High Rupturing Capacity(H.R.C.) cartridge fuse with advantage and disadvantage.

 What is H.R.C. fuse?

    It consists of a heat resisting ceramic body having metal caps on both ends to which is welded silver current carrying element. The space within the body surrounding the element is completely packed with a filling powder. The filling materials may be chalk, plaster of paris, quartz or marble dust and it acts as an arc quenching and cooling medium. Under normal load conditions, the fuse element is at a temperature below its melting point.

Table of Contents:

1. What is HRC fuse.

2. Advantages of HRC fuse.

3. Disadvantages of HRC fuse.

Fig: HRC Fuses

Read More: HRC Fuse with tripping device.

    When the fault occurs, current increases and the fuse element melts before the fault current reaches its first peak value. The heat produced in it vaporizes the melted silver element. The chemical reaction between the silver vapor and the filling powder results in the formation of high resistance substance which helps to quench the arc.

Advantages of HRC fuse:

1. They are capable of clearing both high and low fault current.
2. They do not deteriorate with age.
3. They have high speed of operation.
4. They provide reliable discrimination.
5. They require no maintenance.
6. They are cheaper than other circuit interrupting devices of equal breaking capacity.
7. They permit consistent performance.

Disadvantages of HRC fuse:

1. They have to be replaced after after each operation.
2. Heat produced by the arc may affect the associated switches.