Thyristors

Part III
Prepared by
Dr. Mohammad Abdul Mannan
Assistant Professor, Department of EEE
American International University - Bangladesh
Commutation Circuit
of Thyristors
 Thyristor Turn-OFF
A Thyristor which is in the ON-state can be turn OFF by reducing the
forward current to a level below the holding current.
The junctions J1 and J3 are forward when thyristor turn ON. If forward
current is reduced to zero, J1 and J3 continue to conduct due to minority
carriers
i which
hi h remaini stored
t d in i the
th pn-junction
j ti and
d the
th bulk
b lk semiconductor
i d t
material.
The minority carries require a certain time to recombine with opposite
charges and to be neutralized.
neutralized This time is called reverse recovery time,
time trr, of
the diode.
The junction J2 is reverse biased when
thyristor
y turn ON. If forward current is
reduced to zero, J2 will require a time
known as recombination time trc to
recombine the excess carriers.
The turn off time tq (=trr+trc) is the minimum
value of time interval between the instant
when on-state current has decreased to zero
and the instant when the thyristor is
capable of withstanding forward voltage
without turning on.
 Thyristor Commutation
Commutation is the process of turning-off a thyristor, and it normally
causes transfer of current flow to other parts of circuit.
A commutation circuit normally uses additional components to accomplish
the turn-off.
Th commutation
The t ti techniques
t h i use LC resonance (or
( an underdamped
d d d RLC
circuit) to force the current and/or voltage of the thyristor to zero, thereby
turning off a power device.
Classification of Commutation
1. Natural or line commutation, and
2. Forced commutation

Natural or Line Commutation

Natural commutation techniques q takes p
place in: AC voltage
g controller,,
Phase controlled rectifiers, and Cycloconverters.
If the source or input voltage is ac, the thyristor current goes through a
natural zero,
zero and a reverse voltage appears across the thyristor.
thyristor The device
is then automatically turned off due to the natural behavior of the source
voltage. This is known as natural commutation or line commutation.
 Natural or Line Commutation
The thyristor is triggered synchronously with the zero crossing of the
positive input voltage in every cycle in order to provide a continuous control
of power.
The following figures show the circuit arrangements for natural
commutation and the voltage and current waveforms with a delay angle.

The delay angle α is defined as the angle between the zero-crossing of the
input voltage and the instant the thyristor is fired.
 Forced Commutation
If thee input
pu vo
voltage
ge iss dc and
d thee forward
o w d cucurrent
e oof thee thyristor
y s o iss
forced to zero by an additional circuitry called commutation circuit to
turn off the thyristor. This technique is called forced commutation.

Forced commutation techniques takes place in: DC voltage controller, DC -

DC converters (choppers), and DC – AC converters (inverters).

Classification of Forced Commutation

1. Self
Self-commutation,
commutation,
2. Impulse commutation,
3. Resonant pulse commutation,
4. Complementary
p y commutation,,
5. External pulse commutation,
6. Load-side commutation, and
7. Line-side commutation
 Self Commutation
Self Commutation with Initially Capacitor Uncharged
A thyristor is turned off due to the natural characteristic of the circuit.
Let us consider the circuit in Fig. 7.2(a) with the assumption that the
capacitor is initially uncharged.
When thyristor T1 is fired, the current starts to rise and capacitor starts to
charge up.
When capacitor charge voltage equal to source voltage, the current starts to
f ll and
fall d capacitor
it charges
h up tot currentt falls
f ll to
t zero. Finally,
Fi ll capacitorit
charge voltage becomes double of source voltage and current falls to zero,
and thyristor T1 goes to turn off.

The duration of time

between T1 turn-on and
turn off is called
commutation time of
circuit.
This method of turning
off a thyristor is called
self-commutation and
thyristor T1 is said to be
self-commuted.
Mathematical Analysis

When thyristor
Wh th i t is
i switched
it h d on, the
th capacitor
it charging
h i currentt i(t) is
i
given by
V = v + v = L di + 1 ∫ idt + v (t = 0)
S C L dt C C

Considering all initial voltages and currents are zero, then the solution
of i(t) is given as follows:
i(t) =V C sinω t
S L m ωm =1/ LC

The capacitor voltage vc(t) is given by v (t ) =Vs (1− cosωmt )

C

After time t=t0=π√(LC) , i(t 0) = 0 and vc(t 0) = 2VS and thyristor T1 is

switched off.
t0 is called commutation time.
Self Commutation with Initially Capacitor Charged

Let us consider the circuit in Fig. 7.2(a) with the assumption

that the capacitor is initially charged -V0.

When thyristor
y T1 is fired,, the current starts to rise and
capacitor starts to discharge.
When capacitor voltage becomes zero, the current starts to fall
and capacitor charges up to current falls to zero. zero Finally,
Finally
capacitor charge voltage becomes initial charged voltage and
current falls to zero, and thyristor T1 goes to turn off.
Mathematical Analysis

When thyristor
Wh th i t is
i switched
it h d on, the
th capacitor
it charging
h i currentt i(t) is
i
given by di 1
0 = v + v = L + ∫ idt −V
C L dt C 0

Considering initial current is zero, then the solution of i(t) is given as

follows:
i(t) =V C sinωmt ωm =1/ LC
0 L

The capacitor voltage vc(t) is given by v (t ) = −V cosωmt

C 0

After time t=tr=π√(LC) , i(t 0) = 0 and vc(t 0) = V0 and thyristor T1 is

switched off.
tr is called reverse time.
 Impulse Commutation
An impulse-commutated circuit is shown in Fig. 7.6.
It is assumed that the capacitor is initially charged to a voltage
of –V0 with the polarity shown.

Let us assume that thyristor T1 is initially conducting and

carrying a load current of Im.
When the auxiliary thyristor T2 is fired,
fired thyristor T1 is reversed
biased by the capacitor voltage, and T1 is turned-off and the
capacitor would carry the load current as shown in Fig. 7.7(a).
The capacitor will discharge from –V0 to zero and then charge to the dc
input voltage VS [(as shown in Fig. 7.7(b)] when the capacitor current falls to
zero and thyristor T2 turns off.
The charge reversal of the capacitor from V0 ( = VS ) to –V0 is then done by
firing thyristor T3 is self-commutated similar to the circuit in Fig. 7.3.
The time required for the capacitor to discharge from -V0 to zero is called the
circuit turn-off time toff and must be greater than the turn off time of the
thyristor, tq.
toff is also called the available turn-off time.
The discharging time will depend on the load current and assuming a
constant load current of Im, toff is given by
Imt V C
V = 1 ∫0toffff d = off
Imdt t = 0
0 C C off Im
 Since a reverse voltage of V0 is applied across T1 immediately after firing of
thyristor T2, this is known as voltage commutation.
Due to the use of auxiliary thyristor T2, this type of commutation is also called
auxiliary commutation.
Thyristor T1 is sometimes known as the main thyristor because it carries the
load current.
It is seen from the previou equation that the toff is inversely proportional to the
load current; and at a very light load (or low load current) the turn-off time will
be large. On the other hand, at high load current the turn-off time will be small.
In an ideal commutation circuit, the turn off time should be independent of load
current in order to guarantee the commutation of thyristor T1.

The discharge of the capacitor can be

accelerated by connecting a diode D1
and an inductor L1 across the main
thyristor as shown in Fig. 7.8.