V



  

‡ In some applications (battery charger, some ac/dc drives),

the dc voltage has to be controllable
‡ Thyristor converters provide controlled conversion of ac
into dc
‡ Primarily used in three-phase, high power application
‡ Being replaced by better controllable switches

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V



‡ Semi-controlled device
‡ Latches ON by a gate-current pulse
if forward biased
‡ Turns-off if current tries to reverse

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 V
  


‡ For successful turn-off, reverse voltage required

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 V



‡ Fully controlled converter shown in Fig. 6-1a

‡ Average dc voltage è can be controlled from a positive maximum to a
negative minimum on a continuous basis
‡ The converter dc current
can not change direction
‡ Two-quadrant operation
‡ Rectification mode (power flow is from the ac to the dc side): +è & +

‡ Inverter mode (power flow is from the dc to the ac side): : -è & +

‡ Inverter mode of operation on a sustained basis is only possible if a source of
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power, such as batteries, is present on the dc side.
‡ Basic thyristor circuits: Line-frequency voltage source connected to a load
resistance
‡ In the positive half cycle of O , the current is zero until  a·Î, at which a
gate pulse of a short duration is applied
‡ With the thyristor conducting, O · O
‡ O becomes zero at  a· V
‡ By adjusting the firing angle Î, the average dc voltage è and current

can be controlled

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o Basic thyristor circuits: Line-frequency voltage source connected to a Ô
load
o Initially, the current is zero until  a·Î, at which the thyristor is fired
during the positive half cycle of O
o With the thyristor conducting, current begins to flow, O · O
o Voltage across the inductor: O
O
OÔ
o During Î to 1, O is positive, and the current increases
o Beyond 1, O is negative, and the current begins to decline
ë ½ is the instant at which current becomes zero and stays at zero until ½V+Î
at which the thyristor is fired again
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o Basic thyristor circuits: The load consists of and a dc voltage d
o The thyristor is reverse biased until 1
o The thyristor conduction is further delayed until ½ at which the thyristor is
fired
o With the thyristor conducting, O · O
o Between ½ to 3, O is positive, and the current increases
o Beyond 3, O is negative, and the current begins to decline
o When 1 is equal to ½, current goes to zero at Œ
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 Thyristor Gate Triggering

‡ Generation of the firing signal

‡ The sawtooth waveform
(synchronized to the ac input) is
compared with the control signal
Oa, and the delay angle Î with
respect to the positive zero crossing
of the ac line voltage is obtained in
terms of Oa and the peak of the
sawtooth waveform è a.

  O a

Î  180 

6
6
  a

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Full-Bridge (Single- and Three-Phase) Thyristor Converters

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 Single-Phase Thyristor Converters

‡ One thyristor of the top group and one of the bottom group will conduct
‡ If a continuous gate pulse is applied then this circuit will act like a full
bridge diode rectifier and the web forms are as shown below
A η0 for 1 and ½ and ηV for thyristors 3 and Œ

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 1-Phase Thyristor Converter Waveforms

‡ Assumptions: Ls·0 and purely dc current

Id
A Î
delay angle or firing angle
‡ Prior to  a·0, current is flowing through 3
and Œ, and O · -O
‡ Beyond  a·0, thyristors 1 and ½ become
forward biased, but cannot conduct until
Î.
‡ O becomes negative between 0 and Î as a
consequence of the delay angle
‡ At  t·Î, gate pulse applied and current
commutation from thyristors 3 and Πto 1
and ½ is instantaneous ( · 0), and O · O
‡ Thyristors 1 and ½ will keep conducting |


until 3 and Πare fired
 º
   
º 
The expression for the average voltage è :
Î 
1
Î 
 
Î
½ sin
a  
a  0.9 cos Î

Let è  be the average dc voltage with η0,

V
1
è0Ú
V 
0
½è sin  a  a Ú 0.9è

Then, drop in average voltage due to Î,

è Î Ú è 0  è Î Ú 0.9è 1  cos Î

The average power through the converter,

1 1
   a a   O    a
 0  0
With a constant dc current ( ·
),
1 


   O  a  
    0.9
 cos Î
 0 |

 º
 

è Î 0.9è cos Î
Ú Ú cos Î
è 0 0.9è

The variation of è as a function of Î

Average dc voltage is positive until η90o: this region is called
the rectifier mode of operation
Average dc voltage becomes negative beyond η90o: this
region is called the inverter mode of operation

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 1-Phase Thyristor Converter

o AC side inductance is included, which generally cannot be ignored

in practical thyristor converters.
o For a given delay angle, there will be a finite commutation interval
o Commutation process is similar to that in diode bridge rectifiers
o During the commutation interval, all four thyristors conduct, and
therefore, O ·0, and the voltage O ·O .
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 1-Phase Thyristor Converter

o During the commutation interval, all four thyristors conduct, and

therefore, O ·0, and the voltage O ·O .

O ÚO Ú
a
Î 


 Ú  ½è sin  a a Ú     Ú ½ 

Î 

Î 

 Ú  ½è sin  a a Ú ½è cos Î  cosÎ   Ú ½ 

Î

1 ½ 

 Ú cos cos Î   |

 ½è 
 1-Phase Thyristor Converter: with and without

without with

o Voltage drop due to the inclusion of .

 ½


   
 
    0   0.9 cos Î
½


    0   0.9 cos Î ù

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 Î  

In the converter circuit, is 5% with the rated voltage of

½30 V at 60 Hz and the rated volt-ampere of 5 kVA.
Calculate the commutation angle ± and Vd/Vd0 with the
rated input voltage, power of 3 kW, and η30o.

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5000

a   ½1.7Œ 
½30

    a  10.58 

a
0.05   
   1.Œ

377
Î  30 0

   
  0.9 cos Î ù

 
  3000

 

  17.3 

ù1 ½


0
  cos cos Î ù  ù Î  5.9
 ½ 
½
   0.9 cos Î ù

  173.5 

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Thyristor Converters: Inverter Mode (è is negative)

‡ Average value of O is negative for

90o<Î<180o. Average power a is
negative (a ·è
) and thus power
flows from the dc to the ac side
‡ On the ac side, a ·è
cos€ is
also negative because €1>90o
‡ Inverter mode of operation is
possible because there is a source
of energy on the dc side
‡ ac side voltage source provides
commutation of current from one
pair of thyristors to the others

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 3-Phase Thyristor Converters

‡ Current
flows through the one thyristor of the top group and one of the
bottom group
‡ If a continuous gate pulse is applied then this circuit will act like a three-
phase full bridge diode rectifier and, as a result,
è 0 Ú 1.35 è | 
3-Phase Thyristor Converter Waveforms

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 º
 

 Î    0 ù
 3

   ½  sin 
a

 a  a O  Oa  a a   Î

Î
   ½  sin 
a  
a  ½  1 ù cos Î
0

 ½  1 ù cos Î
  Î    0 ù  1.35  ù
 3  3
 1.35   cos Î  1.35   0

O 
Î   Î
  1.35  
 cos Î | 
Üdc-side voltage waveforms
as a function of Î
Üè repeats at six times the
line frequency

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‡ Thyristor converters provides controlled transfer of power

between the line frequency ac and adjustable-magnitude dc

‡ By controlling Î, transition from rectifier to inverter mode

of operation can be made and vice versa

‡ Thyristor converters are mostly used at high-power levels

‡ Thyristor converters inject large harmonics into the utility

system

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