UNIT I 1. Why IGBT is very popular nowadays? IGBT is very popular to nowadays because it has, a.

Lower hate requirements b. Lower switching losses c. Smaller snubber circuit requirements 2. What are the different methods to turn on the thyristor? The following different methods are to turn on the thyristor a. Forward voltage triggering b. Gate triggering c. dv/dt triggering d. Temperature triggering e. Light triggering 3. What is the difference between power diode and signal diode? Sl.No. Power diode Signal diode

Constructed with n-layer, Drift region is not present. called drift region between p+ layer and n+ layer. The voltage, current and power ratings are higher. Power diodes operate at high speeds. Lower Operates at higher switching speed.

4. IGBT is a voltage controlled device. Why? IGBT is a voltage controlled device because the controlling

parameter is gate-emitter voltage.

5.

Power MOSFET is a voltage controlled device. Why? Power MOSFET is a voltage controlled device because the output (drain) current can be controlled by gate-source voltage.

6. Power BJT is a current controlled device. Why? Power BJT is a current controlled device, because the output (collector) current can be controlled by base current. 7. What is the relation between and ?

8. What are the different types of power MOSFET? Different types of power MOSFET are, a. N-channel MOSFET b. P-channel MOSFET 9. How can a thyristor turned off? A thyristor can be turned off by making the current flowing through it to zero. 10. Define latching current. The latching current is defined as the minimum value of anode current which It must attain during turn on process to maintain conduction when gate signal is removed. 11. Define holding current. The holding current is defined as the minimum value of anode current below which it must fall to for turning off the thyristor. 12. What is a snubber circuit? A snubber circuit is a protection circuit. It consists of a series combination of a resistor and a capacitor in parallel with the thyristors. It is mainly used for dv / dt protection.

13. What losses occur in a thyristor during working conditions? Thyristor during working conditions some losses occur are, a. Forward conduction losses b. Loss due to leakage current during forward and reverse blocking. c. Switching losses at turn-on and turn-off. d. Gate triggering loss. 14. Define hard-driving or over-driving. Hard-driving or over-driving defined as, when gate current is several times higher than the minimum gate current required, a thyristor is said to be hard-driving or over-driving. 15. Define circuit turn off time. The turn off time, It is defined as the time during which a reverse voltage is applied across the thyristor during its commutation process. 16. Why circuit turn off time should be greater than the thyristor turn -off time? Circuit turn off time should be greater than the thyristor turn-off time for reliable turn-off, otherwise the device may turn-on at an undesired instant, a process called commutation failure. 17. What are the advantages of GTO over BJT? 1. Higher voltage blocking capability. 2. It is majority carrier Devices. 3. High ratio of peak surge current to average current. 4. Operates as a switch always hence on state losses are reduced

18. What is reverse recovery time? It is the time for which negative current flows through the SCR. During this period, all the carriers inside the SCR are removed and junctions, J1 and J2 achieve their forward blocking state. At the end of reverse recovery time, anode current becomes zero.

19. What is meant by secondary break down? The secondary breakdown is a destructive phenomenon, result from the current flow to a small portion of the base, producing localized spots is sufficient, the excessive localized heating may damage the transistor. Thus secondary breakdown is caused by a localized thermal runaway, resulting from high current concentrations.

20. What are the different types of power transistor? Types of power transistors are, i) Bipolar junction transistor (BJTs) ii) Metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET) iii) Insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBTs)

21. What are the advantages of TRIAC? The advantages of TRIACs are, i) Triacs can be triggering with positive or negative polarity voltage. ii) A Triac needs a single fuse for protection, which also simplifies the construction

iii) A Triac needs a single heat sink of slightly larger size, whereas antiparallel thyristor pair needs two heat sinks. iv) In some dc applications, SCR is required to be connected to be connected with a parallel diode to protect against reverse voltage, where a triac used may work without diode as safe breakdown in either direction is possible. 22. What are the advantages of MOSFET with BJT?

MOSFET 1. Power MOSFET has lower switching losses. 2. It has more conduction losses. 3. It is a voltage controlled device. 4. It is a unipolar device. 5. Power MOSFET operate at switching frequency in the MHz range.
6.

BJT 1. BJT has higher switching losses

2. It has low conduction losses 3. It is current controlled device. 4. It is a bipolar device. 5. BJT operate at switching frequencies in KHz range. 6. BJT has negative temperature coefficient. 7. Secondary breakdown occur in BJT 8. BJTs are available with rating upto 1200V and 800V.

MOSFET has positive temperature coefficient.

7. Secondary breakdown does not occur in MOSFET.

8.

MOSFETs are available with ratings upto 500V , 140V

23. In TRIAC which of the modes the sensitivity of gate is high. The more sensitive of the TRIAC is greatest in the first quadrant when turned on with positive gate current and also in the third quadrant when turned on with negative gate current. 24. Define: pinch off voltage of MOSFET. If the gate source voltage VGS is made negative enough, the channel will be completely depleted, offering a high value of RDS and there will be no current flow from the drain to source, IDS=0. The value of VGS is called pinch off voltage. 25. What are the factors that influence the turn off time of a SCR? Some factors influence the turn off time of a SCR is, a) Recovery process b) Recombination process 26. Distinguish between holding current and latching current of SCR. Holding current 1. The thyristor can be turn off or the thyristor can be forward blocking state only , if the forward current falls below a low level current called the holding current. 2. Holding current is associated with turn off process. 3. Holding current is less then the latching current. Latching current 1. The latching current is defined as the minimum value of anode current which it must attain during turn on process to maintain conduction when gate signal is removed. 2. Latching current is associate with turn on process. 3. Latching current is the 2 to 3 times of holding current.

UNIT 2
1. What is meant by phase controlled rectifier?
Phase controlled rectifier converts fixed ac voltage into variable dc voltage. 2. Mention some of the applications of controlled rectifier. The applications of controlled rectifiers are, a. Steel rolling mills, printing press, textile mills and paper mills employing dc motor drives. b. DC traction c. Electro chemical and electro-metallurgical process d. Portable hand tool drives e. Magnet power supplies f. HVDC transmission system 3. Mention the function of freewheeling diodes in controlled rectifier. It serves two processes. a. It prevents the output voltage from becoming negative. b. The load current is transferred from the main thyristors to the freewheeling diode, thereby allowing all of its thyristors to regain their blocking states.

4. Mention the advantages of freewheeling diodes in a controlled rectifier?

The advantages of freewheeling diodes in a controlled rectifier, a. Input power factor is improved. b. Load current waveform is improved and thus the load performance is better.

5. Define: firing angle .

The firing angle is defined as the angle between the zero crossing of the input voltage and the instant the thyristor is fired.

6. What are the advantages of single phase bridge converter over single phase
mid-point converter? a. SCRs are subjected to a peak-inverse voltage o f 2Vm in a fully controlled bridge rectifier. Hence for same voltage and current ratings of SCRs, power handled by mid-point configuration is about of that handled by bridge configuration. b. In mid-point converter, each secondary winding should be able to supply the load power. As such, the transformer rating in mid-point converter is double the load rating.

7. What is commutation angle or overlap angle?

The commutation period when outgoing and incoming thyristors are conducting is known as overlap period. The angular period, when both devices share conduction is known as the commutation angle or overlap angle.

8. What are the different methods of firing circuits for line commutated converter?
a. UJT firing circuit. b. The cosine wave crossing pulse timing control. c. Digital firing schemes. Give an expression for average voltage of single phase semiconverters. Average output voltage Vdc = (Vm / ) (1 + cos ). The input power factor is defined as the ratio of the total mean input power to the total RMS input volt-amperes. PF = V1 I1 cos1/ Vrms Irms Where, V1 =Vrms= phase voltage, I1 = fundamental components of the supply current 1 = input displacement angle Irms=supply rms current

9.

10. What is meant by input power factor in controlled rectifier?

11. What are the advantages of six pulse converter?

a. Commutation is made simple. b. Distortion on the ac side is reduced due to the reduction in lower order harmonics. c. Inductance reduced in series is considerably reduced.

12. What is meant by commutation?

It is the process of changing the direction of current flow in a particular path of the circuit. This process is used in thyristors for turning it off.

13. What are the types of commutation? 14.

a. Natural commutation b. b. Forced commutation What is meant by natural commutation? Here the current flowing through the thyristor goes through a natural zero and enable the thyristor to turn off.

15. What is meant by forced commutation?

In this commutation, the current flowing through the thyristor is forced to become zero by external circuitry.

16. What is meant by half controlled rectifier?

A half controlled rectifier or semiconverter uses a mixture of diodes and thyristors and there is a limited control over the level of dc output voltage. It is also known as one-quadrant converter. Here, the output current and output voltage is always positive. What is meant by half controlled rectifier? A fully controlled converter or full converter or full converter uses thyristor only and there is a winder control over the level of dc output voltage. It is also known as two quadrant converter.

17.

18. Define: two pulse converter.

Two pulse converter is defined as two triggering pulse or two sets of triggering pulses are to be generated during every cycle of the supply to trigger the various SCRs.

19. Define: voltage ripple factor. 20.

Voltage ripple factor is defined as the ratio of the net harmonic content of the output voltage to the average output voltage. How is power factor of semiconverter better than that of full converter? When supply given to load, the semiconverter receives less reactive power due to freewheeling action when compared with full converter. Therefore, the power factor is better in semiconverter. What is meant by rectification mode in single phase full controlled converter? In single phase full converter, <90 the voltage at the dc terminals is , positive. Therefore, power flows from source to load and the converter operates as a rectifier is source voltage VS and source current IS positive. This is known as rectification mode. What is mean by inversion mode? In single phase full converter, >90, the voltage at the dc terminals is negative. Therefore, power flows from load to source and the converter operates as a line commutated inverter is source voltage VS is negative and source current is positive. This is known as inversion mode or synchronous inversion.

21.

22.

23. Define: harmonic factor of the input current.

The harmonic factor of the input current is defined as the ratio of the total harmonic current to the fundamental component.

24. 25.

IH = ( I2rms I21) / I1 Define: displacement factor. The input displacement factor is defined as the cosine of the input displacement angle. Mention the advantages of three phase controlled rectifiers? Advantages of three phase controlled rectifiers are, i. Output voltage increase ii. Ripple content decreases. iii. By using higher number of pulses, the output voltage should be smoother. Mention the advantages of six pulse converter? Advantages of six pulse converter are, i. Commutation is made very simple. ii. Distortion on the AC side is lower order harmonics. iii. Inductance required in series is considerably reduced.

26.

27. What are the effects of source impedance in the controlled rectifiers?
The effects of source impedance in the controlled rectifiers are, 1. The average output voltage should be reduced. 2. Reduced displacement factor. 3. Output current waveform also changed. Define: commutation angle or overlap angle. The commutation period, when outgoing and incoming thyristor are conducting is known as the overlap period. The overlap period, both devices share conduction is known as commutation angle or overlap angle ().

28.