AC VOLTAGE CONTROLLERS

INTRODUCTION
• Power flow can be controlled by varying the rms value of ac voltage
applied to the load; this type of power circuit is known as an ac
voltage controller.
• Applications:
• Industrial heating
• on-load transformer connection changing
• Light controls
• speed control of polyphase induction motors, and
• AC magnet controls.
Types of control
• On–off control:
Thyristor switches connect the load to the ac source for a few cycles of
input voltage and then disconnect it for another few cycles.

• Phase-angle control:

Thyristor switches connect the load to the ac source for a portion of

each cycle of input voltage.
The ac voltage controllers can be classified into two types:

(1) single-phase controllers-(a) unidirectional or half-wave control

(b) bidirectional or full-wave control.

(2) three-phase controllers- (a) unidirectional or half-wave control and

(b) bidirectional or full-wave control.
PRINCIPLE OF ON-OFF CONTROL TECHNIQUE (INTEGRAL
CYCLE CONTROL)

Single-Phase Full-Wave Controllers with

Resistive Load
Single phase Halfwave AC phase controller
(Unidirectional Controller)
 • TO DERIVE AN EXPRESSION FOR RMS OUTPUT VOLTAGE VO (RMS )

• TO CALCULATE THE AVERAGE VALUE (DC VALUE) OF OUTPUT VOLTAGE

 Single-Phase Full-Wave Controllers with Resistive Loads

Fig. Single-phase full-wave controller. (a) Circuit, (b) Input supply voltage, (c) Output voltage, (d) Gate
pulse for T1, and (e) Gate pulse for T2.
By varying from 0 to , Vo can be varied from Vs to 0.
Single-Phase Full-Wave Controllers with Inductive Loads
 (1)

• If is the instantaneous input voltage and the delay angle of thyristor T1 is α, thyristor
current i1 can be found from

(2)

The solution of Eq. (2) is of the form

(3)
From Eq. (3) A1 is found as

(4)

Substitution of A1 from Eq. (4) in Eq. (3) yields