Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Drive-Firing Circuit - EUD-7-100650000 - 2012 Rev 1
Drive-Firing Circuit - EUD-7-100650000 - 2012 Rev 1
EU-10065D
DRIVE/FIRING CIRCUIT
INVENTORY NUMBER
EUD-7-100650000
The Dynapower EU10065D Drive/Firing circuit is an electronic control circuit that has been designed
to regulate the output of 6-pulse thyristor controlled power supplies. The circuit combines into one
assembly the functions of a closed loop regulator and a thyristor firing circuit. The regulator
maintains the output voltage or output current of the power supply constant, while the firing circuit
generates gate pulses to turn on the thyristors in the proper sequence and phase relationship.
A thyristor is a solid-state switch. The device has three terminals, an anode, a cathode, and a gate. The
Current will only flow from anode to cathode. For current to flow through the thyristor, two conditions
must be met:
1. The voltage across the device is of such a polarity that the anode is more positive than the
cathode.
2. A turn on command voltage is applied between the gate and cathode terminals.
Once a thyristor is conducting current, it will not turn off unless one of two conditions occurs:
2. The voltage across the device reverses, i.e.; the anode voltage to cathode is negative.
The condition where the anode is positive in relation to the cathode is called ‘forward bias’. The
condition where the anode is negative in relation to the cathode is called 'reverse bias'. Thyristors are
An alternating voltage is supplied by a voltage source. The thyristor is forward biased only when the AC
voltage is positive. Keeping in mind how a thyristor works, it follows that only the positive half-cycle of
the input voltage can be applied to the load but no voltage can be applied to the load until the thyristor is
turned on. A gate voltage must be applied between the gate and cathode terminals of the thyristor. The
gate voltage must be applied when the thyristor is forward biased. A thyristor will not turn on if it is
The thyristor, once turned on, will stay on until the voltage goes negative, i.e.; the thyristor becomes
reverse biased. The thyristor will then be turned off by the input voltage, a process called line
commutation.
to the level required to get the desired dc voltage. The simplest form of a controlled output power supply
The control circuit used to gate on the thyristor is called a 'firing circuit', hence the term ‘firing a
thyristor’. The firing circuit must be so designed that it only gives a firing pulse during the time that the
thyristor is forward biased. If the gate pulse is applied at the beginning of the half-cycle, the complete
half-cycle will be applied to the load. If the gate pulse is applied anywhere else during the half-cycle,
only a portion of the half-cycle is applied to the load. It is therefore possible to control the load voltage
by controlling the gate pulse position. This method of control is called 'phase control'.
The maximum output voltage of this circuit, with the thyristor conducting the full half cycle of the input
The above method makes use of only the positive half of the source voltage. To make use of the negative
half of the AC voltage requires that another thyristor be used. It is connected as shown in the next figure.
The firing circuit used with this circuit must have the ability to supply two gate pulses, one during each
half-cycle of the ac input. The load voltage will then be, depending on the position of the gate pulse, all
or a portion of the applied ac voltage. The maximum output voltage of this circuit is .9 x Vrms.
3-Phase Systems
In 3-phase power systems, the voltages between the phases of the input power are 120 electrical degrees
A 3-phase thyristor controlled rectifier is shown in the next figure. It can be seen that there are essentially
three single phase, full wave center tapped groups connected in parallel. The output from each group is
to the right.
2.1 DESCRIPTION
The function of the firing circuit portion of the EU-10065D circuit is to develop firing pulses to the
Dynapower uses certain conventions when designing and wiring power supplies. The
power supply will not work properly if wiring is changed; it is therefore vitally important
that, when installing this circuit, great care must be taken to adhere to the power supply
schematic.
The circuit will operate in 50 Hz and 60 Hz power systems. A jumper connection between terminals 23
and 5 will convert the circuit to 50 Hz operation. For 60 Hz operation, the selector terminal is left open
circuit.
In normal operation the power supply output is controlled by the regulator section of the drive/firing
circuit (closed loop control). The regulator may amplify problems caused by defective thyristors or a
defective firing circuit. The regulator may be bypassed by connecting a jumper between terminals 22 and
5. In this Open Loop Mode, the power supply output is adjusted by the on-board Open Loop Control
(P1), any erratic output in this mode cannot be due to regulator instability.
Loop control slowly, especially if battery loads or anodizing type loads are connected to
the supply. These types of loads give very large changes in current for small changes in
voltage.
Always set the Open Loop Control to zero before removing the Open Loop selection jumper.
Always make sure that the Open loop Control is at zero before connecting the Open Loop jumper.
The function of the regulator circuit is to derive, from reference and feedback signals, a control voltage to
A basic example is a power supply with a series regulating element as shown in Figure 1. A reference
voltage, point A, is connected to the input terminal of an amplifier. The gain of the amplifier is made to
be large so that any input signal will cause the output of the amplifier to go to maximum. The output of
the amplifier is connected to the input terminal of a series pass element (power supply output) with an
output that is directly proportional to the voltage at its input terminals. As the amplifier output voltage
rises, the pass element opens and voltage is allowed to pass to the load.
A portion of the pass element output voltage, point B, is also connected (fed back) to the amplifier input.
The polarity of this voltage must be so that it opposes the reference voltage. This is called negative
feedback and causes the amplifier to lower its output. The amplifier is called a 'summing amplifier' since
it sums the reference and the feedback voltages and gives an output voltage proportional to their
difference. The action of the summing amplifier keeps the feedback voltage at point B equal to the
reference voltage at point A, thus regulating the output of the pass element.
LOAD
INPUT
-REF
+
SUMMING OUTPUT
AMPLIFIER ADJUST
FIGURE 1
The voltage summing circuit operates as described above. The reference signal (AVC) is applied to the
summing amplifier through a buffer. The feedback voltage from the power supply is brought back to the
summing amplifier through a 'volt limit' control. The 'volt limit' control sets the maximum output voltage
If there is not enough feedback voltage available to match the reference voltage, the output of the
summing amplifier will go to maximum and the amplifier is said to be "out of control".
The current summing circuit operates in the same manner as described above. The current reference
(ACC) is connected to the current summing amplifier through a buffer. Through the action of the current
summing amplifier, the output current will follow the current reference in a linear manner. Again, as in
The outputs of the voltage and current circuits are connected in parallel; the circuit with the lower output
will be in control. As power supply reference settings and feedback conditions change, the regulator
circuit will automatically change its operating mode from constant current to constant voltage and vice
For example, take a power supply with a rating of 12 volts, 5000 amperes with a current control (ACC)
and a voltage control (AVC). Assume that the power supply is operating at 8 volts, 3000 amperes with
the ACC control set for 5000 amperes and the AVC control set for 8 volts. The regulator circuit therefore
As load is added to the power supply, the current will rise. When the current reaches 5000 amperes, the
current feedback signal will match the ACC signal and the current summing amplifier will "take over"
and will not allow any further increase in output current. The regulator circuit is now operating in the
current mode. A further increase in load will result in less voltage while the current remains constant.
This will make sense if Ohm's Law is remembered. Ohm's Law states that the current flowing in an
electrical circuit is the result of the voltage applied to the circuit divided by the resistance (load)
connected to the circuit. Thus, as the resistance becomes smaller (more load), less voltage is required to
maintain a current.
amplifier will 'take over' and will not allow a further increase in voltage. A further decrease in load will
The limit adjustments on the regulator circuit determine the transfer curve of the power supply, i.e., the
Again, the action of the summing amplifier keeps the voltage at its inputs equal. The limit control acts as
a voltage divider, a portion of the feedback voltage appearing across may be passed on to the summing
amplifier. Therefore, the setting of the limit control determines how much signal (power supply output)
must appear across it so that the inputs to the summing amplifier are equal.
Adjusting the limit control changes the power supply output and determines the power supply output limit
3.6 LINEARITY
The linearity of the regulator circuit is defined as the percentage deviation of the output from the set
point. The linearity depends on the design of the regulator circuit, mainly its gain. Once the system has
been adjusted and a transfer curve established, normally only changes in feedback conditions will cause
3.7 SUMMARY
The regulator circuit controls the output of a power supply in response to reference signals (output
In addition to regulating the output current and output voltage of power supplies, the drive circuit
The drive circuit generates a reference voltage that is used with the power supply output controls. The
reference voltage is a nominal +5.0 volts dc and is available on the circuit terminal strip.
The circuit output may be clamped to zero by connecting terminal 5 to terminal 17.
Analog signals from remote equipment can be used as references to control power supply output; these
signals may be 0-20 ma, 4-20ma, or 0-10 volts. Switches on the board are set to match the input;
SW3 selects the input to the current channel; SW4 selects the input to the voltage channel:
Position A: 0 – 10 volts
Position B: 0 – 20 ma
Position C: 4 – 20 ma
Voltage Scale control P2 and Current Scale control P9 are used to adjust the input signals to match the
Voltage and current feedbacks are brought into the circuit through isolation amplifiers; the voltage and
current feedback input terminals are also isolated from each other.
The voltage feedback into the circuit must be scaled to be 2.5 volts at the voltage rating of the power
supply.
The circuit has been designed to accept a 0-50 mv dc as a current feedback signal. After the current
feedback passes through the isolation amplifier, it is converted to an absolute value; this allows the circuit
to be used with reversing rectifiers without having to switch the feedback input polarity.
Current feedback to remote equipment is available in current loop form (0-20 ma or 4-20 ma) and as a 0-5
Position A: 0-20 ma
Position B: 4-20 ma
The circuit has been designed to accept a 2.5 volt feedback signal at power supply rated output voltage.
Voltage feedback is polarity sensitive, when the circuit is used with reversing power supplies the
feedback polarity into the circuit must be reversed when the power supply output reverses.
Position A: 0-20 ma
Position B: 4-20 ma
The power supply output bus is isolated from the circuit common but the remote reference signals and the
feedback signals to remote equipment are tied together in the circuit. If this is incompatible with the
remote equipment, then the remote reference signals must be isolated, either by the remote equipment or
A 'trip circuit' monitors current feedback. The circuit will 'trip' when the current feedback voltage
(proportional to peak output current) exceeds a preset peak level. The trip level is set by a control labeled
TRIP (P12}.
When the circuit is tripped, the output of the circuit is shut down immediately by clamping the summing
amplifiers to zero. After a delay of approximately three seconds, the trip circuit resets itself and power
supply output is re-established. If the condition that caused the trip has cleared, the power supply will
cleared.
The ‘trip’ circuit has been designed to give fast response to current overloads. Normally the power
The circuit will always ‘trip’ when the EU-10065D is energized, thus there will always be a delay before
A 12 volt logic signal indicating that the circuit is in a ‘tripped’ mode is available at terminal #18. This
signal may be used as an Inhibit signal to other circuits; it is referenced to the EU-10065D circuit
common.
The circuit has been designed to drive a second set of six thyristors, used either in parallel with the first
set or used as a reversing set. A second hard-fire gate firing circuit, such as Dynapower EUP-7-
100130003, is connected to the circuit by a ribbon cable. The signal at Reverse Enable terminal 20
determines the expansion mode; default is parallel mode. A 12 volt logic signal applied to terminal 20
The signal applied to terminal 21 determines Forward/Reverse operation, the default is Forward mode.
A 12 volt logic signal (terminal 5 connected to terminal 21) will set the circuit for Reverse operation;
timing circuits on the board ensure smooth and trouble-free switching of polarity.
P8 CURR LIMIT
P12 DC TRIP
P7 CURR BIAS
P1 OPEN LOOP
CONTROL
SW3
P6 CURR FB BIAS
VOLTAGE FEEDBACK BIAS Sets the bias of the voltage feedback output.
P3
CW rotation increases positive bias.
VOLTAGE FEEDBACK GAIN Sets the gain of the voltage feedback output.
P4
Clockwise rotation increases gain.
CURRENT FEEDBACK GAIN Sets the bias of the current feedback output.
P5 CW rotation increases positive
bias.
CURRENT FEEDBACK BIAS Sets the gain of the current feedback output.
P6
CW rotation increases gain.
CURRENT LIMIT Sets the maximum output current of the power supply
P8 when the current reference ACC is at 100%.
CW rotation lowers current.
VOLTAGE LIMIT Sets the maximum output voltage of the power supply
P11 when the voltage reference AVC is at 100%.
CW rotation decreases voltage.
SHUNT AMP BIAS Set the bias of the current feedback Isolation amplifier
P13
CW rotation increases pos. bias.
Any adjustment procedure outlined in the power supply User’s Manual should always
VOLTAGE FEEDBACK
Determine mode (0-20 ma, 4-20 ma, 0-5 volt), set SW1 accordingly
0-20 ma Mode
CURRENT FEEDBACK
Determine mode (0-20 ma, 4-20 ma, 0-5 volt), set SW1 accordingly
0-20 ma Mode
Adjust VOLTAGE BIAS counter clockwise until output just goes off.
Adjust power supply output voltage to rating with VOLT LIMIT control.
Adjust CURR BIAS counter clockwise until output just goes off.
Adjust power supply output voltage to rating with VOLT LIMIT control.
Adjust VOLTAGE BIAS counter clockwise until output just goes off.
Adjust CURR BIAS counter clockwise until output just goes off.
Adjust power supply output voltage to rating with VOLT LIMIT control.
Note: Voltage and Current Limits must have been set previously using Manual mode.