BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY

CITY OF MALOLOS, BULACAN

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Name: FELIPE, Julie Anne C.

Program/Year/Section: ECE-3A

Experiment No. 4
AC Voltage Controller Using TRIAC-DIAC Combination

✎Objectives

1. To observe the operation of the TRIAC-DIAC combination in a light

dimmer circuit.

☑ Materials

Name of the apparatus/

No. Range/Rating Quantity
equipment/ components
1. DIAC IN5758 or equivalent 1 pc.
2. TRIAC 2N6073BG or equivalent 1 pc.
3. Capacitor 0.1uF 1 pc.
4. Resistor 3.3 kΩ 1 pc.
5. Potentiometer 250 kΩ 1 pc.
6. Oscilloscope 2 channels 2 pcs.
7. Multimeter 1 pc.
8. Voltage Source 120 Vrms 1 pc.
9. Lamp 120 V, 100 W 1 pc.

☑ Characteristics

Figure 1 shows the TRIAC-DIAC circuit. As the AC supply voltage increases at the beginning of
the cycle, capacitor C is charged through the series combination of the fixed resistor (R1) and the
potentiometer (R2), and the voltage across its plates increases. When the charging voltage
reaches the breakover voltage of the DIAC, the DIAC breaks down, and the capacitor discharges
through the DIAC.

The discharge produces a sudden pulse of current, which fires the TRIAC into conduction. The
phase angle at which the TRIAC is triggered can be varied using R2, which controls the charging
rate of the capacitor. Resistor (R1) limits the gate current to a safe value when R2 is at its
minimum.

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 BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
CITY OF MALOLOS, BULACAN
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
Once the TRIAC has been fired into conduction, it is maintained in its “ON” state by the load
current flowing through it, while the voltage across the resistor-capacitor combination is limited
by the “ON” voltage of the TRIAC and is maintained until the end of the present half-cycle of
the AC supply.

At the end of the half-cycle, the supply voltage falls to zero, reducing the current through the
TRIAC below its holding current (IH), turning it “OFF,” and the DIAC stops conduction. The
supply voltage then enters its next half-cycle, the capacitor voltage again begins to rise (this time
in the opposite direction), and the cycle of firing the TRIAC repeats over again.

☑ Circuit Diagram

Figure 1. TRIAC-DIAC Circuit Diagram

☑ Procedure

1. Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 1.

2. Set the potentiometer R2 at 0 %.
3. Adjust the potentiometer R2 until the lamp turns on.
4. Use an oscilloscope to show the graph of the voltage across the lamp.

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 BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
CITY OF MALOLOS, BULACAN
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
5. Repeat procedures 2 and 3. Use an oscilloscope to show the graph of the voltage across
the TRIAC.

☑ Self-Test

1. What is the minimum current needed to turn on the lamp?

 Upon doing this experiment, I measured the current which is flowing in the lamp through
the multimeter. The multimeter reads several values wherein the lowest value measured
is 377 mA. Therefore, the minimum current needed to turn on the lamp is 377 mA.

2. Graph of voltage across the lamp using oscilloscope:

3. Graph of voltage across the TRIAC using oscilloscope:

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 BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
CITY OF MALOLOS, BULACAN
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

4. What can you say about the two graphs in questions 2 and 3?

 The graph of the voltage across the lamp has a pointed graph compared to the graph of the
voltage across the TRIAC which has curvy graph. We can also notice how they have different
direction. The graph of the voltage across the lamp looks like it is facing the left while the graph
of the voltage across the TRIAC looks like it is facing the right side. We can also notice how
they have different amplitude.

☑ Conclusion

 Through this experiment, we were able to test how TRIAC-DIAC combination works in a light
dimmer circuit. Upon changing the value of the potentiometer and keeping a closer eye on the
voltage across the bulb, it will take on full-cycle AC voltage, resulting in a lower intensity or
dimmer light.

Screenshot of circuit experiment on Multisim:

Felipe, Julie Anne C.

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