Saturday, December 7, 2013

What is the difference between "Overcurrent" , "Overload Current" and "Short circuit Current" ?

OvercurrentsAn overcurrent is a condition which exists in an electrical circuit when the normal load current is exceeded. The two basic forms of an overcurrent are overloads and short circuits. Fuses and circuits breakers primary role in a circuit is to protect personnel and equipment when dangerous overcurrents do happen.

Short Circuit
A short-circuit is an overcurrent condition where an abnormal, low-resistance, circuit path is introduced into the circuit. This low-resistance path bypasses the normal load and can create extremely high currents (up to 1000x the normal current under
some conditions).


Over Load
An overload is an overcurrent condition where the current exceeds the normal full load-capacity of the circuit but where no fault condition (short-circuit) is present. A momentary overload condition (also known as “in-rush” currents) may also occur
when a circuit is first initialized due to capacitor charging and/or motor-startup.


 


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