RELAYS

The traditional method of switching current through a load, which requires

isolation from the controlling circuit, involves the use of an electromechanical
relay. Such devices offer a simple, low-cost solution to the problem of
maintaining adequate isolation between the controlling circuit and the
potentially lethal voltages associated with an a.c main supply.

Relays do, in fact, offer many of the desirable characteristics of an ‘ideal’

switching device (notably a very low ‘on’ resistance and virtually infinite ‘off’
resistance coupled with a coil to contact breakdown voltage which is usually in
excess of several kV). Unfortunately, relays also have several shortcomings,
which prevent their use in a number of applications.

Notable amongst the disadvantages of simple electromechanical relays

are an inherently low switching speed coupled with the ‘contact bounce’ which
occurs during the transitory state which exists between the true ‘on’ and ‘off
conditions. Furthermore, electromechanical relays are, by virtue of their moving
parts and open sets, somewhat prone to failure when compared with their more
modern solid-state counterparts.

An important consideration when using relays (particularly at high D.C.

voltages) is the arc, which may form between the contacts when the contacts
break. Arching (ionization breakdown of the air in the proximity of the contacts)
results in the generation of heat (which may literally burn out the contact
surfaces) and radio frequency interference (RFI) which may be radiated over a
wide area unless special precautions are taken. Readers should not that,
because of susceptibility to arcing, a relay which is rated for, say, 250 V a.c.
operation, will generally only be rated for D.C. operation at up to about 50V.

A typical electromechanical relay may be rated for around 1,000,000

operations, or more. To put this into context, if operated once every minute, the
contact set on such a relay can be accepted to give satisfactory operation for a
period of about two years. It is important to note, however, that
electromechanical relay can provide a highly cost-effective solution to
controlling currents of up to about 10A or more, at voltages of up to 250V a.c.
and 100V D.C. Furthermore (unlike solid-state switching device) relays are
available with a variety of different contact sets, including single-pole (SP)
on/off switching, single-pole changeover (SPCO), double-pole changeover
(DPCO), and four-pole changeover (4PCO).

The coils, which provide the necessary magnetic flux to operate a relay,
are available for operation on a variety of voltages between 5V and 115V D.C.
and 12V to 250V a.c. at currents of between 5 ma and 100mA. A typical
specification for a low-voltage relay suitable for switching a mains connected
load are as follows:

Contract rating: 5A, 30V D.C. /250V a.c.

Coil rating: 12V (from 10.9V to 19.5V)
Coil resistance: 205 ohm
Electrical life: 200,000operations (at full rated load)
Mechanical life: 10 million operations

ELECTROMAGNETIC RELAY

NC N0

COIL COMMON

RELAY DRIVER CIRCUITS

In many applications, a relay will require some form of interface to the
circuit to which it is connected. Often such an interface need consist of nothing
more than a single transistor.
Almost any n-p-n transistor with a current gain of 50 or more can be used
in the circuit however, it is important to ensure that it is operated within its
maximum collector current (I C (max) ) rating. The devices shown in Table 1 are
recommended.

TABLE 1

Coil resistance TR 1
50 ohm to 200 ohm T1P31 (or equivalent)
200ohm to 400 ohm BC142 (or equivalent)
400ohm to 1.2k ohm BC108 (or equivalent)

The circuit requires an input current of about 0.5 ma when operated from a 5V
source. In some applications it may be desirable to increase the sensitivity of
the circuit, in which case a Darlington driver stage can be used as shown in fig
1. The silicon diode, D 1 , is fitted in order to provide a current path, which will
absorb the back e.m.f generated when the magnetic flux in the relay suddenly
collapses when the transistor ceases to conduct.

A Darlington driver based on two (discrete) n-p-n devices requires a

current of only a mere 40µ A at 5V in order to operate the relay. This circuit can
be used with relays having coil resistance as low as about 200 ohm and will
also operate reliable with an input current of as little as 40µ A.

+5V

Fig 1

D1 RL1

TR1
R1

TR2
INPUT

0V