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PR 2029620 Gat Tozzi 20 Publications
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By:
A.L. Gattozzi
J.A. Pappas
IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, vol. 39, no. 1, January 2003, pp. 414-417
Attached paper is the final version as submitted to the conference. IEEE performs final layout
in-house to distribute figures and tables within the text.
PR 296
Fig. 4. Gate trigger circuit (black arrows indicate optical signal input).
Fig. 5. Open circuit output voltage of trigger circuit. Fig. 7. Current output of trigger circuit loaded by SCR gate in a repetitive
mode.
module (SCR with trigger and snubber circuits) in the three SCR
series combination in each leg of the converter did not impair
the overall operation of the system. In fact, in the simulation,
the system performed within the specifications even after the
failure of one SCR module. This will have to be verified in actual
tests. The design of the converter was meant to have this degree
of redundancy, fully recognizing that two SCR series combina-
tions would be sufficient instead of three. The limiting action of
the snubber circuits is crucial in affording this level of robust-
ness. Unless new devices with higher performance capability
are used, any further optimization of the system will probably
require a compromise between size and weight on one hand and
Fig. 6. Short circuit output current of trigger circuit. reliability and fault tolerance on the other.
©2003 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional
purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work
in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.
GATTOZZI AND PAPPAS: CIRCUITS FOR PROTECTING AND TRIGGERING SCRs 417
Fig. 11. Shielded box with supply and trigger circuitry for six SCRs (one leg
2 2
of converter); box outside dimensions are 16 20 7 in.
V. CONCLUSION
In this paper, results are given for the design of a trigger cir-
cuit and a snubber circuit used in connection with a specific
Fig. 10. Snubber for one SCR with dc equalizer circuit branch. high power SCR. Two standalone trigger circuit topologies and
their electrical performance and potential for miniaturization are
IV. INTEGRATED SNUBBER–TRIGGER discussed. Experimental results are included for the case of a
specific trigger circuit design. The selection of snubber compo-
Both snubber circuits and trigger circuits discussed above nents is also discussed, again with consideration given to size
were built with off-the-shelf components and are shown in and weight optimization. The analysis then continues with the
Figs. 10 and 11. Obviously, they could be reduced in size and presentation of an integrated snubber–trigger circuit topology
weight if special components were used. Another alternative with potential for reduced part count, size, and weight.
exists, however, and is described briefly below.
In an effort to minimize the size and weight of the entire
converter, a circuit combining both functions of the trigger and REFERENCES
snubber circuits was developed, built, and tested [4]. Fig. 12 [1] D. R. Grafham and F. B. Golden, Eds., SCR Manual, 6th ed: General
Electric Co, 1979.
shows the conceptual design. When the SCR is in the forward [2] J. D. van Wyk, Jr. and W. A. Cronje, “Detrimental layout electromagnetic
blocking mode, the snubber capacitor charges through the effects in converters,” IEEE IAS Conf. 2000, vol. 5, pp. 3097–3104.
charging resistor to a voltage limited by the Zener diode [3] C. W. Lee and S. B. Park, “Design of a thyristor snubber circuit by con-
. This voltage is then used to trigger the SCR gate at the sidering the reverse recovery process,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron.,
vol. 3, pp. 440–446, Oct. 1988.
desired time via the IGBT switch. Upon turn-off, when the [4] J. A. Pappas and M. Salinas, “Internal Reports,” The University of Texas
voltage across the SCR changes polarity, the snubber works in Center for Electromechanics, Austin, TX, 1999.