Department of Electrical Engineering

Riphah College of Science and Technology

Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Riphah International University, Lahore

Program: BS Electrical Engineering Semester: VII

Subject: EE-405 Power Electronics Date: …………………

Name: …………………………………………. SAP: ………………….

Experiment No 05: Characteristics of Triac

OBJECTIVE:
(i) To study Characteristics of Triac

Lab Performance Evaluation

No. Title Marks Obtained

Marks
1 Ability to Conduct Experiment 05
2 Data Evaluation and Report 05
Total 10

Lab Report Evaluation

No. Title Marks Obtained

Marks
1 Organization/Structure 05
2 Data Presentation and Calculations 05
Total 10

Remarks (if any): ………………………………

Name and Signature of Faculty: …………………………………………….

 EXPERIMENT 05

Characteristics of TRIAC

Objective:
To determine the characteristics of TRIAC.

Equipment and Components:

• TRIAC Module kit
• Regulated Power Supply
• Regulated Power Supply
• Voltmeter
• Ammeter
• Ammeter
• Resistor
• Patch Chords

Theory:

A TRIAC, or TRIode for Alternating Current is an electronic component approximately

equivalent to two silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs/ thyristors) joined in inverse parallel
(paralleled but with the polarity reversed) and with their gates connected together. The formal
name for a TRIAC is bidirectional triode thyristor. This results in a bidirectional electronic switch
which can conduct current in either direction when it is triggered (turned on) and thus doesn't
have any polarity. It can be triggered by either a positive or a negative voltage being applied to
its gate electrode (with respect to A1, otherwise known as MT1). Once triggered, the device
continues to conduct until the current through it drops below a certain threshold value, the
holding current, such as at the end of a half-cycle of alternating current (AC) mains power. This
makes the TRIAC a very convenient switch for AC circuits, allowing the control of very large
power flows with milliampere-scale control currents. In addition, applying a trigger pulse at a
controllable point in an AC cycle allows one to control the percentage of current that flows
through the TRIAC to the load (phase control).

Application:
Low power TRIACs are used in many applications such as light dimmers, speed controls for
electric fans and other electric motors, and in the modern computerized control circuits of
many household small and major appliances. However, when used with inductive loads such as
electric fans, care must be taken to assure that the TRIAC will turn off correctly at the end of
each half-cycle of the AC power. For higher-powered, more-demanding loads, two SCRs in
inverse parallel may be used instead of one TRIAC. Because each SCR will have an entire half-
cycle of reverse polarity voltage applied to it, turn-off of the SCRs is assured, no matter what
the character of the load. However, due to the separate gates, proper triggering of the SCRs is
more complex than triggering a TRIAC.

Symbol:

Figure1: Symbol of TRIAC

Procedure:
1. Make the connections as per the circuit diagram.
2. Switch on the supply.
3. Set the gate current at a fixed value.
4. Increase the voltage applied across anode and corresponding current is noted.
5. Draw the graph between anode to cathode voltage (V AK) and anode current (I A).

Simulation Task:
Implement and simulate the below Circuit diagram in Multisim.
1. Find the value of VAK and IA as stated in the procedure above and fill the table. Also Plot
the graph for VAK vs IA. Attach the plot.
Circuit diagram:
I: --
I(p-p): --
V: -- I(rms): --
V(p-p): -- I(dc): --
V(rms): -- I(f req): --
I: -- V(dc): --
I(p-p): -- V(f req): -- R2
I(rms): --
I(dc): -- A
I(f req): -- PR1
V
PR3 1kΩ
V2
R4 D1
R1 A 17.5V
PR2 2N6073BG
Key = A
1kΩ
V1 100kΩ
15V Key=D
Key = A 15 %

Figure 1: Characteristics of TRIAC

Tabular column:

IG1 =……….(mA)
S.No.
VAK (V) IA (mA)

Table 1: Characteristics of TRIAC

Model graph:

Figure 2: Model TRIAC graph

Conclusion:
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