Working Principle of Circuit Breaker

A circuit breaker has mainly 2 contacts :

1. a moving contact
2. a fixed contact

Normally, the contacts are closed, thus allows current to pass throughout the circuit. A mechanism that releases accumulated potential energy separates the contacts in case of any  overload or short circuit. That mechanism may be magnetic, pneumatic, hydraulic, or spring-operated.

An arc, which is  strongly ionized and conducting plasma, is formed when contacts are  separated. The arc can damage the contacts and the surrounding equipment if not extinguished quickly.

Therefore, various methods like cooling, compressing, or replacing the ionized medium with fresh gas are used to quench the arc in circuit breakers. The voltage level and current rating of the circuit breaker determine the appropriate arc quenching medium to utilize.

Circuit breakers protect overload, short circuits, and overcurrent damage to the circuits. When a fault occurs in circuit , breakers cut off the current flow and then restart it once the issue is fixed. A circuit breaker may be reset and used again, unlike a fuse, which needs to be changed after just one use.

In a broader sense a circuit breaker mainly interrupts the flow of electricity by rapidly opening the circuit to identify a defect and monitoring the current in a circuit. Combining thermal and magnetic principles enables a dependable reaction to different kinds of failures, guarding against short circuits and over currents.

A circuit can be damaged which will reduce its reliability. Therefore, electrical circuits need to be protected using circuit protection devices. These will help a lot in boosting the performance of electrical tools. Plenty of devices such as fuses,  chokes, decoupling capacitors Zener diodes, protection diodes, etc, can be utilized for the protection of circuits. Circuit breakers are also used for the same purpose in electrical systems.

A circuit breaker can be defined as a type of switching device that prevents damage to the electrical system by acting as a switch and that interrupts the current flow. This article will take a closer look at circuit breakers along with various types, we will study their advantages and disadvantages, examine their operational principles, and more.