Application Bulletin

From: Simanand Gandhi Jeyaraj

Circuit Breakers Part II

Introduction
The importance of circuit Breaker testing and the necessity of diagnostic testing and analysing
will be understood if the important parts of a circuit breaker are known. This application note will
focus on the different important parts in a circuit breaker and its functionalities.

What are the important parts and their functionalities in a high voltage circuit
breaker?
The following list provides the parts in a typical circuit breaker. This doesnt mean all of them
listed will be available in a typical high voltage circuit breaker. It depends on the design, voltage
rating, indoor or outdoor, breaking capacity, manufacturers design principle etc. This also can be
correlated with the different types of circuit breakers in the market explained in Part-I application
note.

1) Interrupters
1.1)
Main contact
1.2)
Arcing contact
1.3)
Pre-Insertion-Resistor (PIR) Contact
2) Vacuum Interrupters
3) Operating Mechanism Cubicle
3.1)
Trip Coil
3.2)
Close Coil
3.3)
Auxiliary Contact
3.4)
Spring operated mechanism
3.5)
Hydraulic operated mechanism
3.6)
Pneumatic operated mechanism
3.7)
Hydraulic spring operated mechanism
3.8)
Magnet actuated mechanism
3.9)
Phase discrepancy relay / Monitor
3.10)
Anti pumping Relay
3.11)
Local / Remote Switching
3.12)
Spring charge motor
3.13)
Damping mechanism
4) SF6 Gas Monitor
5) Air / Hydraulic Pressure Monitor
6) Auto Reclose relay
7) Synchronised Switching Relay
8) Coupling capacitors
9) Grading capacitors

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Interrupter
s

Operating
Mechanism
Cubicle

Fig 1: Typical out door type high voltage circuit breaker

1)

Interrupters / contacts
Interrupters are the opening or closing contacts housed inside the gas or oil filled chamber. It
will be housed inside the vacuum chamber for a vacuum interrupter. The functions of these
interrupters or contacts are to carry the continuous rated current without over heating and
also to carry very large current for a short time on the occurrence of short circuit or over load
without deterioration. A typical interrupter will be designed in two parts as shown in the figure
below the main contacts (Fixed and movable) and the arcing contacts (Fixed and movable).

Arcing Contact

Main Contact

Fig 2: Cut sectional view of an interrupter

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1.1) Main contact: This is the part of the contact that carries the continuous current when the
breaker is under closed condition and will have the least contact resistance.
1.2) Arcing contact: This contact opens after the opening of main contact with a delay and
takes care of the breaking current or interrupting current. This contact is designed to
handle the arc and to withstand high temperature without pitting. The contact resistance of
this contact will be higher than that of the Main contact resistance.
1.3) Pre-Insertion-Resistor (PIR) Contact: This contact is a special arrangement for 400KV
and above rated Circuit Breakers to dampen the transient voltages and current during
switching and also to reduce voltage dips during breaker operation.

Main contact and arcing

contact

Resistor Contact

Fig 3: PIR (Pre Insertion Resistance) contact circuit diagram

2)

Vacuum Interrupters
Vacuum interrupters are the contact mechanism encapsulated inside a vacuum chamber or
flask. This type of vacuum circuit breakers will be designed for a maximum 40KV rating
(Recent developments have led upto 132KV VCB). The figure below shows some typical
vacuum interrupters and cut section view of a vacuum interrupter.

Fig 4: Vacuum Interrupter - Cut section view (Source: Siemens)

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3)

Operating Mechanism Cubicle:

This is where the complete operating energy is stored and controlled to operate a circuit
breaker and the following components are used in executing the breaker operating
function.

Fig 5: Spring operating mechanism (Source: Siemens)

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3.1) Trip Coil: Trip coil will be mounted inside the operating mechanism cubicle and is used to
trigger the mechanism (spring, Pneumatic, Hydraulic or Magnetic) to trip the circuit breaker.
The trip coil will be energised either manually by the operator through a switch who wants
to trip or through the protection relay on the occurrence of fault. Trip coils will be energised
through the substation DC, usually 110V or 220V DC systems. These coils will not be rated
for continuous DC supply and has to be removed or cut off from the energising DC supply.
The DC supply to the coils was cut off using one pair of the Auxiliary contact (52a and 52b)
serially connected to coil circuit and located inside the operating mechanism.
3.2) Close Coil: Close coil is similar to trip coil construction wise, but is used to close the circuit
breaker instead of tripping.
3.3) Auxiliary Contact: This is a low voltage rated electrical switch with 10 to 20 N/O and N/C
contacts but will be operated mechanically through the link physically connected through
the gear mechanism from the main contact. So the position of the circuit breaker close or
open will be directly reflecting in the auxiliary contact. This switching contact signals the CB
ON OFF indicators and annunciators. One pair of N/C and N/O contact will be connected in
series to the trip coil and close coil as explained earlier to isolate supply to the coil after
breaker initiation.
3.4) Spring operated mechanism: This type of operating mechanism (Ref Fig 5 and 6) will
have heavy springs to store the energy for closing and opening the breaker at very high
speed. The springs will be compressed using a motor named Spring Charge Motor
located within the mechanism cubicle. The compressed spring will be hold in position using
a latch and will ready to operate. This latch is triggered using the operating coils (trip and
close coil).
3.5) Hydraulic operated mechanism: This mechanism does the same job as a spring
operated mechanism but the energy is stored using pressurised hydraulic fluid with a
nitrogen accumulator. A motor driven hydraulic pump will raise the pressure in fluid and
that pressure is used to operate the circuit breakers.
3.6) Pneumatic operated mechanism: This type of mechanism as the name suggests uses air
pressure to operate the circuit breaker. The air is compressed using a compressor which is
stored in an air tank will be used to operate the breakers.
3.7) Hydraulic spring operated mechanism: This type of mechanism is a hybrid type to
making use of the advantages of both spring mechanism and hydraulic mechanism to
achieve greater repeatability and temperature independent performance.
3.8) Magnetic actuator mechanism: These types of mechanisms are used for medium voltage
circuit breaker with vacuum interrupters where the energy release to operate the breaker is
completely done with magnetic force. A magnetic actuator is energised to close or trip the
circuit breaker directly.
3.9) Phase Discrepancy relay / Monitor: This PD monitor or relay is used on circuit breakers
with separate operating mechanisms for three phases. The breaker close function will be
electrically paralleled. In case one of the pole has not closed when closing a three phase
circuit breaker, the Phase discrepancy relay which monitors the position of all three phases
will trip the other two phases also after a delay as set on the PD relay.
3.10) Anti Pumping Relay: This relay is mounted inside the operating mechanism and will take
care of protecting the circuit breaker from multiple operations. If a closing switch of a circuit
breaker is stuck or if the close command is hold for a long time and the circuit breaker trips
with a fault trip through the relay, the breaker will close again and trip again and will
continue until its damaged. To avoid this kind of repeated pumping action, the antipumping relay is used.

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3.11) Local Remote Switching: The Local / Remote selector switch is to change the switching
control of the breaker from the switch yard control cubicle to the control room control
panel or vice versa. The control room is remote for the control cubicle in yard.
3.12) Spring Charge Motor: This motor is used to charge the operating springs in a spring
operated mechanism. Once the breaker has operated the spring will be charged again and
kept ready for its next operation.
3.13) Damping mechanism: The dash pot arrangement is connected to the operating
mechanism to suppress the oscillations in the contact mechanism during the close and trip
operations.

DASH POT

Fig 6: Typical spring Operated Mechanism (Source: ABB)

4)

SF6 Gas Monitor:

SF6 (Sulphur hexafluoride) gas is utilised inside the interrupters to quench the arc during
the close and open operation of the circuit breaker in SF6 type circuit breakers. The
pressure of the SF6 is crucial for the arc quenching phenomenon; hence the gas pressure
will be continually monitored using an SF6 gas monitor.

5)

Air / Hydraulic Pressure Monitor:

Similar to spring operated mechanisms, compressed air or oil will also be used to store the
energy by different manufacturers to drive the interrupters. The pneumatic pressure or the
hydraulic pressure will be monitored continuously.

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6)

Auto Reclose relay:

This relay is to perform an automatic control function in a circuit breaker. Usually will work
along with a protection relay or may be built inside a protection relay. The function of this
relay is to reclose the circuit breaker once the breaker trips on faults after a predefined
delay. The circuit breakers will hold on the close position continuously if the fault that
caused the trip vanishes else the breaker will trip again and will not be further reclosed.

7)

Synchronised Switching Relay:

To control the transients in the power system caused by the randomly operated circuit
breakers during close and open, Synchronised switching mechanisms / relays were
introduced to the breakers using resistors, capacitors, reactors, surge arrestors etc. These
systems will operate all the three poles of the circuit breaker exactly at the zero crossing by
creating a delay to synchronise at zero crossing of the sine wave in the power system. The
delay will be electrical if it is a separately operated mechanism or will be mechanical if the
CB is a common operating mechanism type.

8)

Coupling Capacitors: Coupling Capacitors will be connected in parallel to the

interrupters. These are used on some dead tank circuit breakers to reduce the rate of rise
of breaker transient recovery voltage, and to limit the overvoltage caused by a short
distance fault on a low capacitive line.

Coupling
Capacitors

Fig 7: Dead tank circuit breaker with coupling capacitors

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9)

Grading Capacitors:
Grading capacitors are connected in parallel to the interrupters on live tank circuit breakers
and are used to distribute the high voltage equally.

Grading
Capacitor

Fig 8: Live tank circuit breaker with grading capacitors

Questions should be directed to Simanand Gandhi Jeyaraj at simanand.gandhi@megger.com

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