Power Electronics and

Electrical Drives

1
 1.1.Introduction to Power Electronics

• What is power Electronics?

• Quotes from IEEE Papers:
We now live in a truly global society. In the highly
industrial front with economic competitiveness of
nations, in future two technologies will dominate:
Computers and power electronics-the former
providing intelligence as to “ what to do” and the
latter – “the means to do it.”
“Modern computers, communications, electronic
systems get their life blood from power electronics”

2
 1.1.Introduction to Power Electronics…

• Power electronics involves the study of electronic circuits intended

to control the flow of electrical energy. i.e to process and control
the flow of electric power by supplying voltages and currents in a
form that is optimally suited for user loads.

Figure 1.1: Basic block diagram

3
 1.1.Introduction to Power Electronics…

• Why the power electronics (Solid State) required over

electromechanical power switching?
 To convert electrical energy from one form to another, i.e.
from the source to load with:
highest efficiency,
Suitability for variable power supply
highest availability
highest reliability
No moving parts
lowest cost,
smallest size
least weight
4
 1.2. Power Semiconductor Devices (Switches)

 Operates in two states:

 Fully on. i.e. switch closed
 Conducting state

Figure 1.2: Switch on (fully closed)

 Fully off, i.e. switch opened.
 Blocking state

Figure 1.3: Switch off (fully opened

5
 1.2. Power Semiconductor Devices (Switches)…

 Presently available power semiconductor switches can

be divided into three groups according to their degree of
controllability:
 Uncontrolled: ON and OFF states controlled by power circuits
(Diodes).
 Semi-controlled: latched on by a control signal but turned OFF
by the power circuit (Thyristors)
 Controllable switches: turned ON and OFF by control signals
(BJT, MOSFET, GTO, IGBT, …)

6
 1.2.1 Power Diodes

 is a two-layer, two terminal, p-n semiconductor devices

Figure 1.3 Diode: (a) symbol, (b) i-v characteristic, (c) idealized characteristic
 On and off states controlled by the power circuit
 Forward biased – conduction
 Reverse biased – small leakage current flow until break
down voltage reached
7
 1.2.2 Thyristors

 A thyristor is a four layer, semiconductor of p-n-p-n structure with

three p-n junctions. It has three terminals, the anode, cathode and the
gate.
 Different types of Thyristors are
 Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR).
 Gate Turn Off Thyristor(GTO)
 DIAC
 TRIAC, etc.
 Thus the term thyristor denotes a family of semiconductor devices
used for power control in dc and ac systems.
 The silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) is the most widely used device.

8
 SILICON CONTROLLED RECTIFIER (SCR)

 A Silicon Controlled Rectifier (or Semiconductor Controlled

Rectifier) is a four layer solid state device that controls current flow
 The SCR is a four layer three terminal device with junctions J1, J2,
J3.
• Semi-controlled device
• Latches ON:
when Anode is positive with
respect to cathode & positive
gate (G) signal is available
 Without +ve G signal it is in off state until forward break down
voltage (VFBO) reached
 Once it is in on state, it is latched & G current can be removed &
can’t be turned off by G signal.

9
 SILICON CONTROLLED RECTIFIER (SCR)….

 Turns-off: It turn off when A become negative or below latching current.

• SCR has three states:
– Reverse blocking mode, forward blocking mode, and forward
conducting mode

10
 Gate turn off Thyristor (GTO)
• Conduction process is similar to SCR
• Once forward biased it can be turned ON by a gate pulse
• GTO will stay ON
• However, can be turned off by applying a negative gate-cathode voltage

11
 DIODE AC SWITCH (DIAC)
 is a thyristor that acts like two back-to-back 4-layer diodes.
 can conduct current in either direction. Because it is bidirectional,
the terminals are equivalent and labeled A1 and A2.
• The DIAC conducts
current after the
breakdown voltage is
reached.
• The DIAC remains in
conduction as long as the
current is above the
holding current, IH.
 DIACs are most commonly used in conjunction with TRIACs to provide full-
wave control of AC signals.

12
 TRIODE AC SWITCH (TRIAC)

 Conduct both directions of AC current flow

 TRIAC is thus a bidirectional thyristor with three terminals

13
 TRIODE AC SWITCH (TRIAC)…
• Since TRIAC can conduct in both directions, the two end terminals
are not called anode and cathode.
• Thus the three terminals generally marked as MT1 (Main Terminal
1), MT2 (Main Terminal 2) and the gate by G.
• The terminal MT1 is taken as the reference point for measuring
voltages and currents at the gate and MT2 terminals.

• During operation of a TRIAC, the peak voltage applied across the

main terminals MT1 and MT2 in either direction must be kept less
than the break over voltage in order to retain control of the gate.

14
 1.3 Power bipolar junction transistor (BJT)
• A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is a three layer, 2-junction npn or
pnp semiconductor device

Figure: Bipolar junction transistors (a) npn type and (b) pnp type

15
 1.3 Power bipolar junction transistor (BJT)…

Output characteristics: A graph between collector current Ic and

collector-emitter voltage VCE gives output characteristics of a transistor

o/p
characteristics Idealized
for common character
emitter istics
configuration

• Transistor operates as a switch either in saturation or cut of region

• When the control or base signal is reduced to zero, the transistor is turned off
and its operation shifts to the cut off region

16
 1.4 Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT)

 The insulated-gate bipolar transistor is a recent model of a power-

switching device that combines the advantages of a power BJT and a
power MOSFET.
 Both power MOSFET and IGBT are the continuously controllable
voltage-controlled switch.
 The IGBT operates in two modes:
 The blocking or non-conducting mode
 The ON or conducting mode.
 The circuit symbol for the IGBT is shown in Fig. next slide.
 It is similar to the symbol for an n–p–n bipolar-junction power
transistor with the insulated-gate terminal replacing the base.
17
 1.5 Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) …

Figure: symbol and characteristics of IGBT

• High impedance gate – requires small
amount of energy to switch the device
• Current rating: ~1700 A
• Voltage rating: 2~3 kV
18
 Chapter Two
Power electronics converters
Conversion Name Function Symbol
from/to

AC to DC Rectifier AC to unipolar (DC) current

Constant to variable DC or
DC to DC Chopper
variable to constant DC

DC to AC Inverter DC to AC of desired voltage

and frequency

AC of desired frequency
AC to AC Cycloconverter
and/or magnitude from
generally line AC
19
 2.1. AC-DC Converter (Rectifiers)
A rectifier is a circuit that converts an AC signal into a
unidirectional signal DC power by using power diodes or by
controlling the firing angles of thyristors/controllable switches

20
 Uncontrolled Rectifiers
• Provide a fixed DC output voltage for a given AC supply where diodes are used
only.
A. Single phase-half wave rectifiers with R load

21
 A. Single phase-half wave rectifiers with R load…

from the circuit the input voltage

Output average voltage

The average dc current Id

The output dc power

The rms voltage across the load R

𝝅
𝟏 𝒗𝟐𝒎 𝒗𝟐𝒎 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝟐𝜽 𝝅 𝒗𝟐𝒎
𝒗𝟐𝒓𝒎𝒔 = 𝒗𝟐𝒎 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝟐 𝜽𝒅𝜽 = 𝟏 − 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝟐𝜽 = [𝜽 − ] =
𝟐𝝅 𝟒𝝅 𝟒𝝅 𝟐 𝟎 𝟒
𝟎
22
B. Single phase full wave diode bridge rectifier with R load

23
 B. Single phase full wave diode bridge rectifier with R load…

from the circuit the input voltage

Output average voltage

𝜋
1 2𝑉𝑚
𝑉𝑑 = 𝑉0 = 𝑉𝑚 sin 𝜔𝑡 𝑑(𝜔𝑡) =
𝜋 𝜋
0
The rms voltage 1
𝜋 2
1 𝑉𝑚
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 = 𝑉𝑚 2 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 𝜔𝑡𝑑(𝜔𝑡) =
𝜋 0 2
𝑉0
Average output current, 𝐼𝑑 = 𝐼0 =
𝑅
4𝑉𝑚 2
 The output dc power, 𝑃𝑑 = 𝑉0 𝐼0 =
𝜋2 𝑅
𝑉𝑚 𝑉𝑚 𝑉𝑚
 The output ac power, 𝑃𝑎𝑐 = 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 . 𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 = . = = 𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 2 𝑅
2 2𝑅 2𝑅
24
C. Single phase full wave diode bridge rectifier with RL load

25
 D. Three-phase uncontrolled converter circuits
Three-phase half-wave rectifier
 The rectifier element connected to
the line at the highest instantaneous
voltage can only conduct
 A diode with the highest positive
voltage will begin to conduct at the
cross over points of the three phase
supply

26
 D. Three-phase uncontrolled converter circuits…
Three-phase half-wave rectifier…
 From the figure above diode A1 will conduct from ωt=30° to
ωt=150°, diode B1 will conduct from ωt=150° to 270° and diode
C1 from ωt=270° to 390°
 The mean output voltage is

27
 E. Three-phase full-wave bridge rectifier
Three-phase full-wave bridge rectifier

Representation of the figures:

a) 3-phase input voltage
b) conduction sequence of
positive and negative
group of diodes
c) output voltage waveform
of 3-phase six pulse diode
bridge
28
 E. Three-phase full-wave bridge rectifier…
• The above circuit configuration is called full wave bridge rectifier or 3-
phase six pulse bridge rectifier.
• Diodes A1, B1, C1 of the bridge will conduct when supply voltage is the
most positive whereas diodes A2, B2, C2 will conduct when supply
voltage is the most negative
• For a 3-phase six-pulse diode rectifier, the output voltage of consists of
line voltages vab, vac, vbc, vba etc., and its average value v0 is given by

29
 Controlled Rectifiers
• Provide controllable dc voltage
A. Single-phase half-wave controlled rectifier with R load

Average output voltage

1 2𝜋
𝑉𝑜 = 𝑉𝑚 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡𝑑 𝜔𝑡
2𝜋 𝛼
𝑉𝑚
= (1 + 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛼)
2𝜋
Rms voltage
2𝜋
1 𝑉𝑚 𝛼 𝑠𝑖𝑛2𝛼
𝑉𝑜,𝑟𝑚𝑠 = 𝑉𝑚 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 𝑑(𝜔𝑡) 2 = 1− +
2𝜋 𝛼 2 𝜋 2𝜋
30
 B. Single-phase full wave bridge controlled converter

Figure: single phase bridge fully controlled rectifier

31
B. Single-phase full wave bridge controlled converter…

Figure a: waveform for fully controlled rectifier for resistive load 32

B. Single-phase full wave bridge controlled converter…

Figure b: waveform for fully controlled rectifier for inductive load 33

 B. Single-phase full wave bridge controlled converter…
from figure (a)
• ThyristorsT1 and T2 must be fired simultaneously
during the positive half wave of the source voltage vs
• thyristors T3 and T4 must be fired simultaneously during the
negative half wave of the source voltage
• the output dc voltage is:
𝜋
1 𝑉𝑚
𝑉𝑑 = 𝑉𝑚 sin 𝜔𝑡 𝑑(𝜔𝑡) = [1 + cosα]
𝜋 𝜋
𝛼

34
 B. Single-phase full wave bridge controlled converter…
from figure (b)
• The high-load inductance generates a perfectly filtered
current and the rectifier behaves like a current source
• With continuous load current, thyristors T1 and T2
remain in the on-state beyond the positive half-wave of
the source voltage Vs.
• For this reason, the load voltage Vd can have a negative
instantaneous value.
• the output dc voltage is:
𝜋+𝛼
1 2𝑉𝑚
𝑉𝑑 = 𝑉𝑚 sin 𝜔𝑡 𝑑(𝜔𝑡) = cosα
𝜋 𝜋
𝛼
35
C. Three Phase, Half – Wave AC to DC Converter

36
C. Three Phase, Half – Wave AC to DC Converter ..
If the phase voltage is: 𝑉𝑎𝑛 = 𝑉𝑚 sin(𝜔𝑡), the average
output voltage for a continuous load current is:

37
 D. Three – Phase Full Wave AC/DC Converter

38
 D. Three – Phase Full Wave AC/DC Converter…

39
 D. Three – Phase Full Wave AC/DC Converter…

 If the line to neutral voltages are defined as

The corresponding line to line voltages

40
 12-pulse Converters
 For high power applications such as high voltage DC
transmission and dc motor drives, a 12 pulse output is generally
required to reduce the output ripples and to increase the ripple
frequencies.
 Two six pulse bridges can be combined either in series or in
parallel to produce an effective 12 pulse output.

A 30 phase shift between

secondary windings can be
accomplished by connecting
one secondary in wye (Y)
and the other in delta

41
 2.2. Choppers (DC-DC Converter)

• A chopper is a static device which is used to obtain a variable dc

voltage from a constant dc voltage source.
• A chopper is simply an on-off switch that connects and disconnects
the dc supply to the load at a very fast rate.
• by controlling the switch on/off period the dc output can be
controlled
• The switch can be built using any PE switches.

• Choppers are widely used in trolley cars, battery operated vehicles,

traction motor control etc.
• They are also used in regenerative braking of dc motors to return
energy back supply and also as dc voltage regulators.

42
 Control Strategies (Methods)
 The output dc voltage can be varied by the following methods.
1. Pulse width modulation control or constant frequency
operation (PWM)
2. Variable frequency control(FM)
Pulse width Modulation
 In PWM, the pulse width (Ton ) of the output waveform is varied
keeping chopping frequency ‘f’ and hence chopping period ‘T’
constant.
 Therefore output voltage is varied by varying the ON time,
 Variation of Ton means adjustment of pulse width, as such this
scheme is called pulse width modulation scheme.
 This scheme has also been referred to as time ratio control (TRC)
by some authors
43
 Control Strategies(Methods)…
 The figure below shows the output voltage waveforms for
different ON times.

44
 Control Strategies(Methods)…

Variable Frequency Control

 In this scheme, the chopping frequency f (or chopping period T) is
varied and either
i. on time Ton is kept constant or
ii. off time Toff is kept constant.
This method of controlling duty cycle (D) is also called frequency
modulation scheme

𝑇𝑜𝑛
D= =duty cycle
𝑇

45
control strategies(Methods)…

46
 Types of dc-dc converters

1. Step down (buck) chopper (converter)

The step-down dc-dc converter shown in Fig. below

47
 1.Step down (buck) chopper (converter)…
𝑇𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑓𝑓
1 1 𝑡𝑜𝑛
𝑉0 = 𝑉0 (𝑡) 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑉𝑠 𝑑𝑡 + 0 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑉𝑠 = 𝑉𝑠 . 𝐷
𝑇𝑠 0 𝑇𝑠 0 𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑇𝑠
The average load current is:
𝑉0 𝑉𝑠 .𝐷
𝐼0 = =
𝑅 𝑅
The rms of output voltage is:
𝑡𝑜𝑛 1 2
1 2 𝑡𝑜𝑛
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 = 𝑉𝑠 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑉𝑠 = 𝑉𝑠 𝐷
𝑇𝑠 0 𝑇𝑠

 For a lossless chopper, the input power to chopper is the same as the
output and its value is:

𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑉 2
1 𝑠 𝑉𝑠 2 . 𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑉𝑠 2
𝑝𝑖 = 𝑝𝑜 = 𝑑𝑡 = = 𝐷.
𝑇𝑠 0 𝑅 𝑅. 𝑇𝑠 𝑅
48
2.Step-up (boost) chopper (converter)

49
 2.Step-up (boost) chopper (converter)…

. When S is closed (on) the

inductor current rises and
energy from the supply is Area A
stored in it.
 When the switch is off, the
output receives energy from
the inductor as well as from Area B
the input supply.
 Since in steady state the time
integral of the inductor
voltage over one time period
must be zero( Area A=Area
B in the figure)

50
 2.Step-up (boost) chopper (converter)…

 Thus, Vo > Vd, because the duty ratio D is in the range of 0<D<1
 To insure a constant Vo, a large value of C is connected as shown
in circuit diagram of boost chopper.

51
3. Buck-Boost chopper (converter)

52
 3. Buck-Boost chopper (converter)…

 The condition of a zero volt-second product for the inductor in

steady state yields
𝑉𝐿𝑜𝑛 = −𝑉𝐿𝑜𝑓𝑓 ⇒ 𝑉𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑛 = −𝑉𝑜 𝑡𝑜𝑓𝑓
𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑛
⇒ 𝑉𝑜 = −𝑉𝑑 = −𝑉𝑑
𝑡𝑜𝑓𝑓 𝑇𝑠 −𝑡𝑜𝑛
𝐷
∴ 𝑉𝑜 = −𝑉𝑑
1−𝐷

From the above expression

𝑉𝑜 ≤ 𝑉𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 0 < 𝐷 < 0.5
Whereas for 0.5 < 𝐷 < 1, 𝑉𝑜 is
higher than or equal to input 𝑉𝑑

53
 Classification of Chopper Circuits

 Power semiconductor devices used in chopper circuits are

unidirectional devices; polarity of output devices Vo and the
direction of output current Io are, therefore restricted.
 However, a chopper can operate in any of four quadrants by an
appropriate arrangement of semiconductor devices.
 Based on their operation in any of four quadrants choppers
classified into:
 Class A Chopper
 Class B Chopper
 Class C Chopper
 Class D Chopper
 Class E Chopper

54
 Class A Chopper

 The power flow in class A chopper is always from the source to

load.
 it is also called step down chopper as average output voltage Vo is
always less than the input dc voltage Vs
 Both the load voltage and the load current are positive.
 This is a single quadrant chopper
 It is used to control the speed of dc motor
55
 Class B Chopper

 Load current flows out off the load

 Load voltage is positive but load current is negative
 This is a single quadrant chopper but operate in the second quadrant
and said to be operated as inverter

56
 Class C Chopper

 When CH1 is ON, the load current io is positive

 The output voltage is equal to V(Vo=V ) and the load receives power from
the source.
 When CH1 is turned OFF, energy stored in inductance L forces current to
flow through the diode D2 and the output voltage Vo =0. but io continues to
flow in positive direction.
 When CH2 is triggered, the voltage E forces io to flow in opposite
direction through L and CH2 and Vo =0
57
 Class C Chopper…

 On turning OFF CH2, the energy stored in the inductance drives

current through D1 and the supply; Vo =V
 the input current becomes negative and power flows from load to
source
 Thus the average output voltage Vo is positive but the average output
current io can take both positive and negative values.
 Choppers CH1 and CH2 should not be turned ON simultaneously as
it would result in short circuiting the supply.
 Class C chopper can be used for dc motor control and regenerative
braking of dc motor

58
 Class D Chopper

Figure: Class D copper 59

 Class D Chopper…

 The output voltage Vo =Vs when both Ch1 and Ch2 are on and
Vo = -Vs when both choppers are off but both diodes D1 and D2
conduct
 Average output voltage Vo is positive when choppers turn-on time
Ton is more than their turn-off time Toff

 Average output voltage Vo is negative when their Ton < Toff

 The direction of load current is always positive because choppers

and diodes can conduct current only in the direction of arrows.
 As Vo is reversible, power flow is reversible

60
 Class E Chopper

Figure: Four quadrant, Class E chopper 61

 Class E Chopper…
First quadrant:
 CH4 is kept on, CH3 is kept off and CH1 is operated
 With Ch1, Ch4 on, load voltage Vo = Vs (source voltage) and load current
io begins to flow.
 Here both Vo and io are positive giving first quadrant operation
 When Ch1 is turned off, positive current freewheels through Ch4, D2.
 In this manner, both Vo, io can be controlled in the first quadrant.
second quadrant:
 Here Ch2 is operated and CH1, Ch3 and CH4 are kept off
 With Ch2 on, reverse(or negative) current flows through L, CH2, D4 and
E. Inductance L stores energy during the time CH2 is on
 When Ch2 is turned off, current is fed back to source through diodes D1,
D4
𝑑𝑖
 Note that here 𝐸 + 𝐿 is more than the source voltage Vs
𝑑𝑡
 As load voltage Vo, is positive and Io is negative, it is second quadrant
operation of chopper
 Also power is fed back from load to source 62
 Class E Chopper…
Third quadrant:
 Ch1 is kept off, Ch2 is kept on and CH3 is operated
 Polarity of load emf E must be reversed for this quadrant working
 With Ch3 on, load gets connected to source Vs so that both Vo and io are
negative leading to third quadrant operation.
 When Ch3 is turned off, negative current freewheels through Ch2, D4.
 In this manner, both Vo, io can be controlled in the third quadrant.
Fourth quadrant:
 Here Ch4 is operated and other devices kept off
 Load emf E must have polarity reversed for operation in the 4th quadrant
 With Ch4 on, positive current flows through CH4, D2, Land E. Inductance
L stores energy during the time CH4 is on
 When Ch4 is turned off, current is fed back to source through diodes D2,
D3
 As load voltage Vo, is negative but load current is positive leading to the
chopper operation in the fourth quadrant
 Also power is fed back from load to source
63
 2.3. Inverters
Introduction
 Inverter is used to Convert DC to AC power by switching the DC
input voltage (or current) in a pre-determined sequence so as to
generate AC voltage (or current) output.

 The AC output voltage could be fixed or variable frequency.

This conversion can be achieved either by controlled turn on
and turn off devices (e.g. BJT’s, MOSFETs, IGBTs, etc.) or by
forced commutated thyristors, depending on the applications.

 The output voltage waveforms of ideal inverter should be

sinusoidal.
 The voltage waveforms of practical inverters are, however,
non-sinusoidal and contain certain harmonics.

64
 Introduction…
 The output frequency of the inverter is determined by the
rate at which the semiconductor devices are switched on
and off by the inverter control circuitry and consequently, an
adjustable frequency AC output is readily provided.

 Inverters can be broadly classified into two types

 Voltage source inverters: are fed with constant current
 Current source inverters: fed with constant voltage

65
 Single phase half bridge Voltage source inverters

 When transistor TR1 is turned on for 0≤ 𝜔𝑡 ≤ 𝜋 , the 𝑣𝑜 is 𝑉𝑠 2

 For 𝜋 ≤ 𝜔𝑡 ≤ 2𝜋, TR2 on and −𝑉𝑠 2 voltage appear across load.
 When transistor (any switch) off, 𝑉𝑐𝑒 is 𝑉𝑠
 main drawback of this inverter is that it requires 3 wire dc supply
66
 Single phase half bridge Voltage source inverters…
• The rms output voltage is given by

• The output voltage Vo can be expressed by Fourier series as

67
 Single phase half bridge Voltage source inverters…

Here n is the order of harmonics

68
 Single phase full bridge Voltage Source inverters
 when TR1 & TR2 are
on ( 0 ≤ 𝜔𝑡 ≤ 𝜋 ) +Vs
appear across the load
and when TR3 & TR4
are on ( π ≤ 𝜔𝑡 ≤ 2𝜋 )
-Vs appear across the
load.
 The four diodes D1
to D4 are
connected across
switch is to clamp
inductive load
current.

• The output voltage as well as output power is doubled in this

inverter as compared to half bridge inverter outputs
69
 Single phase full bridge Voltage Source inverters…

 The rms output voltage is given by

70
 Three-phase VSI

 The ac voltage produced by single phase inverter is poor version

of sine wave and also not suitable for three phase industrial
application.

 However, complex inverter, which uses multiple switching

devices, are capable of generating ac voltages that are extremely
close to a sine wave.

 For example, three-phase inverter consisting six switching

devices, which converts the dc supply in to three-phase voltage is
shown in Fig. below.

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 Three-phase VSI…

Figure:3.4 Three phase bridge inverter using (a) Thyristor (b) IGBTs
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 control of inverter output Voltage
 The most efficient method of controlling the gain ( and output
voltage) is to incorporate pulse width modulation ( PWM ) control
with the inverters.
 In this method, a fixed dc input voltage is given to the inverter and
a controlled ac output voltage is obtained by adjusting the on and
off periods of the inverter components

 The commonly used modulation techniques are:

 Single PWM
 Multiple PWM
 Sinusoidal PWM

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 Single Pulse Width Modulation
 The output voltage from single phase full bridge inverter is
shown in figure (a).

(a)

 When this waveform is modulated, the output voltage is of the

form shown in figure (b)

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 Single Pulse Width Modulation
 It consists of a pulse of width 2d located symmetrically about
π/2 and another pulse located symmetrically about 3π/2.
 The range of pulse width 2d varies from 0 𝑡𝑜 𝜋; 𝑖. 𝑒. 0 < 2𝑑 < 𝜋
 The output voltage is controlled by varying the pulse width 2d
 This shape of the output voltage wave shown in figure (b) is
called quasi-square wave
 The rms output voltage is
𝜋
2 +𝑑
2 2 2𝑑
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 = 𝑉𝑠 𝑑𝜃 = 𝑉𝑠
2𝜋 𝜋
𝜋
2 −𝑑

75
 Single Pulse Width Modulation…
 The waveform of figure (b) can be described by Fourier series as

76
 Multiple Pulse Modulation
 This method of pulse modulation is an extension of single pulse
modulation.
 In multiple pulse modulation (MPM), several equidistant pulses
per half cycle

Figure 3.5
 In this figure, pulse width is taken half of that in Single PWM but
their amplitudes are the same.
 N is no. of pulses per half cycle
77
 Multiple Pulse Modulation…
 The symmetrical modulated wave shown in figure 3.5 can be generated by
comparing an adjustable square voltage wave Vr of frequency ω with a
triangular carrier wave Vc of frequency ωc as shown below.
 This comparison is done in a comparator

78
 Sinusoidal PWM
 In this method of modulation, several pulses per half cycle are
used as in the case of multiple pulse modulation (MPM)
 In MPM, the pulse width is equal for all the pulses but in sin M,
the pulse width is a sinusoidal function of the angular position of
the pulse in a cycle.
 For realizing sin M, a high frequency carrier wave Vc is
compared with a sinusoidal reference wave Vr of the desired
frequency.
 The intersection of Vc and Vr waves determine the switching
instants and commutation of the modulated pulse
 The carrier and reference waves are mixed in a comparator
 When sinusoidal wave has magnitude higher than the triangular
wave, the comparator output is high, otherwise it is low
79
Sinusoidal PWM…
…

80
 Sinusoidal PWM…

 The comparator output is processed in a trigger pulse generator in

such a manner that the output voltage wave of the inverter has a
pulse width in agreement with the comparator output pulse width.

 The ratio of 𝑉𝑟 𝑉𝑐 is called the modulation index (MI) and it

controls the harmonic content of the output voltage waveform.
 The magnitude of fundamental component of output voltage is
proportional to MI, but MI can never be more than unity.
 Thus the output voltage is controlled by varying MI

81
 2.4. AC Voltage Controllers
 AC voltage controllers are thyristor based devices which convert
fixed alternating voltage directly to variable alternating voltage
without a change in frequency.
 The main applications of ac voltage controllers are for domestic
and industrial heating, lighting control, speed control of ac drives,
static VAR compensators, transformer tap changing and etc.
 A pair of thyristors connected anti-parallel to each other or TRIAC
can perform the function of electronic switch
 If an electronic switch is connected between an ac supply and a
load, the power flow can be controlled by varying the rms value of
the ac voltage applied to load. 82
 AC Voltage Controllers …

 Such type of circuit is called an ac voltage controller (ACVC).

 There are two different types of thyristor control used in practice to
control the ac Power flow: I. On-Off control
II. Phase control

83
 I. ON-OFF controller
 In this controller, the switches connect the load to the ac
source for a few N cycles and then disconnect for another
few M cycles, the output power can be regulated and hence
the average power across the load can be controlled.

 This type of controller is also known as an integral cycle

controller or zero-voltage switching.

 The circuit and wave form of such controller is given in next

slide.
 I. ON-OFF controller…

 n=two input cycles.

Thyristors are turned on
during ton for two input
cycles
 m=one input cycle.Thyristors
are turned off during toff for
one input cycle
 AC Voltage Controllers …
 The output rms voltage is
2𝜋
𝑁 2 𝑉𝑠
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 = 𝑉𝑠 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 𝜔𝑡𝑑(𝜔𝑡) = 𝑘
𝑁 + 𝑀 2𝜋 2
0
𝑁 𝑁
where 𝑘= = − 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑢𝑡𝑦 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒
𝑁+𝑀 𝑇

• This controller contains both even and odd harmonics,

depending on the value of N and M.
• These types of controller are used normally where harmonics
are not important; otherwise in most cases phase angle
controllers are used.
86
 I. ON-OFF controller…

Example: A single phase voltage controller has input voltage of 220V,

50Hz and a load of R = 15Ω. For 6 cycles on and 4 cycles off,
determine:
A. rms output voltage
B. Power delivered to the load
C. Input VA
D. Input pf
E. Average and rms thyristor currents
solution
𝑁 6
A. rms value of output voltage is 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 = 𝑉𝑠 𝑁+𝑀
= 220
6+4
= 170.41𝑉
2 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 2 170.412
B. Power delivered to the load: 𝑝 = 𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑅 = = =1935.97W
𝑅 15
𝑉 170.41
C. Input VA: 𝑉𝐴 = 𝑉𝑠 × 𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 = 𝑉𝑠 𝑟𝑚𝑠 = 220 × = 2,499.35
𝑅 15
 I. ON-OFF controller…
solution…
D. Input pf
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 2
𝑅 1935.97
𝑝𝑓 = = = 0.775
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 2,499.35
𝑉𝑠
𝑅
E. Average and rms thyristor currents
As each thyristor conducts for π radians during each cycle of n-cycles, the
average values of thyristor current is given by:

220 2
Peak thyristor current is 𝐼𝑚 = = 20.74𝐴
15
𝑘×𝐼𝑚 0.6×20.74
𝐼𝑇𝐴 = = = 3.96𝐴
𝜋 𝜋
 I. ON-OFF controller…
solution…

𝐼𝑚 𝑘 20.74 × 0.6
𝐼𝑇𝑟𝑚𝑠 = = = 8.03𝐴
2 2
 II. Phase Angle controller
A. Single Phase Voltage Controllers
The possible Configuration of Single phase AC voltage controllers are:

Figure : Single phase

ac voltage controllers
 1. Single phase voltage controller with R load

Figure: single phase ac

voltage controller with R
load circuit and waveform
 1. Single phase voltage controller with R load…

 Thyristors T1 and T2 are forward biased during positive and

negative half cycles respectively.
 During positive half cycle, T1 is triggered at a firing angle ɑ
 T1 starts conducting and source voltage is applied to load from ɑ
to π
 At π both vo and io fall to zero
 Just after π, T1 is subjected to reverse bias, it is therefore turned
off
 During negative half cycle, T2 is triggered at (π+ɑ)
 T2 conducts from π+ɑ to 2π
 Soon after 2π, T2 is subjected to a reverse bias (commutated)
 Load and source currents have the same waveforms
 1. Single phase voltage controller with R load…

 The rms output current is

V2rms V2m 1
 Pac =
R
=
2πR
(π − α + sin2α)
2
2. Single phase voltage controller with RL load
 2. Single phase voltage controller with RL load…
 During zero to π, T1 is forward biased
 At ωt = ɑ, T1 is triggered and io = iT1 starts building up through
the load
 At π, load and source voltages are zero but the current is not
zero because of the presence of inductance in the load circuit
 At β>π, load current reduces to zero
 Angle β is called the extinction angle
 After π, T1 is reverse biased but does not turn off because io is
not zero
 At β only, when io is zero, T1 is turned off as it is already reverse
biased
 After the commutation of T1 at β, a voltage of magnitude
𝑉𝑚 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛽 at once appears as a reverse bias across T1 and as a
forward bias across T2
 2. Single phase voltage controller with RL load…
 From β to π+ɑ, no current exists in the power circuit
 Thyristor T2 is turned on at (π+ɑ)>β
 Current io = iT2 starts building up in the reversed direction through
the load
 At 2π, vs and vo are zero but iT2 = io is not zero
 At (π+ɑ+γ), iT2 =0 and T2 is turned off because it is already reverse
biased

 At (π+ɑ+γ), Vmsin(π+ɑ+γ) appears as a forward bias across T1 and as

a reverse bias across T2
 From (π+ɑ+γ) to (2π+ɑ), no current exists in the power circuit
 At (2π+ɑ), T1 is turned on and current starts building up as before
 3. Three phase Full wave controllers
 The circuit diagram of a three phase full wave (or bidirectional)
controller is shown in Figure below.
 Thyristors are fired in pairs, spaced 120° apart, in order to give the
required phase sequence output, the load current flowing from a
more positive to a negative phase.
 A typical sequence of conduction could be BlY2 R1, Y2 R1 B2, R1
B2 Y1, B2 Y1 R2, Y1 R2 B1 and R2 B1 Y2 over a 360° period.
 2.5. Cyclo-converters
 The ac voltage controllers provide a variable output voltage, but
the frequency of the output voltage is fixed.
 A cycloconverter is a direct frequency changer that converts ac
power at one frequency to ac power at another frequency by ac-
ac conversion.
 Basically, cycloconverters are of two types, namely:
i. Step down cycloconverters
ii. Step up cycloconverters

 In step down cycloconverters, the output frequency fo is lower

than the supply frequency fs, i.e. fo<fs.
 In step up cycloconverters, fo>fs
 A. Single phase to single phase circuit step up cycloconverter

 for understanding the operating principle of step up device, the load

is assumed to be resistive for simplicity
 A step up cycloconverter requires forced commutation
 A. Single phase to single phase circuit step up cycloconverter…

Mid point cycloconverter:

 consists of a 1-ϕ transformer with mid tap on the secondary winding and four
thyristors
 Thyristors P1 &P2 are for positive group and Thyristors N1 & N2 are for
negative group
 Load is connected b/n secondary winding mid-point O and terminal A
 A. Single phase to single phase circuit step up cycloconverter…

 During the positive half cycle of supply voltage, terminal a is

positive with respect to terminal b
 Both SCRs P1 and N2 are forward biased from ωt = 0 to ωt =
π
 As such SCR P1 is turned on at ωt = 00 so that load voltage is
positive with terminal A positive and O negative
 The load voltage now follows the positive envelope of the
supply voltage
 At instant ωt1, P1 is force commutated and forward biased
thyristor N2 is turned on so that load voltage is negative with
terminal O positive and A negative
 The load, or output, voltage now traces the negative envelope
of the supply voltage
 At ωt2, N2 is force commutated and P1 is turned on, the load
voltage is now positive and follows the positive envelope of
supply voltage
 A. Single phase to single phase circuit step up cycloconverter…

 After ωt =π, terminal b is positive with respect to terminal a;

both P2 and N1 are forward biased from ωt =π to 2π.

 At ωt =π, N2 is force commutated and forward biased P2 is

turned on
1 1
 At 𝜔𝑡 = + , P2 is force commutated and forward biased
2𝑓𝑠 2𝑓𝑜
N1 is turned on

 In this manner, thyristors P1 & N2 for first half cycle; P2& N1 in

the second half cycle and so on are switched alternatively
between positive and negative envelopes at a high frequency
 The output voltage frequency is higher than the supply
frequency.
( fo =6fs)
 B. Single phase to single phase circuit step down cycloconverter

Bridge type Cycloconverters

 B. Single phase to single phase circuit step down cycloconverter…

Bridge type Cycloconverters…

 The above figure shows the input and output voltage waveforms
with a pure R-load for a 50 to 16 2/3 Hz cycloconverter.
 The P- and N-converters operate for all alternate To/2 periods.

 The output frequency (1/To) can be varied by varying To and the

voltage magnitude by varying the firing angle α of the SCRs.

 As shown in the figure, three cycles of the ac input wave are

combined to produce one cycle of the output frequency to reduce
the supply frequency to one-third across the load.
Thank You !!!

105