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A residual-current device (RCD), residual-current circuit breaker (RCCB) or ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) [a] is an electrical safety device, more specifically a form of Earth-leakage circuit breaker, that interrupts an electrical circuit when the current passing through line and neutral conductors of a circuit is not equal (the term residual relating to the imbalance), therefore ...
Another cause of nuisance tripping is due to accumulated or burden currents caused by items with lowered insulation resistance. This may occur due to older equipment, or equipment with heating elements, or even wiring in buildings in the tropics where prolonged damp and rain conditions can cause the insulation resistance to lower due to ...
A crowbar circuit is an electrical circuit used for preventing an overvoltage or surge condition of a power supply unit from damaging the circuits attached to the power supply. It operates by putting a short circuit or low resistance path across the voltage output (V o ), like dropping a crowbar across the output terminals of the power supply.
A small circuit breaker typically has a manual control lever to switch the circuit off or reset a tripped breaker, while a larger unit may use a solenoid to trip the mechanism, and an electric motor to restore energy to springs (which rapidly separate contacts when the breaker is tripped).
At two multiples of the rated current, the recloser's rapid trip curve can cause a trip (off circuit) in as little as 1.5 cycles (or 30 milliseconds). During those 1.5 cycles, other separate circuits can see voltage dips or blinks until the affected circuit opens to stop the fault current.
In power systems, protective devices can detect fault conditions and operate circuit breakers and other devices to limit the loss of service due to a failure. In a polyphase system , a fault may affect all phases equally, which is a "symmetric fault".
Sulfur hexafluoride circuit breakers protect electrical power stations and distribution systems by interrupting electric currents, when tripped by a protective relay. Instead of oil, air, or a vacuum, a sulfur hexafluoride circuit breaker uses sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ) gas to cool and quench the arc on opening a circuit.
Power system protection is a branch of electrical power engineering that deals with the protection of electrical power systems from faults [citation needed] through the disconnection of faulted parts from the rest of the electrical network. The objective of a protection scheme is to keep the power system stable by isolating only the components ...