Basic electronics

1. How many types of logic gates are there?

a. OR gate.
b. AND gate.
c. NAND gate.
d. NOR gate.
e. Inverter gate.
f.

Exclusive OR gate.

g. Equivalent gate.
and voltage; that is, current and voltage are out of phase.
Electronics
.

What is Diode?
Diode is a two-layer semiconductor device, conducts only positive cycles when applied to
anode.
.

What is Thyristor?
Thyristor is a four or more layer semiconductor device & having 3 or more junctions. It is also
called Silicon Controlled Rectifiers (SCR). A healthy SCR must block in both the directions at
least 1MQ resistance, a fused SCR will conducts in both directions.

What is material used in making semiconductor?

Silicon & Germanium are the raw materials used for making semiconductor. Semiconductors
are located between conductors & insulators in the resistivity spectrum & allow current to flow
only under certain conditions.

What is material used in making non-linear resistor & purpose of it in field discharge
resistor?
Silicon carbide materials used for making non-linear resistor. The purpose of this resistor is to
avoid surge voltage when field breaker opens. These resistors are connected in parallel to the
main field winding (Rotor).

How over voltage is produced in Field breaker?

Over voltages appear if synchronous generators and motors fall out of step inducing an AC
voltage in the field system. Depending on the type of construction of the machine and the slip
this voltage can become un-permissibly high, for this purpose over voltage protectors are
provided in the field breaker cubicle.

What is firing angle?

The angle in the AC cycle at which the thyristor starts conducting at the application of positive
voltage to gate is known as the firing angle (a)

What is Inverter operation?

When firing angle a = 90 the positive & negative voltages areas are equal. With a higher than
90 the negative areas are greater so the total voltage becomes negative. This condition is
termed as 'Inverter Operation".

What is the purpose of RC network across thyristor?

RC network across each thyristor protects against Hole Storage Effect.

Why reactors are provided in Thyristor bridges?

Reactors are provided to limit the rate of rise of current (di/dt) in the device, thereby avoiding
possible damage to the device. They also effect a proper sharing of load among thyristor

bridges when connected in parallel.

What is purpose of connecting thyristor bridges in parallel?

Thyristor bridges are connected in parallel to improve current rating.

What is purpose of Load angle limiter?

Load angle limiter, it either limits the angle between grid load center and the rotor axis or
generator terminal & rotor axis.

What is purpose of Rotor angle limiter?

It limits generator voltage & rotor voltage.

What is purpose of Rotor current limiter?

It limits overloading of rotor.

What is purpose of Stator current limiter?

It limits the stator current.

What is purpose of Slip stabilization?

It avoids oscillation of the AC machine (Rotor oscillations).

What is purpose of reactive power (VAR)?

It is an energy required to built up magnetic field to drive the power.

What is the advantage of Static Excitation?

Fast response time, high reliability, interchangeability of parts during operation, less wear &
tear due to static devices & less maintenance.

What is the advantage of field forcing in the rotor?

Field forcing acts for 10 seconds to maintain the generator terminal voltage during fault
condition so as to operated the protection relays.

When the negative sequence reactance arises?

Negative sequence arises whenever there is any unbalance present in the system. Their effect
is to set up a field rotating in opposite direction to the main field.

When the Zero sequence reactance arises?

If a machine is operating with an earthed neutral, a system earth fault will give rise to zero
sequence current in the machine.

Thyristor engineering
Introduction
Thyristor is the name of a large family of semiconductor devices, which includes the
following.
a. Silicon controlled rectifier (SCR).
b. Triac.
c. Diac.
d. Silicon controlled switch (SCS).
e. Light activated switch (LAS) etc.
But in general the silicon controlled rectifier is referred to as thyristor. This device finds
extensive applications in industrial equipments such as rectifiers, inverters, choppers
etc.
In our station thyristors are used in the following equipments.
a. Main generator static excitation system.

b. Power UPS.
c. Control UPS.
d. Diesel generator excitation system and etc.
Construction of thyristor
The thyristor is a four-layer P-N-P-N semiconductor device. The biasing at the three
junctions J1, J2, J3 determine the state of the thyristor. Ohmic connections are made to
the P, P, N regions and these terminals thus formed are called Anode, Gate, and
Cathode respectively. This is shown in the figure below.
G

J1 J2 J3
C

A-------

N P N

G
Difference
between
diode
and
thyristor
Diode is an uncontrolled rectifier device whereas a thyristor is a controlled rectifier
device. The condition for the conduction of a diode is that the anode must be positive
with respect to the cathode. In case of a thyristor in addition to the above condition a
positive gate pulse should also be applied to the gate terminal. By controlling the instant
of the pulse release the conduction of the thyristor can be controlled.
C
A
AC input
V I characteristics of thyristor
The thyristor characteristics are divided into four regions of operation. They are as
follows.
a. Forward blocking region.
b. Forward conduction region (Useful region of operation).
c. Reverse blocking region.
d. Reverse conduction or breakdown region.
a. Forward blocking region: When an external voltage is applied to the thyristor
making anode positive with respect to the cathode, the thyristor is said to be forward
biased. In this conditions
1. Junctions J1 & J3 are forward biased.
2. Junction J2 is reverse biased.
3. A small forward leakage current flows which increases with the applied voltage.
The thyristor is in the off state since the voltage applied is less than the break over
voltage of the device. This is represented by region OA in the characteristic graph.
b. Forward conduction region: As the forward voltage is increased, a point is reached
where the junction J2 gets forward biased and allows a large current to flow through
the device. This voltage is known as the forward break over voltage. Above this
point the voltage across the device falls to a low value and the current is limited only
by the external load resistance. This is represented purpose of gate triggering.
As seen above thyristors can conduct even in the absence of gate pulses provided the
forward voltage across them is more than the break over voltage. The application of
the positive gate pulse reduces the break over voltage and the thyristor starts
conducting at a much lower forward voltage. This characteristics of the thyristor
makes it possible to control its conducting period in each cycle of the applied voltage
by the release of gate pulses at the desired instant. The firing circuit or the pulse
generator generates the firing pulses, the position (with reference to the voltage
across the thyristor) of which depends on the DC voltage signal given to it by the
controller (voltage, current regulator). This is shown in the diagram given below.

AC
Synchronizing Voltage

V ref
V feed back

Input

Some important technical terms

a. Latching current: It is the minimum ON state current required to keep the thyristor in
the ON state after the triggering pulse has been removed. In control and power
ACVRs this has been achieved by bleeder or dummy load resistances connected
across the output terminals (DC side).
b. Holding current: It is the value of anode current below, which the thyristor in
conduction (ON state) turns OFF. Thus holding current is ON state to OFF state
current where as latching current is OFF state to ON state current.
c. Firing angle: The instant at which the gate pulse is released expressed in electrical
degrees with reference to the applied voltage across the thyristor is known as firing
angle. For rectifier mode of operation the firing angle will be between 0 to 90.
Greater the firing angle lesser will be the output voltage of the rectifier. This is
illustrated in the figure given below.
Firing angle 30

DC output

Firing angle 70

VDC

Vf

AAT

d. Triggering: The process of switching the thyristor ON by the application of the gate
pulse is known as triggering.
e. Ripple: The AC components in the DC output of any rectifier are called the ripple. In
control and power ACVRs on no load the ripple voltage is about 80 V AC at a DC
output voltage of 260 V. This AC voltage indicates the conduction of all the
thyristors in the bridge. For example the ripple voltage of ACVRs rise to about 140
V AC if one thyristor of the bridge does not conduct.
f. Filter: Filters are used to remove the ripple components from the output of any
rectifier so that it does not reach the load circuit. Inductors and capacitors are used as
filters in the output of rectifiers.
Protection of thyristors
The thyristor is a very sensitive semiconductor device and it needs to be protected for
the following abnormal conditions while in service.
a. High dv/dt.
b. High di/dt
c. Short circuit / over current.
High dv/dt: This indicates the rate of rise of anode voltage. This rating specified for a
particular thyristor should not be exceeded because it would lead to spurious triggering
(switching ON) of the thyristor. The snubber circuit (a resistance and a capacitance in
series) connected across the thyristor as shown below provides the protection against
high dv/dt.
CM
AURa

Thyristor
High di/dt: This rating of the thyristor indicates the maximum rate of rise of ON-state
current. When a thyristor is turned ON conduction starts at one or more places near the
gate. Small area of conduction then spreads from these points to the whole crystal.
Sudden rise of current causes hot spots in the junctions and subsequent failure of the
device due to melting. Connecting an inductor in series with the thyristor shown below
provides protection against high di/dt.

L
Thyristor
Short circuit protection: A semi conductor fuse in series with the thyristor provides
protection against short circuits. The semi conductor fuses operate very fast with prearcing time less than 0.5 m-sec and arcing time of about 3 m-sec. Hence the fault
current will be interrupted by these fuses before it reaches its maximum value.
R C
Isc
rANWWHh
S.C. Fuse
Thyristor
fcr-HArcing
Clearing time
Melting time

time
Semi
conductor fuse characteristics

Logics and circuits

1. Give the definition of following.
27C
Closing circuit supervisory relay
27T
Tripping circuit supervisory relay
3C
Interposing relay (closing coil)
3T
Tripping coil
52
AC circuit breaker
88
Auxillary motor (spring charging motor)
52Y
Anti-pumping relay
86.1
Lockout relay
42
Main contactor
50
Instantaneous over current relay
50N
Earth fault relay
94
Trip or Trip free relay
49
Thermal overload relay
49S
Stalling protection relay
27
Supervisory relay
64
Ground protection relay
2.

What is the operating voltage of 3C?

48V DC.

3.

DC relay coil or contactor coils must be connected to which side?

Negative side of the DC supply to avoid galvanic effect on the coil, which will
corrode the coil.

4.

How special current limiting resistance is connected with the seal in

contact?
Special current limiting resistance is connected in series with the seal in contact.

5.

How you will connect start and stop push button to control the motor
from two different places?
Start push button should be connected in parallel and stop push button in series
in the circuit.

6.

What are the basic principles of ED?

Basic principles of ED are,
a) All the contacts of corresponding relays and contactors are shown in deenergised condition.
b) Control circuit gives us idea about ON / OFF selection of motor, fuse rating,
forward reverse control, seal in protections etc.
c) Power circuits are drawn in thick lines and control circuits are drawn in thin
lines.
d) When relay or contactor energises normally open contact closes and normally
closed contact opens.
e) Auxillary contacts acts with main device such as contactors and relay.

7. What is anti pumping?

When a breaker is closed on fault condition there will be continuous tripping and
closing of the breaker because 3C is energized. Anti pumping in circuit avoids
frequent tripping and closing of circuit breaker when the breaker is closed in fault
condition.