The Siemens 3VA1196-4GF42-0AA0-ZD00 is a 3VA1 IEC frame 160 moulded-case circuit breaker with a 36 kA interrupting capacity at 415 V — class S breaking capacity, meaning it clears line-to-line faults up to that level without cascading upstream in a selectively coordinated panel. Four poles, thermal-magnetic TM240 ATAM trip unit, fixed at 16 A rated current (In) with overload protection adjustable from 11 A to 16 A and short-circuit pickup set 10 to 20 times In. N-conductor protection is 100 % rated, so it handles full-phase imbalance on the neutral without nuisance tripping. The nut keeper kit and DC Power OEM designation point to a variant built for Chinese OEM integration, likely into DC-side distribution or inverter-fed circuits.
What the ratings mean for your panel
The 36 kA Icu at 415 V is the maximum short-circuit current the breaker can safely interrupt once — that is the ultimate breaking capacity, not the service rating. For repeated fault clearing in motor or feeder circuits, the Ics (service breaking capacity) is typically a percentage of Icu; this class S frame sits above standard distribution breakers, giving headroom for high-fault locations like transformer secondaries or large MCC infeeds. The TM240 ATAM trip unit is thermal-magnetic: the thermal element handles overloads on an inverse-time curve (adjustable Ir from 11 A to 16 A), while the magnetic element responds instantaneously to short-circuits (adjustable Ii from 10× to 20× In). That wide Ii range lets you coordinate with downstream branch breakers — set it high enough to ride through motor inrush, low enough to clear a bolted fault before the upstream main trips.
Integration and mounting
The 3VA1 frame 160 mounts on a DIN rail or can be screw-fixed to a backplate. Four-pole construction means it occupies the full width of a standard 4-module MCCB footprint — plan for 72 mm per pole in the enclosure layout. The nut keeper kit (included in the ZD00 suffix) simplifies torque-controlled terminal tightening on the line and load sides, a detail that saves time during panel build-out.