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A residual-current device (RCD), residual-current circuit breaker (RCCB) or ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) [a] is an electrical safety device that interrupts an electrical circuit when the current passing through a conductor is not equal and opposite in both directions, therefore indicating leakage current to ground or current flowing to another powered conductor.
In an electric power system, a fault or fault current is any abnormal electric current. For example, a short circuit is a fault in which a live wire touches a neutral or ground wire. An open-circuit fault occurs if a circuit is interrupted by a failure of a current-carrying wire (phase or neutral) or a blown fuse or circuit breaker.
The maximum short-circuit current that a breaker can interrupt is determined by testing. Application of a breaker in a circuit with a prospective short-circuit current higher than the breaker's interrupting capacity rating may result in failure of the breaker to safely interrupt a fault.
When a fault occurs, a small current will flow to the ground also. This makes an imbalance between line and neutral current creating an unbalanced magnetic field. This induces a current through the secondary winding, which is connected to the sensing circuit. This will sense the leakage and send signal to tripping system.
A ground fault protection relay must trip the breaker to protect the circuit before overheating of the resistor occurs. High-resistance grounding (HRG) systems use an NGR to limit the fault current to 25 A or less. They have a continuous rating, and are designed to operate with a single-ground fault.
A ground conductor only carries significant current if there is a circuit fault that would otherwise energize exposed conductive parts and present a shock hazard. In that case, circuit protection devices may detect a fault to a grounded metal enclosure and automatically de-energize the circuit, or may provide a warning of a ground fault.
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