University of Technology

Department of Electrical Engineering

Division of Electronics Engineering

ENERGY
Second Year / Semester II

CONVERSIONS II
PART#1
By
Dr. Lina Jawdat Rashad
 1. TYPES OF POWER ELECTRONIC CONVERTERS

Power electronics is an enabling technology, providing the needed interface

between the electrical source and the electrical load, as depicted in Fig. 1. The
electrical source and the electrical load can, and often do, differ in frequency,
voltage amplitudes and the number of phases. The power electronics interface
facilitates the transfer of power from the source to the load by converting
voltages and currents from one form to another, in which it is possible for the
source and load to reverse roles. The controller shown in Fig.1 allows
management of the power transfer process in which the conversion of voltages
and currents should be achieved with as high energy-efficiency and high power
density as possible. Adjustable-speed electric drives represent
1.2 APPLICATIONS OF POWER ELECTRONICS:

Some Applications of Power Electronics:

1. Aerospace: Space shuttle power supplies, satellite power supplies, aircraft power
systems.
2. Commercial: Advertising, heating, air-conditioning, central refrigeration, computer
and uninterruptible power supplies, elevators.
3. Industrial: Arc and industrial furnaces, blowers and fans, pumps and compressors,
industrial lasers, transformer-tap 'changers, rolling mills, welding.
4. Residential : Air-conditioning, cooking, lighting, space heating, refrigerators,
electric-door openers, dryers, fans, personal computers, vacuum cleaners, washing
and sewing machines, food mixers.
5. Telecommunication: Battery chargers, power supplies ( dc and UPS ).
6. Transportation: Battery chargers, traction control of electric vehicles, electric
locomotives, street cars~ trolley buses subways, automotive electronics.
7.Utility systems: High voltage dc transmission (HVDC), excitation systems, VAR
compensation, static circuit breakers, fans and boiler-feed pumps, supplementary
energy system (solar, wind).
1.3. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF POWER ELECTRONIC
CONVERTERS
1.High efficiency due to low loss in power-semiconductor devices.
2.High reliability of power-electronic converter systems.
3. Long life and less maintenance due to the absence of any moving parts.
4. Fast dynamic response of the power-electronic systems as
compared to electromechanical converter systems.
5. Small size and less weight result in less floor space and
therefore lower installation cost.
6. Mass production of power-semiconductor devices has resulted in lower cost
of the, converter equipment Systems based on power electronics.
However, suffer from the following disadvantages;
1. Power-electronic converter circuits have a tendency to generate harmonics
in the supply system, as well as in the load circuit.
In the load circuit, the performance of the load is influenced, for example, a
high harmonic content in the load circuit causes commutation problems in dc
machines, increased motor heating and more acoustical noise in both dc and ac
machines. So steps must be taken to filter these out from the output side of a
converter. In the supply system, the harmonics distort the voltage waveform
and seriously influence the performance of other equipment connected to the
adopted.
same supply line. In addition, the harmonics in the supply line can also cause
interference with communication lines. It is, therefore necessary to insert filters on
the input side of a converter.
2. Ac to dc and ac to ac converters operate at a low input power factor under certain
operating conditions. In order to avoid a low p.f, some special measures have to be
Power-electronic controllers have low overload capacity. These converters must,
therefore, be rated for taking momentary overloads. As such, cost of power electronic
controller may increase.
The advantages possessed by power electronic converters far outweigh their
disadvantages mentioned above. As a consequence, semiconductor-based converters
are being extensively employed in systems, where power flow is to be regulated. As
already stated, conventional power controllers used in many installations have already
been replaced by semiconductor-based power electronic controllers.
1.4 POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
Silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) was introduced first in 1957. Since then, several
other power semiconductor devices have been developed. All these semiconductor
devices are enumerated below along with their ratings.
1. Power diodes are available up to 3000 V, 3500 A, 1 kHz.
2. Thyristors have ratings up to 6000V,3500 A, 1 kHz.
SITHs (static induction thyristors) can operate up to 4000 V,2200 A,20 kHz.
3. GTOs (gate-turn off thyristors) have ratings of 4000V,3000 A, 10 kHz.
4. MCTs (MOS controlled thyristors) can work up to 600 V, 60 A, 20 kHz.
5. Triacs have power ratings of 1200V, 300 A, 400 Hz.
6. BJTs are used up to power ratings of 1200 V, 400 A, 10 kHz.
7. Power MOSFETs (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors) and SITs
(static induction transistors)
have relatively low range of 1000 V,50 A and 1200 V, 300 A respectively. Both these
devices can, however, operate satisfactorily up to a frequency range of 100 kHz.
8. IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors)
are available up to 1200 V, 400 A and 20 kHz. Based on turn-on and turn-off
characteristics and gate signal requirements, the power semiconductor devices can be
classified as under:
(a) Diodes: These are uncontrolled, rectifying devices. Their on and off states are
controlled by power supply.
(b) Thyristors: These have controlled turned-on by a gate signal. After thyristors are
turned-on, they remain latched in on-state due to internal regenerative action.
(c) Controllable switches: These devices are turned-on and turned-off by the application
of control signals. The devices which behave as controllable switches are BJT, MOSFET,
GTO,SITH, IGBT, SIT and MCT. SCR, GTO, SITH and MCT require pulse-gate signal
for turning them on ; once these devices are on, gate pulse is removed. But BJT,
MOSFET, IGBT and SIT require continuous signal for keeping them in turn-on state.
1.5 TYPES OF POWER ELECTRONIC CONVERTERS
A power electronic system consists of one or more power electronic converters. A
power electronic converter is made up of some power semiconductor devices controlled
by integrated circuits. The switching characteristics of power semiconductor devices
permit a power electronic converter to shape the input power of one form to output
power of some other form. Static power converters perform these functions of power
conversion very efficiently. Power electronic converters (or circuits) can be classified
into six types as under:
1.Diode Rectifiers: A diode rectifier circuit converts ac input voltage into a fixed dc
voltage. The input voltage may be single phase or three phase. Diode rectifiers find
wide use in electric traction, battery charging, electroplating, electrochemical
processing, power supplies, welding and uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
systems.
2. Ac to dc converters (Phase-controlled rectifiers): These convert constant ac
voltage to variable dc output voltage. These rectifiers use line voltage for their
commutation as such these are also called line-commutated or naturally-
commutated ac to dc converters. Phase-controlled converters may be fed from 1-
phase or 3-phase source. These are used in dc drives, chemical industries, excitation
systems for synchronous machines etc.
3. DC to dc converters ( DC Choppers) : A dc chopper converts fixed dc input
voltage to a controllable dc output voltage. The chopper circuits require forced, or
load, commutation to turn-off the thyristors. For lower power circuits, thyristors are
replaced by power transistors. Classification of chopper circuits is dependent upon
the type of commutation and also on the direction of power flow. Choppers find
wide applications in dc drives, subway cars, trolley trucks, battery-driven vehicles
etc.
4. DC to ac converters (inverters) : An inverter converts fixed dc voltage to a
variable ac voltage. The output may be a variable voltage and variable frequency.
These converters use line, load or forced commutation for turning-off the thyristors.
Inverters find wide use in induction-motor and synchronous-motor drives, induction
heating, UPS, HVDC transmission etc. At present, conventional thyristors are also
being replaced by GTOs in high power applications and by power transistors in
low-power applications.
5. AC to ac converters: These convert fixed ac input voltage into variable ac output
voltage. These are of two types as under:
(a) AC voltage controllers (AC voltage regulators) : These converter" circuits
convert fixed ac voltage directly to a variable ac voltage at the same frequency. AC
voltage controller employs two thyristors in ant parallel or a triac. Turn-off of both
 the devices is obtained by line commutation. Output voltage is controlled by varying
the firing angle delay. AC voltage controllers are widely used for lighting control,
speed 'control of fans, pumps etc.
(b) Cycloconverters : These circuits convert input power at one frequency to output
power at a different frequency through one stage conversion. Line commutation is
more common in these converters, though forced and load commutated
cycloconverters are also employed. These are primarily used for slow-speed large ac
drives like rotary kiln etc.
6. Static switches: The power semiconductor devices can operate as static switches or
contactors. Static switches possess many advantages over mechanical and
electromechanical circuit breakers. Depending upon the input supply, the static
switches are called ac static switches or dc static switches.