“DESIGN AND IMPLIMENTATION OF –

TYPES OF HT CIRCUIT BREAKER”

PROJECT REPORT

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE

AWARD OF DIPLOMA
IN
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

SUBMITTED BY

1. Bokade Shubham Parmeshwar [Link] Manoj Nanasaheb

[Link] Shashikant Prakash 4. Gawali Onkar Parmeshwar

[Link] Uttkarsh Rajaram

GUIDE
[Link]

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

GOVERNMENT POLYTECHNIC, AHMEDNAGAR

(2024-25)

GOVERNMENT POLYTECHNIC, AHMEDNAGAR

1
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that,
Name Enrollment NO.
1. Bokade Shubham Parmeshwar 2201300146

2. Gadge Manoj Nanasaheb 2201300149

3. Gagare Shashikant Prakash 2201300152

4. Gawali Onkar Parmeshwar 2201300154

5. Landage Uttkarsh Rajaram 2201300171

of final year Electrical Engineering students have submitted their project report on

“(Types of HT Circuit Breaker)”

during academic session 2024- 2025 as a part of project work described by Government Polytechnic,

Ahmednagar for partial fulfillment for the Diploma in Electrical Engineering in the Fifth semester.

The project work is the record of students own work under my guidance and to my satisfaction.

[Link] [Link]

Guide Head of Department

Department of Electrical Engineering
[Link]
Principal
GovernmentPolytechnic,Ahmednagar

2
 GOVERNMENT POLYTECHNIC, AHMEDNAGAR
CANDIDATE'S DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the work which is being presented in the project report entitled “ Types
of HT Circuit Breaker” by us in partial fulfillment of requirements for the award of diploma
in Electrical Engineering submitted in the Department of Electrical Engineering is an
authentic record of our own work carried out during ODD (2024-25) guided by
[Link].

Signature and Name of the Students

Name Enrollment NO.

1. Bokade Shubham Parmeshwar 2201300146

2. Gadge Manoj Nanasaheb 2201300149

3. Gagare Shashikant Prakash 2201300152

4. Gawali Onkar Parmeshwar 2201300154

5. Landage Uttkarsh Rajaram 2201300171

This is to certify that the above statement made by the candidate is correct to the best of
my/our knowledge

Signature of the GUIDE

3
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to place on record our deep sense of gratitude to our Guide
[Link]. , Dept. of Electrical Engineering for his generous guidance, help
and useful suggestions.

We express our sincere gratitude to Dr. B.C. Kharbas Head of Dept. of Electrical
Engineering for his stimulating guidance, continuous encouragement and
supervision throughout the course of present work.

It would be incomplete assignment if we would not mention and remembered our

respected [Link] Principal, Government Polytechnic Ahilyanagar, who is
constant source of inspiration and always use to give encouragement in our project
work, academic work and extracurricular work. He always uses to give us timely
support and help till the completion of our work.

Bokade Shubham Parmeshwar

Gadge Manoj Nanasaheb
Gagare Shashikant Prakash
Gawali Onkar Parmeshwar
Landage Uttkarsh Rajaram

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 Index

Sr. no Content Page no.

1 Introduction 6
2 Type of HT Circuit Breaker 7
3 SF6 Circuit Breaker 8-11
4 Vacuum Circuit Breaker 12-15
5 Conclusion 16

6 Reference 17

5
 Introduction

High Tension (HT) circuit breakers play a vital role in ensuring the reliable and efficient operation
of electrical power systems. These devices are designed to interrupt and re-establish electrical
connections under various operating conditions, including fault conditions. With the increasing
demand for electricity and the growing complexity of power systems, the selection of the
appropriate HT circuit breaker has become a critical task.

This report provides a comprehensive review of the different types of HT circuit breakers,
including their operating principles, advantages, and disadvantages. The report aims to provide a
detailed understanding of the various HT circuit breaker technologies, enabling utilities,
engineers, and technicians to make informed decisions when selecting and applying these devices
in various power system applications.

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• HT CIRCUIT BREAKER :

 The circuit breaker which used for high tension(voltage) line are know as HT
circuit breaker
 Following are the HT circuit breaker :
1. SULPHUR HEXAFLOURIDE CIRCUIT BREAKER (SF6)
2. VACUUM CIRCUIT BREAKERS (VCB)

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1. SULPHUR HEXAFLOURIDE CIRCUIT BREAKER (SF6)

• Construction of SF6 Circuit Breakers

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 SF6 circuit breakers mainly consist of two parts, namely
(a) the interrupter unit and (b) the gas system.
 Interrupter Unit –
 This unit consists of moving and fixed contacts comprising a set of current-carrying parts and
an arcing probe.
 It is connected to the SF6 gas reservoir.
 This unit consists slide vents in the moving contacts which permit the high-pressure gas into
the main tank.
 Gas System –
 The closed circuit gas system is employed in SF6 circuit breakers. The SF6 gas is costly, so it is
reclaimed after each operation.
 This unit consists low and high-pressure chambers with a low-pressure alarm along with
warning switches.
When the pressure of the gas is very low due to which the dielectric strength of gases
decrease and an arc quenching ability of the breakers is endangered, then this system gives
the warning alarm.

• PROPERTIES OF SF6 CIRCUIT BREAKER

1. It is colourless, odourless, non-toxic, and non-inflammable gas.
2. SF6 gas is extremely stable and inert, and its density is five times that of air.
3. It has high thermal conductivity better than that of air and assists in better cooling current
carrying parts.
4. SF6 gas is strongly electronegative, which means the free electrons are easily removed from
discharge by the formation of negative ions.
5. It has a unique property of fast recombination after the source energising spark is removed.
6. It is 100 times more effective as compared to arc quenching medium.
7. Its dielectric strength is 2.5 times than that of air and 30% less than that of the dielectric oil.
8. At high pressure the dielectric strength of the gas increases.
9. Moisture is very harmful to SF6 circuit breaker.
10. Due to a combination of humidity and SF6 gas, hydrogen fluoride is formed (when the arc is
interrupted) which can attack the parts of the circuit breakers

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• Working of SF6 Circuit Breaker :

1. Normal working condition:

The fixed contact and moving contact touch each other. Normal current flows through them. The
SF6 gas inside moving cylinder is at normal pressure.

2. Fault condition:
When fault occures on the system, the relay circuit senses the fault and sends trip signal to circuit
breaker. The moving contact how moves towards right along with the moving cylinder. An arc is
struck between fixed SF6 and moving contact.
The movement causes compressed SF6 gas in the section near nozzle. The SF6 gas at high pressure
produces puffering action and it reduces the arc diameter. At current zero instant, the arc
diameter reduces to small value and finally the arc gets extinguished .

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• Advantages of HF6 Circuit Breaker:
1. The arcing time is very small due to excellent arc quenching property.

2. Since the dielectric strength of SF6 gas is 2 to 3 times that of air, such breakers can
interrupt much larger currents.

3. The operation is silent.

4. The failure due to moisture is avoided due to totally sealed construction.

5. Some gas is re-circulated, hence the quantity of SF6 gas required in the long run is small.

6. There is no risk of fire in such breakers because SF6 gas is non-inflammable.

7 The SF6 breakers have low maintenance cost, light foundation requirements and
minimum auxiliary equipment.

• Disadvantage of SF6 Circuit Breaker:

1. SF6 breakers are costly due to the high cost of SF6

2. Cost is more.
3. The SF6 gas conditioning equipment is to be installed separately.
4. Special materials are required for its construction.
5. The internal parts should be cleaned thoroughly during maintenance.
6. Gas handling requires special attention.
7. Arced SF6 gas is poisonous and it should not be inhaled.

• Application:
1. A typical SF6 circuit breaker consists of interrupter units each capable of dealing with
currents upto 60 kA and voltages in the range of 50—80 kV. A number of units are
connected in series according to the system voltage.
2. SF6 circuit breakers have been developed for voltages 115 kV to 230 kV, power ratings 10
MVA to 20 MVA and interrupting time less than 3 cycles.

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• VACUUM CIRCUIT BREAKERS (VCB)

 In such breakers, vacuum (degree of vacuum being in the range from 10−7 to 10−5 torr) is
used as the arc quenching medium.

• Since vacuum offers the highest insulating strength, it has far superior arc quenching
properties than any other medium

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• CONSTRUCTION :

1. Enclosure: It is cylindrical in shape and it is made up of toughened glass. The enclosure has
to maintain vaccume of about 10-30 torr. It should be leak-proof. Proper sealing is provided
on respective places on the enclosure

2. End flanges or end plates: These are made up of non magnetic material. These provide
support and fixing arrangement for the inner parts like - metallic bellows, vapour condensing
shields, fixed contact etc. Proper seals are provided at the junction of enclosure and end
flanges as shown
3. Fixed and moving contact: The fixed contact is supported by end flange. The contact surface
shape is disc type. During normal operation the fixed contact and moving contact disc touch
each other and make firm contact.
4. Vapour condensing shields: These surround the fixed and moving contact. The function of
these shields is to condense the metal vapour formed during contact separation.

5. Metallic bellows: it is attached to end flange and moving contact as shown. The movement
of moving contact is passed
on to bellows. The bellows contract or expand as per the movement. Bellows are made up from
thin stainless steel. Entire assembly is properly sealed by ceramic sealing material.

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• Working :

1. Normal working condition:

The fixed contact and moving contact disc faces touch each other making a firm contact. Normal
current flows through the circuit breaker contacts.

2. Fault condition:
On occurrence of fault, the relay circuit senses the fault and sends trip signal to circuit breaker.
The moving contact gets separated from fix contact.
The contact separation releases metal vapour from disc surface. The plasma is formed between
contacts. The amount of metal vapour depends on magnitude of fault current.
When fault current waveform crosses zero, the fault current decreases hence metal vapour also
decreases. The medium between contacts builds up dielectric strength and prevents further arc.
The geometry of disc surface is such that
the arc is diffused.

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• Advantage of VCB :

1. Reliable operation
2. Effective interruption of arc
3. Size is compact
4. Arc energy is low
5. Longer life
6. Noiseless operation
7. Low maintenance
8. Inertia is low

• Application :

1. For a country like India, where distances are quite large and accessibility to remote areas
difficult, the installation of such outdoor, maintenance free circuit breakers should prove a
definite advantage.
2. Vacuum circuit breakers are being employed for outdoor applications ranging from 22 kV to
66 kV. Even with limited rating of say 60 to 100 MVA, they are suitable for a majority of
applications in rural areas.

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 CONCLUSION

selecting the right HT circuit breaker is crucial for reliable and efficient power system operation.
This report reviewed various types of HT circuit breakers, highlighting their operating principles,
advantages, and disadvantages. Utilities and industries should conduct thorough analyses of
their power system requirements and perform regular maintenance and testing to ensure
optimal performance. By doing so, they can minimize downtime, reduce costs, and ensure a safe
and reliable power supply.

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REFERENCE

1. Mehta, M.K. (2019). Electrical Power Systems.

2. [Link]

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