Thursday 23 July 2015

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT


First and foremost, I am very grateful to the almighty ALLAH S.W.T for letting me to finish my Final Year Project 2 and give me strength that I need in order to fulfill my duty as an Electrical student.

Here, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my supervisor, Miss Najiyah binti Saleh for encouragement, guidance, suggestions, critics and friendship throughout finishing this project.

Thanks also to all of the kind lecturers in Bachelor of Electrical Technology Section for their accommodation, suggestion and opinion during the project progress in university. In particular, I would like to thank all the staff and technicians, for their cooperation, indirect or directly contribution upon completing my project.

Most importantly, special thanks also to my family for their external support when I told them I wanted to continue my education and especially my friends for encouraging me to finish this project. Without their support the ideas could not have been realized.

                                         I AM GRADUATED !!! YEAAHH

REFERENCES



[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_leakage_circuit_breaker “Elektron”,           
 [2] S. Bakanagari1, A. M. Kumar2, M. Cheenya,  Three Phase Fault Analysis with Auto Reset for Temporary Fault and Trip for Permanent Fault, November 2013.

[3] M. S. Ali, Development of Auto Re-closee Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker for Domestic Appliance, November 2009
[4] http://electronicsclub.info/powersupplies.htm
[4] M. Koprivsek, Development Trend of Residual Current Circuit Breakers, IEC 1008-1 Residual current operated circuit breakers, grad. Eng. Of el. Eng. ETI d.d Izlake, 2004.
[5] Suruhanjaya Tenaga, Prohibition on The Use Of Voltage Operand Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB), Tuesday, 13 March 2007.

[6] R. L. Boylestad, L. Nashelsky, ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND CIRCUIT THEORY, ninth edition, pearson education international.

[7] New Age Publisher, Auto-Reclosed, September 2013.

[8] www.eaton.com, C. J. Nochumson, P.E. Cutler-Hammer, Inc.601 Oakmont Lane, Suite 310 Westmont, IL, 60559

CHAPTER 4 - RESULT AND ANALYSIS


4.0 Result and Analysis
After the simulation and hardware testing, the development of an automatic re-closed Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker has been done and completely functioned as the simulation. The prototype of Auto-ELCB that can detect the temporary and permanent fault also can automatically re-closed the circuit breaker if the temporary fault happens.

The board of Auto ELCB is powered from the three phase supply and all of the six relay coils obtained DC voltage and their common point was disconnected from the NC and later moves on to the NO points by providing logic high at pin 2 of 555 timer U1. During any of the push button across the relay is been pressed, it disconnects the relay and in the process, in common contacts moves to the NC position to provide a logic low to trigger the 555 timer pin. This is to develop an output that brings the U3 555 timer which is used in astable mode to reset the pin to high. The astable operation takes place at its output which is also indicated by flashing D11 LED. (by referring to schematic diagram)

If the push button pressed is released immediately a temporary fault is created. The 555 Timer detect low voltage in a short period of time so that the monostable mode could be set and the astable mode could be disabled. The current would deactivate the 3co relay to cut the current from supply to the lamp when the button is pressed. However, after a few second the 555 timer will restart and reactivate the 3co relay so that the lamp started to operate once again.

If the push button is pressed longer than 5 second the 555 timer will activate the astable mode and deactivate the 3co relay permanently. The output which charges the capacitor C13 through R11 produced the output of the comparator would goes high and drives the relay to switch off the three phase load so that the lamp will not operate until the device is reset again.


Figure 15 : Hardware of the project

 The output of Op-amp remains high indefinitely through a positive feedback provided for its pin 1 to pin 3 through a forward biased diode and a resistor in series. This result in the relay as it will permanently switch on to disconnect the load connected at its NC contacts. In order to maintain the flow of DC supply, the star connected secondary set are parallel through D8, D9 & D10 for an uninterrupted supply to the circuit with the voltage of 12v DC and 5v DC that were derived out of voltage regulator IC 7805. Figure 15 shows the hardware of the project.

4.1 Hardware Testing
4.1.1 CONTINUITY TEST:
In electronics, a continuity test is the checking of an electric circuit to see if current flows   in a complete circuit. A continuity test is performed by placing a small voltage wired in series with an LED or noise-producing component such as a piezoelectric speaker across the chosen path. If electron flow is inhibited by broken conductors, damaged components, or excessive resistance, the circuit is “open”.

Devices that can be used to perform continuity tests is multi meter which it could measure current and specialized in continuity test. The multi meter are cheaper and have more basic devices. Generally the light bulb would lights up when there is current flows. An important application is the continuity test of a bundle of wires in order to find the two ends belonging to a particular one of these wires.

Figure 16 : Continuity Test

For example of the continuity test is to put one of the multi meter rod at point A and another one at point B, if the point is connect with each other the beep sound will be heard. This test is performed just after the hardware soldering and configuration has been completed. This test aims to find any electrical open paths in the circuit after the soldering. Most of the times, the electrical continuity in the circuit is lost due to improper soldering, wrong and rough handling of the PCB, improper usage of the soldering iron, component failures and presence of bugs in the circuit diagram. Multimeter was used to perform this test and the multimeter knob is switch in buzzer mode and connects the ground terminal of the multimeter to the ground. Then connect both the terminals across the path that needs to be checked. Figure 16 shows the continuity test of the PCB.
4.1.2 TESTING AND TROUBLESHOOTING:
This test is performed to check whether the voltage at different terminals is according to the requirement or not. Multimeter is used and it is switched to the voltage mode. This test is performed without the IC. Firstly, the output of the transformer was checked and 12V AC should be obtained.

FIGURE 16 : Hardware in normal mode

Then the voltage was supplied to the power supply circuit and this test was performed without IC. This is to avoid the IC from been damage due to the occurrence of any excessive voltage. The attendance of voltage regulator in the circuit need to be rechecked both at the input to the voltage is 12V and the required output which is 5V. Figure 16 shows the hardware in normal mode.
The mentioned output from the voltage regulator is given to the power supply pin of specific IC. Hence, the voltage level at those pins needs to be checked whether it obtained required voltage. Similarly, for the other terminals for the required voltage need to be checked. This can assure that the voltage at all the terminals is as per requirement.


4.2 BENEFIT AND CONTRIBUTION
In Malaysia it is common, the faults that might occur could be LG (Line to Ground), LL (Line to Line), 3L (Three lines) in the supply systems and these faults that were in three phase supply system can affect the power system. To overcome this problem, a system was built where it can sense these faults and automatically disconnects the supply to avoid large scale damage to the control gears in the grid sub-stations. After fault happened, Automatic Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (Auto-ELCB) will automatically open due to the occurrence of temporary fault. After the fault has been distinguished, the power will be supplied continuously to consumer.  Alarm system in most houses also can activate continuously to guard the house and prevent from the thief while owner is not at home.

Auto-ELCB also has advantages where it is less sensitive to fault conditions, and therefore have fewer nuisance trips. (This does not mean it always do, as practical performance depends on installation details and the discrimination enhancing filtering in the ELCB). Therefore by electrically separating cable armor from the cable circuit protective conductor, an ELCB can be arranged to protect against cable damage only and not trip on faults in down line installations.



5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
This project is designed in the form of hardware for three single phase transformers 230v to 12V of output. This project purpose is to develop an automatic tripping mechanism for the three phase supply system during the occurrence of temporary fault and permanent fault. The 555 timer is used with relay for the temporary or permanent fault and the hardware is built after simulation testing.

Development of Auto ELCB prototype is a success and the result of the prototype is similar with the simulation which if the push button pressed and released it immediately, a temporary fault is created. The 555 Timer detects low voltage in a short period of time so it would set a monostable mode and disable the astable mode. During the button being pressed, the current deactivate the 3co relay to cut the current from supply to the lamp but after a few second the 555 timer will restart and activate the 3co relay again so that the lamp start to function again. However, if the push button is pressed longer than 5 second, the 555 timer will activate the astable mode and deactivate the 3co relay permanently. The output which charges capacitor C13 through R11 will cause the output of the comparator goes high and drives the relay to switch off the three phase load so that the lamp will not on until the device is reset again.

From this project, the upgraded circuit breaker instruments from conventional Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) has been created and it is safer to human instead of to protect them from electrical danger. The Automatic Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (Auto-ELCB) also can be used in factory with some modifying in order to make it suitable for the factory based. When the circuit breaker automatically reclosed after the temporary fault has been extinguished, the power will be supplied continuously to consumer.  

The concept in the future can be extended to develop a mechanism to send message to the authorities via SMS by interfacing a GSM modem so that the breakdown information will directly go to the person in charged to repair and monitor the power supply of the building.



CHAPTER 3 - METHODOLOGY


3.0 METHODOLOGY

3.1 List of equipment
The completion of this project requires important equipment in order to ensure this project successful. The equipment/components that were used during the construction of this project are:
  Step Down Transformer (230 – 12v AC)
  Voltage regulator
  Menthol & LED
  Comparator
  555 Timer
  Capacitor
  Rectifier
  Resistor
  LM 358
  IN4007
  Switch
  Diode
  Relay



3.1.1 TRANSFORMER
Transformers convert AC electricity from one voltage to another with a little loss of power. Step-up transformers increase voltage while step-down transformers reduce voltage. Most power supplies use a step-down transformer to reduce the dangerously high voltage to a safer low voltage. At input, it only has 2 port which is port 1 is for live wire and port 2 for natural wire. The output is connected to the 12v port and 0v port. Figure 1 shows the 230/12V Transformer.

                                                         

The input coil is called the primary and the output coil is called the secondary. There is no electrical connection between the two coils; instead they are linked by an alternating magnetic field created in the soft-iron core of the transformer. The two lines in the middle of the circuit symbol represent the core.  Transformers waste very little power so that the output power is (almost) equal to the power in [4].
  
         The ratio of the number of turns on each coil, called the turn’s ratio will determine the ratio of the voltages. A step-down transformer has a large number of turns on its primary (input) coil which is connected to the high voltage mains supply. A small number of turns on its secondary (output) coil will give a low output voltage. Equation below is the equation for ideal transformer.[4]



TURNS RATIO   =   (Vp  /  Vs)   =   ( Np  /  Ns )     -------------(1)

Where,
                                   
Vp = primary (input) voltage.
Vs = secondary (output) voltage
Np = number of turns on primary coil
Ns = number of turns on secondary coil
 Ip = primary (input) current
 Is = secondary (output) current.

If the secondary coil is attached to the load that allows current to flow, electrical power is transmitted from the primary circuit to the secondary circuit. Ideally, the transformer is perfectly efficient and all of the incoming energy is transformed from the primary circuit to the magnetic field and into the secondary circuit [4].

3.1.2 COMPARATOR                                                                          


Potential dividers are connected to the inverting and non-inverting inputs of the op-amp to give some voltage at these terminals. Supply voltage is given to +Vss and –Vss and it is connected to the ground. The output of this comparator will be logic high (i.e., supply voltage) if the non-inverting terminal input is greater than the inverting terminal input of the comparator. If the inverting terminal input is greater than the non-inverting terminal input then the output of the comparator will be logic low. In this project, an op-amp is a comparator. Figure 2 shows op-amp as a comparator.

3.1.3 555 TIMER
The 555 Timer IC is an integrated circuit (chip) implementing a variety of timer and multivibrator applications. The IC was designed by Hans R. Camenzind in 1970 and brought to market in 1971 by Signetics (later acquired by Philips). The original name was the SE555 (metal can)/NE555 (plastic DIP) and the part was described as “The IC Time Machine”. It has been claimed that the 555 gets its name from the three 5000 ohm resistors used in typical early implementations but Hans Camenzind has stated that the number was arbitrary. The part is still in wide use since it is ease of use, low price and good stability. As of 2003[update], it is estimated that one billion units are manufactured every year.


Depending on the manufacturer, the standard 555 package includes over 20 transistors, 2 diodes and 15 resistors on a silicon chip installed in an 8-pin mini dual-in-line package (DIP-8). Variants available include the 556 (a 14-pin DIP combining two 555s on one chip), and the 558 which is a 16-pin DIP combining four slightly modified 555s with DIS & THR connected internally and TR falling edge sensitive instead of sensitive level. Figure 3 shows 555 timer ic.
Ultra-low power versions of the 555 are also available, such as the 7555 and TLC555. The 7555 is designed to cause less supply flitching than the classic 555 and the manufacturer claims that it usually does not require a “control” capacitor and in many cases does not require a power supply bypass capacitor.
3.1.3.1 The 555 operating modes:
            The 555 timer have three operating modes which are Monostable mode, Astable mode and Bistable mode. The description of each mode is as below:
  • Monostable mode: in this mode, the 555 functions as a “one-shot”. Applications include timers, missing pulse detection, bounce free switches, touch switches, frequency divider, capacitance measurement, pulse-width modulation (PWM) etc.
  • Astable – free running mode. The 555 can operate as an oscillator. It usage include LED and lamp flashers, pulse generation, logic clocks, tone generation, security alarms, pulse position modulation, etc.
  • Bistable mode or Schmitt trigger. The 555 can operate as a flip-flop. if the DIS pin is not connected and no capacitor is used. It usage include bouncefree latched switches, etc.

The pin diagram for 555timer is shown in Figure 4 while the connection of the 555 timer pins is shown in the table 1 below:


Table 1 : Connection of 555 timer pin
Pin
Name
Purpose
1
GND
Ground, low level (0 V)
2
TRIG
OUT rises, and interval starts, when this input falls below 1/3 VCC.
3
OUT
This output is driven to +VCC or GND.
4
RESET
A timing interval may be interrupted by driving this input to GND.
5
CTRL
“Control” access to the internal voltage divider (by default, 2/3 VCC).
6
THR
The interval ends when the voltage at THR is greater than at CTRL.
7
DIS
Open collector output; may discharge a capacitor between intervals.
8
V+, VCC

Positive supply voltage is usually between 3 and 15 V.

FIGURE 4 : 555 TIMER PIN DIAGRAM

3.1.3.2 555 Basics

  The 555 timer IC is a simple 8 pin dual in line package (DIP-8) IC. It can be used as below:
  • As a monostable
  • As an astable
  • As a source or sink 100Ma
  • Use supply voltages of 5v to 15v disrupt the power supply – use a decoupling capacitor!
3.1.3.3  555 as a buffer
A buffer circuit allows an input circuit to be connected to an output circuit. It is like an interface between one circuit and another. The buffer circuit requires very little input current but it should be able to supply adequate output current. The 555 can supply in excess of 100MA of current. Hence, it can be used as a convenient buffer for logic gates which cannot supply much current. The 555 can also ‘sink’ a similar amount of current.  The circuit used as a buffer is shown below in Figure 5.
FIGURE 5 : 555 TIMER AS A BUFFER
The circuit acts like an inverter or NOT gate. When the input is held low, the output is high and will provide (source) current. When the input is held high, the output is low and will sink current. For a buffer, higher power devices require larger currents. The 555 buffer can be used to drive a relay or a transistor circuit. Figure 5 shows 555 timer as a buffer.

3.1.3.4  555 as a monostable

In this mode, the 555 functions as a one-shot pulse generator. Applications include timers, missing pulse detection, bounce free switches, touch switches, frequency divider, capacitance measurement, pulse-width modulation (PWM) and so on. The 555 can be used as a monostable using the circuit shown. Figure 6 shown 555 timer as a monostable mode.

The description of the circuit in monostable mode is described as below:
  • The output is normally low but will go high for a short length of time depending on the values of the other components.
  • R and C determine the time period of the output pulse.
  • The input is normally high and goes low to trigger the output (falling edge triggered).
  • The length of the input pulse must be less than the length of the output pulse.
  • The 47Uf capacitor ‘decouples’ the supply to avoid affecting other parts of the circuit.
  • It is standard to add a 10Nf capacitor from pin5 to gnd.

The minimum value of R should be about 1kohm  to avoid too much current flowing into the 555. The maximum value of R should be about 1Mohm so that enough current can flow into the input of the 555 and there is also current needed to allow the electrolytic capacitors leakage current. The minimum value of capacitor is 100Pf will avoid the timing equation being too far off. The maximum value of capacitor should be about 1000µF as any bigger capacitors will discharge too much current through the chip. These maximum and minimum values give a minimum period of 0.1 µs and a maximum period of 1000s.

 

3.1.3.5 Using the 555 as an astable

The 555 can operate as an oscillator. Astable mode also call a free running mode. It usage are include LED and lamp flashers, pulse generation, logic clocks, tone generation, security alarms,pulse position modulation and so on. The 555 can be used as a simple ADC, converting an analog value to a pulse length. Selecting a thermistor as timing resistor allows the use of the 555 in a temperature sensor. The period of the output pulse is determined by the temperature. The use of a microprocessor based circuit can then convert the pulse period to temperature, linearize it and even provide calibration means. The 555 can be used as an astable using the circuit shown. Figure 7 shown 555 timer as an astable mode.

The description of circuit that act in astable mode is describe below:
  • The output will oscillate between high and low continuously – the circuit is not stable in any state
  • Ra, Rb and C determine the time period of the output
  • The reset, pin 4, must be held high for the circuit to oscillate. If pin 4 is held low then the output remains low. Pin 4 can be used to turn the astable ‘on’ and ‘off’ in effect
  • The 47uf capacitor ‘decouples’ the supply to avoid affecting other parts of the circuit
  • It is standard to add a 10Nf capacitor from pin5 to gnd.
As with the monostable, the minimum value of Ra should be about 1k ohm to avoid too much current flowing into the 555.The maximum value of Ra or Rb should be about 1M ohm so that enough current can flow into the input of the 555 and there is also current to allow for the electrolytic capacitors leakage current.
The minimum value of capacitor is 100Pf in order to avoid the timing equation being too far off. The maximum value of capacitor should be about 1000µF as any bigger capacitors will discharge too much current through the chip. These maximum and minimum values give a minimum frequency of 0.001 Hz and a maximum frequency of 4.8 MHz.
Considering the oscillations in more detail:
  • The output is controlled by the charging and discharging of the capacitor.
  • The capacitor charges through Ra and Rb.
  • But discharges through the discharge pin (pin 7) and thus only through Rb.
  • The time that the capacitor takes to charge or discharge is given as T = 0.7 R C.
  • Thus the charge time is 0.7 (Ra + Rb) C.
  • The discharge time is 0.7 Rb C.
  • Giving a total time of (0.7 (Ra + Rb) C) + (0.7 Rb C) = 0.7 (Ra + 2Rb) C.
  • The time the output is high is thus always longer than the time the output is low.
  • The 555 astable cannot produce a square wave!

3.1.3.6 Operation of the 555

It is not necessary to know how the 555 works. In fact a systems approach to electronics would never consider how any such sub-block works. However, a knowledge of how the 555 functions is useful. A much simplified block diagram of the 555 timer. Figure 8 shown the operation of 555 timer.

The description of 555 timer is describe as follows:
  • The resistors are arranged across the power supply to form a potential divider. The voltages at the junctions of the potential divider are 2/3 Vcc and 1/3 Vcc. They are connected to the inputs to a pair of comparators.
  • One comparator, switching at 2/3 Vcc is controlled via the threshold input.
  • The voltage at which the threshold comparator switches can be changed from 2/3 Vcc by applying a voltage to the control pin. This pin is usually decoupled to ground via a 10Nf capacitor and, in this case, the comparator switches at 2/3 Vcc as expected.
  • One comparator, switching at 1/3 Vcc is controlled via the trigger input.
  • The outputs from the two comparators control a set-reset flip flop (bistable).
  • The reset pin of the 555 (not of the bistable) is usually held high. Taking this pin momentarily low apply a voltage to the reset pin of the flip flop and the output falls to zero.
  • The output of the flip flop is connected to the output pin via a power amplifier circuit which includes short circuit protection etc.
  • The output goes high when the trigger input is less than 1/3 Vcc.
  • The output then remains high until the threshold input rises above 2/3 Vcc.
  • When the output is low, the discharge pin is connected to ground via a transistor. The capacitor can be organized to discharge through this pin but the value of the capacitor should be less than 1000µF to avoid damaging the transistor.

3.1.4 RELAY
A relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to operate a switching mechanism mechanically, but other operating principles are also used. Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by a low-power signal (with complete electrical isolation between control and controlled circuits), or where several circuits must be controlled by one signal. Figure 9 shows the relay.





A relay is an electrically operated switch. Current flowing through the coil of the relay creates a magnetic field which attracts a lever and changes the switch contacts. The coil current can be on or off so the relays have two switch positions and most have double throw (changeover) switch contacts as shown in the diagram. Figure 10 shows relay coil and switch contacts.

                                       


Relays allow one circuit to switch a second circuit which can be completely separate from the first. For example a low voltage battery circuit can use a relay to switch a 230V AC mains circuit. There is no electrical connection inside the relay between the two circuits which are the link is between magnetic and mechanical.

The coil of a relay passes a relatively large current, typically 30MA for a 12V relay. But, it can be as much as 100MA for relays designed to operate from lower voltages. Most ICs (chips) cannot provide this current and a transistor is usually used to amplify the small IC current to the larger value required for the relay coil. The maximum output current for the popular 555 timer IC is 200MA so these devices can supply relay coils directly without amplification.

Relays are usually Single Pole Double Throw (SPDT) or Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) but they can have many more sets of switch contacts such as relays with 4 sets of changeover contacts that are already readily available.

Most relays are designed for Printed Circuit Board (PCB) mounting but it can also been solder the wires directly to the pins in order to avoid the plastic relay from melting.

The relay coil usually will be obvious and it may be connected either way round. Relay coils produce brief high voltage ‘spikes’ when they are switched off and this can destroy transistors and ICs in the circuit. Protection diode needs to be connected across the relay coil to prevent any damage.

Figure 10 shows a relay with its coil and switch contacts from schematic diagram. The lever on the left being attracted by magnetism when the coil is switched on. This lever moves the switch contacts.

3.1.4.1 Applications of relays

Relays have various application in today’s application. Generally it is used for:

·         Control a high-voltage circuit with a low-voltage signal, as in some types of modems or audio amplifiers.
·         Control a high-current circuit with a low-current signal, as in the starter solenoid of an automobile.
·         Detect and isolate faults on transmission and distribution lines by opening and closing circuit breakers.
·         Time delay functions. Relays can be modified to delay opening or delay closing for a set of contacts. A very short (a fraction of a second) delay would use a copper disk between the armature and moving blade assembly. Current flowing in the disk maintains magnetic field for a short time, lengthening release time. For a slightly longer (up to a minute) delay, a dashpot is used. A dashpot is a piston filled with fluid that is allowed to escape slowly. The time period can be varied by increasing or decreasing the flow rate. For longer time periods, a mechanical clockwork timer is installed.



3.1.5   VOLTAGE REGULATOR
The LM78XX/LM78XXA series is a three-terminal positive regulators that are available in the TO-220/D-PAK package and with several fixed output voltages, making them useful in a wide range of applications. Each type employs internal current limiting, thermal shutdown and safe operating area protection, making it essentially indestructible. If adequate heat sinking is provided, they can deliver over 1A output current. Although designed was primarily as fixed voltage regulators, these devices can be used with external components to obtain adjustable voltages and currents. The features of voltage regulator are output current up to 1A, output voltages of 5V, 6V, 8V, 9V, 10V, 12V, 15V, 18V and 24V instead of thermal overload protection, short circuit protection, and output transistor safe operating area protection. Figure 11 shows the circuit of voltage regulator.

 




3.1.6   LM 358
            The LM358 series consists of two independent, high gain and internally frequency compensated operational amplifiers which were designed specifically to operate from a single power supply over a wide range of voltages. Operation from split power supplies is also possible and the low power supply current  is independent of the magnitude of the power supply voltage.
Application areas include transducer amplifiers, dc gain blocks and all the conventional op-amp circuits which now can be more easily implemented in single power supply systems. As an example, the LM358 series can be directly operated on the standard of +5V power supply voltage which is usually used in digital systems and will easily provide the required interface electronics without requiring the additional ±15V power supplies. The unique characteristics of LM 358 are:

·         In the linear mode the input common-mode voltage range includes ground and the output voltage can also swing to ground, even though operated from only a single power supply voltage.
·         The unity gain cross frequency is temperature compensated.
·         The input bias current is also temperature compensated.




3.2 Block Diagram

FIGURE 12 : Block Diagram

 3.2.1 Block Diagram Description
 This system is built using three single phase transformers which are wired in star input and star output, and 3 transformers are connected in delta connections, having input 220 volt and output at 12 volt. This concept followed the low voltage testing of fault conditions as it is not advisable to create on mains line. The 555 timers are used for handling short duration and long duration fault conditions. A set of switches are used to create the LL, LG and 3L fault in low voltage side, for activating the tripping mechanism. Short duration fault returns the supply to the load immediately and is called as temporary trip while long duration shall result in permanent trip. Figure 13 shows the block diagram of Auto ELCB.
3.3 Schematic Diagram
FIGURE 13 : Schematic Diagram
The project uses six numbers of step-down transformers for handling the entire circuit under low voltage conditions of 12v to test the three phase fault analysis. The primaries of three transformers are connected to a three phase supply in star configuration, while the secondary of the same is connected in star configuration. The other set of three transformers with its primary connected in star to three phase have their secondary’s connected in delta configuration. The outputs of all the six transformers are rectified and filtered individually and are given to six relay coils.  Six push buttons, one each connected across the relay coil is meant to create a fault condition either at star i.e. Line to Line Fault or three Line Fault. The Normally Closed (NC) contacts of all the relays are made parallel while all the common points are grounded. The parallel connected point of NC are given to pin2 through a resistor R5 to a 555 timer i.e. wired in monostable mode. Figure 13 shows a schematic diagram of Auto ELCB.
The output of the same timer is connected to the reset pin 4 of another 555 timer wired in astable mode. LED’S are connected at their output to indicate their status. The output of the U3 555 timer from pin 3 is given to an Op-amp LM358 through wire 11 and d12 to the non-inverting input pin 3, while the inverting input is kept at a fixed voltage by a potential divider RV2. The voltage at pin 2 coming from the potential divider is held so that it is higher than the pin 3. The Op-amp is used as a comparator so that pin 1 develops zero logic so that it fails to operate the relay through the driver transistor Q1.
All the six relay coils will obtain DC voltage while the board is powered from a three phase supply and their common point disconnects from the NC and moves on to the Normally Open (NO) points by providing logic high at pin 2 of 555 timer U1 i.e. that is kept on monostable mode. During the push button across the relay is pressed, it disconnects the relay. During the process, in common contacts moves to the NC position to provide a logic low at trigger pin of 555 timer in order to develop an output that brings the U3 555 timer where it is used in astable mode for its reset pin to high. The astable operation takes place at its output which is also indicated by flashing D11 LED.

If the fault is off temporary in nature i.e. if the push button pressed is released immediately the U1 monostable disables the output U3 which will goes to zero in the event of any push button kept pressed for a longer duration the monostable output. This could provides a longer duration active situation for U3. The astable timer of the output of which the charges capacitor C13 through R11 will cause the output of the comparator goes high and drives the relay to switch off three phase load.

The output of Op-amp remains high indefinitely through a positive feedback that was provided for its pin 1 to pin 3 through a forward biased diode and a resistor in series. This will cause the relay to be permanently switched on in order to disconnect the load connected as the NC contacts permanently off. In order to maintain the flow of DC supply, the star connected secondary set DC’S are connecting in parallel through D8, D9 & D10 in order for the supply to be uninterrupted to the circuit voltage of 12v DC and 5v DC that were derived out of voltage regulator IC 7805.


3.4 PCB Layout
FIGURE 14 : PCB Layout

PCB layout were designed and obtained from the simultion of the Auto-ELCB circuit and later it was printed on the PCB board to construct the hardware. Figure 14 shows PCB layout of Auto ELCB.