Current Limiting Fuse Arc-Voltage Characteristics

Fusible elements of a uniform cross-sectional area, such as wire, produce an arc voltage that is directly related to available fault current, but is not basically related to circuit voltage. Conversely, nonuniform area elements, such as perforated ribbon, generate maximum arc voltages independent of fault-current magnitude, but proportional to circuit voltage. The instant of fault-current initiation determines whether the fuse will encounter maximum let-through current, arc voltage, and arc energy.