Eaton Introduces First Arcflash Reduction Maintenance System For Molded Case Circuit Breakers

PITTSBURGH … Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation today announced it is introducing the Series G L-Frame Electronic Trip Unit with Arcflash Reduction Maintenance System^™ molded case circuit breaker, which increases worker safety.

The trip unit combines Eaton’s Arcflash Reduction Maintenance System with the Digitrip 310+ electronic trip unit and enables placement of the trip unit in maintenance mode to reduce potential arc flash energy. This is achieved by a dedicated instantaneous sensing circuit with settings of 2.5X and 4.0X the current rating of the trip unit. The instantaneous trip settings of maintenance mode are significantly less than usual short delay settings, which are typically 5X to10X with a customer determined delay. The potential arc flash energy is half the level observed with ordinary circuit breakers and fuses.

“Eaton is constantly striving to improve workplace safety,” says Zari Talebi, marketing communications manager. “The Arcflash Reduction Maintenance System trip unit does just that by reducing arc flash energy.”

Additionally, with the Arcflash Reduction Maintenance System set at 2.5X or 4.0X, it reduces incident energy levels to allow personal protection equipment (PPE) Category 0 for currents of 2.5X or 4.0X the breaker ampere rating or greater. This reduction in incident energy levels and PPE Category 0 protection can improve worker comfort and mobility.

The initial setup of each Arcflash Reduction Maintenance System trip unit is determined by completing a power system analysis, to assess available fault current at the circuit breaker. Based on that analysis, the maintenance mode protection settings are defined, achieving a reduced level of arc flash energy. The maintenance mode is then activated by adjusting the trip unit’s Instantaneous setting to desired maintenance mode levels determined by the power analysis.

The trip unit features:

• No rating plug required

• Interchangeable trip unit

• Available with ALSI and ALSIG electronic trip unit (The A stands for Arcflash Reduction Maintenance System, L for Long Delay, S for Short Delay, I for Instantaneous and G for Ground Fault)

• Four trip units cover wide ampere ranges: 100 – 250 A, 160 – 400 A, 250 – 600 A, and 250 – 630 A

• Arcflash Reduction Maintenance System instantaneous settings

• Status indicator, test without tripping indicator, maintenance mode indicator and push-to-trip test button

• Optional self-powered plug-in test kit

• Optional cause of trip/ammeter display

• Adjustable short time delay, long time delay, instantaneous and optional adjustable ground fault protection

The 3-pole, 100 to 630 amperes, ALSI, ALSIG electronic trip unit design specifications include two instantaneous maintenance mode settings ( 2.5 xl_n and 4.0 x l_n ) and five instantaneous normal mode settings (6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 10.0 and 12 x l_n). It has 35, 50, 65, 100, 150, 200 kAIC interrupting capacity. The unit is Underwriters Laboratories^® (UL) recognized, Canadian Standards Association^® (CSA) certified, and International Electrotechnical Commission^® (IEC) approved.

Eaton’s electrical business is a global leader in electrical control, power distribution, uninterruptible power supply and industrial automation products and services. Eaton’s global electrical brands, including Cutler-Hammer®, MGE Office Protection Systems™, Powerware®, Holec®, MEM®, Santak and Moeller, provide customer-driven PowerChain Management® solutions to serve the power system needs of the industrial, institutional, government, utility, commercial, residential, IT, mission critical and OEM markets worldwide.

Eaton Corporation is a diversified industrial manufacturer with 2007 sales of $13.0 billion. Eaton is a global leader in electrical systems and components for power quality, distribution and control; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; hydraulics, fuel and pneumatic systems for commercial and military aircraft; intelligent truck drivetrain systems for safety and fuel economy; and automotive engine air management systems, powertrain solutions and specialty controls for performance, fuel economy and safety. Eaton has 79,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com.