Thyristors Part III

Prepared by Dr. Mohammad Abdul Mannan Assistant Professor, Department of EEE American International University - Bangladesh

Commutation Circuit of Thyristors

Thyristor Turn-OFF
A Thyristor which is in the ON-state can be turn OFF by reducing the forward current to a level below the holding current. The junctions J1 and J3 are forward when thyristor turn ON. If forward current is reduced to zero, J1 and J3 continue to conduct due to minority carriers which remain stored i th pn-junction and th b lk semiconductor i hi h i t d in the j ti d the bulk i d t material. The minority carries require a certain time to recombine with opposite charges and to be neutralized This time is called reverse recovery time trr, of neutralized. time, the diode. The junction J2 is reverse biased when thyristor turn ON. If forward current is y reduced to zero, J2 will require a time known as recombination time trc to recombine the excess carriers. The turn off time tq (=trr+trc) is the minimum value of time interval between the instant when on-state current has decreased to zero and the instant when the thyristor is capable of withstanding forward voltage without turning on.

Thyristor Commutation
Commutation is the process of turning-off a thyristor, and it normally causes transfer of current flow to other parts of circuit. A commutation circuit normally uses additional components to accomplish the turn-off. The Th commutation t h i t ti techniques use LC resonance ( an underdamped RLC (or d d d circuit) to force the current and/or voltage of the thyristor to zero, thereby turning off a power device. Classification of Commutation 1. Natural or line commutation, and 2. Forced commutation

Natural or Line Commutation

Natural commutation techniques takes place in: AC voltage controller, q p g , Phase controlled rectifiers, and Cycloconverters. If the source or input voltage is ac, the thyristor current goes through a natural zero and a reverse voltage appears across the thyristor The device zero, thyristor. is then automatically turned off due to the natural behavior of the source voltage. This is known as natural commutation or line commutation.

Natural or Line Commutation

The thyristor is triggered synchronously with the zero crossing of the positive input voltage in every cycle in order to provide a continuous control of power. The following figures show the circuit arrangements for natural commutation and the voltage and current waveforms with a delay angle.

The delay angle is defined as the angle between the zero-crossing of the input voltage and the instant the thyristor is fired.

Forced Commutation
If the input voltage is dc and the forward current of the thyristor is e pu vo ge s d e o w d cu e o e y so s forced to zero by an additional circuitry called commutation circuit to turn off the thyristor. This technique is called forced commutation.

Forced commutation techniques takes place in: DC voltage controller, DC DC converters (choppers), and DC AC converters (inverters). Classification of Forced Commutation 1. Self-commutation, Self commutation, 2. Impulse commutation, 3. Resonant pulse commutation, 4. Complementary commutation, p y , 5. External pulse commutation, 6. Load-side commutation, and 7. Line-side commutation

Self Commutation
Self Commutation with Initially Capacitor Uncharged A thyristor is turned off due to the natural characteristic of the circuit. Let us consider the circuit in Fig. 7.2(a) with the assumption that the capacitor is initially uncharged. When thyristor T1 is fired, the current starts to rise and capacitor starts to charge up. When capacitor charge voltage equal to source voltage, the current starts to fall f ll and capacitor charges up t current f ll t zero. Fi ll capacitor d it h to t falls to Finally, it charge voltage becomes double of source voltage and current falls to zero, and thyristor T1 goes to turn off.
The duration of time between T1 turn-on and turn off is called commutation time of circuit. This method of turning off a thyristor is called self-commutation and thyristor T1 is said to be self-commuted.

Mathematical Analysis When thyristor is Wh th i t i switched on, th capacitor charging current i(t) i it h d the it h i t is given by V = v + v = L di + 1 idt + v (t = 0)

dt C

Considering all initial voltages and currents are zero, then the solution of i(t) is given as follows:

i(t) =V

C sin t m S L

m =1/ LC

The capacitor voltage vc(t) is given by

v (t ) =Vs (1 cosmt ) C

After time t=t0=(LC) , i(t 0) = 0 and vc(t 0) = 2VS and thyristor T1 is switched off. t0 is called commutation time.

Self Commutation with Initially Capacitor Charged

Let us consider the circuit in Fig. 7.2(a) with the assumption that the capacitor is initially charged -V0. When thyristor T1 is fired, the current starts to rise and y , capacitor starts to discharge. When capacitor voltage becomes zero, the current starts to fall and capacitor charges up to current falls to zero Finally zero. Finally, capacitor charge voltage becomes initial charged voltage and current falls to zero, and thyristor T1 goes to turn off.

Mathematical Analysis When thyristor is Wh th i t i switched on, th capacitor charging current i(t) i it h d the it h i t is given by di 1

0 = v + v = L + idt V C L 0 dt C

Considering initial current is zero, then the solution of i(t) is given as follows:

i(t) =V C sinmt 0 L

m =1/ LC

The capacitor voltage vc(t) is given by

v (t ) = V cosmt C 0

After time t=tr=(LC) , i(t 0) = 0 and vc(t 0) = V0 and thyristor T1 is switched off. tr is called reverse time.

Impulse Commutation
An impulse-commutated circuit is shown in Fig. 7.6. It is assumed that the capacitor is initially charged to a voltage of V0 with the polarity shown. Let us assume that thyristor T1 is initially conducting and carrying a load current of Im. When the auxiliary thyristor T2 is fired thyristor T1 is reversed fired, biased by the capacitor voltage, and T1 is turned-off and the capacitor would carry the load current as shown in Fig. 7.7(a).

The capacitor will discharge from V0 to zero and then charge to the dc input voltage VS [(as shown in Fig. 7.7(b)] when the capacitor current falls to zero and thyristor T2 turns off. The charge reversal of the capacitor from V0 ( = VS ) to V0 is then done by firing thyristor T3 is self-commutated similar to the circuit in Fig. 7.3. The time required for the capacitor to discharge from -V0 to zero is called the circuit turn-off time toff and must be greater than the turn off time of the thyristor, tq. toff is also called the available turn-off time. The discharging time will depend on the load current and assuming a constant load current of Im, toff is given by
t ff V = 1 0off 0 C

Imt Imd = off dt C

V C t = 0 off Im

Since a reverse voltage of V0 is applied across T1 immediately after firing of thyristor T2, this is known as voltage commutation. Due to the use of auxiliary thyristor T2, this type of commutation is also called auxiliary commutation. Thyristor T1 is sometimes known as the main thyristor because it carries the load current. It is seen from the previou equation that the toff is inversely proportional to the load current; and at a very light load (or low load current) the turn-off time will be large. On the other hand, at high load current the turn-off time will be small. In an ideal commutation circuit, the turn off time should be independent of load current in order to guarantee the commutation of thyristor T1.

The discharge of the capacitor can be accelerated by connecting a diode D1 and an inductor L1 across the main thyristor as shown in Fig. 7.8.