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SCR Protection

SCR protection

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113 views24 pages

SCR Protection

SCR protection

Uploaded by

asvijoriya111
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Thyristor Protection

Unit-1
Thyristor Protection
 For the normal working of Thyristor or SCR, the operating conditions should not exceed it’s
specified ratings.
 But practically, the SCR may be subjected to abnormal conditions such as over voltages, over
current, high dv/dt, high dI/dt and excessive heating. This may lead to the SCR to work abnormally
and may cause unwanted turn-on or permanent destruction.
 Therefore there are various thyristor protection or SCR Protection schemes which ensure reliable
and satisfactory operation of thyristors as follows:–

 1. Overvoltage protection
 2. Overcurrent protection
 3. dI/dt protection
 4. dv/dt protection
 5. Thermal protection
 6. Gate Protection
Overvoltage Protection

 Maximum time thyristor failures happen due to over-voltage


transients. A thyristor may be subjected to internal or external over-
voltages.

 A non-linear resistor i.e. VARISTOR (Voltage dependent resistor) is used for


protection against overvoltage. In power electronics, it is preferred to use
Metal oxide silicon (MOS) type VARISTOR.

 If Vs > VSCR(specified rating)

 Then resistance of varistor will become low and current will pass through it.
Hence SCR will be safe by bypassing the current.

 If Vs < VSCR(specified rating)

 Then resistance of varistor will become high and SCR may get triggered by
the gate signal.
Over Current Protection:

 Overcurrent mainly occurs due to different types of faults in

the circuit. Due to overcurrent i2R loss will increase and high
generation of heat may take place that can exceed the
permissible limit and burn the device.

 SCR can be protected from overcurrent by using Circuit

Breaker (CB) and fast acting current limiting fuses (FACLF).

 CBs are used for protection of thyristor against continuous

overloads or against surge currents of long duration as a CB


has long tripping time.

 But fast-acting fuses is used for protecting SCR against high

surge current of very short duration.


High di/dt Protection:

 When a thyristor is turned on by gate pulse then charge

carriers spread through its junction rapidly. But if rate of rise


of anode current, i.e. di/dt is greater than the spreading of
charge carriers then localized heat generation will take place
which is known as local hot spots. This may damage the
thyristor.

 To avoid local hot spots we use an inductor in series with the

device as it prevents high rate of change of current through


it.

 This inductor (Ls) is known as current snubber inductor or

dI/dt inductor.
High dv/dt Protection

 When a thyristor is in forward blocking state then only J2 junction is

reverse biased which acts as a capacitor having constant capacitance


value Cj (junction capacitance). As we know that current through
capacitor follows the relation.

 This current can turn-on the device even when the gate signal is absent.

This is called dv/dt triggering and must be avoided which can be


achieved by using Snubber circuit in parallel with the device.

 To prevent the unwanted turn-on of the SCR due to large dv/dt, a voltage

snubber circuit can be used in parallel with the SCR.


Thermal Protection
 With the increase in the temperature of the

junction, insulation may get failed. So we have


to take proper measures to limit the
temperature rise.

 We can achieve this by mounting the thyristor

on heat sink which is mainly made by high


thermal conductivity metals like aluminum
(Al), Copper (Cu) etc. Mainly aluminum (Al) is
used due to its low cost.
Gate Protection of Thyristor:

 Gate circuit should also be protected from


over voltages and over currents. Over
voltages in the gate circuit can cause false
triggering and overcurrent can cause high
junction temperature.
 Over voltages thyristor protection is
achieved by using a zener diode and a
resistor can be used to protect the gate
circuit from overcurrent. Noise in gate circuit
can also cause false triggering which can be
avoided by using a resistor and a capacitor
in parallel. A diode (D) may be connected in
series or in parallel with the gate to protect it
from high reverse voltage.
DIAC ( Diode for Alternating
Current )
 DIAC stands for “Diode for Alternating Current”.

 A DIAC is a device which has two terminals, and it is a member of the thyristor family.

 The advantage of a DIAC is that it can be turned on or off simply by reducing the voltage
level below its avalanche breakdown voltage.
 DIACs are also known as a transistor without a base.

 DIAC can be either turned on or off for both polarities of voltage (i.e. positive or negative
voltage).
 DIACs are used in the triggering of thyristors.

 They also still works when avalanche breakdown occurs.

 It does not switch sharply to a low voltage condition at a low current level as done by SCR
or TRIAC.
 DIACs are used in the triggering of thyristors.

 Some other applications of a DIAC include:


1. It can be used in the lamp dimmer circuit.
2. It is used in a heat control circuit
3. It is used in the speed control of a universal motor (motor that runs on both AC and DC power supplies).
Construction of DIAC:

 It is a device which consists of four layers and two


terminals.
 The construction is almost the same as that of the
transistor. But there are certain points which deviate
from the construction from the transistor. The
differentiating points are-
1. There is no base terminal in the DIAC

2. The three regions have almost the same level of


doping
3. It gives symmetrical switching characteristics for
either polarity of voltages.
DIAC Characteristics
 The DIAC can be turned on for both the polarity of
voltages.
 When A2 is more positive with respect to A1 then the
current does not flows through the corresponding N-layer
but flows from P2-N2-P1-N1.
 When A1 is more positive A2 then the current flows
through P1-N2-P2-N3.
 The construction resembles the diode connected in series.

 When the applied voltage in either polarity exceeds the


breakdown voltage, DIAC current rises and the device
conducts in accordance with its V-I characteristics.
TRIAC:
 The TRIAC (Triode for AC) is a semiconductor device that is commonly used in power regulation and switching applications.

 This is a three terminal, four layer, bi-directional semiconductor device that controls AC power. The triac of maximum rating
of 16 kw is available in the market.
 It is the equivalent of two SCRs connected in a reverse-parallel arrangement with gates connected to each other.

 A TRIAC is triggered into conduction in both directions by a gate signal like that of an SCR.

 They can also be used, in addition to switching, to adjust the amount of power given to a load.
Construction of Triac

Two SCRs are connected in inverse parallel with gate terminal as


common. Gate terminals is connected to both the N and P regions due
to which gate signal may be applied which is irrespective of the polarity
of the signal. Here, we do not have anode and cathode since it works for
both the polarities which means that device is bilateral. It consists of
three terminals namely, main terminal 1(MT1), main terminal 2(MT2),
and gate terminal G.

Operation of Triac:

There are four different modes of operations, they are-


Characteristics of a Triac:

 The triac characteristics is similar to SCR but it is applicable to both positive and negative triac voltages.
TRIAC Applications:
 TRIACs are often used instead of mechanical switches because of their versatility. Also, where
amperage is low, TRIACs are more economical than back-to-back SCRs.
 It is used in switching, phase control, chopper designs, control lights, speed control in fans
and motors, and so on.
 Initial purpose was to replace the need for two SCRs in AC circuits.
Gate Turn-Off Thyristor(GTO)

 A Gate Turn off Thyristor or GTO is a three terminal, bipolar


(current controlled minority carrier), unidirectional
semiconductor switching device. Similar to conventional
thyristor, the terminals are anode, cathode and gate.
 These are capable not only to turn ON the main current with a
gate drive circuit, but also to turn it OFF. A small positive gate
current triggers the GTO into conduction mode and also by a
negative pulse on the gate, it is capable of being turned off.
 Double arrows on gate terminal, distinguish the GTO from
normal thyristor. This indicates the bidirectional current flow
through the gate terminal.
Construction and Operation:
 It is also a four layer, three junction P-N-P-N device like
a standard thyristor.
 In this, the n+ layer at the cathode end is highly doped
to obtain high efficiency. This result the breakdown
voltage of the junction J3 is low which is typically in the
range of 20 to 40 volts.
 The junction between the P+ anode and N base is
called anode junction. A heavily doped P+ anode region
is required to obtain the higher efficiency anode junction
so that a good turn ON properties is achieved.
 N+ layer makes a direct contact with N layer at junction
J1. This cause the electrons to travel from base N
region directly to anode metal contact without causing
hole injection from P+ anode. This is called as a anode
shorted GTO structure.
V-I Characteristics:
 During the turn ON, GTO is similar to thyristor in
its operates. So the first quadrant characteristics
are similar to the thyristor. When the anode is
made positive with respect to cathode, the
device operates in forward blocking mode. By
the application of positive gate signal triggers the
GTO into conduction state.
 The GTO can be turned OFF by the application of
reverse gate current which can be either step or
ramp drive. The GTO can be turned OFF without
reversing anode voltage. The dashed line in the
figure shows i-v trajectory during the turn OFF
for an inductive load. It should be noted that
during the turn OFF, GTO can block a rated
forward voltage only.
Gate Turn-Off Thyristor Applications:

 Due to the advantages like excellent switching characteristics, no need of


commutation circuit, maintenance-free operation, etc makes the GTO usage
predominant over thyristor in many applications. It is used as a main control device in
choppers and inverters.
 Some of these applications are:
• AC drives
• DC drives or DC choppers
• AC stabilizing power supplies
• DC circuit breakers
• Induction heating
• And other low power applications
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