Coordination tables

1SDC007004D0204

Due to possible developments of standards as well as of materials,the characteristics and dimensions specified in the presentcatalogue may only be considered binding after confirmation byABB SACE.

1SD

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7004

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2004

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ABB SACE S.p.AAn ABB Group company

L.V. BreakersVia Baioni, 3524123 Bergamo, ItalyTel.: +39 035.395.111 - Telefax: +39 035.395.306-433

http://www.abb.com

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ABB SACE

Introduction ................................................................................................................... I

Back-up ....................................................................................................................1/1

Discrimination ...........................................................................................................2/1

Motor protection .......................................................................................................3/1

Switch-disconnectors ...............................................................................................4/1

Coordination tablesIndex

ABB SACE

Discrimination and back-up ......................................................................................... II

Choosing the type of coordination for protection of a low voltage installation ...... II

Types of coordination............................................................................................. III

General notes on switching and protection of motors.............................................. VIII

Electromechanical starter .................................................................................... VIII

Starting methods ................................................................................................... IX

Switch-disconnectors ................................................................................................ XII

Coordination tablesIntroduction

I

ABB SACE

This collection of selectivity and back-up tables for ABB circuit-breakers has beenstudied to help select the appropriate circuit-breaker, fulfilling the specific selectivityand back-up requirements according to the different types of installation.The tables are divided on the basis of the type of intervention (back-up or selectiveprotection), and are grouped according to types of circuit-breakers (air, moulded-case,and miniature), covering all the possible combinations of ABB circuit-breakers.The technical data, updated to the latest series of miniature, moulded-case and aircircuit breakers on the market, make this publication a comprehensive and simple tool:once again, ABB SACE makes its consolidated experience in the Low Voltage sectoravailable to professionals.

Choosing the type of coordination for protection of a low voltage installation

Problems and requirements for coordinating protection devicesSelection of the system for protecting an electric installation is of paramount importanceboth to ensure correct economic and functional operation of the whole installation andto reduce any problems caused by anomalous operating conditions and actual faultsto a minimum.This analysis deals with coordination between the different devices dedicated toprotection of zones and specific components in order to: guarantee safety for people and the installation at all times; identify and rapidly exclude only the zone affected by a given problem, instead of

taking indiscriminate action thereby reducing the energy available in areas unaffectedby the fault;

reduce the effects of a fault on other sound parts of the installation (voltage drops,loss of stability in rotating machines);

reduce the stress on components and damage in the zone involved; ensure service continuity with good quality power supply voltage; guarantee adequate backup in the event of any malfunction of the protection device

responsible for opening the circuit; provide maintenance personnel and the management system with the information

needed to restore the service as rapidly as possible and with minimal disturbance tothe rest of the network;

achieve a valid compromise between reliability, simplicity and cost effectiveness.To be more precise, a valid protection system must be able to: understand what and where an event has occurred, discriminating between situations

that are anomalous but tolerable and genuine faults within a given zone of influence,avoiding unwarranted trips which lead to unjustified stoppage of a sound part of theinstallation;

act as rapidly as possible to limit damage (destruction, accelerated ageing, etc.),safeguarding continuity and stability of the power supply.

The solutions stem from a compromise between the following two opposing needs -precise identification of the fault and rapid intervention - and are defined according towhich requirement takes priority.For instance, when it is more important to avoid unnecessary tripping, it is generallypreferable to have an indirect protection system based on interlocks and datatransmission between different devices which measure the electrical values locally,whereas for prompt response and limitation of the destructive effect of short-circuits, adirect-acting system with releases integrated in the devices is needed. Generallyspeaking, in low voltage systems for primary and secondary distribution, the lattersolution is preferable.

II

Coordination tablesDiscrimination and back-up

ABB SACE

Restricting the field to an analysis of the problem of how to harmonize the action of theprotection devices in the event of overcurrents (overloads and short-circuits) - a problemcovering 90% of the coordination requirements of protection devices in radial low voltageinstallations - it is important to remember that: overcurrent trip selectivity means coordination of the operating characteristics of

two or more overcurrent protection devices so that, on occurrence of overcurrentswithin established limits, the device supposed to operate within these limits intervenes,whereas the others do not1;

total discrimination means overcurrent selectivity so that when there are twoovercurrent protection devices in series, the protection device on the load side providesprotection without tripping the other protection device2;

partial discrimination means overcurrent selectivity so that when there are twoovercurrent protection devices in series, the protection device on the load side providesprotection up to a given overcurrent limit without tripping the other device3. Thisovercurrent threshold is called the selectivity limit current Is

4; back-up protection means coordination for protection against overcurrents of two

protection devices in series, where the protection device generally (but not necessarily)situated on the supply side provides overcurrent protection with or without the aid ofthe other protection device and avoids excessive stress on the latter5. The currentvalue above which protection is ensured is called the switching current IB

6.

Types of coordination

Influence of the electrical parameters of the installation (rated current and short-circuit current)If the analysis is restricted to the behaviour of the protection devices with trippingbased on overcurrent releases, the strategy used to coordinate the protection devicesmainly depends on the rated current (In) and short-circuit current (Ik) values in the part ofinstallation concerned.Generally speaking, the following types of coordination can be classified: current type selectivity; time type selectivity; zone selectivity; energy selectivity; back-up.Now let us examine these various solutions in detail.

III

1 IEC 60947-1 Standard, def. 2.5.232 IEC 60947-2 Standard, def. 2.17.23 IEC 60947-2 Standard, def. 2.17.34 IEC 60947-2 Standard, def. 2.17.45 IEC 60947-1 Standard, def. 2.5.246 IEC 60947-1 Standard, def. 2.5.25 and IEC 60947-1 Standard, def. 2.17.6

Coordination tablesDiscrimination and back-up

ABB SACE

Current type selectivityThis type of discrimination is based on the observation that the closer the fault is to thepower supply of the installation, the higher the short-circuit current will be. We cantherefore pinpoint the zone where the fault has occurred can therefore be discriminatedsimply by setting the protection devices to a limit value so that this does not generateunwarranted trips due to faults in the zone of influence of the protection deviceimmediately to the load side (where the fault current must be lower than the currentthreshold set on the protection device on the supply side).Total discrimination can normally only be obtained in specific cases where the faultcurrent is not very high or where a component with high impedance is placed betweenthe two protection devices (e.g. a transformer, a very long cable, or a cable with reducedcross-section, etc.) giving rise to a great difference between the short-circuit currentvalues.This type of coordination is therefore mainly used in end distribution (with low ratedcurrent and short-circuit current values and high impedance of the connection cables).The device time-current trip curves are generally used for the study.This solution is intrinsically rapid (instantaneous), easy to implement and inexpensive.On the other hand: the selectivity limit current is normally low, so discrimination is often only partial; the threshold setting of the overcurrent protection devices rapidly exceeds the values

consistent with safety requirements, becoming incompatible with the need to reduce