Sizing Circuit Breakers for Self-Regulating Heat Tracers

Introduction
10.0
Circuit breaker sizing for S/R tracers is quite easily accom-
plished by using the specification sheet data or CompuTrace

Normalized Current
heat tracing design software. However, sometimes an engi- Peak
neer or designer asks What is the technical basis for sizing
data and the resulting design values? This ThermoTip is in- 5.0
Thermal Equilibrium
tended to show the technical basis on how circuit breaker siz- of Pipe
ing is accomplished. Key factors in proper sizing are: (1) the Maximum
specified start-up temperature, (2) the circuit breaker type Operation
and ampacity rating, (3) the specific S/R tracer start-up char- 1.0
Electrical/Thermal Equilibrium
acteristic, and (4) the total length of heat tracer connected to of Heating Cable
the circuit breaker.
1 10 100 1,000 10,000
Resistance Characteristic Log Time (seconds)
Since a self-regulating heat tracer has a PTC (positive temper- Fig. 2: Self-Regulating Tracer Start-Up Current Response
ature coefficient) resistance characteristic, resistance increas-
es with temperature. An example of heat tracer effective resis- tive example of an S/R tracer start-up current characteristic
tance as a function of tracer (not pipe) temperature is shown is shown in Figure 2.
in Figure 1. This example is for a freeze protection heat trac-
The start-up current response can be described by three
current values:
5000
4500 Peak the current that occurs just after energization when
Effective Resistance (ohm/m)

4000 the tracer temperature is the same as the pipe temperature

3500 (during system start-up)
3000
Maximum Current the current level after the heat tracer has
2500
attained its equilibrium temperature above the pipe tempera-
2000
ture (usually 300 seconds after energization)
1500
1000 Operating Current the current level when the pipe has at-
500 tained its operating temperature or design maintain tempera-
0 ture (several hours after energization depending on the pipe
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 size and fluid contained)
Temperature C
Fig.1: Effective Resistance vs. Tracer Temperature Theater = -20 C Theater = +44 C Theater = +59 C
R = 240 /m R = 660 /m R = 1500 /m
er.
Note that the resistance of this freeze protection heat tracer
gradually increases from -20 C to 30 C. The typical tracer
operating temperature range is between 40 C to 60 C. Af- Tfluid = -20 C Tfluid = -20 C Tfluid = +5 C
ter 60 C the heat tracer starts to exhibit significant increase
in resistance as it approaches its shut-off temperature near
80 C.
At Time = 0+ (energization) At Time = 300 seconds At Time = 4hr
Start-up Current Characteristic Fig. 3a Fig. 3b Fig. 3c
This resistance change with tracer temperature produces the
start-up current characteristic of an S/R tracer. An illustra- Pipe and Tracer Temperature During Start-up

Tracer and pipe temperature for these three current levels are
shown in Figure 3.

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Form TT122-0709
 Sizing Circuit Breakers for Self-Regulating Heat Tracers
1000
Fig. 3(a) shows the pipe and tracer at energization. The pipe and tracer
are at the same temperature of -20 C. In this example the tracer resis-
tance is 240 W/m. The current for this resistance is PEAK current.
Trip Min

Fig. 3(b) shows the pipe and tracer after 300 seconds. At this 100 Trip Max

time the pipe has not changed temperature, but the heat trac-
er has come to its equilibrium temperature of 44 C above

Time in Seconds
the -20 C pipe temperature. The tracer resistance at 44 C is
660 W/m. This results in MAXIMUM current. 10

Fig 3(c) shows the pipe at an operating temperature of 5 C.

To attain this pipe temperature may have taken several hours
depending on the pipe size. The tracer temperature is now 1

59 C and has a resistance of 1500 W/m. The current from this resis-
tance level is OPERATING current.
For this example tracer effective resistance is shown as both a function 0
0 1 10 100
of start-up time and tracer temperature in Figure 4. Multiples of Rated Current

Fig 5: Typical QO GFI Breaker Trip Curve

Fig. 5: Typical NorthAmps
Maximum American
- at 100% Breaker
Loading Trip Curve
5000
4500
Effective Resistance (ohm/m)

1000

4000
Trip Min
3500
3000 Time = 4hr Trip Max
100
2500
2000 Time in Seconds
Time = 300 s
1500 Time = 0
1000 10

500
0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
1
Temperature C
Fig.4: Effective Resistance vs. Tracer Temperature & Time

This is the basis for the typical start up current response shown in Figure 0
0 1 10 100

2. When sizing the circuit breaker, the start-up current response of the Multiples of Rated Current

tracer must not intersect the (minimum) circuit breaker trip curve. Fig 6a: Typical European Type C Breaker Trip Curve
Fig. 6a: Typical IECAmps
Maximum Type- at C Breaker
100% Loading Trip Curve

Circuit Breaker Characteristics

1000
Circuit breaker trip curves are typically shown on log-log graphs with
multiples of the rated current as a function of time. At 1000 seconds the Trip Min
multiple of rated current is at or near unity. An example of a typical North
American circuit breaker response curve is shown in Figure 5. 100
Trip Max

Note that for this typical North American circuit breaker, the minimum
Time in Seconds

trip curve allows a peak current of 10 times the CB rating. That means
for a 20 A breaker a peak current of 200 A would be allowed and not 10

cause a breaker trip. However, after 10 seconds the load current must
be under 1.2 times the CB rating or in the case of a 20 A breaker, 24
A.
1

Circuit breaker trip characteristics are not all the same. Two other com-
mon international circuit breaker trip characteristics are Type C and Type
B. The trip curves for these two types of circuit breakers are shown in
0
Figure 6(a) and 6(b). 0 1 10 100
Multiples of Rated Current

Fig 6b: Typical European Type B Breaker Trip Curve

Fig. 6b: Typical IEC
Maximum Type
Amps B Breaker
- at 100% Loading Trip Curve

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Form TT122-0709
 Sizing Circuit Breakers for Self-Regulating Heat Tracers

Other than a lower allowable peak current, the international
Type C response curve in Figure 6(a) is quite similar to that
of the typical North American circuit breaker. The allowable
peak current for the Type B circuit breaker is much lower with
a 2.0 multiplier. Thus, when sizing S/R heat load for a circuit
breaker, it is important to specify the breaker class or type in
addition to its ampacity rating.
There are cases when the tracer maximum current and break-
er rating are the same and the tracer start-up current inter-
sects the breaker trip curve. Examples are shown in Figure
8(a) and 8(b). For the QO breaker example the intersection
occurred in the first 10 seconds. For the Type B breaker the
intersection occurred at time 0+ with peak current.
1000

The Circuit Breaker Sizing Process Trip Min

As stated previously the circuit breaker ampacity must be Trip Max
sized so that the tracer start-up current response is under the Tracer

minimum trip current curve. Or alternatively for a specified

circuit breaker, the length of the cable must be sized such that 100
the resulting tracer current response is under the trip curve.

Time in Seconds
For many S/R tracer options, if the maximum current value
(current at 300 seconds) is equal or lower than the circuit
breaker rating, the tracer start-up current response is un-
der the breaker trip curve (there is no intersection). Figure
10
7 shows an example. Note that the tracer start-up curve is
under the breaker trip curve at all points. This could be a case
where the S/R tracer maximum current at 300 sec is just un-
der 20 A and the breaker rating is 20 A.

1
0 1 10 100
Multiples of Rated Current

Fig 8a: Typical QO GFI Breaker Trip Curve

1000
Fig. 8a: Typical North American Breaker Trip Curve
Trip Min

Trip Max
1000
Tracer
Trip Min

Trip Max
100 Tracer
Time in Seconds

100
Time in Seconds

10 10

1
0 1 10 100
Multiples of Rated Current

Fig 7: Typical QO GFI Breaker Trip Curve

Fig. 7: Typical NorthAmps
Maximum American Breaker Trip Curve
- 100% Loading
0
0 1 10 100

Maximum Amps - at 100% Loading Multiples of Rated Current

Fig 8b: Typical European Type B Breaker Trip Curve

Fig. 8b: Typical IEC Type B Breaker Trip Curve

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Form TT122-0709
 Sizing Circuit Breakers for Self-Regulating Heat Tracers

To prevent the breaker tripping, both start-up current curves
must be shifted to the left so there is no intersection. This
shift can be quantified as percentage of the breaker rating.
The resulting percentage value is used to de-rate the effective
breaker ampacity or circuit length on 100 % loading. This is
shown in Figure 9(a) and 9(b).
1000
Trip Min
Trip Max
To avoid an intersection the tracer start-up curve had to be
shifted left to 80% of the breaker rating in Figure 9(a) and to
70% of the breaker rating in Figure 9(b). For the North Ameri-
can breaker example, the intersection occurred in the first
10 seconds. For the IEC Type B breaker, the intersection oc-
curred at time 0+ with peak current. If both breakers in these
examples had a 20 A rating, the allowable maximum current
would be 16 A and 14 A, respectively, not 20 A.
So now the question is, How is maximum current estab-
lished?. Previously, maximum current was defined as:

Tracer Maximum Current the current level after the heat tracer
has attained its equilibrium temperature above the pipe tem-
100 perature (usually 300 seconds after energization).
Time in Seconds

This is the steady-state current for the S/R cable at the speci-
fied start-up temperature at the top or maximum end of the
manufacturing power output tolerance. Refer to the top line
indicated as Max in Figure 10 for an example.
10

80

70 Value for -20 C Start-up

60 Max
Power Output (W/m)

1
0 1 10 100
50
Multiples of Rated Current Min
Fig 9a: Typical QO GFI Breaker Trip Curve 40
Fig. 9a: Typical NorthAmps
Maximum American Breaker
Trip Curve
- 80% Loading
Maximum Amps - at 80% Loading 30

1000 20
Trip Min
10
Trip Max

Tracer 0
100
-60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Pipe Temperature C

Fig. 10: Max/Min Power Output

Time in Seconds

as a Function of Pipe Temperature

10

The minimum power output curve, bottom line indicated as

Min, is used for design to make up the pipe heat loss. With
1 the self-regulating slope characteristic, the lower the pipe
temperature the higher the power and resulting current. This
is why circuit breaker sizing data is shown for various start-up
temperatures. To be conservative the maximum power output
0
0 1 10 100
curve or tolerance is used for the maximum current value in
Multiples of Rated Current circuit breaker sizing.
Fig 9b: Typical European Type B Breaker Trip Curve
Fig. 9b: Typical IECAmps
Maximum Type B Breaker
- 70% Loading Trip Curve
Maximum Amps - at 70% Loading

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Form TT122-0709
 Sizing Circuit Breakers for Self-Regulating Heat Tracers

Here is an example of circuit breaker sizing using the basic steps

outlined in the preceding discussion.
Given:
A 240 Vac operating voltage
A specified North American circuit breaker with an rating of
20 A
Start-up temperature of -20 C
A S/R freeze protection tracer with 33 W/m at 10 C
(a 10-2 type cable)
What is the maximum length of tracer that can be applied to the
specified North American circuit breaker for the above condi-
tions?
Step 1 - When the S/R 10-2 normalized current response is ap-
plied to the North American circuit breaker minimum trip curve
the offset or loading factor is found to be 80%. (Refer to Fig. 9a)
Step 2 - The specified ampacity for the North American circuit
breaker is 20 A. The effective ampacity to avoid tripping with the
80% loading factor is 16 A.
Step 3 - For a start-up at -20 C the maximum power output of the
S/R 10-2 heating cable is 57 W/m. At 240 Vac the corresponding
maximum current is 0.24 A/m. Refer to Fig. 10.
Step 4 - By dividing the maximum current of 0.24 A/m into the ef-
fective ampacity of the 20 A North American circuit breaker of 16
A, the resulting length is 67 m. This is the maximum length of the
S/R 10-2 cable that can be applied to the 20 A North American
circuit breaker for a -20 C start-up.
Summary
The sizing of a circuit breaker with an S/R tracer depends on a
number of factors: (1) start-up temperature, (2) tracer start-up cur-
rent characteristic, (3) circuit breaker type, and (4) circuit breaker
ampacity. This ThermoTip has shown how circuit breaker sizing or
establishing a maximum circuit length for a given circuit breaker is
accomplished. While this process may seem somewhat complex,
Thermons CompuTrace design program quickly and easily per-
forms these basic steps according to the user input values for cir-
cuit breaker type and ampacity rating found under the SETTINGS
tab of the program. Note that Maximum Current in CompuTrace
output should not be used for sizing circuit breakers. The circuit
breaker sizing tables found on Thermon specification sheets for
self-regulating tracers are also based on these basic steps.
In conclusion, use Thermons CompuTrace design program or the
tracer specification sheets for determining maximum tracer circuit
lengths.

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Form TT122-0709