The work of modern enterprises, as well as the life of ordinary citizens, cannot do without electricity. At the same time, it should be understood that the electric current, despite all its indispensability, poses a very real danger. That is why the question of protection against its effects arose almost simultaneously with the first electric devices. One of the main links in this protection is fuses.
The fuse is a special device whose main function is to disconnect the electrical network. This disconnection occurs due to the fact that due to the influence of a current whose parameters exceed the maximum permissible, individual parts of the fuse blow out and the circuit breaks. Fuses are designed in such a way that the circuit breaks due to the fact that the fuse is melted, which fails due to the extremely high current strength.
Fuses became a real salvation for electrical circuits, where current and voltage indicators could instantly increase several times. These devices were distinguished by simplicity, low cost, compact size and high breaking capacity. At the same time, high-voltage fuses are manufactured for those cases when the voltage in the network reaches above 35 kilovolts, and for lower parameters low-voltage fuses are produced.
The fact that over the past century fuses have become an almost indispensable element of everyday life has led to a noticeable variety of their modifications. At the same time, it is worth noting that the main elements included in the set of these devices practically do not change. The same high-voltage fuses consist of a housing, a connecting device, a fuse and an arcing medium.
According to the main norms of the state standard, fuses serve in two main modes: under normal conditions, fuses deliver all the heat generated in them to the external environment, and in case of overloads or short circuits, fuses must blow out in a short period of time, thereby forming gap in the electrical circuit. It should be remembered that the higher the temperature, the fuses should work more quickly.
Typically, the insert is a special plate with cutouts that are necessary in order to reduce its cross-sectional area in individual areas. It is here that fuses emit the greatest amount of heat, so when a short circuit occurs, heating here occurs as quickly as possible. In this case, the heat simply does not have time to reach the expanded areas, so the inserts begin to melt, which, as a result, leads to their melting. The main result of all these processes is that the insert loses its ability to conduct electric current, and the circuit breaks.
Thus, fuses play a huge role in modern electrical circuits. The safety of the entire site and, consequently, the life of ordinary citizens depends on their normal functioning.