104

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY AND GENERAL

APPLICATIONS, VOL. IGA-4, NO. 1, JAN/FEB 1968

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Inverter

Commutation Circuits
SENIOR MEMBER, IEEE

ANDREW J. HUMPHREY,

Abstract-The author describes the commutation process in forced commutation inverters so that similarities and differences between techniques can be evaluated. There are few, if any, short cuts in commutation; commutation is a power function and, as such, should be a major consideration in the economic design of inverter circuits. Other than by reducing turn-off time in semiconductor switches, the problem will not change significantly. Early inverter circuits used expensive controlled semiconductors and were designed to minimize this cost at the expense of circuit losses and complexity. Later circuits tended to use larger numbers of semiconductor switches and to reduce circuit losses and complexity. The result should be more economical, simpler, inverter circuits.

DEFINING THE PROBLEM THE distinction between rectifiers and inverters is one of function rather than of circuit; however, there are some basic definitions that may simplify consideration of the subject. Rectifiers, when operating as rectifiers, transfer power from an ac circuit to a dc load. A small change in operating conditions may make a rectifier an inverter by changing the net direction of power flow. It should be remembered that current flow through any individual diode in a composite rectifier may be in only one direction. If all diodes are in a single direction between two points, current may flow only in a single direction between points. In order to reverse direction of power flow, the operative voltage vector between the points must be reversed, thus distinguishing between a rectifier and an inverter. Individual diodes or controlled circuit elements in all rectifier and inverter circuits must be commutated or turned off during operation. Commutation is basically the act of stopping or diverting current flow from a conducting path in such a circuit. The inverter differs by requiring a switching element in which control can be regained because forward voltage may be reapplied before the load requires that switch to conduct.
Paper IPR 4-67 approved by the Industrial Power Rectifier Committee for presentation at the 1966 IEEE Industry and General Applications Group Annual Meeting, Chicago, Ill., October 3-6. Manuscript received October 3, 1967. The author is with Reliance Electric Company, Cleveland, Ohio
44117

Two basic classes of commutation circuits are recoginized: 1) load commutation, also called machine commutation or line commutation; and 2) forced commutation. Rectifiers normally operate with line commutation in which the voltage in the conducting path goes below the voltage of the phase to which current is to be transferred, thus allowing the voltage in the oncoming phase to provide the force needed to transfer the current. This action is possible in an inverter as well as a rectifier if the ac voltage is generated by the load or comes from stored load energy. If there is no load-generated voltage suitable to provide the force to change the current from one path to another, current flow cannot be changed, and the inverter or rectifier will fail to switch and will be out of control. Forced commutation is required to provide this commutating voltage and to prevent loss of control on inverters operating into loads that will not supply commutating energy. A special case of forced commutation comes about in transistor inverters or, in fact, in most switching circuits employing transistors. By changing the signal voltage on the transistor, it is possible to increase the impedance of the device and to force it to absorb energy as a resistance. By greatly increasing this resistance, the voltage across the switching transistor can be increased so that either current flow is stopped completely or the current finds another path. During the time current is being decreased through the transistor, energy proportional to the product of the current and voltage must be absorbed and is dissipated as heat in the transistor. Since most controlled semiconductors are controlled by sweeping carriers out of their junctions, the time for commutating a given current is much the same for either transistors, thyristors, or gate-turn-off devices. Thyristor losses during commutation are small because the thyristor does not absorb stored load energy. Thyristor forced commutation can be simplified if one thinks of the current as never reversing in the device and also if the assumption is made that the device goes instantly from infinite resistance to a forward drop of a volt or two at turn-on. In actual fact, on sudden reversal of voltage at the end of conduction in the thyristor, reverse currents up to several amperes may flow for a microsecond or two. This flow can be observed on an oscilloscope, but

HUMPHREY: INVERTER COMMUTATION CIRCUITS

105

does not directly enter into the commutation process. Turn-on time may require up to three ,s, and during this period switch impedance drops rapidly. Usually other circuit elements determine rate of change of current in the circuit, and the turn-on time has very little effect on the commutating process. An inductive element in an electrical circuit may either absorb energy when current flow through it increases, or it may deliver energy back to the circuit as current flow through it decreases. M\Jost electrical loads contain considerable inductance, and since commutation usually takes a very short time, microseconds relative to the millisecond load time constants ordinarily encountered, and (since the most difficult commutation is always that of a highly inductive load) commutation comparisons can be standardized by thinking of load inductance as being infinite so that current to the load element will not change during commutation and also so that decreasing load current will supply what voltage is needed to carry the commutation process through. The following assumptions have now been made and will be used to evaluate commutation circuits for a standard load. 1) Load current does not change during commutation; load inductance is infinite. 2) Turn-off occurs in a semiconductor when zero current is reached and no reverse current flows. 3) Turn-on is controlled by circuit elements and is instantaneous in the thyristor. The study of inverters is basically a study in transients, circuit elements starting out in fixed states and decaying until the next switching interval. If it is carefully treated, each interval will give input values for the succeeding interval. Commutation may consist of as many as a dozen different transient conditions for a complete commutation. Treated interval by interval, the commutation may be broken into functions, and some attempt can be made to classify the functions. It can also be treated mathematically and by digital computer techniques. Several inverter commutating circuits have been analyzed in this paper and have been chosen to illustrate various methods and circuits for accomplishing the switching process. These circuits are simplified so that only the important processes are shown and each one has a step-bystep breakdown just under each circuit. The net result in the circuits shown in Figs. 1-5 is to transfer load current from a conducting thyristor into a diode. This must occur with a heavy, highly inductive load, but with resistive or capacitive loads the commutation may be directly into another thyristor and will be a combination of load and forced commutation.

trate better path commutation or parallel commutation in which a new parallel path is offered to the current having a voltage in the new path that will make it more attractive to current flow. If these two distinctions are made we see that load commutation or natural commutation is always a case of better path commutation, the oncoming phase being more attractive for current flow than the outgoing phase. Fig. 3 illustrates a voltage commutation in which capacitors are involved but do not provide a better path. In Fig. 1, the load current switches directly into the diode, and in Fig. 3 current is forced into charging capacitors and finally circulates through the diode. Auxiliary path is a secondary distinction: a current path used temporarily to support load current before the final path is used. Fig. 3 could be defined as a voltage commutation with an auxiliary current path, while Fig. 1 is a voltage commutation with direct transfer of load current. Fig. 2 is an excellent illustration of better path commutation. The charged capacitor adds a voltage to the current path to transfer the load current into a better path which is also an auxiliary path. Fig. 4 is also an example of better path commutation. Fig. 5 is a case of voltage commutation with an auxiliary path. Voltage commutation is always associated with a reactive element such as a transformer or a choke, and this element is used to supply a reversed potential series voltage in the circuit. The better path commutation always furnishes a new parallel path for current flow and will always have added voltage in the path to make it attractive. We could possibly name the two commutation schemes reactive or capacitive, but neither of these terms describes the function of commutation as well as voltage commutation and better path commutation.

AUXILIARY PATH Except for voltage commutation without auxiliary path, the size of the auxiliary path is determined by load current. Actually it is load current at the instant of commutation which is truly important, and this current is usually higher than the peak of the load current as calculated from its root-mean-square value because of the presence of harmonics. The auxiliary circuit must have the ability to supply peak commutation current for the period needed by the thyristor to regain control. This means that potential must not go positive on the thyristor being switched off until it has regained control. Since the current at commutation and the control time are known, the resulting product can be expressed in ampere-seconds or coulombs. Since this is also the unit in which the charge of a capacitor is expressed, we have a coulomb figure for each commutation. One way of comparing commutation circuits is to compare the minimum coulombs of capacitor energy change from the COMMUTATION CLASSES beginning of commutation to the point in time where the Two basic classes of commutation circuits can be set up thyristor goes positive. To illustrate this, Table I will set and named on the basis of what happens. Fig. 1 might be results from the five circuits shown in terms of the supply called voltage commutation or series commutation wherein a voltage E and a unit capacitor size C. Losses will be voltage is inserted in series with the load circuit forcing the ignored and all circuit elements will be considered to be current to choose a more difficult path. Fig. 2 could illus- perfect.

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY AND GENERAL APPLICATIONS,

JAN/FEB 1968

ThA

Tha

ThA

L1 1< 1) c To Load C
ThAl

Tha

ThA

ThA'

DAI

DA1
(c)

(a)

(b)

Fig. 1. Transformer commutated inverter. (a) The heavy line shows load current just prior to firing commutating thyristor Tha. Only one phase of a polyphase inverter is shown. (b) Tha is fired and current rapidlv rises to load current value since transformer must have an increase in flux level in the flux direction established by load current. An increase of current establishes capacitor C voltage on the inverter side of the transformer and once this voltage exceeds supply voltage the current shifts from ThA into DA'. Capacitor C continues to discharge and current rises in the transformer, storing energy in its reactance. When capacitor voltage reaches supply voltage, ThA should have regained control for it will now have forward voltage reapplied. C continues to discharge to zero volts. (c) Stored energy in the transformer winding reverses the potential across the transformer, and current continues to flow through Da until the energy is dissipated. Capacitor C may be recharged any time after Tha regains control.

Load Current
I DA L

ThB
DB

Tha

ThA rB5
C

Th

lThl
Tha

To Load

DA1l

DB1

ThBI

To

Load

ThA'

Load Return

(a)

(b)

~~~~~~~~~~~0

Louad

DAl
(c) (d) Fig. 2. Capacitor commutated inverter. (a) Load currenit flows down through ThA to the load and returns through another phase, not shown. C has been left charged by a previous commutation. (b) ThB and Tha are turned on simultaneously. Load current finds a better path through ThB and Tha and C and leaves ThA to recover. ThA has the voltage from C across it in the reverse direction. (e) A "sneak" path opens up at start of commutation around C and L, the voltage across L just equalling that from C. Some energy from C gets transferred to L. When C reaches zero load current continues to flow through it reversing its charge. (d) When C reaches zero the inductance L is at maximum current level and becomes a voltage source for a decaying current through ThB and DB. This energy is commonly called trapped energy. When C reaches supply voltage, current shifts over into the diode DA' and circulates on itself from the load.

HUMPHREY: INVERTER COMMUTATION CIRCUITS

107

Load Return

&+4BDA'
~~~~+
ThA

(a)

(c) (b) Fig. 3. Transformer commutation with capacitor help. (a) Load current flows through ThA which is to be commutated by firing Tha. C1 has no initial charge and C2 is charged to dc supply
level. C is charged to 1.5 times supply voltage. (b) Tha is fired, and now Cl starting at zero charges through the load at half load current, and C2 discharges into the load at the same rate. C need only provide enough voltage so that the load side of the commutating transformer shows greater voltage than that to which C1 has charged. ThA must regain control before C reaches one half supply voltage and Cl reaches the same point. (c) When Cl reaches dc supply voltage and C2 is discharged, the load current will come from the load via the diode DA'. When C reaches zero the trapped energy in the transformer will decay through Da. C can now be recharged after Tha has regained control.

Load Current
+
Tha ThA

ThA ~~~Tha DA~~~~~~~~~~~~~~D

Load Return

TL

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Fig. 4. MacMurray circuit, resonant commutation. (a) C has been charged by a previous commutation to essentially supply voltage. (b) Firing Tha starts an L-C discharge around the L-C loop, slowly displacing current in ThA until the L-C discharge current exceeds the current to the load. (c) At this point C continues to force current through DA until C goes through zero and reverses, taking energy from L until load current is reached again. The fact that DA is carrying current assures us that ThA is regaining control because DA has a forward drop that gives reverse voltage to ThA. (d) Load current flows through L and C until C charges up to supply voltage; then the inductance is left with energy in it by the extent of load current flowing. (e) This energy goes to overcharge the capacitor while load current is now split between the L-C circuit and the diode. Finally all load current will recirculate up through the diode.

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Load Current

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY AND GENERAL

APPLICATIONS,

JAN/FEB 1968

c +

C1,7
||
I.

ThA
+

+L

Ll

C2

ThA'

(b) (a) (c) Fig. 5. Mixed commutation inverter. (a) Load current flows to load via ThA and L, establishing an ampere-turn level in L. Cl is uncharged and C2 is at supply voltage. (b) ThAl is fired to commutate ThA. Voltage from C2 is impressed on L2, aud current level goes up to match the ampere turns that were being carried bv the load. Current rises in L2 because C2 must support a voltage across L1 and L2. Also the supply voltage is shorted through Cl and L2 so that we have several coexisting current paths. If L2 is relatively large, there is little short-circuit current flow from the supply and essentially Cl furnishes load current while C2 supplies an equal current to L2. (c) Once Cl has reached supply voltage, C2 must be zero and the load current now circulates back from the load through diode DA'. The circulating current trapped in L2 must now circulate through ThAl and DA' until it decays.

CHARGE EXCHANGE

TO

TABLE I THYRISTOR VOLTAGE REVERSAL POINT

CapacCircuit Fig. 1
i tor Size C C C C

Initial Charge C(2E)

CE C(1.5E) + CI0 + C2E

Fig. 2
Fig. 3 Fig. 4

Fig. 5

2C

Approximately Approximately Approximately C0.875E CO.875E 1.75CE 1 1 C10 + C-.,E 2CE -CtE + 2 -C2E 2

Reversal CE 0 C (0.5E) + C1 (0.aE) + C2 (0O5E)

Charge at Thyristor

Change of Charge (All Capacitors)

CE CE 2CE

TABLE II ENERGY EXCHANGE OVER FULL COMMUNICATION

Initial Circuit Energy Fig. 1 0.5C(2E)2 Fig. 2 0.5CE2 Fig. 3 0.5C(1.5E)2 +0 + 0.5CE2 0.5CE2 Fig. 4 0 Fig. 5*

Switching Interval
0
0 +

End of

TABLE III CAPACITY AND ENERGY Loss COMPARISON, THREE-PHASE BRIDGE

Circuit Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3

0.5C(-E)2 0.5CE2 + 0

Loss Change 2CE2 2CE2 0 CE2 1.12CE2 2.12CE2

0 0

+ 0.5(2C)E2

0.5(2C)E2 + 0

0.5CQ-E)2

CE2 2CE2

Fig. 4 Fig. 5

Capacitors Number Size C 6 C 3 C 6 6 C C 3 6 2C

Voltage
2E E

Volts Farads 12CE

Minimum Loss

1.5E E E E

15CE 9CEt 6CE

3CE 12CE

3CE

2CE2 0.5CE2 1.12CE2

0.25CE2 CE2

* Remember that capacitors are 2C in size.

HUMPHREY: INVERTER COMMUTATION CIRCUITS

109

We can see from Table I that circuits do vary in coulombs of capacitor charge circulated for a given commutation. If we count up the size of the capacitors needed, this will give some idea of circuit complexity. Note that circuits that use mixed commutation usually end up circulating twice the charge during the turn-off period. Also the minimum circulated charge is CE. This will be true for all forced commutation inverter circuits. Charge circulation is not the only factor in picking a simple commutation scheme; actually the energy exchange comparison for these circuits will show other differences. To illustrate this, Table II shows energy change from the beginning to the end of commutation for each of five circuits. This comparison only accounts for end conditions. It is obvious that the circuits from Figs. 1 and 3 are losing energy; this shows up in the diode current in the auxiliary circuits. There will also be an added loss in these circuits as the capacitor is recharged, particularly if the recharging is done through a resistor. In the other circuits, the only true source of energy to the inverter and load is the dc supply. Since this is a fixed voltage supply, to charge a capacitor will usually require a loss equal to the energy in the capacitor at charge. Inductive circuit elements can only change this factor if they are able to deliver an overvoltage to the capacitor. For each commutation the actual losses in the circuit as we get ready for the next commutation are quite important, and it becomes wise to see that a single capacitor can be used for more than one commutation. With each of the circuits shown we can work out the losses per commutation in terms of C and E. When this is done and is combined with the circuit elements needed, any inverter circuit can be compared with others. Table III has done this in terms of capacitance required for a 3-phase bridge inverter for each of the five basic circuit types. It may be difficult to see how the values for the minimum loss column in Table III were obtained, and therefore Fig. 4 will be explained. In Fig. 4, the assumption was made that the peak of the commutation current oscillatory discharge was twice the load current. This means that current is flowing through the diode around the silicon controlled rectifier for 27r/3 out of the 7r period of reversal of the capacitor charge. At the 7r/2 point all the energy is in L and is equal to the energy initially in C. If current here is twice load current, load current in the same inductor would represent 1/4 the energy. At the point where load current is completely diverted into the diode, inductor L is left with a flowing current and must go on to overcharge the capacitor. As it does this, L takes energy from the dc supply equal to the energy in the inductor. When later in the cycle it is bled off, this excess charge is lost. The circuit for doing this is not shown in Fig. 4. Thus the loss comes to be 0.25CE2.
TRAPPED ENERGY Trapped energy is an expression commonly used when energy loss in commutation occurs in the main inverter circuit. One advantage of Fig. 1 is that energy lost during

commutation can be handled in the auxiliary circuit rather than in the inverter circuit itself where trapped energy currents get mixed with the inverter load currents. Fig. 1 has been shown with a diode bypass around the transformer winding for simplicity; however, by various switching circuits it may be possible to reclaim some of this energy. Doing so usually reflects a high voltage on the main transformer winding and thence on to the thyristors, requirinig them to withstand higher forward voltage. In additioni, extra circuit components are required. The cost of components and of losses is important in evaluating inverter circuits but must almost be done by each circuit designer individually. In Fig. 2, energy is trapped in the choke and must be dissipated before the next commutation. If high-frequency operation is required, dissipating resistances can be added in series with the inductors. Since the trapped energy is a direct function of turn-off time of power thyristors, this circuit works surprisingly well with short turn-off time thyristors. The inductance used is not critical, and utilization of commutation capacitors is good. The chief disadvantage of this circuit is the need for commutating thyristors; this is becoming less disadvantageous with improved thyristor reliability and lower cost. Fig. 3 is an older circuit ending with energy trapped as a flowing current in the transformer winding. As shown in this paper, this trapped energy circulates through a diode and is dissipated in the circuit resistance. It may be necessary to add resistance to the circuit to eliminate this energy without having it use up the current-carrying capacity of the thyristors and diodes. In fact, before inverter designers understood trapped energy, they attempted to cure this by cutting down circuit resistance but only found that current levels were up by a factor of two or more. Once it is understood that a certain amount of energy must be burned or removed, the problem can be solved. The circuit in Fig. 5 has been used in conjunction with various methods of returning the trapped energy to the dc supply; in such circuits efficiency can be good. The return circuits sometimes affect the output voltage causing instability and other problems. Fig. 4 is an excellent circuit because the trapped energy is low compared to the load current and because it is a function of load current. MIost inverter circuits have a fixed amount of energy lost per commutation and have high no-load losses. This circuit is an exception, the no-load losses being primarily the losses due to resistance in the resoniant commutating circuit. In Fig. 4 the capacitor discharge energy is stored in the inductor and returned to the commutation circuit, thus bypassing having to dissipate it or return it to the dc supply. This circuit is useful for high-frequency operation and can be used for pulse-width modulation. CONCLUSION Commutation in inverters is a power function, and whether voltage commutation or better path commutation is used, a circuit is needed capable of handling load

110

IEEE TRANSACTIONS

ON

INDUSTRY

AND GENERAL

APPLICATIONS,

JAN/FEB 1968

power for the time needed to regain control of the power thyristor. If the unused commutation energy can be used to set up the next commutation, it is possible to avoid having to dissipate or pump back trapped energy. Newer circuits with commutating thyristors tend to be more efficient
were more expensive.

and simpler than the older circuits designed when thyristors

REFERENCES

It] D. A. Bradley, C. D. Clarke, R. M. Davis, and D. A. Jones, "Adjustable-frequency invertors and their application to variablespeed drives," Proc. IEE, vol. 111, pp. 1833-1846, November 1964. [2] K. Heumann, "Pulse control of d-c and a-c motors by siliconcontrolled rectifiers," IEEE Trans. Communication and Electronics, vol. 83, pp. 390-399, JuLly 1964.

[P1 K. A. Hulstrand, "Adjustable frequency-static a-c power supplies," presented at the Machine Tools Industry Conf., November 16-18, 1964. [4] A. J. Humphrey, "Precise speed control with inverters," IEEE Conf. Rec., pp. 79-83, November 1965. [61 J. P. Landis, "Static inverter a-c motor drives," presented at the IEEE Textile Conf., October 1963. [61 N. W. Mapham, "The classification of SCR inverter circuits," 1964 IEEE Internat'l Conv. Rec., vol. 12, pt. 4, pp. 99-105. [71 W. McMurray and D. P. Shattuck, "A silicon controlled rectifier inverter with improved commutation," presented at the Fall General Meeting, Chicago, III., October 9-14, 1960. 18] B. Mokrytzki, "Pulse width modulated inverters for a-c motor drives," 1966 IEEE Internat'l Conv. Rec., vol. 14 pt 8, pp. 8-23. [9] N. Stato, "Characteristics of S.C.R. three-phase improved bridge invertor," Electrical Engineering Japan, vol. 84, pp. 30-41, May 1964. [10l E. E. Ward, "Invertor suitable for operation over a range of frequency," Proc. IEE, vol. 111, pp. 1423-1434, August 1964.

Andrew J. Humphrey (S'41-A'43-M'44-SM'52) was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1921 He received the B.S. degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana, in 1941. After four years with the Aluminum Company of America in Alcoa, Tenn., and five years with the Union Carbide Company, Oak Ridge, Tenn., he joined Reliance Electric Company, Cleveland, Ohio, in 1950. At Reliance, he has been concerned with variable speed electronic drive technology from mercury-arc rectifiers to semiconductor inverter units. In his present position in the Corporate Engineering Staff, he is in charge of advanced research in power electronics. Mr. Humphrey is a member of the Cleveland Engineering Society. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Ohio.