What this 3VA2 breaker carries
The Siemens 3VA2340-5HL32-0KB0 is a 3-pole IEC frame 400 molded case circuit breaker with a 55 kA interrupting capacity at 415 V AC (breaking capacity class M). It ships with an ETU320 LI trip unit — fixed at 400 A continuous (In) with adjustable overload protection Ir from 160 A to 400 A and short-circuit pickup Ii adjustable 1.5 to 10 × In. That means you can dial the long-time pickup to match the cable or busbar rating without swapping the breaker body. Factory-fitted accessories include a left-side shunt trip rated 208–277 V AC 50/60 Hz and 220–250 V DC, plus two auxiliary switch changeover contacts. The nut keeper kit is also included — a detail that saves time during panel assembly when the breaker is mounted on a busbar stack.
What the ratings mean for coordination
The 55 kA Icu at 415 V places this breaker in the M (medium) breaking capacity class within the 3VA2 frame. For a 400 A feeder in a 415 V system with a prospective fault current up to 55 kA, this breaker clears the fault without upstream devices needing to open — a key selectivity requirement in industrial switchboards. The ETU320 LI trip unit provides electronic long-time and instantaneous protection; it lacks the short-time delay (LSI) of the ETU330, so it is best applied where downstream coordination is handled by the instantaneous pickup setting rather than a deliberate time band.
Integration into the panel
The 3VA2 frame 400 mounts on a DIN rail or directly onto a mounting plate via the included nut keeper kit. The left-side shunt trip occupies the accessory slot on the breaker's left flank; the two auxiliary switches provide status feedback to a PLC or indication lamp. Wiring the shunt trip coil requires verifying polarity for the DC supply — the coil holds at 220–250 V DC and drops out below the dropout threshold, so a free-wheel diode across the coil is recommended if the drive circuit is inductive.