SWITCH GEAR AND PROTECTION IMPORTANT MCQ

1. The main function of a fuse is to
(a) protect the line
(b) open the circuit
(c) protect the appliance
(d) prevent excessive currents
(e) none of the above
Ans: d

2. On which of the following routine tests are conducted ?
(a) Oil circuit breakers
(b) Air blast circuit breakers
(c) Minimum oil circuit breakers
(d) All of the above
Ans: d

3. SF6 gas
(a) is yellow in colour
(b) is lighter than air
(c) is nontoxic
(d) has pungent small
(e) none of the above
Ans: c

4. The arcing contacts in a circuit breaker are made of
(a) copper tungsten alloy
(b) porcelain
(c) electrolytic copper
(d) aluminium alloy
Ans: a

5. Which of the following medium is employed for extinction of arc in
air circuit breaker ?
(a) Water
(b) Oil
(c) Air
(d) SF6
Ans: c

6. With which of the following, a circuit breaker must be equipped for
remote operation ?
(a) Inverse time trip
(b) Time-delay trip
(c) Shunt trip
(d) None of the above
(e) All of the above
Ans: c

7. Fault diverters are basically
(a) fuses
(b) relays
(c) fast switches
(d) circuit breakers
Ans: c

8. A thermal protection switch can protect against
(a) short-circuit
(b) temperature
(c) overload
(d) over voltage
Ans: c

9. Arc in a circuit behaves as
(a) a capackive reactance
(b) an inductive reactance
(c) a resistance increasing with voltage rise across the arc
(d) a resistance decreasing with voltage rise across the arc
Ans: d

10. Thermal circuit breaker has
(a) delayed trip action
(b) instantaneous trip action
(c) both of the above
(d) none of the above
Ans: a

11. Relays can be designed to respond to changes in
(a) resistance, reactance or impedance
(b) voltage and current
(c) light intensity
(d) temperature
(e) all above
Ans: e

12. Overload relays are of…… type.
(a) induction
(b) solid state
(c) thermal
(d) electromagnetic
(e) all above
Ans: e

13. Thermal overload relays are used to protect the motor against over
current due to
(a) short-circuits
(b) heavy loads
(c) grounds
(d) all of the above
Ans: b

14. Magnetic circuit breaker has ______ trip action.
(a) delayed
(b) instantaneous
(c) both of the above
(d) none of the above
Ans: b

15. D.C. shunt relays are made of
(a) few turns of thin wire
(b) few turns of thick wire
(c) many turns of thin wire
(d) many turns of thick wire
Ans: c

16. The relay operating speed depends upon
(a) the spring tension
(b) the rate of flux built up
(c) armature core air gap
(d) all of the above
Ans: d

17. In order that current should flow without causing excessive heating
or voltage drop, the relay contacts should
(a) have low contact resistance
(b) be clean and smooth
(c) be of sufficient size and proper shape
(d) have all above properties
Ans: d

18. Circuit breakers usually operate under
(a) transient state of short-circuit current
(b) sub-transient state of short-circuit current
(c) steady state of short-circuit current
(d) after D.C. component has ceased
Ans: a

19. Circuit breakers are essentially
(a) current carrying contacts called electrodes
(b) arc extinguishers
(c) circuits to break the system
(d) transformers to isolate the two systems
(e) any of the above
Ans: a

The current zero interruption, in oil and air blast circuit breakers, is
achieved by
(a) lengthening of the gap
(b) cooling and blast effect
(c) both (a) and (b)
(d) deionizing the oil with forced air
(e) none of the above
Ans: c

21. Air blast circuit breaker is used for
(a) over currents
(b) short duty
(c) intermittant duty
(d) repeated duty
Ans: d

22. An efficient and a well designed protective relaying should have
(a) good selectivity and reliability
(b) economy and simplicity
(c) high speed and selectivity
(d) all of the above
Ans: d

23. Burden of a protective relay is the power
(a) required to operate the circuit breaker
(b) absorbed by the circuit of relay
(c) developed by the relay circuit
(d) none of the above
Ans: b

24. Directional relays are based on flow of
(a) power
(b) current
(c) voltage wave
(d) all of the above
Ans: a

25. A differential relay measures the vector difference between
(a) two currents
(b) two voltages
(c) two or more similar electrical quantities
(d) none of the above
Ans: c

26. A transmission line is protected by
(a) inrush protection
(b) distance protection
(c) time graded and current graded over current protection
(d) both (b) and (c)
(e) none of the above
Ans: d

27. Large internal faults are protected by
(a) merz price percentage differential protection
(b) mho and ohm relays
(c) horn gaps and temperature relays
(d) earth fault and positive sequence relays
Ans: a

28. When a transmission line is energized, the wave that propagates on it is
(a) current wave only
(b) voltage wave only
(c) both (a) and (b)
(d) power factor wave only
Ans: c

29. Protective relays are devices that detect abnormal conditions in
electrical circuits by measuring
(a) current during abnormal condition
(b) voltage during abnormal condition
(c) constantly the electrical quantities which differ during normal and
abnormal conditions
(d) none of the above
Ans: c

30. The voltage appearing across the contacts after opening of the
circuit breaker is called______voltage.
(a) recovery
(b) surge
(c) operating
(d) arc
(e) none of the above
Ans: a

31. Ionization in circuit breaker is facilitated by
(a) high temperature
(b) increase of mean free path
(c) increasing field strength
(d) all of the above
Ans: d

32. In a circuit breaker the basic problem is to
(a) maintain the arc
(b) extinguish the arc
(c) transmit large power
(d) emit the ionizing electrons
Ans: c

33. Overheating of relay contacts or contact born out is due to
(a) slow making and breaking of load circuit contacts
(b) foreign matter on the contact surface
(c) too low contact pressure
(d) all of the above
Ans: d

34. Interruption of large currents by relay requires
(a) arc suppressing blow out coils
(b) wide separation of the opened contacts
(c) high speed opening of contacts
(d) all of the above
Ans: d

35. Shunt capacitance is neglected while considering
(a) short transmission line
(b) medium transmission line
(c) long transmission line
(d) medium and long transmission lines
Ans: a

36. The arc voltage produced in A.C. circuit breaker is always
(a) in phase with the arc current
(b) lagging the arc current by 90″
(c) leading the arc current by 90°
(d) none of the above
Ans: a

37. The time of closing the cycle, in modern circuit breakers is
(a) 0.003 sec
(b) 0.001 sec
(c) 0.01 sec
(d) 0.10 sec
(e) none of the above
Ans: a

38. Insulation resistance of high voltage circuit breakers is more than
(a) 1 mega ohms
(b) 10 mega ohms
(c) 100 mega ohms
(d) 500 mega ohms
Ans: c

39. H.R.C. fuses provide best protection against
(a) overload
(b) reverse current
(c) open-circuits
(d) short-circuits
Ans: d

40. The ground wire should not be smaller than No ______ copper.
(a) 2
(b) 4
(c) 6
(d) 10
Ans: d

41. The delay fuses are used for the protection of ________ .
(a) motors
(b) power outlet circuits
(c) fluorescent lamps
(d) light circuits
Ans: a

42. Which of the following is the least expensive protection for
overcurrent is low voltage system ?
(a) Rewireable fuse
(b) Isolator
(c) Oil circuit breaker
(d) Air break circuit breaker
(e) None of the above
Ans: a

43. Resistance grounding is used for voltage between
(a) 33kVto66kV
(b) HkVto33kV
(c) 3.3kVandllkV
(d) none of the above
Ans: c

44. The contacts of high voltage switches used in power system are
submerged in oil. The main purpose of the oil is to
(a) lubricate the contacts
(b) insulate the contacts from switch body
(c) extinguish the arc
(d) all of the above
(e) none of the above
Ans: c

45. In Railway applications ______ circuit breaker is used.
(a) SFe
(b) bulk oil
(c) minimum oil
(d) air break
Ans:a

46. To protect most of the electrical equipment handling low power, the
types of relays used are
(a) thermocouple
(b) electronic and bimetallic
(c) both (a) and (b)
(d) none of the above
Ans: c

47. Wave trap is used to trap waves of
(a) power frequencies
(b) higher frequencies entering generator or transformer units
(c) either of the above
(d) none of the above
Ans: b

48. Ungrounded neutral transmission system is not recommended because of
system
(a) insulation being overstressed due to over voltages
(b) insulation overstress may lead to failure and subsequent phase to
phase faults
(c) being inadequately protected against ground fault
(d) all of the above
Ans: d

49. The reflection co-efficient at the open circuited end of a
transmission line.
(a) zero
(b) infinity
(c) unity
(d) none of the above
Ans: c

50. For the protection of power station buildings against direct strokes
the requirements are
(a) interception
(b) interception and conduction
(c) interception, conduction and dissipation
(d) interception, conduction, dissipation and reflection
(e) none of the above
Ans: c

51. The line insulation is the insulation level of the station equipment.
(a) less than
(b) same as
(c) more than
(d) proportional to
(e) not directly related with
Ans: e

52. The interaction between a transmission line and communication line
is minimized by
(a) transposing transmission as well as communication lines
(b) increasing the height of the trans-mission line tower
(c) increasing the distance between the two lines
(d) all of the above
Ans: d

53. When a wave propagates on a transmission line, it suffers reflection
several times at
(a) tapping
(b) load end
(c) sending end
(d) sending and other end
(e) all of the above
Ans: d

54. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
(a) Station batteries are used to operate relay only
(b) The lightning arresters are basically surge diverters
(c) An impedance relay has maximum fault current when fault occurs near
the relay
(d) A high speed relay has an operation of 1 to 2 cycles
Ans: a

55. Discrimination between main and back up protection is provided by
the use of relays which are
(a) fact
(b) sensitive
(c) slow
(d) none of the above
Ans: c

56. Induction cup relay is operated due to changes in
(a) current
(b) voltage
(c) impedance
(d) all of the above
Ans: d

57. A.C. network analyser is used to solve problems of
(a) load flow
(b) load flow and short-circuit
(c) load flow and stability
(d) load flow, short-circuit and stability
(e) none of the above
Ans: d

58. Which of the following statements is incorrect ?
(a) Lightning arrestors are used before the switchgear
(b) Shunt reactors are used as compensation reactors
(c) The peak short current is (1.8 xV2) times the A.C. component
(d) The MVA at fault is equal to base MVA divided by per unit equivalent
fault reactance
Ans: a

59. Short-circuit currents are due to
(a) single phase to ground faults
(b) phase to phase faults
(c) two phase to ground faults
(d) three phase faults
(e) any of these
Ans: e

60. To reduce short circuit fault currents are used.
(a) reactors
(b) resistors
(c) capacitors
(d) none of the above
Ans: a

61. Bus coupler is very essential in arrangement
(a) single bus
(b) double bus, double breaker
(c) main and transfer bus
(d) all of the above
Ans: c

62. For cost and safety, the outdoor substations are installed for
voltages above
(a) 11 kV
(b) 33 kV
(c) 60kV
(d) 110kV
Ans: b

63. The short circuit in any winding of the transformer is the result of
(a) mechanical vibration
(b) insulation failure
(c) loose connection
(d) impulse voltage
Ans: d

64 relays are used for phase faults on long line.
(a) Impedance
(b) Reactance
(c) Either of the above
(d) None of the above
Ans: a

65. For which of the following protection from negative sequence
currents is provided ?
(a) Generators
(b) Motors
(c) Transmission line
(d) Transformers
Ans: a

66 relay is preferred for phase fault on short transmission line.
(a) Induction type
(b) Reactance
(c) Impedance
(d) None of the above
Ans: b

67. Distance relays are generally
(a) split-phase relays
(b) reactance relays
(c) impedance relays
(d) none of the above
Ans: d

68. For which of the following ratings of the transformer differential
protection is recommended ?
(a) above 30 kVA.
(b) equal to and above 5 MVA
(c) equal to and above 25 MVA
(d) none of the above
Ans: b

69. A _______ is used to measure the stator % winding temperature of the
generator.
(a) thermocouple
(b) pyrometer
(c) resistance thermometer
(d) thermometer
Ans: c

70. The under voltage relay can be used for
(a) generators
(b) busbars
(c) transformers
(d) motors
(e) all of the above
Ans: e

71. The relay with inverse time characteristic will operate within
(a) 1.5 sec
(b) 5 to 10 sec
(c) 5 to 20 sec
(d) 20 to 30 sec
(e) none of the above
Ans: b

72. The single phasing relays are used for the protection of
(a) single phase motors only
(b) two phase motors only
(c) two single phase motors running in parallel
(d) three phase motors
Ans: d

73. Which of the following devices will receive voltage surge first
travelling on the transmission line ?
(a) Lightning arresters
(b) Relays
(c) Step-down transformer
(d) Switchgear
Ans: a

74. Which of the following parameter can be neglected for a short line ?
(a) Inductance
(b) Capacitance
(c) Resistance
(d) Reactance
Ans: b

75. Series reactors should have
(a) low resistance
(b) high resistance
(c) low impedance
(d) high impedance
Ans: a

76. Which of the following circuit breakers has high reliability and
minimum maintenance ?
(a) Air blast circuit breakers
(b) Circuit breaker with SF6 gas
(c) Vacuum circuit breakers
(d) Oil circuit breakers
Ans: b

77. Arc in a circuit breaker is interrupted at
(a) zero current
(b) maximum current
(c) minimum voltage
(d) maximum voltage
Ans: a

78 transmission line has reflection coefficient as one.
(a) Open circuit
(b) Short-circuit
(e) Long
(d) None of the above
Ans: a

79. What will be the reflection co-efficient of the wave of load
connected to transmission line if surge impedance of the line is equal
to load ?
(a) Zero
(b) Unity
(c) Infinity
(d) None of the above
Ans: a

80. The inverse definite mean time relays are used for over current and
earth fault protection of transformer against
(a) heavy loads
(b) internal short-circuits
(c) external short-circuits
(d) all of the above
Ans: b

81. Over voltage protection is recommended for
(a) hydro-electric generators
(b) steam turbine generators
(c) gas turbine generators
(d) all of the above
(e) none of the above
Ans: d

82. Air blast circuit breakers for 400 kV power system are designed to
operate in
(a) 100 microsecond
(b) 50 millisecond
(c) 0.5 sec
(d) 0.1 sec
Ans: b

83. Overfluxing protection is recommended for
(a) distribution transformer
(b) generator transformer of the power plant
(c) auto-transformer of the power plant
(d) station transformer of the power plant
Ans: b

84. Series capacitors are used to
(a) compensate for line inductive reactance
(b) compensate for line capacitive reactance
(c) improve line voltage
(d) none of the above
Ans: a

85. Admittance relay is _______ relay.
(a) impedance
(b) directional
(c) non-directional
(d) none of the above
Ans: b

86. The material used for fuse must have
(a) low melting point and high specific resistance
(b) low melting point and -low specific resistance
(c) high melting point and low specific resistance
(d) low melting point and any specific resistance
Ans: a

87. If the fault occurs near the impedance relay, the VII ratio will be
(a) constant for all distances
(b) lower than that of if fault occurs away from the relay
(c) higher than that of if fault occurs away from the relay
(d) none of the above
Ans: b

88. The torque produced in induction type relay (shaded pole structure) is
(a) inversely proportional to the current
(b) inversely proportional to the square of the current
(c) proportional to the current
(d) proportional to square of the current
Ans: b

89. The steady state stability of the power system can be increased by
(a) connecting lines in parallel
(b) connecting lines in series
(e) using machines of high impedance
(d) reducing the excitation of machines
(e) none of the above
Ans: a

90. The inductive interference between power and communication line can
be minimized by
(a) transposition of the power line
(b) transposition of the communication line
(c) both (a) and (b)
(d) increasing the distance between the conductors
Ans: c

91. The power loss is an important factor for the design of
(a) transmission line
(b) motor
(c) generator
(d) feeder
Ans: a

92. A fuse is connected
(a) in series with circuit
(b) in parallel with circuit
(c) either in series or in parallel with circuit
(d) none of the above
Ans: a

93. H.R.C. fuse, as compared to a rewirable fuse, has
(a) no ageing effect
(b) high speed of operation
(c) high rupturing capacity
(d) all of the above
Ans: d

94. The fuse rating is expressed in terms of
(a) current
(b) voltage
(c) VAR
(d) kVA
Ans: a

95. The fuse blows off by
(a) burning
(b) arcing
(c) melting
(d) none of the above
Ans: c

96. On which of the following effects of electric current a fuse operates ?
(a) Photoelectric effect
(b) Electrostatic effect
(c) Heating effect
(d) Magnetic effect
Ans: c

97. An isolator is installed
(a) to operate the relay of circuit breaker
(b) as a substitute for circuit breaker
(c) always independent of the position of circuit breaker
(d) generally on both sides of a circuit breaker
Ans: d

98. A fuse in a motor circuit provides protection against
(a) overload
(b) short-circuit and overload
(c) open circuit, short-circuit and overload
(d) none of the above
Ans: b

99. Protection by fuses is generally not used beyond
(a) 20 A
(b) 50 A
(c) 100 A
(d) 200 A
Ans: c

100. A fuse is never inserted in
(a) neutral wire
(b) negative of D.C. circuit
(c) positive of D.C. circuit
(d) phase dine
Ans: a

101. Oil switches are employed for
(a) low currents circuits
(b) low voltages circuits
(c) high voltages and large currents circuits
(d) all circuits
Ans: c

102. A switchgear is device used for
(a) interrupting an electrical circuit
(b) switching an electrical circuit 111.
(c) switching and controlling an electrical circuit
(d) switching, controlling and protecting the electrical circuit and
equipment
Ans: d

103. The fuse wire, in D.C. circuits, is inserted in
(a) negative circuit only
(b) positive circuit only
(c) both (a) and (b)
(d) either (a) or (b)
Ans: c

104. By which of the following methods major portion of the heat
generated in a H.R.C. fuse is dissipated ?
(a) Radiation
(b) Convection
(c) Conduction
(d) All of the above
Ans: c

105. A short-circuit is identified by
(a) no current flow
(b) heavy current flow
(c) voltage drop
(d) voltage rise
Ans: b

106. The information to the circuit breaker under fault conditions is
provided by
(a) relay
(b) rewirable fuse
(c) H.R.C. only
(d) all of the above
Ans: a

107. To limit short-circuit current in a power system are used.
(a) earth wires
(b) isolators
(c) H.R.C. fuses
(d) reactors
Ans: d

109. A balanced 3-phase system consists of
(a) zero sequence currents only
(b) positive sequence currents only
(c) negative and zero sequence currents
(d) zero, negative and positive sequence currents
Ans: b

110. In a single bus-bar system there will be complete shut down when
(a) fault occurs on the bus itself
(b) fault occurs on neutral line
(c) two or more faults occur simultaneously
(d) fault occurs with respect to earthing
Ans: a