Birla Institute of Technology & Science Pilani, Hyderabad Campus,

Shameerpet, Hyderabad -78

EEE/INSTR 342 – Power Electronics

Tutorial – 3
Topic: Thyristors, diode rectifier circuits

1. The latching current of a thyristor which is connected in series with a series RL

circuit, with R=20Ω, L=0.5H is 50 mA. What should be the width of the gate
pulse in order to switch on the thyristor? If the width of the gate pulse is fixed at
4µ sec, then estimate the latching current of the thyristor. Take the supply voltage
is 100V (DC).
2. An SCR has a Vg-Ig characteristic given as Vg = 1.5 + 8Ig. In a certain application,
the gate voltage is 12V pulses with width 50µs and a duty cycle of 0.2. Estimate
the series resistance in the gate circuit in order to limit the maximum gate power
dissipation to 5 Watts. Also, find the average power dissipated in gate circuit.

3. If a thyristor has forward conducting characteristics, as shown in the above figure,

find the average power loss and its rms current rating if
a. Current is constant at 80A for one-half cycle.
b. Current is constant at 30A for one-third of a cycle.
c. Current is a half-sine wave with a peak value of 80A.
4. If the maximum rms on-state current and peak surge current of an SCR which is
fired at 300conduction angle from an AC sinusoidal source, is 35A and 3000A
 respectively, then find the average on-state current, form factor, fuse rating if the
thyristor is connected for half-wave rectification of a pure resistive load from a 50
Hz source.
5. A diode having internal resistance of 20Ω is used to supply to a load of 1000Ω
from a 230V (rms) source of supply:
a. Peak load current.
b. Dc load current.
c. Dc diode voltage.
6. A dc battery of constant emf E =150V is being charged through a resistor R=8Ω.
The source voltage is 235V, 50Hz.
a. Find the value of average charging current,
b. PIV of the diode.
c. A single-phase full bridge diode rectifier is supplied from 230V 50Hz
source. The load consists of R=10Ω. The load current is assumed to be
constant and ripple free. Determine the average values of output voltage
and output current.