har80679_ch05_171-195.

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C H A P T E R 5
AC Voltage Controllers
AC to ac Converters

5.1 INTRODUCTION
An ac voltage controller is a converter that controls the voltage, current, and aver-
age power delivered to an ac load from an ac source. Electronic switches connect
and disconnect the source and the load at regular intervals. In a switching scheme
called phase control, switching takes place during every cycle of the source, in
effect removing some of the source waveform before it reaches the load. Another
type of control is integral-cycle control, whereby the source is connected and dis-
connected for several cycles at a time.
The phase-controlled ac voltage controller has several practical uses including
light-dimmer circuits and speed control of induction motors. The input voltage
source is ac, and the output is ac (although not sinusoidal), so the circuit is classi-
fied as an ac-ac converter.

5.2 THE SINGLE-PHASE AC VOLTAGE

CONTROLLER
Basic Operation
A basic single-phase voltage controller is shown in Fig. 5-1a. The electronic
switches are shown as parallel thyristors (SCRs). This SCR arrangement makes
it possible to have current in either direction in the load. This SCR connection is
called antiparallel or inverse parallel because the SCRs carry current in opposite
directions. A triac is equivalent to the antiparallel SCRs. Other controlled switch-
ing devices can be used instead of SCRs.
171
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172 C H A P T E R 5 AC Voltage Controllers

S1

+ vsw −
io
+ +
S2
vs R vo
− −

(a)

vs
io

π+α
ωt
0 α π 2π

vo

π+α
ωt
0 α π 2π

vsw

π+α
ωt
0 α π 2π

(b)

Figure 5-1 (a) Single-phase ac voltage controller with a

resistive load; (b) Waveforms.

The principle of operation for a single-phase ac voltage controller using phase

control is quite similar to that of the controlled half-wave rectifier of Sec. 3.9.
Here, load current contains both positive and negative half-cycles. An analysis
identical to that done for the controlled half-wave rectifier can be done on a half-
cycle for the voltage controller. Then, by symmetry, the result can be extrapo-
lated to describe the operation for the entire period.
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5.2 The Single-Phase AC Voltage Controller 173

Some basic observations about the circuit of Fig. 5-1a are as follows:
1. The SCRs cannot conduct simultaneously.
2. The load voltage is the same as the source voltage when either SCR is on.
The load voltage is zero when both SCRs are off.
3. The switch voltage vsw is zero when either SCR is on and is equal to the
source voltage when neither is on.
4. The average current in the source and load is zero if the SCRs are on for
equal time intervals. The average current in each SCR is not zero because of
unidirectional SCR current.
5. The rms current in each SCR is 1/ 12 times the rms load current if the SCRs
are on for equal time intervals. (Refer to Chap. 2.)
For the circuit of Fig. 5-1a, S1 conducts if a gate signal is applied during the
positive half-cycle of the source. Just as in the case of the SCR in the controlled
half-wave rectifier, S1 conducts until the current in it reaches zero. Where this cir-
cuit differs from the controlled half-wave rectifier is when the source is in its neg-
ative half-cycle. A gate signal is applied to S2 during the negative half-cycle of the
source, providing a path for negative load current. If the gate signal for S2 is a half
period later than that of S1, analysis for the negative half-cycle is identical to that
for the positive half, except for algebraic sign for the voltage and current.

Single-Phase Controller with a Resistive Load

Figure 5-1b shows the voltage waveforms for a single-phase phase-controlled
voltage controller with a resistive load. These are the types of waveforms that
exist in a common incandescent light-dimmer circuit. Let the source voltage be
vs(t)  Vm sin t (5-1)
Output voltage is
Vm sin t for   t   and     t  2
vo(t)  b (5-2)
0 otherwise
The rms load voltage is determined by taking advantage of positive and neg-
ative symmetry of the voltage waveform, necessitating evaluation of only a half-
period of the waveform:

1  Vm  sin (2 )
Vo, rms  1 [Vm sin (t)]2 d(t)  1  (5-3)
A 12A  2
Note that for   0, the load voltage is a sinusoid that has the same rms value
as the source. Normalized rms load voltage is plotted as a function of  in Fig. 5-2.
The rms current in the load and the source is
Vo, rms
Io, rms  (5-4)
R
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174 C H A P T E R 5 AC Voltage Controllers

Single-phase Voltage Controller

1.0

Normalized rms Output Voltage

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 40 80 120 160
Delay Angle (Degrees)

Figure 5-2 Normalized rms load voltage vs. delay angle for a single-phase ac
voltage controller with a resistive load.

and the power factor of the load is

P P V 2o, rms >R V
pf     o, rms
S Vs, rms Is, rms Vs, rms(Vo, rms>R) Vs, rms

Vm  (sin 2 )
1 
12A  2

Vm> 12

 sin (2 )
pf  1  (5-5)
A  2

Note that pf  1 for   0, which is the same as for an uncontrolled resistive

load, and the power factor for  0 is less than 1.
The average source current is zero because of half-wave symmetry. The
average SCR current is

1 Vm sin (t) Vm
ISCR, avg  d(t)  (1  cos  ) (5-6)
2 3 R 2R

Since each SCR carries one-half of the line current, the rms current in each
SCR is
Io, rms
ISCR, rms  (5-7)
12
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5.2 The Single-Phase AC Voltage Controller 175

Harmonics, Single-phase Controller

1.0

n=1
0.8

0.6

Cn

0.4
n=3

0.2
n=5

n=7
0.0
0 40 80 120 160
Delay Angle (Degrees)

Figure 5-3 Normalized harmonic content vs. delay angle

for a single-phase ac voltage controller with a resistive
load; Cn is the normalized amplitude. (See Chap. 2.)

Since the source and load current is nonsinusoidal, harmonic distortion is a

consideration when designing and applying ac voltage controllers. Only odd har-
monics exist in the line current because the waveform has half-wave symmetry.
Harmonic currents are derived from the defining Fourier equations in Chap. 2.
Normalized harmonic content of the line currents vs.  is shown in Fig. 5-3. Base
current is source voltage divided by resistance, which is the current for   0.
EXAMPLE 5-1

Single-Phase Controller with a Resistive Load

The single-phase ac voltage controller of Fig. 5-1a has a 120-V rms 60-Hz source. The
load resistance is 15
. Determine (a) the delay angle required to deliver 500 W to the load,
(b) the rms source current, (c) the rms and average currents in the SCRs, (d) the power
factor, and (e) the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the source current.
■ Solution
(a) The required rms voltage to deliver 500 W to a 15-
load is
V 2o, rms
P
R
Vo, rms  1PR  2(500)(15)  86.6 V
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176 C H A P T E R 5 AC Voltage Controllers

The relationship between output voltage and delay angle is described by Eq. (5-3)
and Fig. 5-2. From Fig. 5-2, the delay angle required to obtain a normalized output
of 86.6/120  0.72 is approximately 90. A more precise solution is obtained from
the numerical solution for  in Eq. (5-3), expressed as

 sin (2 )
86.6  120 1   0
A  2

which yields

  1.54 rad  88.1°

(b) Source rms current is

Vo, rms 86.6

Io, rms    5.77 A
R 15

(c) SCR currents are determined from Eqs. (5-6) and (5-7),

Irms 5.77
ISCR, rms    4.08 A
12 12

C 1  cos (88.1°) D  1.86 A

12 (120)
ISCR, avg 
2(15)

(d) The power factor is

P 500
pf    0.72
S (120)(5.77)

which could also be computed from Eq. (5-5).

(e) Base rms current is

Vs, rms 120

Ibase    8.0 A
R 15
The rms value of the current’s fundamental frequency is determined from C1 in the
graph of Fig. 5-3.

C1 L 0.61 Q I1, rms  C1Ibase  (0.61)(8.0)  4.9 A

The THD is computed from Eq. (2-68),

2I 2rms  I 21, rms 25.772  4.9 2

THD    0.63  63%
I1, rms 4.9
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5.2 The Single-Phase AC Voltage Controller 177

Single-Phase Controller with an RL Load

Figure 5-4a shows a single-phase ac voltage controller with an RL load. When a
gate signal is applied to S1 at t  , Kirchhoff’s voltage law for the circuit is
expressed as
di (t)
Vm sin (t)  Ri o(t)  L o (5-8)
dt
S1

+ vsw −
io
+
S2
+ R
vs vo
−
L
−

(a)

vs

io
π+α 2π
ωt
0 α π β

vo

β π+α
ωt
0 α π 2π

vsw

β π+α ωt
0 α

(b)

Figure 5-4 (a) Single-phase ac voltage controller with an RL

load; (b) Typical waveforms.
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178 C H A P T E R 5 AC Voltage Controllers

The solution for current in this equation, outlined in Sec. 3.9, is

Vm
csin(t   )  sin(  ) e(t)> d for   t  
Z
i o (t)  d
0 otherwise

where (5-9)
L
Z  2R2  (L)2 , and   tan1 a b
R
The extinction angle  is the angle at which the current returns to zero,
when t  ,
Vm
i o(  )  0  csin (  )  sin (  ) e()> d (5-10)
Z

which must be solved numerically for .

A gate signal is applied to S2 at t    , and the load current is negative
but has a form identical to that of the positive half-cycle. Figure 5-4b shows typ-
ical waveforms for a single-phase ac voltage controller with an RL load.
The conduction angle is defined as
   (5-11)
In the interval between  and  when the source voltage is negative and the
load current is still positive, S2 cannot be turned on because it is not forward-
biased. The gate signal to S2 must be delayed at least until the current in S1 reaches
zero, at t  . The delay angle is therefore at least   .
   (5-12)
The limiting condition when      is determined from an examination
of Eq. (5-10). When   , Eq. (5-10) becomes
sin (   )  0
which has a solution
 
Therefore,
 when  (5-13)
If    ,  , provided that the gate signal is maintained beyond t  .
In the limit, when  , one SCR is always conducting, and the voltage
across the load is the same as the voltage of the source. The load voltage and cur-
rent are sinusoids for this case, and the circuit is analyzed using phasor analysis for
ac circuits. The power delivered to the load is continuously controllable between
the two extremes corresponding to full source voltage and zero.
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5.2 The Single-Phase AC Voltage Controller 179

This SCR combination can act as a solid-state relay, connecting or disconnect-

ing the load from the ac source by gate control of the SCRs. The load is discon-
nected from the source when no gate signal is applied, and the load has the same
voltage as the source when a gate signal is continuously applied. In practice, the gate
signal may be a high-frequency series of pulses rather than a continuous dc signal.
An expression for rms load current is determined by recognizing that the
square of the current waveform repeats every ␲ rad. Using the definition of rms,
␤
1
Io, rms ⫽ i 2(␻t) d(␻t) (5-14)
C␲ L o
␣
where io(␻t) is described in Eq. (5-9).
Power absorbed by the load is determined from
P ⫽ I 2o, rms R (5-15)
The rms current in each SCR is
Io, rms
ISCR, rms ⫽ (5-16)
12
The average load current is zero, but each SCR carries one-half of the current
waveform, making the average SCR current
␤
1
ISCR, avg ⫽ i (␻t) d(␻t) (5-17)
2␲ 3 o
␣
EXAMPLE 5-2

Single-Phase Voltage Controller with RL Load

For the single-phase voltage controller of Fig. 5-4a, the source is 120 V rms at 60 Hz, and
the load is a series RL combination with R ⫽ 20 ⍀ and L ⫽ 50 mH. The delay angle ␣ is
90⬚. Determine (a) an expression for load current for the first half-period, (b) the rms load
current, (c) the rms SCR current, (d) the average SCR current, (e) the power delivered to
the load, and (f) the power factor.
■ Solution
(a) The current is expressed as in Eq. (5-9). From the parameters given,

Z ⫽ 2R2 ⫹ (␻L)2 ⫽ 3(20)2 ⫹ C (377)(0.05) D 2 ⫽ 27.5 Æ

␻L (377)(0.05)
␪ ⫽ tan⫺1 a b ⫽ tan⫺1 ⫽ 0.756 rad
R 20
L 0.05
␻␶ ⫽ ␻a b ⫽ 377a b ⫽ 0.943 rad
R 20

Vm 120 22
⫽ ⫽ 6.18 A
Z 27.5
␣ ⫽ 90° ⫽ 1.57 rad
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180 C H A P T E R 5 AC Voltage Controllers

Vm
sin (   ) e >  23.8 A
Z
The current is then expressed in Eq. (5-9) as
i o(t)  6.18 sin (t  0.756)  23.8e t>0.943 A for   t  
The extinction angle  is determined from the numerical solution of i()  0 in the
above equation, yielding
  3.83 rad  220°
Note that the conduction angle      2.26 rad  130, which is less than
the limit of 180.
(b) The rms load current is determined from Eq. (5-14).

3.83

C 6.18 sin (t  0.756)  23.8e t>0.943 D d(t)  2.71 A

1
Io, rms 
F 3
1.57

(c) The rms current in each SCR is determined from Eq. (5-16).
Io, rms 2.71
ISCR, rms    1.92 A
12 12
(d) Average SCR current is obtained from Eq. (5-17).
3.83

C 6.18 sin (t  0.756)  23.8e t>0.943 D d(t)  1.04 A

1
ISCR, avg 
2 3
1.57

(e) Power absorbed by the load is

P  I 2o, rms R  (2.71)2 (20)  147 W

(f) Power factor is determined from P/S.

P P 147
pf     0.45  45%
S Vs, rms Is, rms (120)(2.71)

PSpice Simulation of Single-Phase AC Voltage Controllers

The PSpice simulation of single-phase voltage controllers is very similar to the
simulation of the controlled half-wave rectifier. The SCR is modeled with a
diode and voltage-controlled switch. The diodes limit the currents to positive
values, thus duplicating SCR behavior. The two switches are complementary,
each closed for one-half the period.
The Schematic Capture circuit requires the full version, whereas the text
CIR file will run on the PSpice A/D Demo version.
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5.2 The Single-Phase AC Voltage Controller 181

EXAMPLE 5-3

PSpice Simulation of a Single-Phase Voltage Controller

Use PSpice to simulate the circuit of Example 5-2. Determine the rms load current, the rms
and average SCR currents, load power, and total harmonic distortion in the source current.
Use the default diode model in the SCR.
■ Solution
The circuit for the simulation is shown in Fig. 5-5. This requires the full version of
Schematic Capture.
The PSpice circuit file for the A/D Demo version is as follows:

SINGLE-PHASE VOLTAGE CONTROLLER (voltcont.cir)

*** OUTPUT VOLTAGE IS V(3), OUTPUT CURRENT IS I(R) ***
**************** INPUT PARAMETERS *********************
.PARAM VS  120 ;source rms voltage
.PARAM ALPHA  90 ;delay angle in degrees
.PARAM R  20 ;load resistance
.PARAM L  50mH ;load inductance
.PARAM F  60 ;frequency
.PARAM TALPHA  {ALPHA/(360*F)} PW 5 {0.5/F} ;converts angle to time delay

***************** CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION *********************

VS 1 0 SIN(0 {VS*SQRT(2)} {F})
S1 1 2 11 0 SMOD
D1 2 3 DMOD ; FORWARD SCR
S2 3 5 0 11 SMOD

AC VOLTAGE CONTROLLER

PARAMETERS: Control1 0
ALPHA = 90
+ S1
−

F = 60 +
D1
Vrms = 120
TALPHA = {ALPHA/(360*F)}
A

R1
VOFF = 0 Vs D2 + S2 20
+ + 1
VAMPL = {Vrms*sqrt(2)}
−

− Control2 0 L1
FREQ = {F}
Control1 Control2 50m
V1 = 0 V1 = 0
V2 = 5 VC1 V2 = 5 VC2 2
+ +
TD = {TALPHA} − TD = {TALPHA + 1/(2∗F)} −
0 TR = 1n TR = 1n 0
TF = 1n 0 TF = 1n 0
PW = {0.5/F} PW = {0.5/F}
PER = {1/F} PER = {1/F}

Figure 5-5 The circuit schematic for a single-phase ac voltage controller. The full version of Schematic
Capture is required for this circuit.
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182 C H A P T E R 5 AC Voltage Controllers

D2 5 1 DMOD ; REVERSE SCR

R 3 4 {R}
L 4 0 {L}
**************** MODELS AND COMMANDS ********************
.MODEL DMOD D
.MODEL SMOD VSWITCH (RON.01)
VCONTROL 11 0 PULSE(-10 10 {TALPHA} 0 0 {PW} {1/F}) ;control for both
switches
.TRAN .1MS 33.33MS 16.67MS .1MS UIC ;one period of output
.FOUR 60 I(R) ;Fourier Analysis to get THD
.PROBE
.END

Using the PSpice A/D input file for the simulation, the Probe output of load current and
related quantities is shown in Fig. 5-6. From Probe, the following quantities are obtained:

Quantity Expression Result

RMS load current RMS(I(R)) 2.59 A
RMS SCR current RMS(I(S1)) 1.87 A
Average SCR current AVG(I(S1)) 1.01 A
Load power AVG(W(R)) 134 W
Total harmonic distortion (from the output file) 31.7%

Note that the nonideal SCRs (using the default diode) result in smaller currents and
load power than for the analysis in Example 5-2 which assumed ideal SCRs. A model for
the particular SCR that will be used to implement the circuit will give a more accurate
prediction of actual circuit performance.

5.0 A

(50.000m, 2.5916)
(50.000m, 1.8660)

(50.000m, 1.0090)

0A

-5.0 A
15 ms 20 ms 30 ms 40 ms 50 ms 60 ms 70 ms
I (R) RMS ( I (R)) RMS ( I (S1) AVG ( I (S1))
Time

Figure 5-6 Probe output for Example 5-3.

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5.3 Three-Phase Voltage Controllers 183

5.3 THREE-PHASE VOLTAGE CONTROLLERS

Y-Connected Resistive Load
A three-phase voltage controller with a Y-connected resistive load is shown in
Fig. 5-7a. The power delivered to the load is controlled by the delay angle  on
each SCR. The six SCRs are turned on in the sequence 1-2-3-4-5-6, at 60 inter-
vals. Gate signals are maintained throughout the possible conduction angle.
S1

S4
S3

A B b a

S6 R R
N n

S5 R

C c

S2

(a)
vAB vAN
van 2
vAC
2

van

30° 60° 90° 120° 150° 180°

(α)

(b)

Figure 5-7 (a) Three-phase ac voltage controller with a Y-connected resistive

load; (b) Load voltage van for   30; (c) Load voltages and switch currents
for a three-phase resistive load for   30; (d) Load voltage van for   75;
(e) Load voltage van for   120.
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184 C H A P T E R 5 AC Voltage Controllers

van

vbn

vcn

iS1

iS2

iS3

iS4

iS5

iS6

(c)

vAB vAN vAC

van 2 2

van

75° 135° 195°

(d)

Figure 5-7 (continued)

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5.3 Three-Phase Voltage Controllers 185

vAB vAN
vAC
van 2 2

van

120° 150° 180° 210°

(e)

Figure 5-7 (continued)

The instantaneous voltage across each phase of the load is determined by

which SCRs are conducting. At any instant, three SCRs, two SCRs, or no SCRs
are on. The instantaneous load voltages are either a line-to-neutral voltage (three
on), one-half of a line-to-line voltage (two on), or zero (none on).
When three SCRs are on (one in each phase), all three phase voltages are con-
nected to the source, corresponding to a balanced three-phase source connected to
a balanced three-phase load. The voltage across each phase of the load is the cor-
responding line-to-neutral voltage. For example, if S1, S2, and S6 are on, van  vAN,
vbn  vBN, and vcn  vCN. When two SCRs are on, the line-to-line voltage of those
two phases is equally divided between the two load resistors that are connected.
For example, if only S1 and S2 are on, van  vAC /2, vcn  vCA/2, and vbn  0.
Which SCRs are conducting depends on the delay angle  and on the source
voltages at a particular instant. The following are the ranges of  that produce
particular types of load voltages with an example for each:
For 0    60:
Two or three SCRs conduct at any one time for this range of . Figure 5-7b
shows the load line-to-neutral voltage van for   30. At t  0, S5 and S6 are
conducting and there is no current in Ra, making van  0. At t  /6 (30),
S1 receives a gate signal and begins to conduct; S5 and S6 remain on, and van 
vAN. The current in S5 reaches zero at 60, turning S5 off. With S1 and S6
remaining on, van  vAB/2. At 90, S2 is turned on; the three SCRs S1, S2, and
S6 are then on; and van  vAN. At 120, S6 turns off, leaving S1 and S2 on, so
van  vAC /2. As the firing sequence for the SCRs proceeds, the number of
SCRs on at a particular instant alternates between 2 and 3. All three phase-to-
neutral load voltages and switch currents are shown in Fig. 5-7c. For intervals
to exist when three SCRs are on, the delay angle must be less than 60.
For 60    90:
Only two SCRs conduct at any one time when the delay angle is between
60 and 90. Load  voltage van for   75 is shown in Fig. 5-7d. Just
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186 C H A P T E R 5 AC Voltage Controllers

prior to 75, S5 and S6 are conducting, and van  0. When S1 is turned on at

75, S6 continues to conduct, but S5 must turn off because vCN is negative.
Voltage van is then vAB /2. When S2 is turned on at 135, S6 is forced off, and
van  vAC /2. The next SCR to turn on is S3, which forces S1 off, and van 
0. One SCR is always forced off when an SCR is turned on for  in this
range. Load voltages are one-half line-to-line voltages or zero.
For 90    150:
Only two SCRs can conduct at any one time in this mode. Additionally, there
are intervals when no SCRs conduct. Figure 5-7e shows the load voltage van
for   120. In the interval just prior to 120, no SCRs are on, and van  0.
At   120, S1 is given a gate signal, and S6 still has a gate signal applied.
Since vAB is positive, both S1 and S6 are forward-biased and begin to conduct,
and van  vAB /2. Both S1 and S6 turn off when vAB becomes negative. When a
gate signal is applied to S2, it turns on, and S1 turns on again.
For  150, there is no time interval when an SCR is forward-biased while a
gate signal is applied. Output voltage is zero for this condition.
Normalized output voltage vs. delay angle is shown in Fig. 5-8. Note that a
delay angle of zero corresponds to the load being connected directly to the
Output Voltage
1.0

0.8
Normalized Output Voltage

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Delay Angle (Degrees)

Figure 5-8 Normalized rms output voltage for a three-phase

ac voltage controller with a resistive load.
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5.3 Three-Phase Voltage Controllers 187

three-phase source. The range of output voltage for the three-phase voltage con-
troller is between full source voltage and zero.
Harmonic currents in the load and line for the three-phase ac voltage con-
troller are the odd harmonics of order 6n  1, n  1, 2, 3, . . . (that is, 5th, 7th,
11th, 13th). . . . Harmonic filters may be required in some applications to prevent
harmonic currents from propagating into the ac system.
Since analysis of the three-phase ac voltage controller is cumbersome, sim-
ulation is a practical means of obtaining rms output voltages and power delivered
to a load. PSpice simulation is presented in Example 5-4.

Y-Connected RL Load
The load voltages for a three-phase voltage controller with an RL load are again
characterized by being a line-to-neutral voltage, one-half of a line-to-line volt-
age, or zero. The analysis is much more difficult for an RL load than for a resis-
tive load, and simulation provides results that would be extremely difficult to
obtain analytically. Example 5-4 illustrates the use of PSpice for a three-phase ac
voltage controller.

EXAMPLE 5-4

PSpice Simulation of a Three-Phase Voltage Controller

Use PSpice to obtain the power delivered to a Y-connected three-phase load. Each phase
of the load is a series RL combination with R  10
and L  30 mH. The three-phase
source is 480 V rms line-to-line at 60 Hz, and the delay angle  is 75. Determine the rms
value of the line currents, the power absorbed by the load, the power absorbed by the
SCRs, and the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the source currents.

■ Solution
A PSpice A/D input file for the Y-connected three-phase voltage controller with an RL
load is as follows:

THREE-PHASE VOLTAGE CONTROLLER–R-L LOAD (3phvc.cir)

*SOURCE AND LOAD ARE Y-CONNECTED (UNGROUNDED)
********************** INPUT PARAMETERS ****************************
.PARAM Vs  480 ; rms line-to-line voltage
.PARAM ALPHA  75 ; delay angle in degrees
.PARAM R  10 ; load resistance (y-connected)
.PARAM L  30mH ; load inductance
.PARAM F  60 ; source frequency

********************** COMPUTED PARAMETERS **************************

.PARAM Vm  {Vs*SQRT(2)/SQRT(3)} ; convert to peak line-neutral volts
.PARAM DLAY  {1/(6*F)} ; switching interval is 1/6 period
.PARAM PW  {.5/F} TALPHA{ALPHA/(F*360)}
.PARAM TRF  10US ; rise and fall time for pulse switch control
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188 C H A P T E R 5 AC Voltage Controllers

*********************** THREE-PHASE SOURCE **************************

VAN 1 0 SIN(0 {VM} 60)
VBN 2 0 SIN(0 {VM} 60 0 0 -120)
VCN 3 0 SIN(0 {VM} 60 0 0 -240)
***************************** SWITCHES ********************************
S1 1 8 18 0 SMOD ; A-phase
D1 8 4 DMOD
S4 4 9 19 0 SMOD
D4 9 1 DMOD
S3 2 10 20 0 SMOD ; B-phase
D3 10 5 DMOD
S6 5 11 21 0 SMOD
D6 11 2 DMOD
S5 3 12 22 0 SMOD ; C-phase
D5 12 6 DMOD
S2 6 13 23 0 SMOD
D2 13 3 DMOD
***************************** LOAD **********************************
RA 4 4A {R} ; van  v(4,7)
LA 4A 7 {L}
RB 5 5A {R} ; vbn  v(5,7)
LB 5A 7 {L}
RC 6 6A {R} ; vcn  v(6,7)
LC 6A 7 {L}
************************* SWITCH CONTROL *****************************
V1 18 0 PULSE(-10 10 {TALPHA} {TRF} {TRF} {PW} {1/F})
V4 19 0 PULSE(-10 10 {TALPHA+3*DLAY} {TRF} {TRF} {PW} {1/F})
V3 20 0 PULSE(-10 10 {TALPHA+2*DLAY} {TRF} {TRF} {PW} {1/F})
V6 21 0 PULSE(-10 10 {TALPHA+5*DLAY} {TRF} {TRF} {PW} {1/F})
V5 22 0 PULSE(-10 10 {TALPHA+4*DLAY} {TRF} {TRF} {PW} {1/F})
V2 23 0 PULSE(-10 10 {TALPHA+DLAY} {TRF} {TRF} {PW} {1/F})
************************ MODELS AND COMMANDS *************************
.MODEL SMOD VSWITCH(RON0.01)
.MODEL DMOD D
.TRAN .1MS 50MS 16.67ms .05MS UIC
.FOUR 60 I(RA) ; Fourier analysis of line current
.PROBE
.OPTIONS NOPAGE ITL50
.END

Probe output of the steady-state current in one of the phases is shown in Fig. 5-9.
The rms line current, load power, and power absorbed by the SCRs are obtained by en-
tering the appropriate expression in Probe. The THD in the source current is determined
from the Fourier analysis in the output file. The results are summarized in the following
table.

Quantity Expression Result

RMS line current RMS(I(RA)) 12.86 A
Load power 3*AVG(V(4,7)*I(RA)) 4960 W
Total SCR power absorbed 6*AVG(V(1,4)*I(S1)) 35.1 W
THD of source current (from the output file) 13.1%
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5.3 Three-Phase Voltage Controllers 189

20 A

A–PHASE CURRENT

0A

-20 A
10 ms 20 ms 30 ms 40 ms 50 ms
I (RA)
Time

Figure 5-9 Probe output for Example 5-4.

Delta-Connected Resistive Load

A three-phase ac voltage controller with a delta-connected resistive load is shown in
Fig. 5-10a. The voltage across a load resistor is the corresponding line-to-line volt-
age when a SCR in the phase is on. The delay angle is referenced to the zero cross-
ing of the line-to-line voltage. SCRs are turned on in the sequence 1-2-3-4-5-6.
The line current in each phase is the sum of two of the delta currents:
i a  i ab  i ca
i b  i bc  i ab (5-18)
i c  i ca  i bc
The relationship between rms line and delta currents depends on the conduction
angle of the SCRs. For small conduction angles (large ), the delta currents do
not overlap (Fig. 5-10b), and the rms line currents are
IL, rms  12 I, rms (5-19)
For large conduction angles (small ), the delta currents overlap (Fig. 5-10c),
and the rms line current is larger than 12I. In the limit when   (  0), the
delta currents and line currents are sinusoids. The rms line current is determined
from ordinary three-phase analysis.
IL, rms  13 I, rms (5-20)

The range of rms line current is therefore

12 I, rms  IL, rms  13 I, rms (5-21)
depending on .
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190 C H A P T E R 5 AC Voltage Controllers

Figure 5-10 ia
(a) Three-phase ac A
voltage controller with
a delta-connected
resistive load;
R
(b) Current waveforms iab S5
for   130;
(c) Current waveforms
S2
for   90. S4

S1 R
ica
S3
ib ibc
B
R
S6
ic
C
(a)

iab

ica

ia = iab - ica

(b)

iab

ica

ia = iab - ica

(c)
har80679_ch05_171-195.qxd 12/17/09 2:40 PM Page 191

5.5 Static VAR Control 191

Use of the delta-connected three-phase voltage controller requires the load to be

broken to allow thyristors to be inserted in each phase, which is often not feasible.

5.4 INDUCTION MOTOR SPEED CONTROL

Squirrel-cage induction motor speed can be controlled by varying the voltage
and/or frequency. The ac voltage controller is suitable for some speed control
applications. The torque produced by an induction motor is proportional to the
square of the applied voltage. Typical torque-speed curves for an induction
motor are shown in Fig. 5-11. If a load has a torque-speed characteristic like that
also shown in Fig. 5-11, speed can be controlled by adjusting the motor voltage.
Operating speed corresponds to the intersection of the torque-speed curves of the
motor and the load. A fan or pump is a suitable load for this type of speed con-
trol, where the torque requirement is approximately proportional to the square of
the speed.
Single-phase induction motors are controlled with the circuit of Fig. 5-4a, and
three-phase motors are controlled with the circuit of Fig. 5-7a. Energy efficiency
is poor when using this type of control, especially at low speeds. The large slip at
low speeds results in large rotor losses. Typical applications exist where the load
is small, such as single-phase fractional-horsepower motors, or where the time of
low-speed operation is short. Motor speed control using a variable-frequency
source from an inverter circuit (Chap. 8) is usually a preferred method.

5.5 STATIC VAR CONTROL

Capacitors are routinely placed in parallel with inductive loads for power factor
improvement. If a load has a constant reactive voltampere (VAR) requirement, a
fixed capacitor can be selected to correct the power factor to unity. However, if a

v1
Torque

Load
v2

v3

Speed w3 w1
w2

Figure 5-11 Torque-speed curves for an induction motor.

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192 C H A P T E R 5 AC Voltage Controllers

C Load

Figure 5-12 Static VAR control.

load has a varying VAR requirement, the fixed-capacitor arrangement results in

a changing power factor.
The circuit of Fig. 5-12 represents an application of an ac voltage controller
to maintain a unity power factor for varying load VAR requirements. The power
factor correction capacitance supplies a fixed amount of reactive power, gener-
ally greater than required by the load. The parallel inductance absorbs a variable
amount of reactive power, depending on the delay angle of the SCRs. The net
reactive power supplied by the inductor-capacitor combination is controlled to
match that absorbed by the load. As the VAR requirement of the load changes,
the delay angle is adjusted to maintain unity power factor. This type of power
factor correction is known as static VAR control.
The SCRs are placed in the inductor branch rather than in the capacitor branch
because very high currents could result from switching a capacitor with a SCR.
Static VAR control has the advantage of being able to adjust to changing
load requirements very quickly. Reactive power is continuously adjustable with
static VAR control, rather than having discrete levels as with capacitor banks
which are switched in and out with circuit breakers. Static VAR control is be-
coming increasingly prevalent in installations with rapidly varying reactive
power requirements, such as electric arc furnaces. Filters are generally required
to remove the harmonic currents generated by the switched inductance.

5.6 Summary
• Voltage controllers use electronic switches to connect and disconnect a load to an
ac source at regular intervals. This type of circuit is classified as an ac-ac converter.
• Voltage controllers are used in applications such as single-phase light-dimmer
circuits, single-phase or three-phase induction motor control, and static VAR control.
• The delay angle for the thyristors controls the time interval for the switch being on
and thereby controls the effective value of voltage at the load. The range of control
for load voltage is between full ac source voltage and zero.
• An ac voltage controller can be designed to function in either the fully on or fully
off mode. This application is used as a solid-state relay.
• The load and source current and voltage in ac voltage controller circuits may
contain significant harmonics. For equal delay angles in the positive and negative
half-cycles, the average source current is zero, and only odd harmonics exist.
har80679_ch05_171-195.qxd 12/15/09 6:01 PM Page 193

Problems 193

• Three-phase voltage controllers can have Y- or -connected loads.

• Simulation of single-phase or three-phase voltage controllers provides an efficient
analysis method.

5.7 Bibliography
B. K. Bose, Power Electronics and Motor Drives: Advances and Trends, Academic
Press, New York, 2006.
A. K. Chattopadhyay, Power Electronics Handbook, edited by M. H. Rashid, Academic
Press, New York, 2001, Chapter 16.
M. A. El-Sharkawi, Fundamentals of Electric Drives, Brooks/Cole, Pacific Grove,
Calif., 2000.
B. M. Han and S. I. Moon, “Static Reactive-Power Compensator Using Soft-Switching
Current-Source Inverter,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 48, no. 6,
December 2001.
N. Mohan, T. M. Undeland, and W. P. Robbins, Power Electronics: Converters,
Applications, and Design, 3d ed., Wiley, New York, 2003.
M. H. Rashid, Power Electronics: Circuits, Devices, and Systems, 3d ed., Prentice-Hall,
Upper Saddle River, N. J., 2004.
R. Valentine, Motor Control Electronics Handbook, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1996.
B. Wu, High-Power Converters and AC Drives, Wiley, New York, 2006.

Problems
Single-phase Voltage Controllers
5-1. The single-phase ac voltage controller of Fig. 5-1a has a 480-V rms 60-Hz
source and a load resistance of 50
. The delay angle  is 60. Determine (a) the
rms load voltage, (b) the power absorbed by the load, (c) the power factor, (e) the
average and rms currents in the SCRs, and (f) the THD of the source current.
5-2. The single-phase ac voltage controller of Fig. 5-1a has a 120-V rms 60-Hz
source and a load resistance of 20
. The delay angle  is 45. Determine (a) the
rms load voltage, (b) the power absorbed by the load, (c) the power factor, (d) the
average and rms currents in the SCRs, and (e) the THD of the source current.
5-3. The single-phase ac voltage controller of Fig. 5-1a has a 240-V rms source and a
load resistance of 35
. (a) Determine the delay angle required to deliver 800 W
to the load. (b) Determine the rms current in each SCR. (c) Determine the power
factor.
5-4. A resistive load absorbs 200 W when connected to a 120-V rms 60-Hz ac voltage
source. Design a circuit which will result in 200 W absorbed by the same
resistance when the source is 240 V rms at 60 Hz. What is the peak load voltage
in each case?
5-5. The single-phase ac voltage controller of Fig. 5-1a has a 120-V rms source at 60 Hz
and a load resistance of 40
. Determine the range of  so that the output power
can be controlled from 200 to 400 W. Determine the range of power factor that
will result.
5-6. Design a circuit to deliver power in the range of 750 to 1500 W to a 32-
resistor
from a 240-V rms 60-Hz source. Determine the maximum rms and average currents
in the switching devices, and determine the maximum voltage across the devices.
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194 C H A P T E R 5 AC Voltage Controllers

5-7. Design a circuit to deliver a constant 1200 W of power to a load that varies in
resistance from 20 to 40
. The ac source is 240 V rms, 60 Hz. Determine the
maximum rms and average currents in the devices, and determine the maximum
voltage across the devices.
5-8. Design a light-dimmer for a 120-V, 100-W incandescent lightbulb. The source is
120 V rms, 60 Hz. Specify the delay angle for the triac to produce an output
power of (a) 75 W (b) 25 W. Assume that the bulb is a load of constant resistance.
5-9. A single-phase ac voltage controller is similar to Fig. 5-1a except that S2 is
replaced with a diode. S1 operates at a delay angle . Determine (a) an
expression for rms load voltage as a function of  and Vm and (b) the range of
rms voltage across a resistive load for this circuit.
5-10. The single-phase ac voltage controller of Fig. 5-1a is operated with unequal
delays on the two SCRs (1  2). Derive expressions for the rms load voltage
and average load voltage in terms of Vm, 1, and 2.
5-11. The single-phase ac voltage controller of Fig. 5-4a has a 120-V rms 60-Hz source.
The series RL load has R  18
and L  30 mH. The delay angle   60.
Determine (a) an expression for current, (b) rms load current, (c) rms current in
each of the SCRs, and (d) power absorbed by the load. (e) Sketch the waveforms
of output voltage and voltage across the SCRs.
5-12. The single-phase ac voltage controller of Fig. 5-4a has a 120-V rms 60-Hz
source. The RL load has R  22
and L  40 mH. The delay angle   50.
Determine (a) an expression for current, (b) rms load current, (c) rms current in
each of the SCRs, and (d) power absorbed by the load. (e) Sketch the waveforms
of output voltage and voltage across the SCRs.
5-13. The single-phase ac voltage controller of Fig. 5-4a has a 120-V rms 60-Hz
source. The RL load has R  12
and L  24 mH. The delay angle  is 115.
Determine the rms load current.
5-14. The single-phase ac voltage controller of Fig. 5-4a has a 120-V rms 60-Hz source.
The RL load has R  12
and L  20 mH. The delay angle  is 70. (a) Determine
the power absorbed by the load for ideal SCRs. (b) Determine the power in the load
from a PSpice simulation. Use the default diode and Ron  0.1
in the SCR model.
(c) Determine the THD of the source current from the PSpice output.
5-15. Use PSpice to determine the delay angle required in the voltage controller of
Fig. 5-4a to deliver (a) 400 W, and (b) 700 W to an RL load with R  15
and
L  15 mH from a 120-V rms 60-Hz source.
5-16. Use PSpice to determine the delay angle required in the voltage controller of
Fig. 5-4a to deliver (a) 600 W, and (b) 1000 W to an RL load with R  25
and
L  60 mH from a 240-V rms 60-Hz source.
5-17. Design a circuit to deliver 250 W to an RL series load, where R  24
and
L  35 mH. The source is 120 V rms at 60 Hz. Specify the rms and average
currents in the devices. Specify the maximum voltage across the devices.

Three-phase Voltage Controllers

5-18. The three-phase voltage controller of Fig. 5-7a has a 480-V rms line-to-line
source and a resistive load with 35
in each phase. Simulate the circuit in
PSpice to determine the power absorbed by the load if the delay angle  is
(a) 20, (b) 80, and (c) 115.
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Problems 195

5-19. The three-phase Y-connected voltage controller has a 240-V rms, 60-Hz line-to-
line source. The load in each phase is a series RL combination with R  16

and L  50 mH. The delay angle  is 90. Simulate the circuit in PSpice to

determine the power absorbed by the load. On a graph of one period of A-phase
current, indicate the intervals when each SCR conducts. Do your analysis for
steady-state current.
5-20. For the delta-connected resistive load in the three-phase voltage controller of
Fig. 5-10, determine the smallest delay angle such that the rms line current is
described by Iline rms  12Irms.
5-21. Modify the PSpice circuit file for the three-phase controller for analysis of a
delta-connected load. Determine the rms values of the delta currents and the line
currents for a 480-V rms source, a resistive load of R  25
in each phase, and
a delay angle of 45. Hand in a Probe output showing iab and ia.
5-22. A three-phase ac voltage controller has a 480-V rms, 60-Hz source. The load is
Y-connected, and each phase has series RLC combination with R  14
, L 
10 mH, and C  1 F. The delay angle is 70. Use PSpice to determine (a) the
rms load current, (b) the power absorbed by the load, and (c) the THD of the line
current. Also hand in a graph of one period of A-phase current, indicating which
SCRs are conducting at each time. Do your analysis for steady-state current.
5-23. For a three-phase ac voltage controller with a Y-connected load, the voltage
across the S1-S4 SCR pair is zero when either is on. In terms of the three-phase
source voltages, what is the voltage across the S1-S4 pair when both are off?