ECE 591L – EXP 5: THYRISTOR PHASE CONTROL CIRCUITS

OBJECTIVE: After performing the experiment, the student should be able to:
- Construct an experimental circuit of Thyristors on an Electronic Simulator Software.
- Measure the conduction angle and firing delay angle for thyristors
- Trace the output curve using an oscilloscope.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND:

SCR Phase Control

In ac circuits, the SCR can be turned on by the gate at any angle a with respect to the applied voltage. This angle
α is called the firing angle. Power control is obtained by varying the firing angle and this is known as phase
control. In the phase-control circuit given in fig. 1, the gate triggering voltage is derived from the ac supply
through resistors R1, R2 and R3. The variable resistance R2 limits the gate current during positive half cycles of
the supply. If the moving contact is set to the top of resistor R2, resistance in the circuit is the lowest and the
SCR may trigger almost immediately at the commencement of the positive half cycle of the input. If, on the
other hand, the moving contact is set to the bottom of resistor R2, resistance in the circuit is maximum, the SCR
may not switch on until the peak of the positive half-cycle. By adjust-ing R2 between these two extremes, SCR
can be switched on somewhere between the commencement and peak of the positive half-cycle, that is
between 0° and 90°. If the trigger-ing voltage VT is not large enough to trigger SCR at 90°, the device will not
trigger on at all, because VT has the maximum value at the peak of the input and decreases with the fall in
voltage. This operation is sometimes referred to as half-wave variable-resistance phase control. It is an effective
method of controlling the load power.

Diode D is provided to protect the SCR gate from the negative voltage that would otherwise be applied during
the negative half cycle of the input. It can be seen from the circuit diagram shown in fig.a, that at the instant of
turning on of the SCR gate current flows through RL and diode. So
VT=VD + VG + IGRL

Fig 1. SCR Phase Control Circuit

TRIAC AC Phase Control
As the AC supply voltage increases at the beginning of the cycle, capacitor, C is charged through the series
combination of the fixed resistor, R1 and the potentiometer, VR1 and the voltage across its plates increases.
When the charging voltage reaches the breakover voltage of the diac (about 30 V for the ST2), the diac breaks
down and the capacitor discharges through the diac.

The discharge produces a sudden pulse of current, which fires the triac into conduction. The phase angle at
which the triac is triggered can be varied using VR1, which controls the charging rate of the capacitor. Resistor,
R1 limits the gate current to a safe value when VR1 is at its minimum.

Once the triac has been fired into conduction, it is maintained in its “ON” state by the load current flowing
through it, while the voltage across the resistor–capacitor combination is limited by the “ON” voltage of the triac
and is maintained until the end of the present half-cycle of the AC supply.

At the end of the half cycle the supply voltage falls to zero, reducing the current through the triac below its
holding current, IH turning it “OFF” and the diac stops conduction. The supply voltage then enters its next half-
cycle, the capacitor voltage again begins to rise (this time in the opposite direction) and the cycle of firing the
triac repeats over again.

Fig 2. Triac Phase Control Circuit

Fig 3. Triac Waveform

Unijunction Transistor Relaxation Oscillator

Fig 4. UJT Relaxation Oscillator

The circuit diagram of a UJT relaxation oscillator is given shown above. R1 and R2 are current limiting resistors.
Resistor R and capacitor C determines the frequency of the oscillator. The frequency of the UJT relaxation
oscillator can be expressed by the equation F = 1/ (RC ln(1/(1-η)) where η is the intrinsic standoff ratio
and ln stand for natural logarithm.
When power supply is switched ON the capacitor C starts charging through resistor R. The capacitor keeps on
charging until the voltage across it becomes equal to 0.7V plus ηVbb. This voltage is the peak voltage point
“Vp” denoted in the characteristics curve (Fig:2). After this point the emitter to RB1 resistance drops drastically
and the capacitors starts discharging through this path. When the capacitor is discharged to the valley point
voltage “Vv” the emitter to RB1 resistance climbs again and the capacitor starts charging. This cycle is repeated
and results in a sort of sawtooth waveform across the capacitor. The saw tooth waveform across the capacitor
of a typical UJT relaxation oscillator is shown in the figure below.
 Fig 5. Capacitor waveform

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT:

- SCR
- TRIAC
- UJT
- Diode
- DIAC
- Resistors
- Capacitor
- Potentiometer
- DC power source
- Function Generator
- Oscilloscope

PROCEDURE:
Part 1: SCR Phase Control
1. Connect the circuit in Fig 1.
2. Let R1 = R3 = 100ohm, potentiometer R2 = 10kohm and load resistor 10kohm.
3. Set the function generator to 220V with f = 60Hz.
4. Adjust the potentiometer in 10% increments according to Table 1.
5. Observe the waveform on load and across the SCR.
6. Record the firing delay angle and conduction angle for each case.
7. Record your findings on Table 1.

Part 2: TRIAC Phase Control

1. Connect the circuit in Fig 2.
2. Set the function generator to 220V, 60Hz.
3. Adjust the potentiometer in 10% increments according to Table 2.
4. Observe the waveform on load and across the TRIAC.
5. Record the firing delay angle and conduction angle for each case.
6. Record your findings on Table 2.

Part 3: UJT Relaxation Oscillator

1. Connect the circuit in Fig 4.
2. Let R1 = R2 = 100ohms, R and C is based on Table 3.
 3. Measure the period and frequency taken from the output waveform from B1 to ground
4. Observe the sawtooth waveform from the capacitor and place this in conjunction with the output
waveform.
5. Record all your findings in Table 3.

DATA AND RESULTS:

QUESTIONS:
 1. Name some applications of thyristor phase control circuits.
- Thyristors may be used in power-switching circuits, relay-replacement circuits, inverter
circuits, oscillator circuits, level-detector circuits, chopper circuits, light-dimming circuits,
low-cost timer circuits, logic circuits, speed-control circuits, phase-control circuits, etc.

2. Can you use a UJT relaxation oscillator as a pulse source for an SCR phase control circuit? Explain.
- The UJT is used to more accurately trigger the SCR. The trigger voltage is equal to the
capacitor voltage, since the capacitor is connected between the PUT anode and ground.
When the capacitor charges to the trigger voltage, the PUT turns on, discharging the
capacitor through R4, turning on the SCR.

CONCLUSION:
- I have concluded that the experiment and the purpose of the experiment is a success and in
accordance to achieving the objectives of this experiments I can say that I have achieve all
the objectives that needed to be achieved in this experiment in other words I can say that
this experiment is a success.