Cycloconverter

Cycloconverter is AC to AC converter. It has single or three phase AC input.

Output is variable voltage and variable frequency.
Cycloconverters ate used for induction motor drives.
They have an advantage of variable frequency output over other AC voltage
regulators.
Step Up Cycloconverter
When the frequency of the output is higher than the frequency of input, then
it is called step up cycloconverter. Fig. shows the mid point type step up
cycloconverter.
Midpoint type cycloconverter
Waveforms of step up cycloconverter
The waveforms of this converter are shown below. In the positive half cycle,
T1 conducts from 0 to t1 hence output voltage is positive.
At t1, T1 is forced commutated and T4 is triggered.
Hence load voltage becomes negative as shown in above waveform.
Then at t2, T4 is forced commutated and T1 is turned-on again. Therefore
output voltage is again positive.
At t2, T4 is turned-on and is forced commutated. Hence output voltage is
negative. At t4, T3 is turned on.
Therefore output voltage is positive.
At t4, T3 is forced commutated and T2 is triggered. Hence the load voltage is
negative. This sequence continues.
Observe that output voltage waveform has the frequency of,
This frequency is higher than supply frequency.
Step-down Cycloconverter
In the step-down cycloconverter, the output frequency is less than supply
frequency.
The midpoint cycloconverter of Fig. can be operated as step down
cycloconverter.
Fig. shows the waveforms of this converter.
These waveforms are shown for highly inductive load with continuous output
current.
Output voltage is also controlled by varying the firing angle.
Consider that, the period of input supply is T . The period of output is 4T.
Four cycles of supply voltage make one cycle of output.
The dotted line shows equivalent output voltage waveform.
Output frequency will be,
Thus the supply frequency is divided by four T1 and T2 are triggered to obtain
positive cycle of the output voltage.
Similarly, T3 and T4 are triggered to obtain negative half cycle of the output
voltage.
Single phase to single phase Cycloconverter
Output voltage is positive, when SCRs of P-converter are conducting.
Similarly the output voltage is negative when SCRs of N-converter are
conducting.
The firing angle of the SCRS is varied to control the output voltage.
Above, waveforms are shown for step down operation. Step up operation is
also possible in this converter.
Four cycles of input make one cycle of output. Hence output frequency is,
3-Phase to 1-Phase Cycloconverter
Output voltage is positive, when SCRs of P-converter are conducting.
And output voltage is negative when N-converter is operating.
Thyristor T
1p
is triggered when R-phase is dominant. Similarly T
2p
is triggered
when y-phase is dominant, and so on.
Fig shows the waveforms of this converter.
It is 3-pulse converter. The dotted line shows equivalent single phase output.
The inductance is used to limit the circulating current.
Waveforms of 3 phase to 1 phase cycloconverter
3-Phase to 3-Phase Cycloconverter
AC VOLTAGE CONTROLLERS
AC voltage controllers are of two types
1. On-off control: In this type of controller, the full input voltage is applied to
output for some number of cycles and no voltage is applied to output for some
number of cycles. In this control, output voltage waveform is discontinuous and
contains large ripple.
2. Phase-angle control: In phase angle control, each half cycle of the source
voltage is applied partially or in full to the load. Firing angle of the SCRs is charged
to control output voltage. Output voltage waveform is continuous but phase
controlled.
In both of the above two types, phase angle control is better since it contains less
ripple and discontinuities in output.
Principle of Phase Control
Fig shows the circuit diagram of single phase half wave controller employing
phase angle control.
Observe that there is one SCR T1 and antiparallel diode D1 Hence only
positive half cycle of the supply is controlled.
The negative half cycle is not controlled since diode D1 conducts fully.
Fig shows the waveforms of this circuit for resistive load.
Observe that the output voltage waveform is not symmetric.
Hence it will have a dc component. This may saturate the loads like induction
motors, pumps etc.
Observe that the output current waveform is not symmetric.
The supply current waveform is same as output current waveform. Hence the
supply current i
s
is not symmetric.
The supply current also contains dc component.
If there is input transformer, then it will be saturated due to dc component of
supply current.
Advantage
Since there is only one SCR, the control is simple.
Disadvantages
1) The output voltage is not controlled fully, since negative half cycle is uncontrolled
due to diode D1.
2) The supply current, output current and output voltage has dc component. This is a
problem for inductive loads.
Applications
Due to dc component in the output current and voltage this is used for heating and
lighting (mainly resistive) applications.
Single Phase Controllers with Resistive Loads
Fig shows the circuit diagram of single phase full wave controller.
It has two SCRs, T1 and T2 In the positive half cycle of the supply T1 controls
the power flow to the load
And in the negative half cycle of the supply T2 controls the power flow to the
load.
The waveforms of this circuit are shown in Fig for resistive load.
The output current waveform is shown for resistive load. It is similar to the
voltage waveform.
The output current and the supply current flow in the same loop. Hence i
o
= i
s
Observe that the voltage and current waveforms are symmetric. Hence there
is no dc component in v
o
, i
o
and i
s
.
Also, it is possible to control the output fully from zero to maximum value.
The output is controlled in positive as well as negative half cycles due to two
SCRs.
Other Circuit Configurations of single phase Full Wave Controller
In the circuit of Fig the gate-cathode drives of the two SCRs must be isolated.
Observe that the cathode of T2 is connected to anode of T1 Hence the gates
as well as cathodes of T1 and T2 must be isolated.
Hence other circuit configurations are developed which eliminate necessity of
isolation.
Full wave controller with common cathode
Fig shows the circuit diagram of single phase full wave controller having
common cathode connection of SCRs.
In this figure observe that the cathodes of two SCRs T1 and T are connected
together.
In the positive half cycle of the supply SCR T1 and diode D1 conducts.
And in the negative half cycle SCR T2 and diode D2 conducts.
In this circuit, the gate cathode drives need not be isolated.
But isolation is normally provided between the control and power circuits.
Four devices are required in the above circuit.
The efficiency of this circuit is slightly reduced due to increased power
dissipation in the devices.
The waveforms of this circuit are similar to those shown in fig.
Single phase Full wave controller with one SCR
Fig shows another configuration of single phase full wave controller having
one SCR T1.
There is a diode bridge having four diodes D1, D2, D3, D4. The waveforms
are shown here.
In the waveforms, observe that T1 is triggered in every half cycle.
In the positive half cycle, current flows through D1 T 1D2 and load
In the negative half cycle current flows through D 3T1 D4 and load.
Thus the diodes form a rectifier bridge and the positive voltage appears
across T1
Hence T1 is triggered in every half cycle. In the waveforms of Fig observe
that the current through SCR flows in every half cycle:
But the supply arid load current is AC. The SCR turns off in every half cycle
when current goes to zero. This is natural commutation.
But if the load is inductive, then current will not go to zero at , 2, 3 etc.
Hence SCR will not turn off and control will be lost
This is the drawback of the circuit. In this circuit, three devices (i.e. two
diodes and one SCR) conduct at any time.
Hence losses are increased. Hence efficiency is slightly reduced.
Advantages
1. The input, output currents and voltage are symmetric. Hence there is no dc
component.
2. Transformers and motors saturation problems are absent.
Applications
Full wave controllers are used extensively for induction motors, pumps, fans etc.
Single Phase Controllers with Inductive Loads
Most of the times the load on the controllers is inductive.
Such loads are induction motors, water pumps, fans, blowers etc.
The output current waveform is different in case of inductive load.
Fig shows the circuit diagram of single phase full wave controller having
inductive load.
The SCR is triggered in positive half cycle with delay angle of .
The output current starts increasing from zero. The waveforms are shown in
Fig.
At the supply voltage is zero, but output current is not zero.
The load inductance tries to maintain the current in the same direction.
Hence SCR T1 keeps on conducting. The SCR T1 conducts from to due to
energy stored in the load inductance.
At the output current becomes zero. Hence T1 turns off by natural
commutation.
In the waveforms of Fig observe that T2 is triggered at + .
The output current starts increasing in the negative direction from zero.
And negative supply voltage appears across the load.
Thus negative cycle of v
o
and i
o
starts. The supply current is same as output
current.
These currents are nonsinusoidal due to inductive load
Merits, Demerits and Applications of AC Voltage Controllers
1) The AC voltage controllers are used to control AC power delivered to the load
from AC supply.
Merits of AC controllers
1) They use line commutation. Hence no extra commutation circuit is required.
2) They have high efficiencies, since devices losses are reduced.
3) Circuits and their implementation is simple.
4) Less maintenance, running cost and compact size.
Demerits of AC controllers
1) In case of on-off control intermittent power is delivered to the load. This
affects load performance.
2) The load current is not sinusoidal in phase control. Hence harmonics are
introduced in supply current also.
3) Sharply varying voltages are applied to the load in case of phase angle
control.
Applications of AC controllers
1) Fans and lighting controls
2) Speed control of AC motors
3) Saturable core reactors
4) Industrial heating furnaces.
Questions
1) What are the advantages of AC voltage controllers?
2) What are the two types of ac voltage controllers? Which one of these is
preferred and why?
3) What is a cycloconverter?
4) What is a AC voltage controller?
5) For a single phase voltage controller, feeding a resistive load, draw the
waveforms of source voltage, gating signals, output voltage and voltage
across the SCR. Describe the working with reference to waveforms drawn;
6) Draw a circuit diagram to explain the operation of 1 phase- 1 phase
cycloconverter for resistive load.
7) What are the disadvantages of AC voltage controllers?
8) Explain the principle of ON-OFF control.
9) Derive the expression for rms value of output voltage.
10)Explain the operation of 1 phase full wave controller with the help of circuit
diagram and waveforms. What are the different configurations of this circuit?
11) Compare the full wave and half wave AC controllers.
12) Explain the operation of single phase full wave (bidirectional) controller for
inductive load with the help of circuit diagram and waveforms.
13) What care must be taken in triggering of SCRs in single phase full wave
(bidirectional) controller