·-I fUlffilJ-

'
,. -·-''
-7 ·-
,

fuses
Introduction
t was discussed in the previous chapter that •

10.1 Fuses
I a circuit breaker interrupts the circuit auto-
matically on the occurrence of a short-cir-
~uit fault. The same function can also be per-
formed by a fuse; though with lesser reliability
WJ Deslrable Characteristics of Fuse and efficiency. Invented in .I 890 by Edison, fuse
is the cheapest form of protection against exces-
EJement sive currents. Many improvements have been
WJ Fuse Element Materials made since the invention of first crude model.
Now-a-days, several types of fuses are available
l0.4 Important Terms which find extensive use in low to moderate volt-
w5 Types of Fuses age applications where frequent o~rations are
not expected or where the use of circuit breaker
W,6 Low Voltaae Fuses is uneconomical. In this chapter, we shall con-
fine our attention to the variou~ types of fuses
~.7 High Voltaae Fuses .
~8 .• and their applications in the fast expanding power
• Carrent Carrying Copacfty of Fuse system.
Element 20.1 Fuses
~.9 Dlffe • A fuse is a short piece of metal, inserted in the
Cl rence Between· a Fuse and circuit, which melts when excessive currentflows
rcuf t Breaker
through it and thus breaks_ the circuit.
The fuse element i~ generally made of mate-
rials having low melting point, high conductivity
and least deterioration due to oxidation e.g.,·sil-
ver, copper etc. It is inserted in series with the
 488 Prlnclples of Power S
Yst~
circuit ito be· ~rotec~ed·: Under nonnal operating conditions, the fuse element is at a
below nt without overheating H lempc,altiit
h 15_me!tmg pomt Therefore, it carries the nonnal curre
fuse increases beyond its ~at owever, ~hen
a ~ ort-crrcuit or ove~l~ad occurs, the current through the
disconnecting the circu1•t ed Value. This
[Link]~ the _temperature and fus_e element melts (or blows out), protected by it
In ~s ~~Y,. ~ ~se prot~t~ the machines and equipment from damage due to excess1•ve
, '~
currents.
1400 .
.. ; . \ .
-
. ~\/ ·, ~3~ .. ... . ~

:.: .. ··,:1200
\ J00 A fuse
,_
,- \ .,,,, .,
I
r-
1100
"' """-
I

1000
\ .,.i..- 100 A fUSt: -
\
r r\. _i.- I ~

900 _.,,,,,. .,,,,,. 60 A fuse

\ i'\ '- /
-
...
,
0
;
800
700
' ... \ ¥ "'·····
l,
'><~ -
a.
"' ~ :;"
-
-----~
\
E 600 ./., '-.... ,..__
«s \ -7 -
"'
.......

-
.5 500 ............
c:
~
::,
0
400
300
200
100
...
~ ........__ ~

-.... _
~
------ -
-

-
0·2 0-3 0•5 0-7 1 2 3 4
-01 ·02 ·03 -05 •07 0· 1
Time in seconds - - - •

,. Fig. 20.1
magnitude of excessive current The
The time required to blow out the fuse depends upon the
fuse to blow out. In other words, a fuse has
greater the current, the smaller is ~e time taken by the
Such a characteristic pennits its use for
inverse time-current characteristics as shown in Fig. 20.1.
overcurre~t protection. •
Advantages
..
(i) It is the cheapest form of protection available.
(ii) It requires no maintenance.
(iii) Its operation is inherently completely autom
atic unlike a circuit breaker which requires an
elaborate equipment for automatic action.
smoke.
. (iv) It can break heavy short-circuit currents without noise or
ng effect under short-circuit condi·
(v) The smaller siz~s of fuse element impose a current limiti
tions. •
suitable for overcurrent protection.
(vi) The inverse time-current characteristic of a fuse t:11akes it
er than with the circuit breakers,
(vii) The .minimum time of operation can 1?e made much short
Disadvantages . uni
(i) Considerable time is lost in rewiring or repla
cing a fuse after operation.
(ii) On heavy short-circuits, *discrimination betw
een fuses in series cannot be obtalJ!OO ess
rned. th pro-
there is sufficient difference in the sizes of the fuses conce th
(iii) The current-time characteristic of a fuse cann
ot always be co-related wi that of e
tected apparatus. . • uit or overcuire~ ,
'
Discrimination between two fuses is said to· occur if on
the occurrence of a short-cue
fault. only the desired fuse operates.
 489
.• characteristics o1 Fuse Element
~ .1,oblB , when the cu t cud
O'" , to carry the normal current without overheating butcircui t [Link] byex, 1ns
~~·on of a~use J~dly heats up to melti,ng
it rapJ , r
point and disconnects the
'J h f 1 foJJow
Jt,
ing
Y, c use e emcnt should have the
~~ ~aJuey pcrforrtl this (unction sat1s1acton t

' ttlf •' ,na eristics : ,

~ ~ , p<>int e.g., tin, lead.
•
~; JoW melt:~uvitY e.g., silver, co~pcr: ,
•oration due to ox1dat1on e.g., silver, • ,
-~ JJifl co.n
a, from deten .
Ji) fret t eg. Jead, tin, copper.
the characteristics, For instance lead
MJoW cos. •881'·on reveals that no material possessesd al1 • J' bl 'd • • ' r
• at1on, Similarly, coppe
n,eabOved•SCU. b tit has high spec1'fi1c resistance an 1s 1a e to ox,
w, ,neJting P.°~nt ~d Jow cost but oxidi
ses rapidly. Therefore, a compromise is made in the
-•r ductJVJtY a
.. bigh con ••rial for a fuse.
~o(i naw
Element Materials
zinc and silver. For small
J)J FUSI I used materials for fuse element are lead, tin, copper,
is used for making the fuse
~-c o~o ; ytin or an alloy of lead and tin (lead 37%, tin 63%)
1 ' urrents, copper or silver is employed. It is a usual practice to tin the copper to
--up to
considerable time•lag is
~F~ ;:~: tion , Zinc (in strip form only) is good if a fuse with
~ [Link] one which does not melt very quickly with a small overload.
te its high cost due to the foJJow ing reasons :
iquited r.e., t ...end is to use silver despi
, . .
The presen "'·
a It is comparatively free from oxida tion.
vJ ed. d •
fuJ It does not deteriorate when us m ry air.
("') 1be coefficient of expansion of silver is so small that no critic
al fatigue occurs. Therefore,
a long time. .
"' the fuse element can carry the rated current corit!nuously for
(M The conductivity of silver is very high. There
fore, for a given rating of fuse element, the
minimises the problem of
• of silver metal required is smaller than that of other materials. This speed.
ms the mass of vapourised material set free on fusion and thus pennits fast operating
(,) Due to comparatively low specific heat, silver fusible elements
can be raised from nonna1
tq,erature to vapourisation quicker than other fusible elements.
Moreover, the resistance of silver
maet abruptly as the melting temperature is reached, thus making
the_ transition from melting to
very much faster at higher
~o n almost instantaneous. Consequently, operation becomes .
CIDeutl.

_;•)i::. ore,vapourwheniseaanatarca tempe

-~~
rature much lower than the one at which its vapour will readily
is formed through the vapourised portion of the element, the arc
path
I reaiatance. As a result, short-circuit current is quickly intenupted.
A Important Terms
. • .
l'ae followina terms :
UJ C are much used m the analysis of fuses
urrtnt rating of~ I nt can normally cany
~ithout ovemeati use c e~ent.. It is the current which the fuse cleme
rise of the contact~ of the
. fuae holder. fl ng [Link]. It depends upon the temperature
U~ h,,lng c ' use material and the surroundings of the f
u·se.
. urrtnt It is th . . n"
~ the circuit· e nu~mum current at which the fuse element melts and thus disco
the current rating of
Po, the fuae elernent:Otected by it. Obviously, its value will be more than
._, a'oUnchv' • . •
&re, the &pProxi • • . .
• • mate relationship between fusmg current / and diameter d of the
 490 Principles of Power Syst

I = kt1'2
.I
. constant. Its value depends upon the metal of Which
where k 1s a constant, called the fuse al f k for different materials as • the
element is made. Sir W.H. Preece found the v ue O given in the tab
below:
Value ofk
- din cm din mm
S. No. Material
2530 80
1 Copper
1873 59
2 AfuminiUID
405-5 12·8
3 Tin
340-6 10-8
4 Lead
\ d upon the vanous factors such as ..
.
The fusing current depen s ,
(a) material of fuse element .
(b) length - the s
mailer the length, the greater the current because a short fuse can eas1.
conduct away all the heat .
(c) diameter
(d) size and location of terminals
(e) previous history
(f) type of enclosure used
(iii) Fusing factor. It is the ratio of minimum fu~ing current to the ·current rating of the
element i.e. .
. ~ Minimum fusing current
Fusmg .1actor = .
Current ratmg of fuse .
Its value is al~ays more than one. The [Link] fusing factor, the greater is the difficulty•
avoiding deterioration due to overheating and oxidation at rated carrying current. For a semi-e
closed or rewirable fuse which employs copper wire as the fuse element, the fusing factor is usually
Lower values of fusing factor ·can be employed for enclosed type cartridge fuses using silver
•bimetallic elements. •

. Current . ,,, , -,- - r, Asym_metrical

. current
/
/" '' \
• •

I \
✓ \
Cut off ___,._...,.a \
Current zero
current : · '
(Arc finishes)

\ I
\ ✓ --•► Time
Fault • ' ,..,. /
occurs

Pre-arcing
time Arcing time

Total operating
time

Fig. 20.2
 The fault
pectlve CurrenL Fig. 20.2 shows how a.c. CUJTent is cut off by a f'Ule.
,, yt<JS 111 would normally have a very large first loop, but it actually
generata lllfficicot en-
na,..., of this 6..t 1oop 11• bed _,._,_
~ .0 rnelt the fuseable element well .before the JA'UA lu, reac • I·~ r.m.,.
tJSY Ii fl t I ff I ective curren t. Ther ef~, prospec-
a1ue of the 1rs oop o au t curre nt 11 know n as prosp
..~nt can be defined as under:
"·'le Cua•.. •
an
~ ,.,n.s. value of the first loop of the fault. .current obtained if the fuse is•replaced fry
/I iS ,,Juctor of negligible resistance.
-~co I • th lly reached before the fuse
,,,. ,• cut-off current. t is e m~imum value of fault current actua
(') ineIts. . • .
to a fair degree of
the occurre_nce -~f ~ fa~!~! ~~ fa_ult ~urrent has a very large first loop due the peak of first loop
00 1be beat generated 1s sufficient to melt the fuse element well before
~{p Oin t •a' in Fig. 20.2). The current corresponding to point •
a' is the cut off current The
• . .
~ off value depen~s uponfu: ~ • ,
~ current raung of se .
(a) .
value of prospecnve current
(b) h . .
c) .asymmetry of s ort-crrcu1t current
ing of circuit before
: u,ay be mentioned here that outstanding feature of fuse action is the break
~ 1current reaches its first peak. This gives the fuse a
great advantage over a circuit breaker
currents (which occur at
~ me most severe thennal and electro-magnetic effects of short-circuit
the circuits pro-
rjlC3k value of prospective current) are not experienced with fuses. Therefore, ff value. ~
cut-o
rtftd by {uses can be designed to withstand maximum current equal to theg in_ cost
savin
t1115ideration together with the relative cheapness of fuses allows much
and the instant when cut
(vi') Pre-a~ing time. It is the time between the commencement of fault
off occurs.
in the fuse element As the
When a fault occurs, the fault current rises rapidly and generates heat
in initiated. The time from
fmJt cmrent reaches the cut off value, the fuse element melts and an arc
time. The pre-arcing ~e
kmrt of the fault to the instant the arc is initiated is known as pre-arcing
i perally small : a typical value being 0-001 second
(viz) Arcing time. This is the_ time between the end of pre-ar
cing time and the instant when the.
arc is extinguished.
(riu1 Total operating time. It is the sum of pre-arcing and arcing
times.
0-002 sec.) as compared
hmaybenoted that operating time of a fuse is generally quite low (say
over a circuit breaker. A
t»acircuit breaker (say 0·2 sec or so). This is an added advantage of a fuse
mical arrangement
Ilse in series with a circuit breaker of low-breaking capacity is a useful and econo
blow under fault con~tions
~vide ~~ short-circuit protection. It is because the fuse will - ·
IQ\IC the CirCwt breaker has the time
to operate. •
(ir) Breaking capacity. It is the r.m.s. value of a.c. comp
onent of maximum prospective current
• . .
that a fuse can deal with at rated service voltage.
la rw- of Fuaea
ts. SinCC the
lire~ die simplest current interrupting-~~ice for protection against ex~s ive curren
-days, a variety of
of first fuse by Edison, several improvements have been made and
now-a
extinguishing the arc that appears when
, : vailable. Some fuses also incorporate means for
8
.
element melts. In general, fuses may be_ classified into : . . · .
. low voltages fuses (ii) High voltage fu·ses •
it is necessary to
1llual practice to provide is~lating switches in series ~ith ~ses where
1
not available, the
~ be replaced or rewired with safety. If such means of isolation are
:~----~-4..:.9;:,;2=----------------:-:----Pr_in.;.;:c~ip:::,:le~s~o!f
, ~POwer S
I
fuses must be so shielded as to protect the user against accidental contact With the liv ~
fuse carrier is being inserted or removed. . e metal 9-'hcn
I
20.6 Low Voltage Fuses • the
Low voltage fuses can be subdivided into two classes viz., (,) semi-enclosed fe\1/ire
rup~ng capacity (H.R.C.) cartridge fuse. . able fuse (i,) hi
I. Semi-enclosed rewireable fuse. Rewireable fu~e (also known as kit-k ah
low values of fault current are to be interrupted. It co? ststs 0 !
(i) a base and (i:t type) is USC(I"
base is of porcelain and carries the fixed contacts to which the mcoming and ~ a fuse Carri here
connected The fuse carrier is al~o of porcelain and holds the fuse elemoutg~ing Phase u,;~_
• . be • d. ent (tinn .... ~
between its terminals. The fuse earner can mserte tn or taken out of th b ed col>Per .
When a fault ~curs, the fuse element is blown out and the circuit is • t e •ase When desirtd_'9iire
is taken out and the blown out fuse element is replaced by the new one tnTherrupted. The fuse . .
Thi f • e fuse • Caiti
inserted in the base to restore the supp1y. s type o fuse has two advanta . ~artier is then
•able fuse carrier permits the replacement of fuse element [Link] any d ges. Ftrst1y, the dpt.. A

with live parts. Secondly, the cost of repIacement 1s • neg}"1gible.

· anger of COmi,. . ""
A.1.U. 11g tn eon
Disadvantages . .
(i) •There is a possibility of renewal by the fuse wire .of wrong size orb .
(ii) This type of fuse has a low-breaking capacity and hence cannot b y undproper material.
fault level. · • · e ·use. in circuits of bi
(iii) The fuse element is subjected to deterioration due to oxidatio~ thr~u h th • .
• up of the e1ement. •Therefiore, after ~ome time,
mg • the current rating gof thee fu
continuous
.
18
ie., the fuse ope~tes at a lower current than ?riginally rated. se diec.~m
(iv) The protective capacity of such a fuse is uncertain as it is affected by the amb· ..
. • tent condib
(v) Accurate calibration of the fuse wire is not possible because fusing current very much
pends upon the length of the fuse element. •
Semi-enclosed rewireable fuses are ma~e 'upto 500 A rated current, but their breaking capacity·
lo\Y e.g., on 400 V service, the brealtjng capacity is about 4000 A. Therefore, the use of this type
fuses is limited to domestic and lighting loads.
2. High-Rupturing capacity (H.R.C.) cartridge fuse. -[Link] objection of low
uncertain breaking capacity of semi-enclosed rewireable fuses is overcome in H.R.C. cartridge_ .
Fig. 20.3 shows the essential parts of a typical H.R.C. cartridge fuse. It cons~sts of aheat re
5
ceramic body having metal end-caps to which is welded silver current-carrying element: •
within the body surrounding the element is ·c~mpletely packed with a filling powd_er. andCOo •
material _may be chalk, plaster of paris, quartz or marb~e dust and acts as an arc q~enching
medium. • •
outer· element
Filling powder Fuse element
Fuse link
contact
............... ..................
.. .. ........ ..·: :::::::.
....
.......... ...
....... ....... ...
..-..-.-..-..-·········::::::::::
-............................. ...... .
: :•:::·
:....
Brass-- ::::::::::::::::::........•••
end plate .
Cartridge
' . eltin8
Fig. 20.3 . 1,eloW its Ill
rature
• at a tel11pe
~,,...~tions, the fuse element is . .
 493
•
ating Whe r. cu rrent in-
,.e . nt w ith out ov erhe n a iau 1
·t occurs, the
..ries the no nnal cu rre • h
ft th f
it c~ .. "se element melts he ore e auJt current em reaches its first ak • Th e t:3t produced
u· bepe the sdver vapour
AAfore, th fu the m elted silver element. The ch ical J1e ac on tween h .
1,,.,. • s11d va e patll1s es • 'h
tance substance [Link] e1ps 1n quench-
• th ~ nnatio n of a high resis
~, SS
.[Link]"'~- pawde
r results m e io ••
;p dJ e filJillg
.
,irdwe src• s.
clearing high as well as low fault current
;fsJIIJlgeS are capable of
. .th •. .
t) fbeY do not detenorate w1 age.
l' •
tri fbeY have high spe
ed f
o operation.
l"' ·
Y ro vi de re lia bl e di scrimination.
(iiO fbe ,
. ) fbeY P uire no maintenance.
(1V req • • temipt1•ng device • s of equal breaking capacity.
th th • 1t in
(v) fb eY are cheaper . an o er crrcu
'fbey
t perfonnance. . . . • .
(vO ·Tb permit co:nsisten . . .
(vii) ey • .
•
,• dvantages .
ha ve to be re pl ac ed af ter each eration. . '
op ,, . I '
1JiSS . fbey· · • I
th e as so ciat ed
(i) arc may [Link] ct • . . :
.. Heat· produced by the •
(ri)
switches. _• .C.
s~ ~g ~e vice•. Sometime, H.R_
J. H.R.C. fa w ith !r ip pi
n the fuse
a tnpp1ng device. Whe . Chemical
'd e fuse is provided with tripp in g de vi~ causes the_ _ . charge
ition s, th e
: :ut under fault cond
t--

g. 2?.4 shows ~e esse

ntial pa rt~ of a : ,, t+ -+ --M
I
cilcWt breaker to ~pe1:3te: Fi e. Th e bo dy of the fuse is of .. ·weak link
mg de vi~ ....+-+--K+--Tungsten
IJ.R,C. fuse with a tnpp rig id ly fixed at each end: .
m eta llic ca p shunt
ceramic material with a r of sil ve r fu se ele ments. At one_ •
m be
These are connected by a nu e _tripping J :J :+:~r--- ele Silver fuse
a plu ng er wh ich un de r fault conditions hits th Th e
L ments
mt is
ke r an d ca us es it to operate.
ea
mechanism of the circuit br chemical
e1ectr ica 11y co nn ec ted through a fusible link, Fig. 20.4
plunge r is th e ca p as sh ow n.
charge and a tungsten wire
to -~e other end of
to
cu rs, th e sil ve r fu se elements are the first w ea k link in series with th
e
• When a fault oc ste n wi re . Th e
the tung unger
Ir blown out and then cu
rrent is trans£erred to ge to be de to na ted. This forces the pl
l ch ar cted from the
llmgsten wire gets fused
and causes the chemica e pl un ge r is so set that it is not eje ·
e ·tr av el of th .
ootward to operate the circu
it breaker. Th , . .
itions. , . C.
fuse body under fault cond ce ha s ·th e fo llo w in g advantages over .a ~.R.
vi .
fuse A~vantag~; H.R.C.
fuse with a tripping de . .. . . . •
:·. , · . , · e tripping
WJtbout tripping device as e sy ste m , the plunger operates th
re e- ph
(,) In case of a single ph
ase fault on a th
re e ph as es an d th us prevents "single phas-
r to open all the th
~echanism of circuit breake
mg".
- · . · e1•ied m ~ the [Link] of [Link].t break~r.
h
(i,) The effiects. 0 f full.. s ort circuit current need
not be co~s1d .,
This cu it br e~ er . . .
iv e cir
fii,) The pemu~ the u~
o~ a relatively_ inexpens of de ali ng with fmly small fa
ult cur-
ra lly ca pa bl e
eaker is gene t currents for
reatB~SC-fripped Cll'CUlt br ity fo r re pl ac in g th e fuse except after highes
e necess
"hich ~_Jf._ This avoids th
1

it 1S lDtende d. .
ng ca pa ci ty of 16 ,000 A to 30,000 A .at
Volta, R.~. fuses may be blillt ~ith a br ea ki d short-
aree H. ge di str ib ut io n sy ste m against over-load an
low-volta
I
. extensively used on
II I I :
"l:
 494 Principles of Power
~ ,~,em
s\JM

20. 7 High Voltage Fuses .

, di ed so far have low normal current ratmg
The low-voltage fuses scuss t be successfully used on Vent cap
and breaking capacity. Therefore, they canno
• 1 • ·ts Intensive research by the manufacturers
modem hilgh ~ tage etrehas~[Link] the development of high voltage fuses.
and supp y engmeers
Some of the high voltage fuses are : .
r-~~d type. This is similar in general construction to the
(0 \.AU u. ge . fi ·
Iow voltage cartridge type except that special design eatures are mcorpo-
rated Some designs employ fuse elements wound m • the fio~ of a helix
Fuse link
to avoid corona effects at higher voltages. On some designs, there
:a:wo fuse elements in parallel ; one of low resistance (silver wire) and .....,_Cork
H'fl+-il.g

the other of high resistance (rungsten wire). Under normal load condi-
tions, [Link] resistance element carries the normal current. When a fault !---,,"411+-- Liquid
occurs, the low-resistance element is blown out and the high resistance cirector
element reduces the short-circuit current and finally breaks the circuit
High vo1tage cartridge fuses are used upto 33 kV with breaking ca-
pacity of abo!J18700 A at that voltage. Rating of the order of 200 A at 6-6
kV and 11 kV and 50 A at 33 kV are also available.
(il) Ljquid type. These fuses are filled with carbon tetrachloride
and have the widest range of application to h4v. systems. They may be
used for circuits upto about 100 A rated current on systems upto 132 kV
and may have breaking capacities of the order of 6100 A.
Fig. 20.5 shows the essential parts of the liquid fuse. It consists of a
glas.s tube filled with carbon tetrachloride solution and sealed at both ends
with brass caps. The fuse wire is sealed at one end of the tube and the
other end of the wire is held by a strong phosphor bronze spiral spring
fixed at the other end of the glass tube: ·When the current exceeds the
prescribed limit, the fuse wire is blown out As the fuse melts, the spring
~ ~- of it through a baffle (or liquid director) and draws it well
mto the liqwd The small quantity of gas generated at the point of fusion Fig, 20.S
f ~ some part of liquid into the PilSsage through baffle and there it
effectively extinguishes the arc. • .
•• .th the object of
.(~1 Metal clad fuses. Metal clad oil-immersed fuses have been developed_ WI ~ ciJCUits
providing a substitute for the oil circuit breaker. Such fuses can be used for very high voltag ·cy
and operate most satisfactorily under ~1¥>rt-circuit conditions approaching their rated capact •
 495
t carrying Capacity of Fuae Element
,,_JJ5
~
,JI
. city of a fuse element [Link] depends on the metal useddingands ofthethecrosfuses-.
cu"_'" . g capa the surroun
~ ! ~ affected also by the leng
th, the state of surface and
11Je ,,ea but nt attains steady tempera
ture,
eJerne second by convection, radiation .
~ i!Je (list rocfuced per sec = Heat lost per
}leat P and conduction
J2R = Constant x Effective surface area

,2 (P ~) = constantx dx l
d = diameter of fuse element
I = length of fuse element
12 P1 2 = constant x dx l
. (1tl 4) d
•• /2 = constant x tf
j ...(1)
or 12 oc

or . (;\ •5 known as ordinary fuse law. .

£xptCSS10D l J 1 has a radius of0·8 "!J'l- The wire blows off
le 20.1. Afuse wire ofcircular cross-section
EJa111P ,1 8A. Calculate the radius of the wire that will blow offat a current of JA.
•
,,~, ren t~
Solution. 2
r3
/ oc

...
l )213 - 213

or r2 = r1 x ( 1: =0 •8x G} = 0·2mm

20.9 Dttfertnce Between a Fuse and Cir

cuit Breaker
es between a fuse and a circuit breaker in the
It is worthwhile .to indicate the salient differenc
laoolarform.
Circuit breaker
[Link]. Particular
I. Function It performs both detection and It performs interruption function
interruption functions. only. The detection of fault is
made by relay system.
,
2. Operation Inherently completely automatic. Requires elaborate equipment
• ,r •

· (i.e. relays) for automatic action.

3. Very large
Breaking capacity Small
4. Comparatively large (0· 1 to 0·2
Operating time Very small (0·002 sec or so)
sec)
5,
Replacement Requires replacement after every No replacement after operation.
'--
operation.
-.; -•

l FiJJ. ___ . __ SELF - TEST

IQ the blank s . - •.- - .
by mse rting app ropriate wor ds/figures
(I) PIISeg
· s are not expected.
• •ts where ............... operation
(ii) Tbe Dlinarei-..
gene
- .
rally used in ctrcu1
• •t breaker.
• ............... than that of a ctrew
f fuse 1s
--.&IUUJJl time of operation o a
·495 Principles of Power
(iii) A fuse elemen t should have ............... melting poinL
(iv) The disadvantages of tin fuse element is that its vapour tends to ••••• •········: when it bl~~
. l
(v) The value of fusing factor is always ............... than uruty
(l-'l) Semi-enclosed rewireable fuses have ............... breakin g capacit
y.
• s.
(iii) A fuse has ............... time curren t characteristic
(viii) The action of a fuse is ............... completely automatic.
(ir) The fuse element is generally made of •··············
(x) The fuse melts well ............... the first peak of fault curren
t is reached.
the blanks .
2. Pick up the correc t words/ figures from the bracke ts and fill in
(i) A fuse is ............... than other circuit ~terro pting device
of equal breaking capacity.
. h (cheaper. costI'
t ave ••••••••••••••• diameters th ' 1&)
(u) For the same material, heavy-current fuse wues muS an for smlln-
(lar ·--.er
currents. S1nalkr)
(iii) A fuse performs ............... functio1:1s.. (both detection a~ interruption, !er, lnte~..,:-
ared . .
to a crrcwt breaker. ('~-~•t(,111)
(iv) A fuse has ............... breakin g capaci ty as comp • auw, high)

ANSWERS TO SELF-TEST
(vi) low (vii) inverse (vii,).
1. (i) frequent (ii) smalle r (iii) low (iv) mainta in the arc (v) more
. . inhercntJy
(u) sil_ver (x) before
low·
2. (i) cheape r· (if) larger (iii) both detecti on and interru ption (iv)
- --- .. . ...,_

CHAPTER REVIEW TOPICS

fuse.
1. What is a fuse ? Discus s the advant ages and disadv antage s of a
2. Why do we prefer silver as a fuse elemen t ?
3. Define and explain the follow ing terms :
(i) fusing curren t (ii) cut off curren t (iii) operat ing time (iv)
breaking capacity
4. Write short notes on the follow ing :
(i) Semi-e nclose d rewireable fuse
(ii) H.R.C. cartridge fuse
(iii) Difference betwee n a fuse and circuit breaker

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why are circuit breakers preferred to fuses ?
ircuit?
2. Why fuses cannot provide adequate discrimination on heavy short-c
3. Why fuses can interrupt heavy short-circuit currents successfully?