High rupturing capacity fuses can be rated to safely interrupt up to 300,000 amperes at 600 V AC.

Special
current-limiting fuses are applied ahead of some molded-case breakers to protect the breakers in low-voltage
power circuits with high short-circuit levels.
Current-limiting fuses operate so quickly that they limit the total "let-through" energy that passes into the circuit,
helping to protect downstream equipment from damage. These fuses open in less than one cycle of the AC
power frequency; circuit breakers cannot match this speed.
The time delay fuse (also known as anti-surge, or slow-blow) are designed to allow a current which is above
the rated value of the fuse to flow for a short period of time without the fuse blowing. These types of fuse are
used on equipment such as motors, which can draw larger than normal currents for up to several seconds
while coming up to speed.
Medium-voltage fuses rated for a few thousand volts are never used on low voltage circuits, because of their
cost and because they cannot properly clear the circuit when operating at very low voltages
For example, a glass tube fuse rated at 32 volts would not reliably interrupt current from a voltage source of
120 or 230 V. If a 32 V fuse attempts to interrupt the 120 or 230 V source, an arc may result. Plasma inside
that glass tube fuse may continue to conduct current until current eventually so diminishes that plasma reverts
to an insulating gas. Rated voltage should be larger than the maximum voltage source it would have to
disconnect. Rated voltage remains same for any one fuse, even when similar fuses are connected in series.
Ambient temperature will change a fuse's operational parameters. A fuse rated for 1 A at 25 C may conduct up
to 10% or 20% more current at 40 C and may open at 80% of its rated value at 100 C. Operating values will
vary with each fuse family and are provided in manufacturer data sheets
Rated current IN
A maximum current that the fuse can continuously conduct without interrupting the circuit.

The breaking capacity is the maximum current that can safely be interrupted by the fuse. Generally, this should
be higher than theprospective short circuit current. Miniature fuses may have an interrupting rating only 10
times their rated current.

Circuit breaker
Thermal magnetic circuit breakers, which are the type found in most distribution boards, incorporate both
techniques with the electromagnet responding instantaneously to large surges in current (short circuits) and
the bimetallic strip responding to less extreme but longer-term over-current conditions. The thermal portion of
the circuit breaker provides an "inverse time" response feature, which provides faster or slower response for
larger or smaller over currents respectively

Low voltage circuit breakers

Low voltage (less than 1000 VAC) types are common in domestic, commercial and industrial application, and
include:

MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker)rated current not more than 100 A. Trip characteristics normally not
adjustable. Thermal or thermal-magnetic operation. Breakers illustrated above are in this category.

MCCB (Molded Case Circuit Breaker)rated current up to 2500 A. Thermal or thermal-magnetic

operation. Trip current may be adjustable in larger ratings.

Low voltage power circuit breakers can be mounted in multi-tiers in low-voltage switchboards
or switchgear cabinet

the instantaneous tripping current, that is the minimum value of current that causes the circuit-breaker to trip
without intentional time delay (i.e., in less than 100 ms), expressed in terms of In:

the rated current In of a circuit breaker for low voltage distribution applications as the maximum current that the
breaker is designed to carry continuously (at an ambient air temperature of 30 C
Overload relay trip-current setting (Irth or Ir)
Apart from small circuit-breakers which are very easily replaced, industrial circuit-breakers are equipped with removable,
i.e. exchangeable, overcurrent-trip relays. Moreover, in order to adapt a circuit-breaker to the requirements of the circuit it
controls, and to avoid the need to install over-sized cables, the trip relays are generally adjustable. The trip-current
setting Ir or Irth (both designations are in common use) is the current above which the circuit-breaker will trip. It also
represents the maximum current that the circuit-breaker can carry without tripping. That value must be greater than the
maximum load current IB, but less than the maximum current permitted in the circuit Iz (see chapter G).
The thermal-trip relays are generally adjustable from 0.7 to 1.0 times In, but when electronic devices are used for this
duty, the adjustment range is greater; typically 0.4 to 1 times In.

Example (see Fig. H30)

A NSX630N circuit-breaker equipped with a 400 A Micrologic 6.3E overcurrent trip relay, set at 0.9, will have a trip-current
setting:
Ir = 400 x 0.9 = 360 A
Note: For circuit-breakers equipped with non-adjustable overcurrent-trip relays, Ir = In. Example: for C60N 20 A circuitbreaker, Ir = In = 20 A.

Short-circuit relay trip-current setting (Im)

Short-circuit tripping relays (instantaneous or slightly time-delayed) are intended to trip the circuit-breaker rapidly on the
occurrence of high values of fault current.
Type of protective relay

Overload
protection

Short-circuit protection

Domestic
breakers
IEC 60898

Thermal- magnetic

Ir = In

Low setting
type B
3 In Im 5 In

Standard setting
type C
5 In Im 10 In

High setting circuit

type D
10 In Im 20 In(1)

Modular
industrial(2)
circuit-breakers

Thermal- magnetic

Ir = In
fixed

Low setting
type B or Z
3.2 In fixed 4.8 In

Standard setting
type C
7 In fixed 10 In

High setting
type D or K
10 In fixed 14 In

Industrial(2)
circuit-breakers
IEC 60947-2

Thermal- magnetic

Ir = In fixed

Fixed: Im = 7 to 10 In

Adjustable:
0.7 In Ir In

Electronic

Long delay
0.4 In Ir In

Adjustable:
- Low setting : 2 to 5 In
- Standard setting: 5 to 10 In
Short-delay, adjustable 1.5 Ir Im 10 Ir
Instantaneous (I) fixed I = 12 to 15 In

Ir: Overload (thermal or long-delay) relay trip-current setting

Im: Short-circuit (magnetic or short-delay) relay trip-current setting
Ii: Short-circuit instantaneous relay trip-current setting.
Icu: Breaking capacity
The short-circuit current-breaking rating of a CB is the highest (prospective) value of current that the CB is capable of
breaking without being damaged. This rated value (Icu) for industrial CBs and (Icn) for domestic-type CBs is normally
given in kA rms.
Icu (rated ultimate s.c. breaking capacity) and Ics (rated service s.c. breaking capacity) are defined in IEC 60947-2

together with a table relating Ics with Icu for different categories of utilization A (instantaneous tripping) and B (timedelayed tripping).

there are two categories of LV industrial switchgear, A and B, according to IEC 60947-2:
Those of category A, for which there is no deliberate delay in the operation of the instantaneous short-circuit

magnetic tripping device (seeFig. H35), are generally moulded-case type circuit-breakers, and

Those of category B for which, in order to discriminate with other circuit-breakers on a time basis, it is possible to
delay the tripping of the CB, where the fault-current level is lower than that of the short-time withstand current
rating (Icw) of the CB (see Fig. H36). This is generally applied to large open-type circuit-breakers and to certain
heavy-duty moulded-case types. Icw is the maximum current that the B category CB can withstand, thermally and
electrodynamically, without sustaining damage, for a period of time given by the manufacturer.

Circuit-breakers with uncompensated thermal tripping elements have a tripping-current level that depends on the
surrounding temperature. Compensated thermal-magnetic tripping units-These tripping units include a bi-metal
compensating strip which allows the overload trip-current setting (Ir or Irth) to be adjusted, within a specified range,
irrespective of the ambient temperature. Electronic tripping units are highly stable in changing temperature levels.
Moreover, electronic trip units can provide information that can be used for a better management of the electrical
distribution, including energy efficiency and power quality.

Selection of an instantaneous, or short-time-delay, tripping threshold

Figure H43 below summarizes the main characteristics of the instantaneous or short-time delay trip units.

Type

Tripping unit

Applications

Low setting
type B

Sources producing low short-circuit- current levels (standby generators)

Long lengths of line or cable

Standard
setting
type C

Protection of circuits: general case

High setting
type D or K

Protection of circuits having high initial transient current levels (e.g. motors,

12 In
type MA

transformers, resistive loads)

Protection of motors in association with discontactors (contactors with

overload protection)