Rolly Suaiso Jr.
BSEE – 3B
Assignment in Industrial Electronics
1. What is the main function of thyristors in Industrial Electronic Circuits?
- The main function of a thyristor is to control electric power and current by acting as a
switch. For such a small and lightweight component, it offers adequate protection to
circuits with large voltages and currents up to 6000 V, 4500 A.
2. Name the two most popular types of thyristors in industry.
- Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR)
- Bidirectional Triode Thyristors or TRIACs
3. Describe three methods for reducing the holding current through an SCR.
- Reverse Blocking Mode
- Forward Blocking Mode
- Forward Conducting Mode
4. Explain the basic operating principle of a Jones circuit.
- Jones circuit or Jones Chopper circuit is an example of class D commutation in which a
charged capacitor is switched by an auxiliary SCR to commutate the main SCR. The jones
chopper circuit is frequently used for the speed control of DC motors.
5. What is meant by the term rate effect?
- The term rate effect also known as natural commutation is a very important
characteristics of the silicon-controlled rectifier
6. Why are snubbers used in thyristor circuits?
- Reducing or eliminating voltage and/or current spikes
- Limiting dl/dt or dV/dt
- Shaping the load line to keep it within the safe operating area
- Reducing total switching losses
- Reducing EMI by damping voltage
- Transferring power dissipation from the switch to a resistor (or a useful load)
7. Describe the two basic methods of commutation
- Natural Commutation. The simplest and most widely used method of commutation
makes use of the alternating, reversing nature of a.c. voltages to affect the current
transfer.
- Forced Commutation. Once thyristors are operating in the ON state, carrying forward
current, they can only be turned OFF by reducing the current flowing through them to
zero for sufficient time to allow the removal of charged carriers.
8. Why are pulse transformers used in thyristor circuits?
- Often Thyristors are operating at line or high voltage. Trigger pulses are coming from
low voltage electronics. Pulse transformer provide safe isolation from high voltage and
do the job of coupling pulses to the gate.
9. What is the advantage of using zero-voltage switching?
- Zero Voltage Switching can extend the life of a controller and of the load being
controlled. Another advantage is that this technology uses lower-voltage rating
switches, which allows engineers to use other components with higher characteristics
such as lower driving currents, higher energy density, and lower conduction losses.
10. Explain the difference between an inverter and a converter.
- Converters are electrical devices that convert the voltage from alternating current (AC)
to direct current (DC).
- Inverters are electrical devices that convert the voltage from direct current (DC) to
alternating current (AC).