Computer Interfacing and Peripheral Equipment Laboratory Report

(Rick L. Swenson) Laboratory exercise number: Practice 14. Laboratory exercise name:
Thyristors and solid state interfacing.

Name: Martn Santiago Francisco Giovanni De la Vega Huerta Israel Pimentel Bermdez

Roll Number 01202208 01204102 01204459

Date April- 10-2013

Material: LM339 Quad Voltage Comparator (for single power supply) Unijunction Transistors (UJT): 2N2646 Silicon Controlled Rectifiers (SCR): TIC106B or C106D TRIACs: 2N6073 or Q4010 OptoIsolators: MOC3010 Light Bulb (Resistive Load) Hair Dryer (Inductive Load) Several Resistors of different values (see schematics) 1 NPN transistor 2N2222A Monostable multivibrators: 74LS221 Report description: Thyristors are typically used for power electronics interfacing and control. During this laboratory experiment you will be using three of these devices, namely: SCRs, UJTs and TRIACs. Obtained results with schematic, block diagrams and timing diagrams: Stage 1. SCR applications

Assemble the following two circuits shown in Figure 1. If you cant find a 6V light bulb, use a 330 Ohms resistor with a LED connected in series. For RL, also use a LED.

Figure 1: SCR application examples

Figure 2:

Figure 3: Circuit implemented on breadboard

Stage 2. TRIAC applications

The following circuit (Figure 4) is for switching resistive loads (e.g. light bulb, heater element, etc.) connected to an AC source using digital circuitry. It uses a MOC3010 to provide optical isolation between the digital circuitry and the AC source. For the resistive load, RL, use a 60 Watt light bulb.

Figure 4: Digital circuitry interfaced to an AC resistive load

Figure 5:

Figure 6:

The following circuit (Figure 7) is for switching inductive loads (e.g. motors) connected to an AC source using digital circuitry. It uses a MOC3010 to provide optical isolation between the digital circuitry and the AC source. For the resistive load, ZL, use a hair dryer motor.

Figure 7: Digital circuitry interfaced to an AC inductive load

Figure 7: Digital circuitry interfaced to an AC inductive load on protoboard.

Stage 3. UJT applications

Figure 8 shows two oscillators using and UJT. Assemble both circuits and verify that the LED flashes for the circuit on the left. Then check that a varying tone is heard on the speaker when you turn R2.

Figure 8: UJT oscillator circuit

Figure 8: Time base implemented on protoboard.

Figure 9: Tone generator implemented on protoboard.

A ramp generator based on an UJT is depicted in Figure 10. Verify the functionality of the circuit by putting it together. Connect an oscilloscope to the output OUT.

Figure 10: UJT ramp generator circuit

Figure 11: UJT ramp generator circuit implemented on protoboard.

Figure 12: Output of the circuit.

Stage 4. Challenge In this section, we decided to solve the challenge 1 that is the next: Challenge 1: Modify the digital side of Figure 2, to convert the circuit into a light dimmer. In order to achieve this, you will have to use a monostable multivibrator (74LS221) and a zero-crossing circuit to detect when the AC voltage crosses 0V. The zero-crossing circuit is shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13: zero-crossing circuit used to detect when a 120VAC phase crosses 0V generating square wave pulses.
This circuit is directly coupled to the AC line and it is only recommended as a temporary way of checking zero-crossing. Be very CAUTIOS with the top circuit and dont use it a permanent solution.

Next we present the circuit results.

In these images we can observe how the light intensity changes according to the value of resistor, implemented with a potentiometer, so we can assume that the triack its working according to the requirements of the challenge.

In these images we compare the output signal from the monostable multivibrator with the voltage level that receives the load, in order to observe how the alternate voltage input its cut by the tirack, and how this action modulate the intensity light of the bulb.

Conclusions: 1. We learned that an input gate signal causes the SCR to turn on, allowing forward current conduction. SCRs are true rectifiers: they only allow current through them in one direction. This means they cannot be used alone for full-wave AC power control. 2. Also we learned that the unijunction transistor are used for a wide range of applications such as sawtooth generators, trigger circuits, timing controls and other related circuits. Problems encountered: 1. We did not find an AC motor to test the proper operation of the digital circuitry interfaced to an AC inductive load.