90 SWITCHGEAR AND PROTECTION. AIR BLAS!

,l' CIRCUIT-BREAKER 91

While closing the valve (6) is turned so as to close connection between the hollow of the insulator
d the reservoir. The valve lets the air from the hollow insulator to the atmosphere. ~s a result
:~ ressure of air in the arc extinction chamber (3) is dropped down to the atmospheric pressure
ed~he moving contacts (8) close over the fixed contacts (7) by virtue of the spring pressure.

. . .
upto rated voltage of 33 kV.

In multi-unit breaker grading capacitors are connected across the interrupter unit f~r the equal
d
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6.3. PRINCIPLE OF ARC QUENCHING IN ABCBs
/
li
the air blast circuit-breaker needs an
auxiliary compressed air system which supplies
-,
air to the air receiver of the breaker. For open-
r-r-,~-r-;,-r-?1:1\
ing operation, the air is admitted in the arc ~x ,,r-:-:-:-:-:
tinction chamber. It pushes away the moving
.. .. .. ..
FIXEO '
Fig. 6.1. (b) Details of(3) Double arcextinction chamber. CONTACT
contacts. In doing so the contacts are separated
S.No. Item Nos. Material and the air blast takes away the ionized gases
15. Port along with it and assists arc extinction. Within
14. Enclosure one or two cycles the arc is extinguished by the
6 Porcelain
13. Resistance switchingr.unit 3 air blast and the arc extinction chamber is filled
Assembly
12. Arcing horns Option 1 with high pressure air has higher dielectric
4 Steel
strength than that of atmospheric pressure.
11. Openings for air let 6 Hence a small contact gap of few centimeters is
10. Compression sprin s Alloy steel
6 enough.
9. Connection for cur ent Copper or its alloy The flow of air around contacts is guided by
r

8. Moving contact (in I

2 Copper, silver or its alloy the nozzle shaped contacts. It may be axial cross
\.
3 Copper, or its alloy o" suitable combination [Fig. 6.2. (a), (b),
; . Fig. 6.2 Flow ofair in Air-blast C.B.
$e\7.5)J
_5. Operating rod 1 Steel In the axial blast type air flow Fig. 6.2 (a) FIXED CONTACT ' PORCELAIN
HOUSING
4. Pneumatic operating mechanism 1 the flow air is longitudinal
3. Double arc extinction chamber 3 (Assembly) along the arc. (Refer Sec. 4.11
2. Hollow insulator assembly 3 Steatite and 7.5).

l. Tank air reservoir (receiyer) 1 Boiler plate steel . In axial blast type air flow,
The details of t~e d?uble arc. extic~ion chambers (3) arc shown in Fig. 6.1 (b). Since there are the air flows from high pressure
three ~ouble arc ext1n~tion poles m ~eries, there are six bre_aks per pole. Each arc extinction cham- ,I reservoir to the atmosphere
MOVING
CONTACT

through a convergent divergent ATMOSPHERIC -

and the design of nozzle is such P2

that as the air expands into the
low-pressure zone, it attains al
most supersonic velocity. The
mass flow of air through the noz
zle ~s governed by the parameters

travel th~ Pf~J?r outgoing air (15) is .closed by t~e. moving contact and the eit(re arc ext.inct'b""'m'.}"".'
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<, -Fig. 6.2 (a) Axial Flow. ~~
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