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MODULE – I

Power diode
 Power Diode is the Diode (semiconductor-based p-n junction diode) which works at
High Power and High Voltage level.
Symbol:
The symbol of the Power diode is same as signal level diode.

Construction of Power Diode

 A power diode has p + layer, n – layer and n + layer (+ means highly doped and – means
lightly doped e.g. p + means highly doped p-type layer).
 The extra n – layer is known as Drift Region.
 In power diodes a junction is formed between a heavily doped P+ and a lightly doped N–
layer which is epitaxially grown on a heavily doped N+ layer

V-I Characteristics of Power Diode

 The v-i characteristics of a power diode which is almost similar to that of a signal diode.
 In power diodes high forward current leads to high ohmic drop so the curve increases
almost linearly.
 The maximum reverse voltage that the diode can withstand is depicted by VRRM, i.e.
peak reverse repetitive voltage. This voltage may also be called as peak inverse voltage
(PIV)
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Operating Principle of Power diode

The operating principle of power diode is same as the conventional PN junction diode.

A diode conducts when the anode voltage is higher than the cathode voltage.

The forward voltage drop across the diode is very low around 0.5V to 1.2V. In this region, the diode
works as a forward characteristic.
If the cathode voltage is higher than the anode voltage, then the diode works as blocking mode. In this
mode, diode works according to the reverse characteristic.

SILICON CONTROLLED RECTIFIER

 A Silicon Controlled Rectifier is a 3 terminal and 4 layer semiconductor current controlling

device.

 It is mainly used for the control of high power.

 It is made up of a silicon material which controls high power and converts high AC current into
DC current (rectification). Hence, it is named as silicon controlled rectifier.

 SCRs are unidirectional devices (i.e. can conduct current only in one direction)
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Construction of Silicon Controlled Rectifier

 It has three P-N junctions namely J1, J2, J3 with three terminals attached to the semiconductors
materials namely anode (A), cathode (K), and gate (G).

 Gate (control terminal) is a terminal that controls the flow of current between anode and
cathode.

 The anode terminal of SCR diode is connected to the first p-type material of a PNPN structure

 Cathode terminal is connected to the last n-type material.

 Gate terminal is connected to the second p-type material of a PNPN structure which is nearest
to the cathode.

V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF SCR

The V-I characteristics of SCR is divided into three regions:

 Forward blocking region

 Forward conduction region

 Reverse blocking region

Forward blocking region

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 Positive voltage (+) is applied to anode (+), negative voltage (-) is applied to cathode (-), and gate
is open circuited.

 The junction J1 and J3 become forward biased while J2 become reverse biased.

 A small forward leakage current flows from anode to cathode terminals of the SCR.

 The region OA of V-I characteristics is known as forward blocking region in which the SCR does
not conduct electric current

Forward Conduction region

The Silicon Controlled Rectifier can be made to conduct in two ways:

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 In the first case, the forward bias voltage applied between anode and cathode is increased
beyond the breakdown voltage, depletion region breakdown occurs at junction J2 and
current starts flowing through the SCR. So the SCR will be in ON state

 In the second case, a small positive voltage VG is applied to the gate terminal in addition to
the small forward bias voltage between anode and cathode. J2 will become forward biased.
SCR will be in ON state

 The region BC of the V-I characteristics is called conduction region. In this region, the current
flowing from anode to cathode increases rapidly. The region AB indicates that as soon as the
device becomes on, the voltage across the SCR drops to some volts.

Reverse Blocking Region

 Negative voltage (-) is applied to anode (+), positive voltage (+) is applied to cathode (-), and
gate is open circuited.

 As the junctions J1 and junction J3 are reverse biased, no current flows through the SCR circuit.
But a small leakage current flows due to drift of charge carriers in the forward biased junction
J2.

 If the reverse bias voltage applied between anode and cathode is increased beyond the reverse
breakdown voltage (VBR), an avalanche breakdown occurs. As a result, the current increases
rapidly.

 The region EF is called reverse avalanche region. This rapid increase in current may damage the
SCR device.

Latching current (Il)

 The minimum anode current required to maintain the ON condition even after removal of
the gate current is the latching current.

 Typical value: 25 mA
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Holding current (IH)

 The minimum anode current below which the SCR will go to forward blocking state is the
holding current.

 Typical value: 10 mA

 Latching current > Holding current

SCR Turn on time
SCR turn on time may be defined as the time required by the SCR to change its state from
forward blocking mode to forward conduction mode when a gate pulse is applied.
SCR Turn off time
Turn off time of SCR can be defined as the interval between anode current falls to zero and
device regains its forward blocking mode.

Triggering Current
The gate current required to switch the SCR from the OFF state to the ON state.

SCR Turn On Methods

1. forward-voltage triggering

2. gate triggering

3. dv/dt triggering

4. temperature triggering

5. light triggering

Forward Voltage Triggering

Forward-voltage triggering occurs when the anode–cathode forward voltage is increased with the gate
circuit opened. Avalanche breakdown occurs at junction J2. The SCR is in ON state with low voltage drop
and large forward current.

Gate Triggering

In this method, positive gate voltage between gate and cathode terminals are applied in forward biased
SCR. The injected electrons in gate p layer may reach junction J2 and reduces the width of depletion
region and starts conducting. eg: R- Triggering, RC- Triggering, UJT Triggering

Radiation Triggering (Light Triggering)

In this method, light rays with appropriate wavelength and intensity are allowed to strike the junction
J2. When the light struck, electron-hole pairs are generated at the junction J2 which provides additional
charge carriers at the junction leads to turn ON the SCR.

4. Thermal Triggering (Temperature Triggering)

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◦ Width of depletion layer decreases with rise in junction temperature. If the anode is at near break-over
voltage and the if the temperature rises, the device may start conducting.

◦ This is an undesirable triggering

5. dv/dt Triggering

◦ The reverse biased junction of the SCR may have a capacitance across it.

When a sudden voltage is applied, the device may turn on due to the capacitance charging current

This is an undesirable triggering

Firing Circuits for SCR( Gate triggering of SCR)

R - Triggering Circuit

 R1 is the gate current limiting resistance

 R2 is used to vary the gate current and hence firing angle
 R limits the voltage at Gate terminal
 Diode D prevents build-up of negative voltage at Gate terminal
 Maximum phase angle is only 90 degrees
 The phase angle at which the SCR starts conducting is called firing angle, α
R-Trig Waveforms
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RC Triggering Circuit
 Capacitor charges during the negative half cycle through D2
 When SCR is turned on, capacitor C is suddenly discharged through D2
 D1 protects the SCR during negative half cycle
 Controls up to 180 degrees

RC Trig Waveforms

UJT Firing Circuit

 When the voltage is applied, the capacitor starts charging through the variable
resistance.
 When the capacitor voltage is equal to the peak value of the UJT, it starts conducting
and hence produce a pulse output till the voltage across the capacitor equal to the
valley voltage Vv of the UJT.
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 This process repeats and produces a train of pulses at base terminal 1.

 The pulse output at the base terminal 1 is used to turn ON the SCR

TRIAC
 TRIAC is a three terminal electronic component that conducts current in both directions
when triggered.
 Its also called bidirectional triode thyristor.
 The three terminals are: Main terminal1(MT1),Gate(G), Main terminal2(MT2)
 TRIAC is analogous to two antiparallel SCRs.
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When MT1 is more positive than MT2, SCR2 conducts if:

– Applied voltage exceeds forward breakover voltage or
– Gate triggering pulse is applied
When MT2 is more positive than MT1, SCR1 conducts if:
– Applied voltage exceeds forward breakover voltage or
– Gate triggering pulse is applied

VI Characteristics of TRIAC
 Triac is made up of two SCRs in inverse parallel. It operates in four modes.
 Initially the Triac operates in forward and reverse blocking mode and only small leakage
current flows through it.
 When the applied voltage at the MT2 terminal is further increased and when it crosses
the breakover voltage Triac starts conduction. The current start to flow and the voltage
applied at the Gate terminal controls this current flow.
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DIAC
 The term DIAC stands for the DIode for Alternating Current (DIAC)
 DIAC is a two terminal electronic component that conducts in both directions.
 DIAC terminals are MT1 and MT2, it does not have a gate terminal.
 DIAC conducts only when the applied voltage exceeds beyond the breakover voltage.
 DIAC is mainly used as a triggering device for TRIACs which require either a positive or
negative pulse to turn ON

DIAC Construction
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 DIAC has two terminals namely MT1 and MT2 and it can deliver current flow in both
directions.
 The DIAC is made of a five-layered structure; the layers closer to the terminals are the
combination of both positive and negative layers.
 When the voltage is passed to the terminals the layer with respective polarity to the
voltage gets activated, this combination of both the polarities helps in operating the DIAC
in both the directions
DIAC Working Principle

 When MT1 terminal is positive, the P1 layer near MT1 will be activated, so the
conduction will be P1-N2-P2-N3. When the current is flowing from MT1 to MT2 the
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junction between P1-N2 and P2-N3 are Forward Biased and the junction between N2-P2
is reverse biased.
 When MT2 terminal is positive, the P2 layer near MT2 will be activated and the
conduction will be P2-N2-P1-N1. The current will be flowing from MT2 to MT1 and the
junctions between P2-N2 and P1-N1 are forward biased and the junction Between N2- P1
is reverse biased. Hence the conduction will be possible in both the directions.

VI Characteristics of DIAC
 Blocking state :Initially, the resistance of the DIAC will be higher because of the
Reverse Bias junction between the layers so there will be small leakage current flowing
through the DIAC
 Conduction state: Whe the applied voltage reaches the breakdown voltage it starts
conducting and the current starts increasing
 The First quadrant represents the positive half cycle where the current will be flowing
from MT1 to MT2 and the second quadrant represents the negative half cycle where the
current will be flowing from MT2 to MT1.

Snubber circuits for SCR

 For reliable operation of SCR, it needs to be protected from overload, voltage transients
and other abnormal condition. To protect the SCR against the transient over voltages, a
parallel R-C snubber network is provided for each SCR in a converter circuit. A snubber
circuit limits or stops (snubs) voltage amplitude and its rate of rise, therefore reducing
power dissipation. The main purpose of Snubber Circuit is to prevent the unwanted
triggering of SCR due to high rate of rise of voltage i.e. dv/dt.
 Before SCR is fired or triggered by applying gate pulse, the capacitor C is fully charged
up to supply voltage Vs. When SCR is turned on by gate pulse, this charged capacitor C
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discharges through SCR.. In order to limit the magnitude of the discharge current, a
resistance should be connected in series with the capacitor C.

Protection Methods of Switching Devices (Thyristor Protection)

 SCRs are very delicate devices and so they must be protected against abnormal
Operating conditions. Various protection methods of SCR are
1. di/dt Protection
2. dv/dt Protection
3. Over voltage Protection
4. Over Current Protection
di/dt Protection:
 If the rate of rise of anode current (di/dt) is greater than the spread velocity of charge
Carriers, then local hot spots is created near the gate due to increased current density.
This localized heating may damage the device.
 The di/dt value must be maintained below a threshold (limiting) value. This is done by
means of connecting an inductor in series with the thyristor
 The inductance L opposes the high di/dt variations
dv/dt Protection:
We know that i C =C.dv/dt. ie, when dv/dt is high, i C is high.
 This high current(i C ) may turn ON SCR even when gate current is zero.
 To protect the thyristor against false turn ON or against high dv/dt a “Snubber Circuit” is
used.

Overvoltage Protection:
 Overvoltage may result in false turn ON of the device (or) damage the device.
Internal Overvoltage:
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 The effect of overvoltage is reduced by using Snubber circuits and Non Linear Resistors
called Voltage Clamping Devices.

MODULE – II
COMMUTATION

Commutation is nothing but the turn OFF method of an SCR

The commutation techniques of thyristors are classified into two types:

Natural Commutation
Forced Commutation
Natural Commutation
In AC supply, the current will flow through the zero crossing line while going from
positive peak to negative peak. Thus, a reverse voltage will appear across the device
simultaneously, which will turn off the thyristor immediately. This process is called natural
commutation as the SCR is turned off naturally without using any external components or circuit
or supply for commutation purposes.
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Forced Commutation
SCR current can be reduced to a value below the value of holding current forcibly by using
capacitor and inductor is termed as a forced commutation process.
There are several forced commutation techniques.
Class-A Commutation (also known as Load Commutation)
Class-B Commutation (also known as Resonant Pulse Commutation)
Class-C Commutation (often called Complimentary Commutation)
Class-D Commutation or Impluse Commutation
Class-E Commutation or External Pulse Commutation
Class-A Commutation
 When the SCR is triggered, anode current flows and C charges with the dot as positive.
 The current through the SCR builds up and completes a half cycle.
 The inductor current attempts to flow through the SCR in the reverse direction and the
SCR will be turned off.
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Class-B Commutation

 The Capacitor C charges dot as positive before a gate pulse is applied to the SCR.
 When SCR is triggered, the resulting current has two components. The load current I load
flows through R – L load. A sinusoidal current flows through the resonant L- C circuit to
charge-up C with the dot as negative at the end of the half cycle. This current will then
flow through the SCR and the SCR will turn off when the resonant–circuit current is just
greater than the load current.

Class-C Commutation
 This configuration has two SCRs. One of them may be the main SCR and the other
auxiliary. Both may be load current carrying main SCRs.
 Assume SCR2 is conducting. C then charges up in the polarity shown. When SCR1 is
triggered, C is switched across SCR2 via SCR1 and the discharge current of C opposes
the flow of load current in SCR2.
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Class D Commutation

 SCRA must be triggered first in order to charge the upper terminal of the capacitor as
positive.
 When C is charged to the supply voltage, SCRA will turn off
 When SCRM is triggered the current flows in two paths: Load current flows through the
load and the commutating current flows through C- SCRM -L-D network.
 The charge on C is reversed and held at that level by the diode D. When SCRA is re-
triggered, the voltage across C appears across SCRM via SCRA and SCRM is turned off.

Class E – External pulse source for commutation

 When SCR1 is triggered, current flows through the load and pulse transformer.
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 To turn SCR1 off a positive pulse is applied to the cathode of the SCR from an external
pulse generator via the pulse transformer.

PHASE CONTROLLED CONVERTERS (RECTIFIERS)

 Converters or rectifiers can be controlled or uncontrolled.
● Uncontrolled rectifiers employ ordinary diodes or power diodes to convert ac power to dc
power.
● Controlled rectifiers employ SCR instead of diodes that allows the output voltage to be
controlled by varying the firing angle of SCR.
● Single phase controlled rectifiers can be of half wave, full wave or bridge.

Single Phase Half Wave Controlled Rectifier

During the positive half cycle of the input voltage, the thyristor T is forward biased and when a
gate pulse is given to the thyristor T at ωt = α, it gets turned ON and begins to conduct.
When the thyristor is ON, the input voltage is applied to the load.
During the negative half cycle, the thyristor T gets reverse biased and gets tuned OFF.
So the load receives voltage only during the positive half cycle only.
The average value of output voltage can be varied by varying the firing angle α.
The waveform shows the plot of input voltage, gate current, output voltage, output current and
voltage across thyristor.
𝑽𝒎 (𝟏+𝐜𝐨𝐬∝)
𝑨𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 =
𝟐𝝅
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Single Phase Full Wave Controlled Rectifier (Bridge converter)

 
During the positive half cycle of the input voltage, the thyristors T1 & T2 is forward biased but it does
not conduct until a gate signal is applied to it.
When a gate pulse is given to the thyristors T1 & T2 at ωt = α, it gets turned ON and begins to
conduct.
When the T1 & T2 is ON, the input voltage is applied to the load through the path VsT1-Load-T2-Vs.
During the negative half cycle, T3 & T4 is forward biased, the thyristor T1 & T2 gets reverse biased and
turns OFF
When a gate pulse is given to the thyristor T3 & T4 at ωt = π+α, it gets turned ON and begins to
conduct.
When T3 & T4 is ON, the input voltage is applied to the load Vs-T3-Load-T4-Vs.
Here the load receives voltage during both the half cycles.
The average value of output voltage can be varied by varying the firing angle α.
The waveform shows the plot of input voltage, gate current, output voltage and output current

2𝑉𝑚 cos 𝛼
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 =
𝜋
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Single-phase Midpoint controlled rectifier with Resistive load

 During positive half cycle, T1 forward biased and T2 is reverse biased.

 When T1 is triggered at firing angle α, current flows through load from a-T1-n.

 During negative half cycle, T2 forward biased and T1 is reverse biased.

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 When T2 is triggered at firing angle α+π, current flows through load from b-T2- n.

2𝑉𝑚 cos 𝛼
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 =
𝜋
THREE PHASE CONVERTERS
3-PHASE HALF WAVE CONVERTER (RECTIFIER)
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 When Va is positive, T1 becomes forward biased and conducts. During the negative
cycle of Va, the current through T1 is not zero due to inductor present in the load.
 So T1 will remain ON during the negative cycle of Va
 When Vb is positive, T2 is triggered and the load current gets transferred from T1 to T2.
At this instant, T1 turns OFF.
 During the negative cycle of Vb, the current through T2 is not zero due to inductor
present in the load.
 So T2 will remain ON during the negative cycle of Vb
 When T3 is triggered during positive cycle of Vc, the load current is transferred from T2
to T3. At this instant, T2 turns OFF
 Similarly T3 conducts during the negative cycle of Vc and turns OFF when T1 is
triggered.
 The average output voltage can be varied by varying the firing angles of the thyristors.
 In the waveform, Va is denoted as Van, Vb as Vbn, Vc as Vcn.
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Three phase fully controlled bridge converter

 For any current to flow in the load at least one device from the top group (T1,
T3, T5) and one from the bottom group (T2, T4, T6) must conduct.
 The thyristors are fired in the sequence T1 → T2 → T3 → T4 → T5 → T6 → T1
with 60° interval between each firing.

 There are six possible conduction mode for the converter in the continuous conduction
mode of operation. These are T1T2, T2T3, T3T4, T4T5, T5T6, T6T1
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 The conduction table of fig shows voltage across different devices and the dc output
voltage for each conduction interval.
 The thyristor T1 is fired at the end of T5T6 conduction interval. During this period the
voltage across T1 was vac.
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TRIAC LIGHT DIMMER CIRCUIT

• The intensity of the light is controlled by varying the firing angle for the circuit.
• To control the intensity of the light, vary the value of the resistance on the potentiometer,
which determines the rate at which the capacitor reaches the breakover voltage of DIAC.
• The smaller the RC time constant, the quicker the capacitor reaches the breakover
voltage.
• The DIAC triggers the TRIAC and more of the 50Hz sine wave is applied over the light
bulb. The greatest intensity of the light can be seen when the resistance of the potentiometer is
set to zero, and the greatest potion of the sine wave is applied over the bulb.
INVERTERS

 The device that converts dc power into ac power at desired output voltage and
frequency is known as inverter.
Single Phase Bridge Inverter
 The main advantage of this type of inverter is that no transformer is used and therefore
there is no problem with magnetic saturation of iron core commonly seen in transformers.
● It also has better voltage control and wider range of frequency control.
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● When One pair of SCR(T1 & T2) conducts, while the other pair (T3 & T4) remains in OFF
● The diodes D1, D2, D3 and D4 forms the feedback diodes that provide discharge path for
commutating capacitor.
● In current commutation , L and C are connected across the load.
● When T1 and T2 are turned ON, the capacitor charges.
● A fully charged capacitor makes T1 and T2 OFF, and T3-T4 pair ON.
● Discharge of capacitor happens through C-> D1-> T3-> L and through C-> T4-> D2-> L
● Alternately C reverses polairty and the other pair of SCRs are turned ON.
● The process repeats and an alternating output is obtained.
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STATIC TRANSFER SWITCH (STS)

• Static transfer switch is a solid-state unit that is capable of switching large amounts of
power in less than one fourth of a 50 hertz cycle, or 5 milliseconds

• STS uses high power solid state thyristors to switch and conduct. These devices will not
allow a reverse load flow to occur.
• The switch on the left (the preferred source) is conducting while the switch on the right is
serving as the alternate source.
• When the preferred source level drops below a predetermined level, the sensing and
controls in the switch will remove the gating signal to the left side thyristors. This does not turn
the thyristors off.
• Applying the gate signal to the alternate source thyristors will turn them on.
• Since the alternate source is at a higher voltage, they will begin to conduct to the load.
• This higher voltage to the load will also force the preferred source thyristors off in a
matter of microseconds
• No current will flow from the alternate source to the preferred source due to the blocking
action of the off thyristor pair.

PWM Chip-SG3524
 The built in circuitries inside the SG3524 include pulse width modulator, oscillator,
voltage reference, error amplifier, overload protection circuit, output drivers etc.
 SG3524 forms the heart of a PWM inverter circuit which can correct its output voltage
against the variations in the output load.
 The SG3524 IC incorporates all the functions required in the construction of a
regulating power supply, inverter, or switching regulator on a single chip.
 It can be used as the control element for high-power-output applications.
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MODULE – III

DC motors

 An electric motor is a machine that converts electric energy into mechanical energy.
● Operating principle=>Electromagnetic Induction: When a current carrying conductor is
placed in a magnetic field, it experiences a mechanical force whose direction is given by
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Flemings Left Hand Rule. [Fleming's left-hand rule can be stated as stretching the forefinger,
middle finger, and thumb of the right hand such that they are mutually perpendicular to each
other. The forefinger indicates the direction of the magnetic field. The middle finger indicates the
direction of current in the conductor. The thumb shows the direction of the force exerted on the
conductor.]
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𝑷𝝋𝑰𝒂𝒁
Armature Torque 𝑻𝒂 =
𝟐𝝅𝑨

Types of DC motors:

– DC shunt motor

– DC series motor

– DC compound motor

● Cumulatively compound motor

● Differently compound motor

DC Series Motor

 The field is wound with a few turns of a large wire carrying the full armature current.
 Typically, series DC motors create a large amount of starting torque
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 Can not be used if constant speed is needed

 Can even be damaged by running with no load.
 These are variable speed motors.

DC Shunt Motor

 The field is connected in parallel (shunt) with the armature windings.

 These motors offer great speed regulation due to the fact that the shunt field can be
excited separately from the armature windings
 It also offers simplified reversing controls.
 These are constant speed motors.

Compound motor

 It have many turns of fine wire shunt winding across the armature and also fewer turns
of heavy wire series winding connected in series with the armature.
 These motors are constant speed motors with high starting torque.
𝑽− 𝑰𝒂 𝑹𝒂 𝑨
Speed of DC Motor in rpm = × ( )
𝒁𝝋 𝑷
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Factors affecting speed of DC motor are:

● Flux per pole or flux control method

● Resistance or rheostatic control

● Applied voltage or voltage control

AC Motors

 The motor that converts the alternating current into mechanical power by using an
electromagnetic induction phenomenon is called an AC motor.
 This motor is driven by an alternating current.
 The stator and the rotor are the two most important parts of the AC motors.
 The stator is the stationary part of the motor, and the rotor is the rotating part of the
motor.
 The AC motor may be single phase or three phase.
Types of AC Motors:
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Synchronous Motors

 The motor that converts the AC electrical power into mechanical power and is operated
only at the synchronous speed is known as a synchronous motor.
Induction Motors (Asynchronous motor)

 The machine which converts the AC electric power into mechanical power by using an
electromagnetic induction phenomenon in called an induction motor.
 An induction motor is sometimes called a rotating transformer because the stator
(stationary part) is essentially the primary side of the transformer and the rotor
(rotating part) is the secondary side.
Single Phase Induction Motors (Working Principle)

 Single phase induction motor has only one stator winding.

 Single phase AC supply is provided to stator winding.
 The stator winding carries alternating current which produces alternating flux called
MAIN FLUX or STATOR FLUX
 Main flux links with the rotor conductors and an emf is induced in rotor circuit by
Faraday’ electromagnetic induction.

 The induced emf drives a current through rotor circuit.

 This current produces another flux called ROTOR FLUX, required for motor action
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 Both stator and rotor fluxes interact and exert a force on the rotor to produce the desired
torque.
Speed control in Induction Motors

Commonly used method of speed control in Induction motors are:

– Variable voltage control

– Variable frequency control

Variable voltage control

 The stator voltage is varied until the torque required by the load is developed, at the
desired speed.
 Since torque is proportional to square of the stator voltage, reducing the stator voltage
also reduces the torque, which in turn decreases the speed.
 To adjust the speed by varying voltage, a triac- diac pair is employed.

 When voltage across C1 becomes equal to or more than the breakover voltage of the
diac, the diac is turned ON and current passes to the gate of triac.
 On receiving gate current, triac is turned ON, and the motor’s stator winding current
now passes through it.
 By varying the value of R1, firing angle of triac can be varied and thus the motor
current can be varied.
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 As current is proportional to voltage, changes in voltage affects the torque of motor

which in turn varies the speed of motor.
Variable Frequency control

 Torque and speed of induction motor can be controlled by changing the supply frequency
by keeping voltage fixed.
 An increase in frequency decreases the air gap flux and hence decreases the induced
rotor current.
 A decrease in frequency increases the air gap flux which in turn enhances the current.
 Since current is proportional to voltage and torque is proportional to square of voltage,
any variation in current causes corresponding change in torque, which in turn affects the
speed of motor.

Servo Motor
 Servomotors are special electromechanical devices that produce precise degrees of
rotation.
Servo Motor – Working
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 A servo consists of a Motor (DC or AC), a potentiometer, gear assembly and a

controlling circuit.
 Initially there is no electrical signal in the output of potentiometer, which is the input of
error amplifier.
 Error amplifier produces an output which is the amplified version of the difference
between the potentiometric signal and another electrical signal (set point). This error
signal acts as the input for motor and motor starts rotating.
 Now motor shaft is connected with potentiometer and as motor rotates so the
potentiometer and it will generate a signal
 As the potentiometer’s angular position changes, its output changes which in turn
changes error signal output.
 After sometime the position of potentiometer reaches at a position that the output of
potentiometer is same as external signal (Set point) provided..
 At this condition, there will be no output signal from the amplifier to the motor input. In
this situation motor stops rotating.
Servo Motor Applications

Servo motor is a small and efficient motor which is used commonly to do precise control
jobs.
– It is used in robotics to activate movements, moving the robotic arm to a precise angle.
– It is used to start, move and stop conveyor belts carrying the product along with many
stages.
– It is built into the camera to correct a lens of the camera to improve out of focus images.
– It is used in Textiles to control spinning and weaving machines, knitting machines and
looms.
– Servo motor is used in automatic door openers to control the door access in public places

Tachogenerator

 Tachogenerators are electromechanical devices used for measuring speed of engines

and motors.
 A tachogenerator is able to measure both speed and direction of rotation of devices
connected to it, by converting angular velocity to voltage.
 Mainly of two types:
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– DC tachogenerator: It is a small dc generator which generate electrical voltage to

correpsonding to the speed of rotating machine

– AC tachogenerator: It is a small brushless ac generator which generate electrical

voltage corresponding to the speed of rotation of machine

DC Tachogenerator

 The armature of the D.C Tachogenerator is kept in the permanent magnetic field.
 The armature of the tachogenerator is coupled to the machine whose speed is to be
measured.
 When the shaft of the machine revolves, the armature of the tachogenerator revolves in
the magnetic field producing emf.
 This emf is proportional to the product of the flux and speed to be measured.
 The commutator collects current from armature conductors and converts internally
induced ac emf into dc (unidirectional) emf.

 The emf induced is measured using moving coil voltmeter with uniform scale
calibrated in speed directly.
 Polarity indicates the direction of rotation
AC tachogenerator

 The rotor/permanent magnet rotates with the machine shaft whose speed needs to be
measured.
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 An alternating emf is then induced in the stator winding due to the magnetic field
produced by the rotating permanent magnet.
 The alternating emf produced is the measure of the angular velocity of the rotor.
 EMF is rectified to DC using a rectifier and is then measured using a moving coil
voltmeter with uniform scale calibrated in speed directly
 AC tachogenerator allows to measure speed only in one direction

Soft start of AC & DC motors

 A soft starter is used to reduce the inrush currents and limit torque to protect the
motor.
 It generally consists of solid state devices like thyristors to control the application of
supply voltage to the motor.
 The starter works on the fact that the torque is proportional to the square of the
starting current, which in turn is proportional to the applied voltage.
– Thus the torque and the current can be adjusted by reducing the voltage at the time of
starting the motor.

 Basic principle of soft starter is based on varying the conduction angle of thyristors,
which in turn limits the supply voltage.
 Two types of control using soft starter:
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– Closed loop control-> Any of the motor output characteristics like the current
drawn or the speed is monitored and the starting voltage is modified accordingly to
get the required response.
– Open loop control-> A start voltage is applied with time, irrespective of the
current drawn or the speed of the motor.
 Two SCRs are connected back to back and the SCRs are conducted initially at a
delay of 180 degrees during the respective half wave cycles (for which each SCR
conducts).
 This delay is reduced gradually with time until the applied voltage ramps up to the
full supply voltage. This is also known as Time Voltage Ramp System
Universal Motor
 Universal motor runs on either a DC supply or a single phase AC supply.
 The construction of this motor is similar to DC series motor in which the stator field
windings are wound in series with armature windings.
 When the universal motor is fed with a DC supply, it works as a DC series motor.

 When current flows in the field winding, it produces an electromagnetic field. The
same current also flows from the armature conductors. When a current carrying
conductor is placed in an electromagnetic field, it experiences a mechanical force.
Due to this mechanical force, or torque, the rotor starts to rotate. The direction of this
force is given by Fleming's left hand rule.
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 When fed with AC supply, it still produces unidirectional torque because, armature
winding and field winding are connected in series, they are in same phase. Hence, as
polarity of AC changes periodically, the direction of current in armature and field
winding reverses at the same time. Direction of magnetic field and the direction of
armature current reverses in such a way that the direction of force experienced by
armature conductors remains same.
 Regardless of AC or DC supply, this implies that a universal motor works on the same
principle that a DC series motor works.
Stepper Motor
 A stepper motor is a brushless DC motor whose rotor rotates in discrete angular
increments, when its stator windings are energized in a programmed manner.
 The rotor of this motor doesn’t have any electrical winding, but has salient poles.
 The rotor rotates by the magnetic interaction between rotor poles and poles of
sequentially energized stator windings.
Types

There are three types of stepper motor:

– Permanent Magnet stepper motor

– Variable reluctance stepper motor

– Hybrid synchronous stepper motor

 45

Stepper Motor Working:

 Unlike DC motors which rotates as soon as DC voltage is applied, stepper motors rotates
according to the pattern of energizing the stator electromagnets.
 The electromagnets are energized by an external control circuit, for example, a
microcontroller.
 To make the motor shaft turn, first one electromagnet is given power, which makes the
gear’s teeth magnetically attracted to the electromagnet’s teeth.
 So when the next electromagnet is turned ON and the first is turned OFF, the gear rotates
slightly to align with the next one and from there the process is repeated.
 Each of those slight rotations is called a step, with an integer number of steps making a
full rotation

MODULE - IV
Electric Drives

 Systems which control motion of electrical machines are called as electric drives.
 Electric drives consists of an electric motor and a sophiscated control system that
controls the rotation of motor shaft or wheel.
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There are basically two types of electric drives:

– AC drives

– DC drives

 AC drives are electric drives that converts AC supply to DC using converter (rectifier)
circuits and then invert it back to AC to control the speed of electric motors especially
three phase AC motors.
 DC drives are electric drives which convert the input AC supply to the DC using
converter to control the speed of DC motors.
Electric Drives (DC drives vs AC drives)

Electric Drives (Variable Frequency Drive)

AC drives are also called as Variable Frequency drives (VFD)

 It regulates the speed of a three phase induction motor by controlling the frequency and
voltage of the power supplied to the motor.
 47

 VFD has three stages:.

– Rectifier Stage: A full-wave power diode based rectifier converts three-phase 50 Hz power
from a supply to either fixed or adjustable DC voltage.

– Inverter Stage: Thyristors or SCR switch the DC power from rectifier ON and OFF to produce
a current or voltage waveform at the required new frequency.

– Control System: It consists of an electronic circuit which receives feedback information from
the driven motor and adjusts the output voltage or frequency to the desired value.

Electric Drives (DC drive speed control)

The main application of dc electric drives is to control the speed of DC motors .

 The speed of a motor can be controlled by the following methods:

– Armature voltage control

– Field flux control

– Armature resistance control

 Armature voltage control is preferred because of high efficiency and good speed
regulation and good transient response.

– The only disadvantage of this method is that it can only operate under the rated speed,

because the armature voltage cannot be allowed to exceed rated value.

 When speed control is required above the rated speed, field flux control is used.
– Flux is produced by the field current. Thus, the speed control by this method is achieved
by control of the field current.

 In armature resistance control speed is varied by wasting power in an external

resistor that is connected in series with the armature.

– This method is not used very much because it is an inefficient method of controlling speed

and it is only used in the places where the speed control time forms only a fraction of the

total running time, such as traction.

 48

Choppers
 Most fundamental control of machines/processes is ON or OFF control.
 Duration for which a device is in ON state is its ON time and the duration for which the
device remains in OFF state is its OFF time.
 Chopper circuits are used for ON/OFF control.
 It is nothing but a high speed switch which connects and disconnects the load from
source at a high rate to get variable or chopped voltage at the output.
Types :

– DC Chopper->
➢ Step up chopper

➢ Step down chopper

➢ Morgan chopper
➢ Jones chopper
– AC chopper
DC chopper

 Chopper is a basically static power electronics device which converts fixed DC

voltage/power to variable DC voltage or power.

 Chopper circuit using DC as input is a DC chopper.

 Here SCR acts a static switch
 Duration of ON/OFF can be varied with the help of triggering and commutating circuits.
 Duty cycle = TON / T where T = TON+TOFF
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 Output voltage VL= Vdc × duty cycle

 Average output voltage depends on values of ON- OFF duration
 These are called as stepdown choppers as they give o/p voltage less than or equal to i/p
voltage.
Step up chopper

 Step up choppers produce more output than input.

 When SCR is ON, Vdc generates current I through L and SCR (least resistance path)
 The inductance thus stores energy.
 When SCR is OFF, point P becomes positive with respect to point Q due to energy
stored in L.
 Thus diode D becomes forward biased, the stored energy in L is transfered to
capacitor through the diode.

 When C gets fully charged to potential at Q, it becomes more positive than P,

making the diode reverse biased.
 Since capacitor is charged at a higher voltage than the applied voltage Vdc,
output is more than the input.
 To prove V0 = 2Vdc
 Energy stored in inductor during ON state = energy transfered to capacitor C
from L in OFF state, that is, Vdc × I × TON = (V0-Vdc) × I × TOFF
 Vo × TOFF = Vdc (TON + TOFF)
➔ If TON = TOFF, V0 = 2 x Vdc
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Jones Chopper (working principle)

 Class D commutation circuit is used in the Jones chopper.

 The SCR T1 is main SCR whereas SCR T2, diode D1, capacitor C and auto –
transformer T makes commutating circuit for SCR T1.
 The inductor L1 and L2 are closely coupled and they provide sufficient energy to
capacitor to turn off main SCR T1.
 The capacitor initially charges with upper plate positive and lower plate negative.
 When the SCR T1 is turned on, the load current flows through path (+)Vdc – T1 – L2 –
MOTOR ARMATURE – Vdc (–).
 The capacitor discharges through path (+)C – T1 – L1 – D1 – C(–). Once capacitor discharges,
it will again charges with reverse polarity with upper plate negative and lower plate positive.
 The stored energy of load flows through freewheeling diode when SCR T1 is turned off.
 The SCR T1 gets reverse voltage and turned off when SCR T2 is turned on. The load current
flows through path (+)Vdc – C – T2 – L2 – MOTOR ARMATURE – Vdc (–).
 As the load current flows, the capacitor again charges with upper plate positive and lower
plate negative.
 When the voltage across capacitor is equal to supply voltage, the charging current of
capacitor is less than the holding current therefore the SCR T2 is turned off.
 The capacitor initially charges with upper plate positive and lower plate negative.
 When the SCR T1 is turned on, the load current flows through path (+)Vdc – T1 – L2 –
MOTOR ARMATURE – Vdc (–).
 The capacitor discharges through path (+)C – T1 – L1 – D1 – C(–). Once capacitor discharges,
it will again charges with reverse polarity with upper plate negative and lower plate positive.
 The stored energy of load flows through freewheeling diode when SCR T1 is turned off.
 The SCR T1 gets reverse voltage and turned off when SCR T2 is turned on. The load current
flows through path (+)Vdc – C – T2 – L2 – MOTOR ARMATURE – Vdc (–).
 As the load current flows, the capacitor again charges with upper plate positive and lower
plate negative.
 When the voltage across capacitor is equal to supply voltage, the charging current of
capacitor is less than the holding current therefore the SCR T2 is turned off.
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Applications:

– Speed control in DC motors

– Variable frequency drives

– Switch mode power supplies

– Battery chargers.
 52

AC Chopper

 AC chopper uses AC as input.

 T1 and T3 SCRs produce positive alternations
 T2 and T4 SCR produce negative alternations
 When P is +ve and Q is ve T1 is fired at point a. Current flows through
P-> T1-> RL-> Q.
 When voltage reaches point b, T3 is gated ON.
 Now capacior discharges through T3 and T1 and no voltage drop is obtained across
the load.
 Process repeats for negative half cycle for SCRs T2 and T4.
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Dual Converters
 Dual converters have two converters; one act as a rectifier and other act as an inverter.
 Applications:-
Speed reversal of DC motors,
Regenerative braking etc.

● Types: Single phase and Three phase

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Modes of Operation of Dual Converter

There are two functional modes: Non-circulating current mode and circulating mode.
 Non Circulating Current Mode
One converter will perform at a time. So there is no circulating current between the
converters.
 Circulating Current Mode
Two converters will be in the ON condition at the same time. So circulating current is
present.

Single Phase Dual Converters (Working)

 The source of this type of converter will be single-phase supply.
 Consider, the converter is in non-circulating mode of operation.
 The input is given to the converter 1 which converts the AC to DC by the method of
rectification.
 LC circuit forms the filter to minimize the ripples in rectifier output. It is then given to
the load

 Then, this DC is provided to the converter 2 as input. This converter performs as inverter
and converts this DC to AC.
 Thus, we get AC as output. The circuit diagram is shown below.
 55

Three Phase Dual Converters (Working)

 In three phase converters, three-phase rectifier and three-phase inverter are used.
 The three-phase rectifier will do the conversion of the three-phase AC supply to the DC.
 LC network act as a filter. It is then given to the input of the second converter
 It will do the DC to AC conversion and the output will be three-phase AC. The circuit is
shown below.
 If bridge 1 acts as a full wave full controlled three phase rectifier then bridge 2 act as a
three phase full controlled inverter.
 56

Cyclo Converters

 It is also known as cycle converters

 A cycloconverter refers to a frequency changer that can change AC power from one
frequency to AC power at another frequency.
 This process is known as AC-AC conversion
Cyclo Converters (Applications)

 Used in electric traction, wherein usually low frequencies like 25Hz or 50/3 Hz
 Regenerative braking by extracting power from one motor and feeding back to other
 Speed control three phase induction motor
 HVDC transmission
 Used in aircrafts.
There are two types of cycloconverters−
 57

Step Up cycloconverter − These types use natural commutation and give an output at higher
frequency than that of the input.

Step Down cycloconverter − This type uses forced commutation and results in an output with
a frequency lower than that of the input.

Cycloconverters are further classified into three categories −

Single phase to single-phase

Three-phase to single-phase

Three-phase to three-phase

Single Phase Cyclo Converters (Working)

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 4 SCRs are employed- P1, P2 , N1 and N2

 P1 and P2 are responsible for generating positive halves of the output.
 N1 and N2 ae responsible for producing the negative half of the output.
 Single Phase AC at 50Hz is applied as i/p at the primary of the transormer.
 During +ve half A is +ve, B is -ve, SCR P1 is gated ON; current flows in A-> P1-> L->
Load -> O
 During the negative half , B is +ve P1 is turned off, P2 is gated ON; current flows in the
same direction as in the previous half.
 In the next +ve half P1 is gated ON while P2 is line commutated.
 Thus current flow remains same in first three half cycles.
 In the next half cycle N1 is turned ON, and current flows from O-> load->L->N1-> A
that is current direction is reversed.
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 In the next half cycle A is +ve, B is -ve, N1 is turned off while N2 is triggered ON.
Current path remains same.
 In the next half cycle N2 is off and N1 is on. Current direction remains unaffected.
 Thus one -ve half cycle at the o/p is produced by combining 3 negative halves of i/p.
 This clearly indicates that i/p frequency is reduced from 50 Hz to (50/3)Hz.