Page 182 - Handbook of Electrical Engineering

SWITCHGEAR AND MOTOR CONTROL CENTRES 165

Figure 7.6 Cut-off and prospective current curves for a 40 A fuse and a 40 A moulded case circuit breaker.

in Chapter 9. For EPR and XLPE insulated cables with copper conductors the value of k is usually
taken as 143 or 144.
Fuses or moulded case circuit breakers have known current-time functions and for practical
purposes these functions can be simply converted into their I-squared-t characteristics by using the
above method on as many sample points as can be conveniently transcribed. Figures 7.7 and 7.8
show the I-t and the corresponding derived I-squared-t characteristics for 32 A and 125 A fuses,
32 A and 125 A moulded case circuit breakers, and appropriate cables for the circuit.

7.7.5 Complete and Partial Coordination of Cascaded Circuit Breakers

Where moulded case circuit breakers are chosen for a plant in favour of fuses the coordination of
cascaded units becomes a little more difficult than with fuses. This difficulty arises from the fact
that these circuit breakers have a definite or ‘near definite’ minimum time limit to their time-current
characteristic. This causes the lower part of the circuit breaker protection curve to be almost horizontal
at a low value of time, typically in the range of 0.003 and 0.01 second.
If a particular type or model is chosen from a manufacturer it can be seen that this low
horizontal part may be similar or the same for all ratings of circuit breakers within the range.
Supposing a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio of upstream rating to downstream rating is chosen for a particular
circuit. Selective tripping of the downstream unit can only be relied upon for fault currents beyond
the magnetic vertical part of the curve for the downstream unit, but less than the vertical part of the
upstream unit. For faults beyond the vertical part of the upstream unit there will be a race between
both units and the upstream unit may trip before the downstream unit. This is not a satisfactory