2 December 2020

Advantages and disadvantages of air circuit breaker

ACB stands for air circuit breaker, It is an electrical device that is used to provide overcurrent and for short circuit protection for electric circuits over 800 Amps to 10K amps. There are usually used in low voltage applications below the voltage of around 450 V. We can find these systems in distribution panels. Air circuit breakers operate with their contact in free air. Their method of arc quenching control is entirely different from that of oil breakers.  

Advantages and disadvantages of air blast circuit breaker:

  • Facility for high-speed reclosure.
  • It requires less maintenance.
  • They are suitable for  Frequent operations.
  • It has high-speed operations.
  • Cheaper ad freely availability of the interrupting medium, chemically stale and inertness of air.
  • Fire hazard is eliminated unlike in oil circuit breaker.
Disadvantages of  Air blast circuit breaker:
  • Air compressor plant has to be installed and maintain.
  • There is a problem with re-striking voltage.
  • When air is discharged to the open atmosphere.
  • It produces a high level of noise.
  • The current chopping problem exists.
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