CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION TO POWER ELECTRONICS

1.1. DEFINITION AND BRIEF HISTORY

Power Electronics is a field which combines Power (electric power), Elec-
tronics and Control systems. Power engineering deals with the static and rotating
power equipment for the generation, transmission and distribution of electric
power. Electronics deals with the study of solid state semiconductor power de-
vices and circuits for Power conversion to meet the desired control objectives (to
control the output voltage and output power). Power electronics may be defined
as the subject of applications of solid state power semiconductor devices (Thy-
ristors) for the control and conversion of electric power.
Power electronics deals with the study and design of Thyristorised power
controllers for variety of application like Heat control, Light/Illumination control,
Motor control – AC/DC motor drives used in industries, High voltage power sup-
plies, Vehicle propulsion systems, High voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission.
The first Power Electronic Device developed was the Mercury Arc
Rectifierduring the year 1900. Then the other Power devices like metal tank recti-
fier, grid controlled vacuum tube rectifier, ignitron, phanotron, thyratron and
magnetic amplifier, were developed & used gradually for power control applica-
tions until 1950. The first SCR (silicon controlled rectifier) or Thyristor was
invented and developed by Bell Lab’s in 1956 which was the first PNPN triggering
transistor. The second electronic revolution began in the year 1958 with the de-
velopment of the commercial grade Thyristor by the General Electric Company
(GE). Thus the new era of power electronics was born. After that many different
types of power semiconductor devices & power conversion techniques have
been introduced.The power electronics revolution is giving us the ability to con-
vert, shape and control large amounts of power.

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1.2. POWER ELECTRONICS APPLICATION
Various applications ranging from household electronics to industries are
implementing power electronics concept such as Advertising, air conditioning,
aircraft power supplies, alarms, appliances – (domestic and industrial), audio
amplifiers, battery chargers, blenders, blowers, boilers, burglar alarms, cement
kiln, chemical processing, clothes dryers, computers, conveyors, cranes and
hoists, dimmers (light dimmers), displays, electric door openers, electric dryers,
electric fans, electric vehicles, electromagnets, electro mechanical electro plating,
electronic ignition, electrostatic precipitators, elevators, fans, flashers, food mix-
ers, food warmer trays, fork lift trucks, furnaces, games, garage door openers, gas
turbine starting, generator exciters, grinders, hand power tools, heat controls,
high frequency lighting, HVDC transmission, induction heating, laser power sup-
plies, latching relays, light flashers, linear induction motor controls, locomotives,
machine tools, magnetic recording, magnets, mass transit railway system, mercury
arc lamp ballasts, mining, model trains, motor controls, motor drives, movie pro-
jectors, nuclear reactor control rod, oil well drilling, oven controls, paper mills,
particle accelerators, phonographs, photo copiers, power suppliers, printing press,
pumps and compressors, radar/sonar power supplies, refrigerators, regulators,
RF amplifiers, security systems, servo systems, sewing machines, solar power
supplies, solid-state contactors, solid-state relays, static circuit breakers, static re-
lays, steel mills, synchronous motor starting, TV circuits, temperature controls,
timers and toys, traffic signal controls, trains, TV deflection circuits, ultrasonic gen-
erators, UPS, vacuum cleaners, VAR compensation, vending machines, VLF
transmitters, voltage regulators, washing machines, welding equipment.
Specific purposes of power converter on each subject as mentioned before
are explained below :
 COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS

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 Heating Systems Ventilating, Air Conditioners, Central Refrigeration,
Lighting, Computers and Office equipments, Uninterruptible Power
Supplies (UPS), Elevators, and Emergency Lamps.
 DOMESTIC APPLICATIONS
Cooking Equipments, Lighting, Heating, Air Conditioners,
Refrigerators & Freezers, Personal Computers, Entertainment
Equipments, UPS.
 INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
Pumps, compressors, blowers and fans. Machine tools, arc furnaces,
induction furnaces, lighting control circuits, industrial lasers,
induction heating, welding equipments.
 AEROSPACE APPLICATIONS
Space shuttle power supply systems, satellite power systems,
aircraft power systems.
 TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Battery chargers, power supplies (DC and UPS), mobile cell phone
battery chargers.
 TRANSPORTATION
Traction control of electric vehicles, battery chargers for electric
vehicles, electric locomotives, street cars, trolley buses, automobile
electronics including engine controls.
 UTILITY SYSTEMS
High voltage DC transmission (HVDC), static VAR compensation (SVC),
Alternative energy sources (wind, photovoltaic), fuel cells, energy
storage systems, induced draft fans and boiler feed water pumps.
It can be seen that almost every industries subject needs a good supply of
energy in the form of electrical energy. Power electronics is used to provide such
by using a suitable type of power converter.

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1.3. POWER CONVERTER
A power electronic system will consist of a power source, filtering, a power
converter, a load and a control circuit. The block diagram is shown in Fig 1.1.

Fig. 1.1. Power electronics system diagram

The power source could be three-phase, or single-phase, AC mains or it

could be a portable supply such as a DC battery. A filter may be necessary to pre-
vent any harmonics generated by the converter from being fed back to the mains
or from being radiated into space.
National and international standards for electromagnetic compatability
(EMC) are now legally binding on manufacturers of power electronic equipment,
e.g. EMC directive 89/336/EEC, IEC552-2, ECM regulations 1994, No.3080 (HMSO).
The control circuit monitors the condition at the load, compares this with
preset values and then adjusts the converter drive as necessary.The power condi-
tioner is an arrangement of semiconductor devices all operating in the switching
mode. This means that the device is switched from cut-off to saturation ('off' to
'on') by the application of gate, or base, drive pulses. The ideal switch would have
full voltage across it when 'off', and zero voltage across it when 'on'.
1.4. SWITCHING CHARACTERISTIC
Power Electronics subject involves switching process of semiconductor
switches. The practical switch departs from the ideal in the manner shown in Figs
1.2 and 1.3. In this case a thyristor has been used as the switch, but a power
transistorwould have a similar switching characteristic.

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 Fig. 1.2. Thyristor acting as switch with AC Voltage Source

Fig. 1.3. I-V Characteristic of Thyristor switch

From Kirchhoff's voltage law applied to the circuit of Fig. 1.2

𝑉𝑠 = 𝑉𝑇 + 𝑉𝐿 = 𝑉𝑇 + (𝐼𝑥𝑅)
where VT is the voltage drop across the thyristor, VL is the load voltage, I is thecir-
cuit current and R is the load resistance. Ideally when the switch is 'off', FT = Fs

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and VL = 0, and when the switch is 'on', lit = 0 and FL = Vs. The switching charac-
teristic in Fig. 1.3 shows how the practical switch differs from the ideal when the
thyristor is switched on by the application of a gate pulse. The imperfections of
the switch have been exaggerated for clarity.
1.5. POWER SWITCHES
Commonly available power switches are given in Table 1.1; this is not ex-
haustive and others are obtainable. Much research and development is going on
andnew devices will appear; also the power handling capability of existing devices
is improving year by year. The forward voltage drop figures should be taken as a
guide only, as this will depend on the gate or base drive values and on the rating.
Table 1.1 Common type of Power Switches

Mosfets and IGBTs have the simplest driving requirements; they are volt-
age controlled and the gate current is virtually zero during the 'on' period. How-
ever, they lack the reverse blocking capability which make the thyristor, TRIAC and
GTO so suitable for AC mains power applications. With DC link inverters, the DC
side means that turning off thyristors requires a forced commutation circuit, and
GTOs are better.

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 However, if Mosfets are available with the correct rating then these, with
reverse conducting diodes for inductive loads, would be a simpler choice. The fu-
ture of power electronics will almost certainly see the increasing use of application
specific integrated circuits' (ASICs), at least for volume production. ASICs will com-
bine switching and control requirements in a single module.
1.6. POWER CONDITIONER
Depending on the type of source and the type of load, the power
conditioner, or converter, falls into the following categories:
 AC – DC. Rectifier
 DC - DC, choppers
 AC - AC, cycloconverter
 DC - AC, inverters
The AC to DC controlled rectifier provides a variable DC load voltage from
a fixed voltage and frequency AC source. In the UK, the single-phase AC line to
neutral voltage is nominally 240V, 50Hz. The three-phase AC line to line voltage is
nominally 415 V, 50 Hz. The DC to DC chopper provide variable DC load voltage
from a fixed DC source voltage, typically a battery. The AC to AC controllers pro-
vide variable AC load voltage from a fixed AC source voltage at constant frequency.
The DC to AC inverters produce a variable AC voltage and frequency from a fixed
voltage DC source.
1.7. ANALYSIS OF POWER CONVERTER OPERATION
The level of mathematics required to solve some of the converters'
Kirchoff's law time-varying equations may not yet have been fully covered by stu-
dents at the start of their second year. However, this need not prevent the under-
standing of the operation of the power electronic circuit, nor prevent solution of
problems on the circuit's behaviour. Most of the solutions of the equations are
worked through in the book and the important equation on which performance
depends is enclosed in a box, e.g.
𝑉𝑎𝑣 = √2𝑉𝑠 (1 + cos 𝛼)/𝜋
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 Worked, self-test and tutorial examples will examine circuit operation us-
ing these equations.
There are software circuit simulation packages available which enable cir-
cuits to be simulated and analysed using a computer. These give both numerical
and graphical solutions of the circuit behaviour. They can save an enormous
amount of time in predicting performance and can prevent costly mistakes in pro-
totype circuits. Some of the solutions in this book are confirmed using simulation
methods.
Examples of simulation software are PSPICE, MICROCAP, Electronics Work-
bench and SABRE. There are other simulation packages available. It is fair to say
that you will need to become proficient in both formal methods and simulation if
you are to achieve a good level of competence in the power electronics field. The
full industrial version of the simulation software can be quite expensive, but some
cheaper student editions are available, and also some free evaluation software
can be obtained.
Kebutuhan dan penggunaan motor listrik untuk berbagai keperluan se-
makin meningkat. Motor listrik digunakan sebagai salah satu alat penunjang
perkembangan industri yang semakin maju. Selain itu motor listrik juga digunakan
disegala bidang kehidupan manusia. Misalnya, motor listrik digunakan meng-
gerakan peralatan dan mesin yang membantu pekerjaan. Di dunia industri banyak
dijumpai motor-motor listrik sebagai alat penggerak untuk menggerakan berbagai
peralatan yang dibutuhkan di dunia industri.