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October-December 1994
High
Coordination For Performance
MCCB
Motor Protection Larsen & Toubro Limited is shortly
adding a high performance
moulded case circuit breaker
(MCCB) to its existing product
Squirrel cage induction motors are provide reliable coordination with range. Designated as Type DH 100,
the prime movers of Indian industry. downstream equipment. it offers 25kA breaking capacity,
With increasing automation all low let-through energy and allows
around, our dependence on a However, some of the customers termination of both copper and
reliable protection system is have started using Moulded Case aluminium cables of size up to 50
increasing. In the event of a fault, it Circuit Breakers (MCCBs) as a short sq. mm.
is expected that the protective circuit circuit protective device. MCCBs
acts rapidly and clears the fault such have mechanical limitation of It is suitable for operation at 415 V.
that the healthy control devices are minimum operating time. Hence, This MCCB comes with 3 poles and
unaffected and can be put back into let-through energy of MCCBs is different current carrying capacities
operation with minimum downtime. much more as compared to that of of 16, 20, 25, 32, 40, 50, 63, 80 and
fuses. This necessitates detailed 100 amps. Accessories available
To achieve this, detailed study of engineering during system design. are: shunt release, undervoltage
the total system is essential. The Since all switchgear manufacturers release, auxiliary contact block
system designer must ensure do not have complete range of (1 NO + 1 NC), trip alarm contact,
proper coordination among various fuses, contactors, overload relays door interlock and interlock defeat
equipment and cables. The and MCCBs, coordination and facility. To make it convenient to
protective device should operate selection of components becomes use, a rotary operating handle is
quickly so that the energy let complex. Only a manufacturer provided. A red trip push button
through the circuit during the fault is having consistent quality and total helps check the operation of MCCB.
restricted to a level lower than the range of products will be in a
withstand capability of other devices position to offer a reliable Type DH 100 is designed for the
and cables. coordinated system. utilisation Category A, and has a
magnetic threshold capacity of 9
In this issue of L&T Current Trends, times the rated current. During short
In Indian industry, fuses are
we bring you the considerations circuits, it disconnects the supply
predominantly used as short circuit
involved in selecting a suitable short within 10 milliseconds. This MCCB
Protective device. They have a
circuit protective device for a motor conforms to IEC 947-2 and IS
proven track record and they
circuit. 13947 Part 2.
Feature
Short Circuit
Protective Devices
- P. Ramachandran,
Manager, Switchgear Design & Product Development
Industrial processes are becoming Type 1 co-ordination requires that, out to be very expensive. Type 2
progressively sophisticated and the under short-circuit conditions, the co-ordination has a major
cost of downtime is increasing. With contactor or the starter shall cause advantage. After the fault is cleared,
a large number of induction motors no danger to persons or the user needs just to reset the
in use, the protection system for installations and may not be breaker or replace the blown fuse
them has become an important suitable for further service without and check for contact welding. Type
aspect in order to have minimum repair and replacement of parts. 1 co-ordination is cheaper during
downtime of the plants. So installation but Type 2 will prove to
designing a cost effective motor Type 2 co-ordination requires that be economical in the long run.
supply circuit and ensuring its under short-circuit conditions, the
safety under all operating conditions contactor or starter shall cause no Fuses as SCPDs
is of paramount importance. danger to persons or installations
and shall be suitable for further use. Fuses are traditionally used as
Motor circuit designers have a lot to The risk of contact welding is SCPDs because of the low initial
think about in selecting control recognized. capital cost and their capability to
components and in providing interrupt faults faster. Fuses have
adequate protection. The need for These standards replace the three
excellent current limiting
more precise protection is types of co-ordination defined by
characteristics and can be applied
heightened by another factor. There the earlier standards on starters -
safety on systems having high fault
is a trend towards installing motor IEC 292-1: 1969 and IS 8544
levels. They have been the
starters in Motor Control Centres (Part 1): 1977.
undisputed champions in the area
(MCCs). This has led users to size Type 1 co-ordination is easy to of circuit protection for a long time.
motor feeder cables economically. achieve but in the event of a short- Using fuses for short-circuit
When a short-circuit occurs, the circuit, the user has to check all the protection is found to be the easiest
Short Circuit Protective Device starter components and replace and most effective way of achieving
(SCPD) takes a finite time to interrupt them if found necessary. This works Type 2 co-ordination.
the fault. During this time, the current
rises rapidly and certain energy is let
through is higher than the withstand
capacity of the downstream
equipment, it can cause damage to
the equipment. So achieving proper
co-ordination means matching the
characteristics of SCPD and the
downstream equipment including
cables to ensure that the let-through
energy and peak cut-off current do
not rise above the levels that the
circuit can withstand.
Types of Co-ordination
IEC 947-4-1: 1990 and IS 13947
(Part 4/Section 1) : 1993 standards
on starters and contactors define
two types of co-ordination: Type 1 Fig. 1.
and Type 2.