PLUSTHERM

Erection hints for SUN heaters

Static Converter Type SUN

Summary

1. Rectifier
1.1 Preparations for control
1.2 Measurements / ignition pulses / Adjustments
1.3 Starting voltage

2. Inverter
2.1 Adjusting Fmax. / Fmin.
2.2 Ignition pulses
2.3 Phase relation UMF / IMF
2.4 Measurements Inverter Assemblies / inv. Capacitors
2.5 Thyristor Check by multimeter
2.6 Exchange of Inv. Thyristor / Inv. Diode
2.7 Voltage drop across coupling capacitor
2.8 Voltage load circuit
2.9 Calibration of % Indication

3. Power control

4. Not enough heating power

Plustherm AG
Seminarstr. 102.P.O.Box. CH 5430 Wettingen 1. Tel.:+41 56 426 80 81, Fax: +41 56 427 23 34
page 1 / 13
 PLUSTHERM
Erection hints for SUN heaters

1. Rectifier

1.1 Preparations for control

The block diagram of Sun preheater is shown on the Fig. 1.

Transformer Inverter
& Rectifier L DC Filter H Bridge C coupling
+
AC DC
C Filt. Inductor
AC Supply
DC AC Cinv. Cload
-

Cabinet

Fig. 1

- Measurement of bridge ignition transformer resistance by multimeter ( ohm range )

Nominal values: Primary 0.3 Ohm, Secondary 8 Ohm
- Disconnect the connection between the „transformer & rectifier“ and „L DC Filter“
- Extract the under voltage relay ( take out the wire from contact 12 of 15F 1.1 )
- Connect the insulated oscilloscope with adapter 100 to 1 across rectifier output
( there is an isolated 220 V supply in the cabinet , 4 S 2.1 )
- Turn the front variable resistance of electronic board Z2 „ Udc Hand“ to min. position (anticlockwise)

1.2 Measurements : ignition pulses , adjustments

- Switch on the „ Converter“ ( white button on the control rack )

- Switch on the „ Heating “

The voltage across ignition transformer primary has to be approximately 16 Vpp. The voltage across
transformer secondary has to be approx.3.5 to 4 Vpp. If you have the DC current probe you can
measure the gate current directly. The gate current form is shown on the fig 2.

I gate
Rectifier
[A]
1
Repetion Freq. of this
0.8 pulse is approximately 10
kHz
0.6

0.4

0.2

t in u sec.
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Rectifier gate current

Fig 2.

- repeat above measurement for all rectifier thyristors

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 PLUSTHERM
Erection hints for SUN heaters

- In case of non rectifier gate impulse for thyristors check the Ramp on electronic board Z2.

Ramp voltage
[V]

10
The measurement points
8 are TP 3, TP4 & TP5
Adjustment by
RV2, RV1 & RV3
6

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 t in m sec.

Ramp voltage on electronic board Z2

Fig. 3.

- adjustment of Pmax / Pmin ( Board Z1. )

lower Pmin. RV3 in clockwise direction
( nominal value approx.- 4 V , more negative = lower Pmin. )
higher Pmax. RV1 in anti clockwise direction
( nominal value approx.- 4.5 V , more negative = higher Pmax )

- Turn the front variable resistance of electronic board Z2 „ Udc Hand“ in clockwise direction.

Rectifier
voltage
[V]

500 500 500

400 400 400

300 300 300

200 200 200

100 100 100

t in m sec.
3.3 9.9 16.6 23.3 3.3 9.9 16.6 23.3 16.6 23.3
3.3 9.9
0 20 0 13.3 20 26.6
6.6 13.3 26.6 6.6 6.6 0 13.3 20 26.6

min. R positon middle R positon

max. R position

Rectifier voltage in function of front variable resistance on the board Z2

Fig. 4.

The rectifier voltage has to have the form on the Fig 4.

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 PLUSTHERM
Erection hints for SUN heaters

1.3 Starting voltage

- Connect the connection between the „transformer & rectifier“ and „L DC Filter“
- Turn the front variable resistance of electronic board Z2 „ Udc Hand“ to max. position ( clockwise )
- Switch on the „Converter“ ( mains Switch is On ).
- Measure the DC Voltage ( DC output of Rectifier ) by multimeter
Nominal value : Approximately 160 to 180 V
Adjustment : Electrical board Z1 , potentiometer RV2 ; clockwise direction = lower starting
voltage

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Erection hints for SUN heaters

2. Inverter

2.1 Adjusting Fmax. / Fmin.

- Inverter fuse out

- Extract the under voltage relay ( take out the wire from contact 12 of 15F 1.1 )
- Switch on „Converter“ and „Heating“
Two green LED-s „Function Inv.“ are lighting ( electronic board Z5 ).
- Connect the oscilloscope with probe 10 to 1 at TP4 ( board Z5 )

Measuring
point TP4 ,
Board Z5

Time , Fmax.
RT2 Z5
Time, Fmin.
RT1 Z5

t in u sec. t in u sec.
0 100 200 300 0 100 200 300
0 250 350 0
50 150 50 150 250 350
F max. F min.

Min./Max. Inverter frequency adjustment

Fig. 5

- Adjustment of Fmin.
Turn front fader on electronic board Z 5 „ Phi Hand“ anticlockwise direction to the min.
position ( 10 turns fader ).
Measure Fmin like shown on the Fig. 5.
Adjust Fmin. with RT1 ( nominal value is from 6 to 7 kHz or Time from 166 to 142 u sec. )
Turn front fader on electronic board „ Phi Hand“ anticlockwise direction to the max.
position.
The LED Fmin Inv. is lighting
- Adjustment of Fmax.
Measure Fmax. like shown on the Fig. 5.
Adjust Fmax. with RT2 ( nominal value is from 9.5 to 10 kHz or Time from 105 to 100 u sec. )
The LED Fmax. Inv. is lighting

Important:
The front fader „Phi Hand“ on electronic board Z5 must be always in max. position when the Inverter is
working. Starting Inverter frequency is always Fmax. frequency . After Inverter start , the phase control
of the electronic board Z4 will be activated and the frequency of the Inverter follows the actual
resonance frequency of load circuit . Adjusted Fmax. must be always higher than resonant frequency
of load circuit. Resonant frequency of load circuit is ( see Fig. 1 ) :

1
fresonat =
2 * π Cload * Lload
If resonant frequency of load circuit is higher than Fmax. the Inverter will not start. That can
sometimes happen if the load ( working coil ) is loaded with high diameter cable , so the quotient

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Erection hints for SUN heaters

„coil inner diameter“/ „ cable diameter „ is < 2 . In this case the magnetic coupling between coil and
cable is very good what results in reduction of Lload value ( forapprox.30 to 40 % in comparation to
Lload with out cable ) . In this case the operator has to increase Cload or Fmax.

2.2 Ignition pulses

- Inverter fuse out

- Extract the under voltage relay ( take out the wire from contact 12 of 15F 1.1 )
- Switch on „Converter“ and „Heating“

The voltage across ignition transformer primary has to be approximately 26 Vpp. The voltage across
transformer secondary has to be approx.3 to 4 Vpp. If you have the DC current probe you can
measure the gate current directly. The gate current corm is shown the on fig 2.

I gate Inverter
[A]

2
Repetion Freq. of this
1.6 pulse is equal to Fmax.

1.2

0.8

0.4

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 t in u sec.

Inverter gate current

Fig. 6

The ignition transformer can be checked out with multimeter in Ohm range. Nominal primary
resistance is in range from 0.1 to 0.3 Ohm. The secondary resistance is approximately 10 Ohm.

Plustherm AG
Seminarstr. 102.P.O.Box. CH 5430 Wettingen 1. Tel.:+41 56 426 80 81, Fax: +41 56 427 23 34
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Erection hints for SUN heaters

2.3 Phase relation VMF / IMF ( electronic board Z4 )

- For the first test ,after the bigger revision of the preheater, place provisional Inverter fuse
with approximately 1/3 of current nominal fuse value ( to prevent destruction of power electronic
elements in case of fault functionality ) .
- Connect two channel oscilloscope with adapter 10 to 1 at TP1 and TP2 of electronic board Z4.
- Switch on „Converter“
Control the „Starting voltage“ ( see 1.3 )
- Switch on „Heating“
- Measure the wave form on TP1 and TP2 of electronic board Z4.

Measuring point TP1 and TP2

board Z4

TP1

UMF

t app. 5 to 10 u sec.
TP2
IMF

Correct phase relation between UMF and IMF

Fig 7.

In case of opposite position change the polarity of measuring cables of UMF of IMF measurement.

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Erection hints for SUN heaters

2.4 Measurements Inverter Assemblies / inv. Capacitors

Preparations
- Connect the oscilloscope ( insulated ) with a probe 100 to 1 across each assembly
( 1 to 4 , see Fig 8. )
In each case switch ON and OFF „Converter“ and „Heating“

V 1 and 4

1 2

Udc Cinv. V 2 and 3

Working period 1/fA

C coup.

3
Cload 4

V Cinv. Max. 1850 V pp

Inductor

Functional block diagram of Inverter

Fig 8.

The voltage across the assembly has the form like on the Fig 9.

dV/dt

V1
V2

t1 t2

1 / fA

Voltage across one assembly

Fig 9.
The measured voltage values have to be smaller than :
V1 < 900 V
V2 < 800 V
dV/dt < 600 V / u sec.

t2 has to be 0,7 to 0.8 x t1

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Erection hints for SUN heaters

2.5 Thyristor Check by multimeter

- Main switch OFF

- Resistance measurement by multimeter ( Ohm range ) across assembles 1 to 4 ( see Fig 8. )
The value should be about 6 to 7 K Ohm. or more. Very small values signify that the thyristor or
diode is damaged.
In this case make additional measurements:
- Gate resistance of thyristor is approximately 10 to 18 Ohm
- Resistance control of protecting devices according diagram
- Control of capacitors and fast diodes of the snubber circuits

2.6. Exchange of Inv. Thyristor / Inv. Diode

- Mark the hose pipes of the cooling circuits and open the screwed joints
- Put away the gate wires on the ignition transformer
- Put away the wire of the emergency firing unit
- Screw away the current connections
- Take away the mounting screws and the complete assembly
- Place the whole unit horizontally at the head side of span screw
- Screw away the upper insulating holder from the ground plate
- Unscrew the nut of the assembly span screw ( about 3 to 4 turns )
- Lift the upper bussbar and cooling box
- In this condition the damaged semiconductor can be exchanged
- Restoration in reverse sequence

Note:
Use only heat conduction Past of high electrical conductivity.
Keep attention for small dosage on the surfaces of the semiconductor

2.7 Voltage drop across coupling capacitor

- Connect the oscilloscope ( insulated ) with a probe 100 to 1 across coupling capacitor
( see Fig 8. )
- Switch „Converter“ and „Heating“ ON

Vpp

resonace frequency period

1 / fA

Voltage across coupling capacitor

Fig 10.

Vpp is approximately 500 to 1000 V dependent on loading.

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Erection hints for SUN heaters

2.8 Voltage drop across load capacitor

- Connect the oscilloscope ( insulated ) with a probe 100 to 1 across load capacitor
( see Fig 8. )
- Switch „Converter“ and „Heating“ ON

Vpp

resonance frequency period

1 / fA

Voltage across load capacitor

Fig 11.

Vpp is between 1400 to 1800 V . The voltage must be perfect sinus. Non sinusoidal curvature signify
disturbed operation . Possible reasons are:
- No resonance of the load circuit
- Phase control circuit out of function
- Missing reference signals of UMF or / and IMF

2.9 Calibration of % display

- Connect the oscilloscope ( insulated ) with a probe 100 to 1 across load capacitor
( see Fig 8. )
- Switch „Converter“ and „Heating“ ON
- Calibration of the % Indicator by adjusting the measuring transducer VMF / VDC
VMF rms = 600 V has to be equal to display = 100 %

Vpp
VMFrms = by sinusoidal curvature of VMF
2* 2

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Erection hints for SUN heaters

3. Power control

The block diagram of control circuit is shown on the Fig. 12.

VMF
trans.
Volt.
trasfor
Supp. VMF

Tcho Square PI Rectifier Pow. con. Inverter

root ampli.
Vdc
Curr.
V reference trans.
Res. fre. freq.
Control rack control con.

15 V
Auto
Man.
Ref. in Ref out % Freq.
disp. disp. Pot. nom. display display
value

Block diagram of SUN control circuit

Fig. 12

The control is divided in two major control networks : one is „power control „ and the second one is
resonant frequency control.

The equivalent block diagram of loaded coil is shown on the fig 13.

l ciol
Cload
Inverter voltage Rload
Inverter voltage
VMF
VMF

no loaded coil loaded coil

Equivalent diagram of loaded coil

Fig. 13

The thermal power in the cable is :

Vmf 2
P= ,
Rload
By given cable and coil Rload is constant ( k1 ). The VMS is proportional to rectifier voltage.
VMF = k2 * Vdc which itself if proportional to V reference; VMF = k2*k3*Vref. The above expression
can be written as:

k 2 2 * k 32 * Vref 2
P= = ka * Vref 2
k1

The connection between P [ w ] and cable area (A ) , speed (v) and cable temperature ( ∆t + t0 ) is:

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Erection hints for SUN heaters

P = c * ∆t * v * A * σ * 0.016666
c = Specific heat , c for Cu is 0.383 [kJ / kg*K] and for Al = 0.896 [kJ / kg*K] , ∆t = increase of cable
temperature in K
v = line speed in m/min, A = cable area in mm2 , σ = specific weight , for Cu is 8.93 [kg /dm3 ] and for
Al is 2.7 [kg /dm3 ]. This gives the following expression for PCu [ w ]and PAl [w ] :

PCu = 0.0567 * ∆t * A * v
and
PAl = 0.0404 * ∆t * A * v

If heating power is proportional to line speed (v ) then cable temperature is constant (∆t )

P = kb * v
kb is a material / production parameter constant.

If Vref. is equal to
Vref = kc * v
then heating power is proportional to line speed , what gives constant cable temperature.

P == ka * Vref 2 = ka * kc 2 * v = kb * v

Adjustment of square root function

- The coil is not loaded
- Connect the external voltage source ( 0 to 10 V ) on the place of tacho signal
- Potentiometer „ Nominal value“ is in max. position
- Simulate the line speed with external voltage source ( make a steps of 0.5 V )
- Write Ref. in, Ref. out, % display.
The graphical representation of ( % display )2 in function of Ref. in has to look like on the Fig. 14

( % display )2

( % display )2 = k*V reference

V reference

Fig. 14

In case of mismatch adjust offset and amplification on „square root unit“

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Erection hints for SUN heaters

4. Not enough heating power

If the out coming temperature of cable is not high enough there are following checks / changes which
increase the heating power:

a)
The voltage across the DC Filter is lower than 450 V with max. power reference
The possible mistake
- The light diode „ Full Phase“ on the board Z2 is not on ( See point 1 . )
- The feedback amplifying factor is to high ( make readjustment on the 14N 5.2 )

b)
Use the coil with smaller diameter to increase the coupling between coil and cable

c)
Reduce the numbers of Cload capacitors ( see Fig. 8 )

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