Fuses and their types:

               There are different types of fuses available in the market and they can be categorized based on Different aspects.

            Fuses are used in AC as well as DC circuits. Fuses can be divided into two main categories according to the type of input supply voltage.

1) AC fuses

2) DC fuses

AC and DC Fuses:

                There is a little difference between AC and DC Fuses used in the AC and DC Systems. In a DC system, when the metallic wire Melts because of the heat generated by the overcurrent, then ARC is produced and it is very difficult to extinct this ARC because of the DC constant value.

DC Fuses:

                So to minimize the fuse arcing, a DC fuse is a little bigger than an AC fuse which increases the distance between the electrodes to reduce the arc in the Fuse.

AC Fuses: 

                On the other hand, i.e. in the AC system, voltage with 60Hz or 50Hz frequency changes its amplitude from zero to 60 times every second, so arc can be extinct easily as compared to DC. Therefore, AC fuses are a little bit small in size as compared to DC fuses.

Fuses can also be categorized based on one time or multiple Operations.

1) One-time use of Fuse

2) Resettable Fuses

One time use Fuse:

                One-time use fuses contain a metallic wire, which burns out when an overcurrent, overload or mismatched load connect event occurs, user has to manually replace these fuses, switch fuses are cheap and widely used in almost all the electronics and electrical systems.

One-time Other Types of Fuses:

Cartridge fuses:

                Cartridge fuses are used to protect electrical appliances such as motors air conditions, refrigerators, pumps, etc., where high voltage ratings and currents are required. They are available up to 600A and 600V AC and are widely used in industries, commercial as well as home distribution panels.

There are further two types of Cartridge fuses such as,

1) General purpose fuse with no time delay

2) Heavy duty cartridge fuses with time delay

Both are available in 250V AC to 600V AC and their rating can be found on the end cap or knife blade.

Blade Type fuses:

                This type of fuse (also known as a spade or plug-in fuse) comes in a plastic body and two metal caps to fit in the socket. Mostly, they are used in automobiles for wiring and short circuit protection.

Other Types of Fuses like SMD Fuses, Axial Fuses, Thermal Fuses, HRC (High Rupturing Capacity) fuses, and High Voltage fuses.

Resettable Fuses:

                A resettable fuse is a device, which can be used multiple times without replacing it. They open the circuit when an overcurrent event occurs and after some specific time they connect the circuit again. A polymeric positive temperature coefficient device (PPTC, commonly known as a resettable fuse, poly-switch, or poly-fuse) is a passive electronic component used to protect against short current faults in electronic circuits.

                Application of such fuses is overcome where manually replacing fuses is difficult or almost impossible, e.g. fuse in the nuclear system or the aerospace system.

 

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