In electronics and electrical engineering, a fuse is an electrical safety device that operates to provide overcurrent protection of an electrical circuit. Its essential component is a metal wire or strip that melts when too much current flows through it, thereby stopping or interrupting the current.
What do fuses do to protect a circuit?
The fuse breaks the circuit if a fault in an appliance causes too much current to flow. This protects the wiring and the appliance if something goes wrong. The fuse contains a piece of wire that melts easily. If the current going through the fuse is too great, the wire heats up until it melts and breaks the circuit.
Does a fuse protect upstream or downstream?
By maintaining a minimum ratio of fuse-ampere ratings between an upstream and downstream fuse, selective coordination is assured. … A fuse will restrict fault currents to such low values that a high degree of protection is given to circuit components against even very high short-circuit currents.
How do fuses protect parts of a circuit What are fuses made of?
To avoid this, we use a fuse. A fuse is simply a zinc, aluminum or copper wire with a reduced cross-sectional area held taut between two terminals. The apparatus is enclosed in a noncombustible cylinder composed of ceramic or any other fiber. The fuse is then connected with the circuit in series.
What is fuse discrimination?
Discrimination is achieved if the total let-through energy of the circuit-breaker is less than the pre-arcing energy of the fuse, at all values of fault level.
What is the fuse coordination?
Oct 01, 2009. Selective coordination generally describes the design of an electrical system in which the upstream protective device (fuse or circuit breaker) nearest to the system fault clears the fault without affecting the protective devices that are upstream from it.
What is fuse short answer?
Fuse is a piece of wire of a material with a very low melting point. When a high current flows through the circuit due to overloading or short circuit, the wires gets heated and melts. As a result, the circuit is broken and current stops flowing.
What is the difference between a fuse and a circuit breaker?
Fuses and circuit breakers are both designed to interrupt the flow of electricity. … The fuse works as a piece of metal that melts down when overheated. While a circuit breaker works by operating a switching mechanism when an overflow of electricity is detected.