AC-AC

CONVERTERS
Module II
Lecture 9
AC-AC Voltage Controller Converter

Cycloconverter

Indirect Matrix Converter

direct Matrix Converter

Dr. Oday A. Ahmed

AC-AC Voltage Controller Converter Or AC Choppers

There are two different types of thyristor control used in practice to control the ac
power
flow
 On-Off control
 Phase control
Only Phase control will be considered in this lecture.

The ac voltage controllers are classified:

Single Phase AC Controllers. Uni-directional or half wave ac controller

Three Phase AC Controllers. Bi-directional or full wave ac controller.

Applications of Ac Choppers
Lighting / Illumination control in ac power circuits.
Applications of Ac Choppers
Induction heating.

Electromagnetic induction is unique because it actually generates heat inside the material that is heated, has
an immediate effect.

Compared to other heating techniques, it takes less time to heat and is more efficient and accurate.
Applications of Ac Choppers
Transformer tap changing On load tap changers

Tap changers offer variable control to maintain the supply voltage between certain limits. About 96% of all
power transformers today above 10MVA incorporate on load tap changers as a means of voltage regulation.
Applications of Ac Choppers
Speed control of induction motors
Half wave AC phase controller (Unidirectional Controller)
the half wave ac controller has the drawback of limited range RMS output voltage control. can result in
the problem of core saturation of the input supply transformer.

Ac power flow to the load can be controlled only in one half cycle. gives limited range of RMS
output voltage control

the half wave ac controller has input DC component and even order harmonics
Solution
Single Phase Full Wave Ac Chopper
Dr. Oday A. Ahmed
We can notice from the figure, that we obtain a much better output control characteristic by using a single
phase full wave ac voltage controller.

No input DC component and No even order harmonics , WHY?

Performance Parameters
Performance Parameters
Problem

What is the Average current through Triac in the following circuit?

Solution In the case of a single phase full wave ac voltage controller circuit using a Triac with
resistive load, the average current =0. Because the Triac conducts in both the half cycles and the
current is alternating and we obtain a symmetrical thyristor current waveform which gives an
average value of zero on integration.
single phase full wave ac controller with a common cathode configuration

Dr. Oday A. Ahmed

 due to the need of two power diodes the costs of the devices increase.

there are two power devices conducting at the same time the voltage drop across the ON devices increases and
the ON state conducting losses of devices increase and hence the efficiency decreases.
if there is a large inductance in the load circuit, thyristor T1 may not be turned OFF at the zero
crossing points, in every half cycle of input voltage and this may result in a loss of output control.

This would require detection of the zero crossing of the load current waveform in order to ensure
guaranteed turn off of the conducting thyristor before triggering the thyristor in the next half cycle, so
that we gain control on the output voltage.

three power devices conducting together at the same time

there is more conduction voltage drop and an increase in the
ON state conduction losses and hence efficiency is also
reduced.
Phase control

Vo=Vs

Vo=0

Vo=-Vs

Dr. Oday A. Ahmed

T1 conducts from ωt=α to ωt=β,
T1 then conduction angle δ=( β- α).

δ depends on α and the load impedance angle ϕ

for α>ϕ and β< π+ α

Discontinuous load current operation occurs

for α>ϕ and β< π+ α
 For very large load inductance ‘L’ the SCR may fail to commutate and the load voltage will
be a full sine wave
for αϕ

A continuous load current and the output voltage waveform

appears as a continuous sine wave identical to the input supply
voltage waveform

We lose the control on the output voltage and thus we obtain:

 Output Current for (Inductive Load)

The load current which flows through the thyristor during

ωt=α to β

The solution of the above differential equation gives the general

expression for the output load current which is of the form
At ωt=α, io=0Amp, hence,

By substituting ωt=α: then,

which results in the instantaneous output current equal to:

Calculate Extinction Angle β

At ωt=β, io=0Amp, hence,

 β can be determined from this transcendental equation by using the iterative method of solution (trial and error
method).

 For δ<π, for β< π+ α the load current waveform appears as a discontinuous current waveform.

 When α is decreased and made equal to the load impedance angle αϕ, we obtain from the expression for
Performance Parameters
Load Current
 EXAMPLE

Solution

Dr. Oday A. Ahmed

Solution Continue for a

Dr. Oday A. Ahmed

 Solution Continue for a

We will use trail and error to find the solution:

Dr. Oday A. Ahmed

 Solution Continue for a

To find the right angle for β the LHS must be = RHS of following equation:

As shown above for β=180 the LHS RHS, then we will select another angle for β until
find solution

Dr. Oday A. Ahmed

Solution Continue for a

Dr. Oday A. Ahmed

 Solution Continue for a

We can note above that at β=197.42 the LHS RHS

Dr. Oday A. Ahmed