Power electronics & SCR

The thyristor is a solid-state semiconductor with four layers

of alternating P and N material. They act as a switch,
conducting when their gate receives a current pulse, and
continue to conduct for as long as they are forward biased

Power diode
Transistors- BJT, FET
IGBT
Thyristors-power thysistor, GTO,FCT, TRIAC

Advantage and Disadvantage of

BJT
Advantages
Requires very low driving voltages
Can operate at very high speed
Can be returned on and off from
the base terminal
Good power handling
Low forward conduction voltage
drop
Disadvantages
-Considered less robust and less
tolerant of overload s and spikes
than thysristor
Do not tolerate reverse voltage
Slow switching
Has complex current controlled
gate driver requirement

FET
Advantages

High speed switching capability

Relative simple protection circuit
Relative voltage controlled gate
driver with low gate current

Disadvantages
Relative low poer handling capability
Relative high forward voltage drop
which result to high loss
Limitation for use in HV system

FET Construction

The FET is a three terminal device like the

BJT, but operates by a different principle.
The three terminals are called the source,
drain, and gate.
The voltage applied to the gate controls the
current flowing in the source-drain
channel. No current flows through the
gate electrode, thus the gate is essentially
insulated from the source-drain channel.
Because no current flows through the gate,
the input impedance of the FET is
extremely large (in the range of 1010
1015 ). The large input impedance of the
FET makes them an excellent choice for
amplifier inputs.
The two common families of FETs, the
junction FET (JFET) and the metal oxide
semiconductor FET (MOSFET) differ in
the way the gate contact is made on the
source-drain channel.

IGBT

IGBT combined advantages of

BJT and FET

tThe insulated-gate bipolar

transistor or IGBT is a threeterminal
power semiconductor device,
noted for high efficiency and fast
switching. It switches electric
power in many modern
appliances: electric cars, variable
speed refrigerators, airconditioners, and even stereo
systems with digital amplifiers.

Advantages of IGBT
Advantage of IGBT
Good power handling
Low forward conduction voltage drop- 2-3v , which is higher
than BJT but Lower than a MOSFET of similar rating
The voltage increase with temperature making the device easy
to operate in parallel without danger of thermal instability
High speed switching capability
Relatively simple voltage controlled gate driver
There is no secondary breakdown, giving it safe operating area
and low switching losses

Thyristors
Also call Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR).
Thyristor is used for requiring high speed & high
power switching.
Handle V & I up to 1000A & 1 kV.
Anode high +ve voltage with relative to cathode
& gate at small +ve potential w.r.t cathode.

Circuit Symbol

Biasing
P
N
P
N

J1

J2

J3

(a)

J1
J2
J3

(b)

No current can flow through the SCR in both circuit (a) & (b).

WHY?

Working of SCR
When Gate is Open
J2 R.biased & J1, J3 F. biased.
No current thro RL
V increased till breaks down
& SCR ON-stroke.

J1

J2

J3

Gate is +ve w.r.t cathode

J2 R.biased & J3 F. biased.
ON- V small Vb/over decreases. IG flowing & Ia
increases more at J2 breaks up SCR ON.
Gate loses control. Remove SCR VG still ON

Working of SCR
Switching SCR OFF
Reduce apply voltage to almost zero which the anode
current is reduced below certain value called holding
current.

Advantage of SCR
No moving parts noiseless h. operating fre.
Very high switching speed ( 109/s ).
Higher control over IL (20-150A) small IG (mA)
Small size reliable longer life.

I V Characteristics

Important Terms

Break over voltage

Min forward voltage, gate being open, SCR starts
conducting to turn ON ( 50 500V ).
Holding current
Max anode current, gate being open, SCR is turned
OFF from ON state.
Peak Reverse Voltage PRV
Max reverse voltage can applied to SCR without
conducting in reverse direction.
Forward current rating
Max anode current that SCR is capable of passing
without destruction.

Important Terms
Gate triggering voltage, VGT
Min values of gate voltage at which SCR is turned
ON.
Gate triggering current, IGT
Resulting gate current.

Firing and Triggering

Lamp load
Load

Push
button

DC firing signal

Pulse signal

V-I Characteristic

In a conventional
thyristor, once it has
been switched on by the
gate terminal, the device
remains latched in the
on-state (i.e. do not need
a continuous supply of
gate current to conduct),
providing the anode
current has exceeded the
latching current (IL). As
long as the anode
remains positively
biased, it cannot be
switched off until the
anode current falls below
the holding current (IH)

Turning OFF
Considered the SCR circuit with pulse signal at gate:
Once fired, SCR remains ON even when triggering
pulse is removed
This is referred as LATCHING ability to remain
ON even when gate current is removed
Methods used to turn SCR OFF:
1. anode current interruption
2. reducing current through SCR below holding
current

Phase Controlled Half Wave Rectification

OFF in :
-ve half cycle & +ve half
cycle, only if proper IGT
is provided.
Vin = Vmsin , when is
applied, V1< Vm.

Phase Controlled Half Wave Rectification

OFF in +ve half cycle :
vin v SCR vin
iL

RL
RL

v av

vm
1 cos
2

vm
1 cos
I av
2RL

SCR Full Wave Rectifier

I av

vm
1 cos

R L

Silicon Controlled Rectification

Three phase power supply on ship has a fixed voltage and frequency- This is
generally 440V at 60 Hz
But for high power demands it is likely to be 6.6 kV and 60 Hz.

Speed control for a propulsion motor requires variable voltage for a d.c. drive and
variable frequency + voltage for an a.c. drive.
Therefore, it is necessary t have bus system with controlled rectification (a.c.->d.c.)
and/or controlled inversion (d. c. -> a. c. )' to match the propulsion motor type.
A basic rectifier uses semiconductor diodes which can only conduct current in the
direction of anode (A) to cathode (K) - It automatic when A is more positive than
K.
The diode turns-off automatically when its current falls to zero.

In a single-phase a.c. circuit, a single diode will conduct only on every other halfcycle and this is called half-wave rectification.
Other single-phase circuits using a biased arrangement with two diodes and a
centre-tapped transformer will create full-wave rectification
Also four diodes in a bridge formation will also produce a full-wave d.c. voltage
output.

Single-phase controlled rectification.

Silicon Controlled Rectification

An equivalent three phase bridge requires six diodes for fullwave operation.

A diode, having only two terminals, cannot control the size of

the d.c. output from the rectifier.
For controlled rectification it is necessary to use a set of threeterminal devices such as thyristors (for high currents) or
transistors (for low - medium currents).

A basic a.c.-d.c. control circuit using a thyristor switch

compared with a diode, a thyristor has an extra (control)
terminal called the gate (G).

Three-phase controlled rectifier bridge circuit.

The thyristor will only conduct when the anode is positive with
respect to the cathode where a brief trigger voltage pulse is applied
between gate and cathode (gate must be more positive than cathode).
Gate voltage pulses are provided by separate electronic circuit and the
pulse timing decides the switch-on point for the main (load) current.
The load current is therefore rectified to d.c. (by diode action) and
controlled by delayed switching.
In this circuit an inductor coil (choke) smooth the d.c. load current
even though the d.c. voltage is severely chopped by the thyristor
switching action.

An alternative to the choke coil is to use a capacitor across the

rectifier output which smooths the d.c. voltage.

Controlled Rectifiers

AC Voltage Controller

Inverters

Three-phase controlled rectifier bridge circuit.

Full wave controlled rectification from a three-phase a.c. supply is

achieved in a bridge Circuit with six thyristors.
For a 440V A.C. line voltage, the peak voltage is 0.707 x 440V. The
equivalent maximum d.c. average voltage output is taken to be about 600 V
as it has a six-pulse ripple effect due to the three-phase input waveform.
Controlled inversion process
A d.c. voltage can be inverted (switched) repeatedly from positive to
negative to form an alternating (a.c.) voltage by using a set of thyristor (or
transistor) switches. The inverter bridge circuit arrangement is exactly the
same as that for the rectifier.
The d.c. voltage is sequentially switched onto the three output lines. The
rate of switching determines the output frequency.
For a.c. motor control, the line currents are directed into (and out of) the
windings to produce a rotating stator flux wave which interacts with the
rotor to produce torque.
The processes of controlled rectification and inversion are used in
converters that are designed to match the drive motor.
A controlled three-phase thyristor bridge inverter is shown

Three-phase ac voltage controller with a Y

connected resistive load

Three-phase controlled rectifier bridge circuit.

3 - Phase Fully - Controlled Rectifier

Output Waveform

Three-phase inverter circuit and a.c. synchronous motor

Converter Types
The principal types of motor control converters are:
-> a.c.-d.c. (controlled rectifier for d.c. motors)
-> a.c.-d.c.-a.c. (PWM for induction motors)
-> a.c.- d.c.-a.c. (synchroconverter or synchronous
motors) .
-> d.c.-a.c. (cycloconverter for synchronous motors)
These are examined below:

a.c.- d.c. converter

This is a three phase a.c. controlled rectification circuit for a
d.c. motor drive.
Two converters of different power ratings are generally used
for the separate control of the armature current and the field
current which produces the magnetic flux .
Some systems may have a fixed field current which means that
the field supply only requires an uncontrolled diode bridge
Shaft rotation can be achieved by reversing either the field
current or the armature current direction.
Ship applications for such a drive would include cable-laying,
offshore drilling, diving and supply, ocean survey and
submarines.

Controlled rectification converter and d.c. motor

a.c.- d.c.-a.c. PWM converter

This type of converter is used for induction motor drives and
uses transistors as the switching devices.
Unlike thyristors, a transistor can be turned on and off by a
control signal and at a high switching rate (e.g. at 20 kHz in a
PWM converter).
The input rectifier stage is not controlled so is simpler and
cheaper but the converter will not be able to allow power from
the motor load to be regenerated back into the mains supply
during a braking operation.
From a 440 V a.c. supply, the rectified d.c. (link) voltage will
be smoothed by the capacitor to approximately 600 V.

PWM Converter and a.c. Induction Motor

PWM converter and a.c. induction motor

The d.c. voltage is chopped into variable width, but constant
level, voltage pulses in the computer controlled inverter
section using IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors).This
process is called pulse width modulation or PWM.
By varying the pulse widths and polarity of the d.c. voltage it
is possible to generate an averaged sinusoidal ac. output over a
wide range of frequencies typically 0.5-120Hz.

Due to the smoothing effect of the motor inductance, the

motor currents appear to be nearly sinusoidal in shape.

By sequentially directing the currents into the three stator

windings, a reversible rotating magnetic field is produced with
its speed set by the output frequency of the PWM converter.

Converter Types
Accurate control of shaft torque, acceleration time and resistive
braking are a few of the many operational parameters that can
be programmed into the VSD, usually via a hand-held unit.
The VSD can be closelv tuned to the connected motor drive to
achieve optimum control and protection limits for the overall
drive.

Speed regulation against load changes is very good and can be

made very precise by the addition of feedback from a shaft speed
encoder.
VSDs, being digitally controlled, can be easily networked to
other computer devices e.g. programmable logic controllers
(PLCs) for overall control of a complex process.

a.c.-d.c.-a.c. synchroconverter
This type of convert is used for large a.c. synchronous
motor drives (called a synchrodrive) and It is applied
very successfully to marine electric propulsion.
A synchroconverter has controlled rectifier and inverter
stages which both rely on natural turn-off (line
commutation) for the thyristors by the three phase a.c.
voltages at either end of the converter.
Between the rectification and inversion stages is a
current-smoothing reactor coil forming the d.c. link.
An operational similarity exists between a synchrodrive
and a d.c. motor drive. DC link synchroconverter and a
dc motor drive.

Synchroconverter circuit- Synchronous

motor

Inverter Current Switching Sequence

Synchroconverter circuit- Synchronous

motor
This view considers the rectifier stage as a controlled d.c.
supply and the inverter/synchronous motor combination as a
d.c. motor. with the switching inverter acting as a static
commutator.
The combination of controlled rectifier and d.c. link is
considered to be a current source for the inverter whose task is
then to sequentially direct blocks of the current into the motor
windings
The size of the d.c. current is set by the controlled switching of
the rectifier thyristors.
Motor supply frequency (and hence its speed) is set by the rate
of inverter switching.
The six inverter thyristors provide six current pulses per cycle
(known as a six-pulse converter)

Synchroconverter circuit- Synchronous

motor

A simplified understanding of synchroconverter control is that

the current source (controlled rectification stage) provides the
required motor torque and the inverter stage controls the
required speed.
To provide the motor e.m.f. which is necessary for natural
commutation of the inverter thyristors, the synchronous motor
must have rotation and magnetic flux in its rotor poles.
During normal running, the synchronous motor is operated
with a power factor of about 0.9 leading (by field excitation
control) to assist the line commutation of the inverter
thyristors.
The d.c. rotor field excitation is obtained from a separate
controlled thvristor rectification circuit.

Synchroconverter circuit- Synchronous

motor
As the supply (network) and machine bridges
are identical and are both connected to a threephase a.c. voltage source, there roles can be
switched into reverse.
This is useful to allow the regeneration motor
power back into the mains power supply
which provides an electric braking torque
during a crash stop of the ship.

Cycloconverter circuit and output

voltage waveform.

a.c.- a.c. cycloconverter

While a synchroconverter is able to provide an output
frequency range typically up to twice that of the mains input
(e.g. up to 120 Hz), a cycloconverter is restricted to a much
lower range.
This is limited to less than one third of the supply frequency
(e.g. up to 20 Hz) which is due to the way in which this type of
converter produces the a.c. output voltage waveform.
Ship ropulsion shaft speeds are typically in the range of 0-145
rev/min which can easily be achieved by the low frequency
output range of a cycloconverter to a multi-pole synchronous
motor.
Power regeneration from the motor back into the main power
supply is available. A conventional three phase converter from
a.c. to d.c. can be controlled so that the average output voltage
can be increased and decreased from zero to maximum within a
half-cycle period of he sinusoidal a.c. input.

a.c.- a.c. cycloconverter

By connecting two similar converters back-to-back in each line an a.c.

output frequency is obtained.
The switching pattern for the thyristors varies over the frequency range
which requires a complex computer program for converter control.
The corresponding current waveform shape (not shown) will be more
sinusoidal due to the smoothing effect of motor and line inductance.
The output voltage has ripple content which gets as the output frequency it
is this feature that limits useful frequency.
There is no connection between the three motor windings because the line
converters have to be isolated from each other to operate correctly to
obtain line commutation (natural) switching of the thvristors.
The converters may be directly supplied from the HV line but it is more
usual to interpose step-down transformers. This reduces the motor voltage
and its required insulation level while also providing additional line
impedance to limit the size of prospective fault current and harmonic
voltage distortion at the main supply bus-bar.

HV Power System

Concept of Electrical Propulsion

Twin Shaft EL Propulsion

Azipod drive unit