International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)

ISSN: 2278-0181

Vol. 1 Issue 3, May – 2012

Design and Implementation of Digital Trigger Circuit for Converter

Shashikant V. Lahade
Student of M.Tech. , Department of Electronics and Tele-communication, Government College of
Engineering, Amravati, Maharashtra, India.

S. R. Hirekhan
Associate Professor, Department of Electronics and Tele-communication, Government College of
Engineering, Amravati, Maharashtra, India.

C. Y. Bedare
Managing Director, Bedare Electronics pvt. ltd. Nagpur, Maharashtra, India.

Abstract
Controlled power is a fundamental outputs of microcontroller port. These pulse trains can
prerequisite of various sectors. A scheme of be manipulated with software program for
microcontroller based firing angle control, using microcontroller. These manipulated pulses will be used
ATmega 32 MCU & associated hardware circuitry is through proper isolation, for triggering SCR gates
discussed. Basic idea is to achieve reliable, consistent thereby controlling converter’s output. Synchronization
control that will result in improved performance of will be achieved by using sample from raw AC signal,
converter. Set-up consists of ATmega-32 controller, converting it in square wave pulse & using it for
LCD display for displaying firing angle, transistorized interrupt of MCU. Firing angle control is achieved by
conditioning circuit, main rectifier module and input varying analog voltage (0-5 V), which is converted by
from user in the form of analog voltage for firing angle ADC of ATmega-32 into digital value, and this value
control. Integration of these modules will result in full is used as firing angle by proper mathematical
controlled converter with superior performance over calculation to trigger the converter circuit at desired
other ordinary control techniques. firing angle, thereby controlling the output voltage.
In section-I the overview of power
1. Introduction electronic technology is discussed along with its
In industrial, agronomic production and house hold importance in household and commercial application.
applications the controlled powers through electronic Hardware and software platform for digital trigger
technology have been widely used. The power is circuit is discussed in Section-II. Section-III gives a
provided to the application via rectifier, detail view of Methodology incorporated in project.
cycloconverter, frequency converter and inverter. Results are discussed in section IV. Section V
Among these four types, rectifier is generally used in concludes the paper.
the equipment, where in trigger circuit is very
important. Because of advances in the switching 2. Hardwar and software platform
technology the analog trigger circuits are replaced by 2.1 Embedded board
digital trigger circuits [8]. The circuit like converter, Embedded board based on AVR microcontroller is
cycloconverter, rectifier and inverter make use of used, it contains several sensors, LCD screen, LEDs,
thyristor as an elementary unit. The three terminal etc. all on the same board. No need to connect any
thyristors having additional terminal gate, along with additional hardware for multiple applications. Board
anode and cathode; is employed to trigger the thyristor has various features like: AVR ATmega32
at a precise angle, known as firing mechanism [10]. microcontroller, 2-line LCD display, 8 LEDs,
It is observed that in analog triggering circuit, temperature sensor, RTC (Real Time Clock) chip,
trigger circuit is too complex with many components; serial port, four on-board keys for input, external
which may lead to debugging difficulties, uneven interrupt pins, operation using 9V battery or AC
spacing of the adjacent trigger pulses and shifting adapter.
phase inaccuracies. Hence digital trigger mechanism is
designed which overcomes the limitations of analog 2.2 Software Platform
trigger circuit. WinAVR is a collection of executable software
Using ATMega-32 controller programmable development tools for the ATmega AVR processor
pulse train is be generated in desired sequence as six hosted on Windows and Cygwin is software that
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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181

Vol. 1 Issue 3, May – 2012

provides a Unix-like environment and software tool set resistor divider network consisting of R1 and R12.
to users of any modern version of MS-Windows. Diode is for the rectification followed by resistor
divider network to scale down the voltage level.
3. Methodology Transistor 2N2222 is used for generation of square
Set-up is consist of ATMega-32 controller, Analog wave which acts as a switch. At collector terminal we
voltage (0-5 V) is for operation control, LCD display
have square wave with amplitude of 4.88 volt.
for displaying firing angle, transistorized conditioning
circuit & main rectifier module. Integration of these
modules will result in Full controlled converter with
superior performance over other ordinary control
techniques.

Figure 2 Zero crossing detector

Figure 1 Block Diagram

3.1 0-5 V controlling voltage

Analog Voltage (0-5 V) is used for controlling the
converter power, ADC of Atmege-32 microcontroller Figure 3 Waveform of ZCD
is 10 bit resolution. Port A is used for ADC in Atmege-
Fig 2 shows circuit diagram of ZCD and Fig 3 provides
32. Channel 0 and 1 are reserved for light and
temperature sensor, that’s why channel 2 is used for the waveforms of AC signal and square wave
accepting analog voltage. Analog Voltage (0-5 V) is generated by ZCD.
converted in to (0-1023) count. Analog voltage is
provided to one of the channel of ADC port. As per 3.3 Microcontroller Atmega-32
variation in the analog voltage there is change of It is a high-performance, Low-power AVR 8-bit
digital value. ADC conversion takes around 250 micro Microcontroller having advanced RISC architecture,
second. PWM is achieved with the help of variable 32K bytes of in-system self-programmable flash, 1024
controlling voltage. Bytes EEPROM , 2K byte internal SRAM. 8-channel
10-bit ADC, External and Internal Interrupt Sources 32
3.2 Zero Crossing Detector circuit Programmable I/O Lines.
Zero Crossing Detector circuit distinguish between It accepts analog controlling voltage form
start of positive half cycle or negative half cycles. To ADC channel 2, which is converted in to digital value,
this value is used for PWM. Signal from zero crossing
have full control over the firing angle of the SCR, it is
detectors is given at INT0 pin of ATmega-32. Falling
necessary to precisely detect the zero crossing of the edge of the square wave is detected as the interrupt. In
sinusoidal input. interrupt subroutine first trigger pulse is output.
Signal from mains is provided as a input,
which is scaled down by transformer to the alternating 3.4 Display
voltage of lower value around 12V. It is necessary that Embedded board with 2-line LCD display is used for
the output at the secondary of T remain in-phase with showing the ADC value and respective firing angle.
Values on the display are instantaneous with the
the input on its primary. This scaled down and isolated
change in the analog voltage values of ADC and firing
AC input is then scaled down further by using a angle changes.
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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181

Vol. 1 Issue 3, May – 2012

3.5 Programming Figure 4 shows the waveform of ZCD output and

C language is used for programming AVR trigger pulse without firing angle. When analog
microcontroller. First requirement is a compiler, which voltage is 0V, then ADC output is also 0. Hence the
is required to convert C code to machine code (Hex delay in the generation of triggering pulse is also 0
code), which is ultimately transferred to flash memory ms. Trigger pulse is output when there is zero
of microcontroller. Here WINAVR2006 compiler is crossing of AC mains. Figure 5 shows the waveform
used. The second requirement is a programmer which of ZCD output and trigger pulse with 900 firing angle.
transfers the .hex file (created by the compiler) to the When analog voltage is raised up to 2.5 V, ADC
chip. BSD programmer is used for that. AVRDUDE output will be 512 and delay will be 5ms, triggering
software is used for programming ATmega32 CPU. pulse is generated with the firing angle of 900.
Here for coding Embedded C language is used
for programming Atmega-32 controller, Embedded C
language has certain advantages over ALP.

3.6 Generation of triggering pulse.

At any time when zero crossing (falling edge of
square wave) is detected on the AC mains,
microcontroller is interrupted and the latest values of
ADC is used to manipulate firing delay which is use
to determine firing angle with proper mathematical
calculations. According to the firing angle, the
triggering pulse is generated for gate terminal of SCR Figure 4 ZCD o/p and Trigger pulse without
to trigger the thyristor. On LCD, ADC output and firing angle
firing angle which is calculated from ADC reading is
displayed for the observer who is controlling the
converters output.
ADC output is 0-1023 which is use to control
firing angle 00-1800. Let ADC is the output from
analog to digital converter and α is the firing angle. So
the relationship between firing angle and ADC is
given in equation (1).
α = ADC/5.68 (1)
Now it is needed to calculate the delay as per the
firing angle which is based on the ADC output and Figure 5 ZCD o/p and Trigger pulse
ADC output is based on the analog voltage (0-5V). with 900 firing angle
Here relationship between delay in the generation of
firing pulse and ADC output is determined. Converter 3.7 Isolation using MOC 3021
output is controlled up to 1800, as AC supply is 50Hz The triggering pulse is generated at the port A of
it have the time period of 20ms and for positive half
ATmega 32 is 4.8V. This pulse is provided to the
cycle time period is 10ms, As ADC of ATmega32 is
MOC 3021 as the input signal for its operation [16].
of 10-bit resolution hence the maximum value from
the ADC with +5 volts reference will be 1023 for
which 10ms delay is required. ADC reading is
converted into a delay after which firing pulse is to be
generated. Relationship between ADC reading and
firing angle delay is shown in (2). If ADC is output of
ADC and d is the delay in microseconds, then,
d=(ADC*5)*1.955 (2)
1.955 here is the scaling up factor for the ADC Figure 6 Thyristor Driver Circuit using
reading and 5 is the reference voltage. Hence for Optocoupler MOC 3021
ADC = 1023, the delay d will be 9999.825 Internal structure of this IC MOC 3021 contains
microseconds which is nothing but time period of half diode and DIAC. When triggering pulse is input to the
positive cycle. MCU generates firing pulses on its optocoupler MOC 3021, starts working and the gate
output port with on-time of 100 microseconds.
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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181

Vol. 1 Issue 3, May – 2012

pulse is provided to the thyristor BT169 as a result supply voltage becomes negative because of
thyristor gets fired. natural commutation. In the next cycle again the
interrupt is generated which is used to trigger the
3.8 Thyristor Driver Circuit using Optocoupler thyristor.
MOC 3021
Flowing flowchart depicts sequence of events
undertaken. 4. Result
For the experimental setup ATmega-32 embedded
board is used. Following are the result obtained during
experimentation.
1. Analog voltage (0-5) is use as controlling voltage
for the adjustment in the firing angle. It is observed
that for voltage from 0V to 5V, ADC conversion
time is constant which is 600 µsec. Reading of
Voltage, ADC value, Firing Angle, Delay as,

Table 1 Measurement of Controlling Voltage,

ADC, Firing Angle and Delay

Sr. Controlling ADC Firing Delay

No. Voltage Value Angle (ms)

1. 0 15 2 1
2. 0.5 112 19 1.8
3. 0.8 192 33 2.6
4. 1.0 220 38 3.0
5. 1.3 286 50 3.6
6. 1.5 318 56 3.8
7. 1.8 384 67 4.4
8. 2.0 415 73 4.8
9. 2.3 472 83 5.2
10. 2.5 527 93 5.8
11. 2.8 575 101 6.4
12. 3.0 624 110 6.8
13. 3.3 671 118 7.2
14. 3.5 711 125 7.6
Here the programming flow is described as: 15. 3.8 783 138 8.2
1. ADC: Analog voltage (0-5 V) is fed to the ADC of
16. 4.0 807 141 8.4
ATmega-32 through port A, which converted to 0
17. 4.3 896 158 8.8
to 1023 count. This count after proper
mathematical manipulation is used to generate the 18. 4.5 968 164 9.2
delay in the generation of trigger pulse. 19 4.8 1016 179 9.6
2. ZCD: Zero Crossing Detector Circuit is used to 20. 5.0 1023 180 10.0
detect the zero crossing of the AC signal,
Synchronization is achieved with the help of raw 2. ZCD is used to detect the zero crossing of AC
AC signal as a input to ZCD. Square wave is mains, falling edge of square wave of ZCD output
output through the ZCD which is used to generate acts as a interrupt to CPU. Trigger pulse is output
the interrupt. In ISR the triggering pulse is output after that. Reading for ZCD and trigger pulse from
with the desired firing angle decided by the analog ATmega-32 controllers port is as given in table 2.
voltage (0-5 V) 3. With the help of ATmega32 triggering pulse is
3. TRIGGER PULSE GENERATION: When generated this pulse is provided to the thyristor
interrupt is detected the trigger pulse having Ton through the optocoupler MOC3021 for the purpose
period of 100 micro second is use to trigger the of isolation.
thyristor. Thyristor gets commutated when the
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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181

Vol. 1 Issue 3, May – 2012

Table 2 Reading for ZCD and Trigger pulse angle is also goes on increasing, less portion of
form ATmega-32 controllers port positive half cycle is provided to the load (lamp)
less voltage is available at the load as the result
Sr. Parameter ZCD Triggering brightness of the lamp goes on decreasing.
No Output Pulse 7. Figure 9 shows the voltage waveform across
1. Rise Time 180 µsec 35.50 µs resistive load controlled by SCR BT 169 fired at
2. Fall time 226 µsec 35.38 µs 150 degrees
3. Positive 10.00 ms 100 µs
Width
4. Negative 10.00 ms 19.90 ms
Width
5. Frequency 50 Hz 50Hz
6. Period 20 ms 20 ms
7. Peak 4.3 V 4.88 V

4. It is observed that there is synchronization in the

generated trigger pulse with reference to ZCD and Figure 9 Voltage waveform across resistive
AC mains at the load side.
load controlled by SCR fired at 150 degrees
5. The circuit is tested for 1 phase converter, it is
observed that trigger pulse of 100 micro second is 8. For three phase full wave converter three Zero
sufficient to trigger the thyristor. The train of Crossing Detector Circuits are required to detect
pulses are used as the triggering pulses for the individual phase of three phase converter. After
thyristor, reason behind the use of train of pulses is detection of three phases interrupt is generated at
that in case the thyristor is not trigger because of the falling edge of square waves which is a output
the first trigger pulse then second pulse form the from the ZCDs. In ISR the triggering pulses are
train of pulses will trigger the thyristor. If second generated, which are use for triggering the
pulses do not trigger the thyristor then remaining elements of 3 phase converter circuit.
pulse will trigger the thyristor. In Figure 8 train of
pulses are outputted after detection of falling edge
5. Conclusion
of the square wave as interrupt.
The design is isolated from electromagnetic
interference at input and output side. Power control is
possible from 0-1800 with controlling voltage. Very
few components are use in this design which are easily
available and are cheap. The design is software based
hence can be easily upgraded to control other power
devices for controlling power.

References
[1] R. Arockiasamy and S. Doraipandy, “A novel trigger
scheme for Thyristor operating under variable frequency
Figure 8 Train of pulses for triggering of SCR anode supply,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron. Contr .Instrum.,
vol. IECI−22, No. 1, pp. 83−85, Feb.1975.
6. This design has been fully tested and verified by [2] R. Simard and V. Rajagopalan, “Economical equidistant
driving incandescent lamps, circuit is capable to pulse Firing scheme for Thyristorized D.C. drives,” IEEE
Trans. Ind. Electron. Contr. Instrum., vol. IECI-22, No.3, pp.
fire the SCR at any angle ranging from 0 to 180
425−429, 1975.
degrees without any noise or fluctuations on main [3] S. Murugesan and C.Kameswara, "Simple adaptive
lines. It is observed that when the controlling analog and Digital trigger circuits for thyristors working
voltage is low firing angle is also low, more under wide range of Supply frequency,” IEEE Trans. Ind.
portion of positive half cycle is provided to the Electron. Contr. Instrum., vol. IECI-24, No. 1, pp.46−49,
load (lamp) more voltage available at load as the 1977.
result brightness of the lamp is very high. When [4] L.H.Hoang ,"A digitally controlled thyristor trigger
the controlling voltage is going on increasing firing circuit," Proc. IEEE, vol. 66, No.1, pp. 89−91, Jan. 1978.
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ISSN: 2278-0181

Vol. 1 Issue 3, May – 2012

[5] B. Ilango, R. Krishman, R. Subramanian, and S. Mr. Chandrakant Bedare Worked as a Sr.lecturer in
Sadasivam, “Firing circuit for three-phase
phase thyristor-bridge
thyristor Electronics, Taught P.G for 9 Years,
Years Engage in design
rectifier,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron. Contr. Instrum., vol. & development of Industrial Automation systems since
IECI−25, no. 1, pp. 45−49, 1978. Last 20 Years. Currently working as M.D. in Bedare
[6] S.C.Gupta, K.Venkatesan, And K.Eapen, K.Eape “A Electronics Pvt. Ltd. Nagpur.
Nagpur
Generalized Firing Angle Controller Using Phase-Locked
Phase
Loop for Thyristor Control,” IEEE Transactions On
Industrial Electronics And Control Instrumentation, vol.
IECI-28, No. 1, February 1981.
[7] P.C. Tang, S.S.Lu, and Y.C.Wu, “Microprocessor-
“Microprocessor
Based Designign of a Firing Circuit for Three-Phase
Three Full-Wave
Thyristor Dual Converter,” IEEE Transactions on Industrial
Electronics, vol. IE−29,
−29, No. 1, February 1982.
[8] XU Wuxiong, “Design of Thyristor Digital Trigger
Circuit Based on Microcontroller Unit,” The 1st
International
ernational Conference on Information Science and
Engineering (ICISE2009)
[9] M. U. Rafique, “A Universal and Optimized Embedded
System to Control Firing Angle of Thyristors with Double-
Double
Sided,” 2011 Third International Conference on
Communications and Mobile Computing.
[10] T. C. Pimenta, L. L. G. Vermaas, P. C. Crepaldi, R. L.
Moreno “The Design of a Digital IC for Thyristor
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[11] Muhammad H. Rashid, Power Electronics (Circuits,
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[12] S.S.Upadhya, K. Kant and G. Singh, “A New
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[13] T. Thepmanee, S. Pongswated, P. Ukakimapurn, and K.
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[14] Mr. Shashikant Lahade, S. R. Hirekhan” Study of
Analog and Digital Firing Methods for Converters”
Converters IJECCE
Volume 3 Issue 2, Mar. 2012 pp 21-24

AUTHOR’S PROFILE

Mr. Shashikant V. Lahade received the

bachelor’s degree in Electronics and
Telecommunication Engineering from SSGM
College of Engineering, Shegaon,
Maharashtra, India and currently pursuing M.
Tech in Electronic System and
Communication at Government College of
Engineering Amravati, Maharashtra, India.

Prof. S. R. Hirekhan received the

bachelor’s and master’s degree from
Marathwada University, Aurangabad.
Currently he is an Associate Professor at
Government College of Engineering,
Amravati, Maharashtra, India with over a 20
years of experience in teaching
teachi field. His
current areas of research are Digital Design
and Embedded System.
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