Short circuit
Türkçe: Kısa devre
A condition where live conductors join through a very low-impedance path, so hundreds of times the normal current flows.
// EXPLANATION
Short-circuit current can reach kA levels; its thermal effect grows with I²t and its mechanical forces with the square of the current. Equipment must therefore withstand it and the protective device must have adequate breaking capacity. An arc may form at the fault location.
// ALSO KNOWN AS
short circuitshort-circuitshort circuits
// RELATED TERMS
OvercurrentCurrent above the circuit's rated value, appearing either as overload or as short circuit.
Breaking capacityThe highest prospective short-circuit current a protective device can safely interrupt without being damaged.
FuseA protective element whose internal link melts under overcurrent to break the circuit and which must be replaced once it has operated.
Circuit breakerA switching device that can make and break normal load current and short-circuit current, opening the circuit on command from a protection relay during a fault.
