×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Amps Interrupt Capacity

Amps Interrupt Capacity

Amps Interrupt Capacity

(OP)
I'm running a 300 amp service into a building. No one I talked to can tell me what the branch AIC breaker rating should be. Is there a rule of thumb to use or should I specify 100K to be safe. Right now, I have specified 65K.

Thanks,

striped.bass@erols.com
Replies continue below

Recommended for you

RE: Amps Interrupt Capacity

You should calculate the short circuit fault current at the 300A service location to see the kA rating required.  This fault current information at the location where you are installing the breaker may already exist in your plant.  As a rule of thumb, for service less than 600V, the kA is rated at about 42kA. However, this is only an estimate and I would oversize the breaker IA rating if the exact kA value can not be obtained.

RE: Amps Interrupt Capacity

Just a brief comment concerning the use of molded case circuit breaker for this application-and I am assumming that is what was intended. It has been my practice to choose a IC for these units which does not expose the MCB to more than 75 % of the manufacturers published interrupting capacity. There are two main reasons for this, lack of ability to maintain the unit and the fact that MCB's are tested at significantly less X/R values than air circuit breakers. If you specify a MCB with an IC of 100 KA, it is very difficult to make a mistake unless you are sitting on top of a large utility ring bus supply.

RE: Amps Interrupt Capacity

Check out the line to ground fault duty when appling molded
case circuit breakers. IEEE Standard 1015-1997 Table 3-19
states that a individual pole of a 3 pole circuit breaker
800 A Max 480/277 is subjected to 10,000 amp L-N SHORT CIRCUIT CURRENT, notice this is far below the 3 pole rating. Consult the manufacture for the breakers single pole
interrupting rating.

RE: Amps Interrupt Capacity

The electric utility should be able to supply this information. This is a place to be very conservative, since utility equipment may be changed without warning.

RE: Amps Interrupt Capacity

Suggestions:
1. Electric Utilities have their power distribution system modeled by Power Distribution Analysis software, usually. They may send you a printout and data outlined in a letter. Sometimes, one may interpret it easily, if one is familiar with SKM, Inc. program DAPPER, A_FAULT, or ETAP software computer printouts.
2. Else, you may perform the short circuit analysis by yourself; however, you will still need system impedances, and voltages from the Electric Utility to be on the accurate side.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members! Already a Member? Login



News


Close Box

Join Eng-Tips® Today!

Join your peers on the Internet's largest technical engineering professional community.
It's easy to join and it's free.

Here's Why Members Love Eng-Tips Forums:

Register now while it's still free!

Already a member? Close this window and log in.

Join Us             Close