Unless you're quibbling about what happens to the AC waveform within the first cycle (20 msec), the fault current will be at its greatest when the fault first appears, and will decrease thereafter (until disconnection occurs) as heating of the cable increases its impedance. It's not a further increase in current (which doesn't happen) that causes the protective device to operate after a period of time - that's simply the time taken for the device to operate (despite the decreasing current, due to the cable heating up).The current has to increase to a point where the speed of automatic disconnection of supply is met.
Kind Regards, John.
