from the document
providing the estimated value of fault current available
at a circuit breaker for three phase transformers, 480
VAC secondary

TABLE 1


Percent impedance
5.0% 6.0%
KVA FLC Max fault Current
12.5 135 2,706 2,255
150 180 3,608 3,007
225 271 5,413 4,511
300 360 7,217 6,014
500 600 12,028 10,023
750 900 18,042 15,035
1000 1200 24,056 20,047
1500 1800 36,084 30,070
2000 2400 48,113 40,094


7) Simplified Method to Calculate Available Fault
Current at Transformer Secondary

This section presents several methods of calculating
fault current. The presented methods range from one
that is very easy to use and gives a reasonable
approximation of the available fault current to a more
sophisticated calculation that takes into account the
cable impedance. Worked examples in both SI units
and US Customary units are presented. An example of
the simple method is:

L L
Transformer VA Rating
3
Available SC Current
Through Trabsformer =
Trans. Impedance V In Symmetrical RMS Amps




8) Procedures for Field Testing and Determining the
Remaining Life of Molded Case Circuit Breakers

As with most electrical equipment, circuit breakers
should be maintained. This section presents significant
maintenance information including several photos; see
Fig. 3 & 4, showing circuit breaker conditions that would
require replacement.



If a circuit breaker with a
cracked case or burn marks
is found, take the circuit
breaker out of service and
replace it as soon as safely
possible


Fig. 3 Front view of circuit breaker with cracked molded
case.

If a circuit breaker with
a cracked case or burn
marks is found, take
the circuit breaker out
of service and replace
it as soon as safely
possible


Fig. 4 Side view of circuit breaker with cracked molded
case.


The Recommended Practice also provides detailed
instructions on how to perform tests that will determine
if a breaker has reached the end of its life. In addition to
physical examination the tests are:

8.1. Rated current hold in test
8.2. Exposed face temperature check, and lug
temperature check for loose-connection corrective-
action
8.3. Mechanical operation tests
8.4. Insulation resistance test
8.5. Individual pole resistance test (millivolt drop)
8.6. Inverse-time overcurrent trip test
8.7. Instantaneous overcurrent test
8.8. Accessory devices test

With respect to the millivolt drop test (8.5), the
Recommended Practice state that the tests shall be
performed with a 24-volt or less direct current power
supply capable of supplying the rated current of the
circuit breaker. For circuit breakers rated higher than
500 amperes, the power supply should be capable of
delivering no less than 500 amperes. However, it is
recognized that, because of the general lack of
availability of equipment capable of performing this test,
industry has adopted versions of this test that use
equipment that can only generate a very small amount
of current. This method should not, however, be used
to reject circuit breakers. If the millivolt drop is high
using a low test current, then the measurement should
be repeated with high currents flowing through the
contacts.

III. CONCLUSION:

This new Recommended Practice is a very easy to
use and complete reference on the operation, selection
and maintenance of molded case circuit breakers. It is
a valuable addition to everyones library that uses,
specifies or maintains molded case circuit breakers.

IV. REFERENCES

[1] Arthur J . Smith, III, Short Circuit Ratings, Labels
and Fault Withstandability of Molded-Case and
Insulated-Case Circuit Breakers and Combination
Motor Starters, Paper presented at the IAS
Society 38
th
Annual PCIC Conference, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada, September 1991
[2] UL Standard for Safety for Molded-Case Circuit
Breakers, Molded-Case Switches, and Circuit-
Breaker Enclosures, UL 489, 10
th
ed., April 25,
2002.
[3] NEMA Standards Publication AB-4 2003:
Guidelines for Inspection and Preventive
Maintenance of Molded Case Circuit Breakers
Used in Commercial and Industrial Applications.
Note: This document is now freely accessible on
the NEMA website
[4] IEEE Std. 1015 1997: Applying Low-Voltage
Circuit Breakers Used in Industrial and
Commercial Power Systems.
[5] NFPA 70: National Electric Code 2005, Article
100.
[6] UL Standard for Safety for Low-Voltage
Switchgear and Controlgear--Part 1: General
Rules, UL 60947-1, 1
st
ed., March 31, 2003





VITA
Gary Donner recently retired from Shell Oil Products after
35 years. He was the Supervising Engineer for
Instrument and Electric Utilities, and provided consulting
services for Shell Oil Products U.S. Southern California
based operations.

Holder of 3 patents, author of several IEEE papers, an
IEEE Fellow and a Registered Engineer in the State of
California, he has been a member of the State of
California High Voltage Advisory Committee. He is active
in the IEEE and API where he is on several standard
drafting committees, and he is the past Committee
Chairman of the IEEE PCIC Manufacturing Sub-
Committee, the past Chairman of the API 541 Induction
Motor Committee, and the Chairman of the IEEE P 1458
Circuit Breaker Committee.

Clive Kimblin is a Consultant, Applications Codes and
Standards for Eaton Electrical, in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. He received a B.Sc. (Physics) and PhD
(Electrical Engineering) from Liverpool University,
England, and an MSIE (Engineering Management) from
the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to his current
position, he worked at the Westinghouse Research and
Development Center in Pittsburgh, at Holec/Begemann
in The Netherlands, and as Manager, Codes and
Standards for Eaton Electrical. He is active in NEMA
and represents NEMA on Code Making Panel 10 of
NFPA NEC 70.