INTRODUCTION TO POWER

ELECTRONICS CONVERTERS
AC to DC Converters

Prof. Dr. Basil

2016-2017
 WHAT IS POWER ELECTRONICS?
• Conversion and control of electrical power by power
semiconductor devices.
• Definition: To convert i.e. to process and control the flow of
electric power by supplying voltages and currents in a form that is
optimally suited for user loads.
 Thyristor is considered as a Power Semiconductor
Device

A thyristor is also like two transistors connected

together, so the output from each one serves as
the input to the other one
 The Difference Between
Holding Current ( IH ) and Latching Current ( IL )
 POWER ELECTRONICS

 AC to DC Converters 
 Controlled and Uncontrolled Rectifier 

2016-2017
POWER CONVERSION CONCEPT:
EXAMPLE
• Supply :
50Hz, 240V RMS (340V peak).
Customer need DC voltage for welding
purpose, say.
• Sine-wave supply gives zero DC
component!
• We can use simple half-wave rectifier.
A fixed
• DC voltage is now obtained. This is a
simple PE system.
Average output voltage:
 Single Phase Half-Wave Rectifier 
 CONVERSION CONCEPT
• What if customer wants variable DC voltage?
-More complex circuit using SCR is required.

• By controlling the firing angle, , the output DC voltage

(after conversion) can be varied.
• Obviously this needs electronic circuit to set the firing current
pulses for the SCR.
 Single Phase Half-Wave Controlled Rectifier 

2016-2017
 Single Phase Half-Wave Controlled Rectifier 

2016-207
 Single Phase Half-Wave Controlled Rectifier 

2016-207
 Single Phase Half-Wave Controlled Rectifier 
 Single Phase Half-Wave Controlled Rectifier 

2016-207
 Average Rectified Voltage
 Average Rectified Voltage

2016-207
 Average Rectified Voltage
 Average Rectified Voltage

2016-207
 Average Rectified Voltage

2016-207
The relation of mean output voltage in terms of firing angle for half-wave
single phase controlled rectifier for pure resistive load

Vdc
The relation of mean output voltage in terms of firing angle for half-wave
single phase controlled rectifier for R in series with L load.

The mean output voltage

The relation of RMS output voltage in terms of firing angle for half-
wave single phase controlled rectifier for R in series with L load.

The RMS output voltage

SAVING POWER ELECTRONICS IN ENERGY
ENERGY SCENARIO
• Need to reduce dependence on fossil fuel.
• Tap renewable energy resources.
• About 60% - 65% of generated energy is consumed in electrical
machines -mainly pumps and fans.
• Variable speed control of electric machines can improve
efficiency by 30% at light load. Light load reduced flux machine
operation can further improve efficiency.
• Variable speed air-conditioner/heat pump can save energy by
30%.
• About 20% of generated energy is used in lighting. High
frequency fluorescent lamps are 2-3 times more efficient than
incandescent lamps.
GROWTH OF POWER ELECTRONICS
The rapid growth of PE is due to:
• Advances in power (semiconductor) switches.
• Advances in microelectronics (DSP, VLSI, microprocessor/micro
-controller, ASIC).
• New ideas in control algorithms.
• Demand for new applications.
PE is an interdisciplinary field:
• Digital/analogue electronics.
• Power and energy.
• Microelectronics.
• Control system.
• Computer, simulation and software.
• Solid-state physics and devices.
• Packaging.
• Heat transfer.