Unit 3

Unit 3 - INVERTERS AND CHOPPERS

Classification of inverters - Single phase and three phase voltage

source inverters (both120° mode and 180°mode, buck- boost
converter, Voltage and Current Commutated choppers, PWM
inverters, Principle of Chopper, Chopper classification – step up and
step-down Chopper - Types of regulators.
Introduction to Inverter:
• The inverters are DC to AC Converters. The dc source is normally a battery or
output of the controlled rectifier.
Why do we need inverters?
• The basic need of need of inverter lies in the AC supply as we generate AC and
use AC but AC storage is not possible. But electric energy stored is DC.
• Inverters are used in induction motor drives, UPS, standby power supplies,
induction heating, variable frequency drives, HVDC system.
Classification of inverter:
i) Based on the source type inverters are classified into two types.
Voltage Source/Voltage Fed Inverters
Current Source/Current Fed Inverters
ii) Based on the output wave inverters are classified into three types.
• Sine Wave
• Square Wave
• Modified Sine Wave
iii) Based on the type of load inverters are classified into two types.
o Single Phase
i. Half Bridge
ii. Full Bridge
o Three Phase
✔ 180˚ mode
✔ 120˚ mode
iv) Based on the output level inverters are classified into two types.
❖ Two Level
❖ Multi Level
Single Phase Half Bride Inverter with R Load:
• Basically, for single phase half bridge inverter, the following components are required:-
1. Two thyristors
2. Load
3. One voltage source (divided in two sources)
• A single DC source is divided into two DC Sources.
• Initially, two thyristors are not triggered to turn ‘ON’, so zero current flows through the device.
• The Thyristor T1 is turned ‘ON’ by giving a gate pulse it. The Thyristor T2 is kept ‘OFF’ and no gate signal is given to it.
• Thus, the ThyristorT1 starts conducting and the current starts to flow from VS /2(positive terminal of
1st source)-T1-Load-negative terminal of 1st source.
• Thus, a positive cycle similar to that of ac cycle is obtained.
• Now, the Thyristor T1 is made ‘OFF’ and T2is made ‘ON’ by giving a gate signal to it.
• The Thyristor T2 starts to conduct and the current starts to flow through the load.
• The current takes the following path VS/2( positive terminal of 2nd source)-Load-T2-negative terminal of the 2ndsource.
• Thus, a negative cycle is produced.
• Two SCRs are triggered alternatively so that the load conducts current in both directions.
• Thus, a square ac wave is generated.
• Hence, direct current is converted into alternating current using inverter circuit.
Single Phase Half Bride Inverter with RL Load:
• Basically, for single phase half bridge inverter, the following components are required:-
1. Two thyristors
2. Inductive Load
3. One voltage source (divided in two sources)
• Initially, two thyristors are not triggered to turn ‘ON’, so zero current flows through the device.
• The Thyristor T1 is turned ‘ON’ by giving a gate pulse it. Thus, the ThyristorT1 starts conducting and the
current starts to flow from VS /2(positive terminal of 1st source)-T1-Load-negative terminal of 1st source.
Thus, a positive cycle similar to that of ac cycle is obtained.
• Now, the Thyristor T1 is made ‘OFF’ and the diode D1 starts conducting due to inductive current and it
decays to zero. Now T2is made ‘ON’ by giving a gate signal to it.
• The Thyristor T2 starts to conduct and the current starts to flow through the load. The current takes the
following path VS/2( positive terminal of 2nd source)-Load-T2-negative terminal of the 2ndsource. Thus, a
negative cycle is produced.
• Now D2 starts conducting and it decays to zero. Then, T1 Starts to conduct again.
• Two SCRs are triggered alternatively so that the load conducts current in both directions.
• Thus, a square ac wave is generated.
• Hence, direct current is converted into alternating current using inverter circuit.
Single Phase Full Bride Inverter with R Load:
• The power circuit of a single phase full bridge inverter comprises of four thyristors T1 to T4, four diodes D1 to D4
and a two wire DC input power source Vs.
• Each diode is connected in antiparallel to the thyristors viz. D1 is connected in anti-parallel to T1 and so on.
• The working principle of single phase full bridge inverter is based on the sequential triggering of thyristors
placed diagonally opposite.
• For half of time period, thyristors T3 & T4 will be triggered while for the remaining half of time period, T1 & T2
will be triggered. Only two thyristors are turned ON in half of the time period.
• Load is connected to source through T1 & T2 and hence, the load voltage is equal to the source voltage with
positive polarity.
• The load voltage is positive & equal to Vs in the output voltage waveform.
• The gate signal (ig1 & ig2) are removed, T1 and T2 gest turned OFF. However, at the same instant gate signal (ig3 &
ig4) are applied and hence, T3 & T4 are turned ON. When T3 & T4 are conducting, load gets connected to the
source.
• The load voltage magnitude is again Vs but with reverse polarity. The output voltage is shown negative in the
voltage waveform.
• For the time 0<t≤(T/2), thyristors T1 & T2 conducts and load voltage Vo = Vs.
• For the time (T/2)<t≤T, thyristors T3 & T4 conducts and load voltage Vo = -Vs.
Single Phase Full Bride Inverter with RL Load:
• A single-phase full-bridge inverter where there are four power switches: T1–T4. The switch pairs (T1, T2) and (T3, T4)
conduct in turn. The two terminals of the load are connected to the middle points of the left-hand leg and right-hand leg of
the bridge circuit, respectively.
• The load considered is RL load with the impedance phase angle ϕ. Moreover, there are four diodes, D1–D4, which are
employed to provide the paths for the load current driven by the stored energy in the load inductor. The period of a cycle is
denoted by T.
• During the interval 0 ≤ t < t1, the switch pairs (T1, T2) and (T3, T4) are both off, but the diode pair (D1, D2) is forced on by the
energy remaining in the load inductor.
• Therefore, at this time, the output voltage vo is Vs, and the inductor current io reduces gradually in amplitude.
• At the time instant t1, the load current io becomes zero so that the diodes D1 and D2 are off, but the switches T1 and T2 are
switched on by triggering.
• Therefore, during the time interval t1 ≤ t < t2, the voltage across the load is still vo = Vd, but the direction of the current io is
changed to positive.
• At the time instant t2, the trigger signals are sent in order to switch off T1 and T2, but to switch on T3 and T4. The switches
T1 and T2 are thus turned off immediately, but T3 and T4 cannot be turned on immediately as the energy stored in the load
inductor forces the diodes D2 and D3 on.
• At this moment, the load voltage vo becomes −Vd, but the load current io keeps the flow direction, but reduces its magnitude
as times goes by. When the time reaches t3, the load current reduces to zero so that the diodes D2 and D3 are off, but the
switches T3 and T4 are on by triggering.
• Therefore, at the interval t3 ≤ t < t4, the output voltage across the load is still −Vd, but the load current changes direction and
increases its amplitude as time goes by. At the time instant t4, the trigger signals switch off T3 and T4 , but cannot turn on
T1 and T2 immediately, as the energy stored in the load inductor forces the diodes D1 and D4 to turn on.
• Therefore, within the interval t4 ≤ t < t5, the output voltage vo is changed to Vd, but the load current keeps the previous
direction but reduces its amplitude as time goes by. Actually, the inverter during t4 ≤ t < t5 repeats the operation process of
the inverter during the interval 0 ≤ t < t1.
Three Phase Inverters(180° & 120°) conduction mode:
• A three-phase inverter converts a DC input into a three-phase AC output. Its three arms
are normally delayed by an angle of 120° so as to generate a three-phase AC supply.
• The inverter switches each has a ratio of 50% and switching occurs after every T/6 of
the time T 60 degree angle interval.
• The switches 1 and 4, the switches 2 and 5 and switches 3 and 6 complement each
other.
• It is nothing but three single phase inverters put across the same DC source. The pole
voltages in a three phase inverter are equal to the pole voltages in single phase half
bridge inverter.
• The two types of inverters above have two modes of conduction − 180° mode of
conduction and 120° mode of conduction.
180° mode of conduction:
• In this mode of conduction, every device is in conduction state for 180° where they are
switched ON at 60° intervals. The terminals a, b and c are the output terminals of the
bridge that are connected to the three-phase delta or star connection of the load.
• The operation of a balanced star connected load is explained in the diagram below. For
the period 0° − 60° the points 1, 5 and 6 are in conduction mode. The terminals A and C
of the load are connected to the source at its positive point. The terminal B is connected
to the source at its negative point. In addition, resistances Z/2 is between the neutral
and the positive end while resistance Z is between the neutral and the negative terminal.

The load voltages are gives as follows; The line voltages are given as follows;
VAN = V/3, VAB = VAN − VBN = V,
VBN = −2V/3, VBC = VBN − VCN = −V,
VCN = V/3 VCA = VCN − VAN = 0
STEP 1

z/2
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6

z/2
120° mode of conduction:
• In this mode of conduction, each electronic device is in a conduction state for 120°. It is
most suitable for a delta connection in a load because it results in a six-step type of
waveform across any of its phases. Therefore, at any instant only two devices are
conducting because each device conducts at only 120°.
• The terminal A on the load is connected to the positive end while the terminal B is
connected to the negative end of the source. The terminal C on the load is in a condition
called floating state. Furthermore, the phase voltages are equal to the load voltages as
shown below.
• Phase voltages = Line voltages
• VAB = V
• VBC = −V/2
• VCA = −V/2
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6
Pulse Width Modulation Inverters:
• PWM is a technique that is used to reduce the overall harmonic distortion (THD) in a
load current.
• It uses a pulse wave in rectangular/square form that results in a variable average
waveform value f(t) after its pulse width has been modulated.
• The time period for modulation is given by T. Therefore, waveform average value is
given by

• Various PWM Inverters are

i. Single Pulse Width Modulation
ii. Multiple Pulse Width Modulation
iii. Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation
iv. Modified Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation
Introduction to Choppers:
• A chopper is an static power electronics device that converts fixed dc
input to a variable DC output directly.
• Choppers can increase or decrease the DC voltage level at its outside side.
So, chopper transfer in case of ac circuit. So, it is known as DC
transformer.
• Choppers is classified into two types
Step down chopper
Step up chopper
Step-up Chopper/Boost Converter:
• Step-up chopper is a static device whose average output DC voltage is greater than its input DC voltage.
• The working of this chopper in two steps: Switch ON period and Switch OFF period of chopper.
• Switch ON Period: When chopper (CH) is switched ON, the current will flow through the closed path formed
by supply source Vs, inductor L and chopper CH. During this period, no current will flow through the load. Only
source current is will flow and the value of load current io will be ZERO during the ON period.
• During the TON period, energy is stored in the inductor L. This energy storage in L is essential to boost the load
output voltage above the source voltage. Therefore, a large value of L is essential in a step-up chopper.
• Switch OFF period: When the chopper CH is switched OFF, the current through the L can not die
instantaneously rather it decays exponentially. Due to this behavior of L, it will force the current through the
diode D and load for the entire time period TOFF.
• Since, the current through the inductor L tends to decrease, the polarity of the emf induced in inductor L is
reversed. As a result, the voltage across the load becomes equal to the sum of source voltage and emf induced
in inductor. Thus, the output voltage exceeds the source voltage Vs. The load / output voltage may be written as
Vo = Vs + L(di/dt)
• Thus, the circuit works as a step-up chopper. It may be noted here that, the voltage across the load increases
because the inductor releases its stored energy to the load during the OFF period.
Step-down Chopper/Buck Converter:
• A Step-down chopper is a static device that step downs its DC input voltage. The value of
average output DC voltage of this chopper is less than that of its fixed DC input source
voltage. This type of chopper is more common.
• The chopper is shown within a dotted line and assumed to be a switch. This circuit consists
of inductor L, a free-wheeling diode, chopper CH, Source and Load. Fixed DC input voltage
Vs is applied and our aim is to get the variable DC output voltage which is a function of
chopper. To get the variable DC voltage, we will switch ON and OFF the chopper CH at some
frequency called the chopping frequency (f).
• The working of this chopper in two steps:
i. Case-1: When Chopper CH is switched ON.
ii. Case-2: When Chopper CH is switched OFF.
 Case-2: When Chopper CH is switched
Case-1: When Chopper CH is switched ON OFF.
• When CH is switched ON, the source is directly • When chopper is switched OFF, the load is
connected to load and hence the output voltage disconnected from the source Vs and hence load
Vo becomes equal to Vs. The time period for which voltage Vo will be ZERO during the entire period
chopper is kept ON is called ON Time of chopper for with CH is OFF. The time for which chopper is
and represented by TON. Thus, Vo will be equal to kept OFF is known as OFF time and represented
Vs for time TON. by TOFF.
• During the ON period of chopper, the current will • The CH is switched OFF, the current through the
build in the load exponentially and will reach its inductor L (io) cannot suddenly drop to zero.
maximum value at the end of TON (It is assumed Rather, it starts decreasing and hence the polarity
that TON is less than the time required for load of induced emf across the inductor reverses.
current to reach its steady state value). This,
• This induced emf of inductor makes free-wheeling
simply means that the maximum value of load
diode forward biased and hence, free-wheeling
current io will be less than the steady state value.
diode (D) acts as a short during TOFF. Thus, the
• the load current during TON time is shown linearly load current continues to decay through inductor
increasing with time. This is because the chopping L, free-wheeling diode D and load even though the
frequency is high and hence TON is very less. For a source Vs is disconnected. The load current
small time period, the exponential rise of current reaches its minimum value during OFF time and
may be approximated to the linear rise. then CH is again switched ON.
T = TON + TOFF
Buck Boost Converter:
• Buck Boost converter which can operate as a DC-DC Step-Down converter or a DC-DC
Step-Up converter depending upon the duty cycle, D.
• The input voltage source is connected to a solid state device. The second switch used is a
diode. The diode is connected, in reverse to the direction of power flow from source, to a
capacitor and the load and the two are connected in parallel.
• The controlled switch is turned on and off by using Pulse Width Modulation(PWM). PWM
can be time based or frequency based. Frequency based modulation has disadvantages like
a wide range of frequencies to achieve the desired control of the switch which in turn will
give the desired output voltage. Time based Modulation is mostly used for DC-DC
converters. It is simple to construct and use. The frequency remains constant in this type of
PWM modulation.
• The Buck Boost converter is used where intermittent sources(non linear o/p) are used such
as solar, wind turbine etc…
• The Buck Boost converter has two modes of operation.
Mode I : Switch is ON, Diode is OFF
Mode II : Switch is OFF, Diode is ON
Mode I : Switch is ON, Diode is OFF
• The Switch is ON and therefore represents a short circuit ideally offering zero resistance to the flow of
current so when the switch is ON all the current will flow through the switch and the inductor and back
to the DC input source.
• The inductor stores charge during the time the switch is ON and when the solid state switch is OFF the
polarity of the Inductor reverses so that current flows through the load and through the diode and back
to the inductor. So the direction of current through the inductor remains the same.
• The switch is on for a time TON and is off for a time TOFF. Duty Cycle
• We define the time period, T, as T = TON + TOFF
• Since the switch is closed for a time TON = DT we can say that Δt = DT.
• While performing the analysis of the Buck-Boost converter we have to consider
• The inductor current is continuous and this is made possible by selecting an appropriate value of L.
• The inductor current in steady state rises from a value with a positive slope to a maximum value during
the ON state and then drops back down to the initial value with a negative slope. Therefore the net
change of the inductor current over any one complete cycle is zero.
Mode II : Switch is OFF, Diode is ON
• In this mode the polarity of the inductor is reversed and the energy stored in the inductor is released
and is ultimately dissipated in the load resistance and this helps to maintain the flow of current in the
same direction through the load and also step-up the output voltage as the inductor is now also acting
as a source in conjunction with the input source.
• Since the switch is open for a time
• It is already established that the net change of the inductor current over any one complete cycle is zero.

• We know that D varies between 0 and 1. If D > 0.5, the output voltage is larger than the input; and if D <
0.5, the output is smaller than the input. But if D = 0.5 the output voltage is equal to the input voltage.
Voltage Commutated Chopper
• Voltage commutated chopper is one of the simplest and is generally used in
high power circuit where load fluctuation is not very large.
• This chopper is also known as Parallel Capacitor Turn Off Chopper,
Impulse Commutated Chopper or Classical Chopper.
• This circuit comprises of one main thyristor T1 and one auxiliary thyristor TA.
Auxiliary thyristor TA, capacitor C, diode D and inductor L basically forms
the commutation circuit. Free-wheeling diode FD is connected across the RLE
type load.
• Working of this chopper can only start if the capacitor C is charged with polarities. This can be achieved in one of the
tow ways as mentioned below:
• By closing switch S so that capacitor C gets directly connected to source Vs. Once the switch S is closed, capacitor gets
charged up to source voltage Vs through Rc.
• Auxiliary thyristor TA is triggered so that C gets charged through Vs, C, TA and load. The charging current through C
decays and as it reaches ZERO, vc = Vs and TA is turned off.
• With capacitor C charged with the polarities, the chopper circuit is ready for its operation. The current ic, iT1, ifd and
io are taken positive in the arrow direction marked. Similarly, the voltages vc, vT1, vTA and vo across C, T1, TA and load
are taken as positive with the polarities marked.
• Simplifying assumption for this chopper are:
i)Load current is constant, and Vc (0)= Vs
ii)Thyristors and diodes are ideal elements
Mode-I:
• In this mode, the main thyristor T1 is triggered at t=0 and RLE load gets connected to the source Vs so that load
voltage vo = Vs. During this mode, there are two current paths

• Load current Io, assumed constant, constitute one path and commutation current ic the other path. Load current
io flows through source Vs, main thyristor T1 and load whereas the capacitor current ic flows through oscillatory
circuit formed by C, T1, L and D.
• The capacitor current first rises from zero to a maximum value when the voltage across the capacitor is zero. As
ic decreases to zero, the voltage across C becomes equal to the source voltage with reverse polarity i.e. v c = -Vs. This
voltage across the capacitor is held constant at (-Vs) by diode D.
• The voltage across auxiliary thyristor TA is equal to the negative of voltage across capacitor.
• Therefore, when voltage across capacitor is zero, the same becomes zero across TA.
• However, when vc = -Vs, the voltage across TA becomes Vs.
Mode-II:
• During Mode-II, the voltage across capacitor C is (-Vs) and that across
TA is Vs.
• The capacitor charging current ic is zero. Only main thyristor T1
continues to conduct during this mode and hence the chopper output
voltage is equal to source voltage Vs.
• This simply means that chopper is ON during this mode.
Mode-III:
• When main thyristor T1 is to be turned off, auxiliary
thyristor TA is triggered. Once TA is triggered, the voltage
across the main thyristor becomes equal to (-Vs) and
current drops to zero as it begins to flow through TA.
• Thus, the main thyristor T1 gets turned off. Since,
capacitor voltage is used here for commutation of main
thyristor, it is called voltage commutated chopper.
• After T1 is turned off, load current begins to flow through
C and TA.
• The load voltage is sum of source voltage and voltage across the
capacitor i.e. Vo = 2Vs.
• However, it decreases linearly as the voltage across capacitor, stars
decreasing.
• When capacitor gets charged to Vs, the load voltage becomes ZERO
and load current drops to zero.
Mode-IV:
• During this mode, the load current is zero, capacitor and auxiliary thyristor current are zero and the voltage across
main thyristor T1 is Vs.
• Auxiliary thyristor TA is reversed biased due to voltage across capacitor and current through TA is zero.
• Therefore, TA gets naturally commutated. As capacitor is slightly overcharged, free-wheeling diode gets forward
biased and load current free-wheels through FD and load

• During this mode, ic = 0, iT1 = 0, ifd = Io, vT1 = Vs, vo = 0 and iTA = 0. In this mode, the chopper is OFF.
• After this mode, the main thyristor T1 is triggered again and the flour modes as explained above repeats.
Disadvantage:
• Voltage commutated chopper is simple, it has therefore been used extensively. It, however, suffers from flowing
disadvantages:
• A starting circuit is required to charge the capacitor.
• Load voltage at once rises to 2Vs at the instant commutation of main SCR is initiated. Free-wheeling diode is therefore
subjected to twice the supply voltage.
• This chopper cannot work on no load. This is because at no load, capacitor would not get charged from (-V s) to Vs when
auxiliary thyristor is triggered for commutation of main thyristor.
Current Commutated Chopper
• Current Commutated Chopper is a type of chopper in which commutation of thyristor used in the circuit take place due
to oscillatory current through it.
• Here, T1 is the main thyristor. The commutation circuitry comprises of TA (the auxiliary
thyristor), Capacitor C, Inductor L and Diode D1 & D2.
• FD is the free-wheeling diode and RC is the charging resistor. To make the
analysis simple, following assumptions are made:
• Load current is constant
• SCRs and diodes are ideal switch
• Charging Resistor RC is very large and can be treated as open circuit during
commutation.
• Current ic, iT1, ifd and io are treated as positive when these are in the arrow
directions marked. Similarly, voltages vc, vT1, vTA and vo are taken positive with
the polarities as marked in the circuit diagram.
Working Principle of Current Commutated Chopper:
• The working principle of current commutated chopper is based on current commutation
technique of thyristor. The energy required for commutation comes from the charged capacitor
C.
• This capacitor is first charged to source voltage Vs by charging resistor RC. Once the capacitor C
is charged to Vs, main thyristor T1 is turned ON so that load voltage vo becomes equal to source
voltage Vs and load current io = Io.
• With the turning ON of T1, the commutation circuitry remains inactive. It comes into service
when the auxiliary thyristor TA is fired.
Mode-1:
• At time t = 0, main SCR T1 is fired which results in load voltage and current to
be equal to Vs and Io respectively.
• This is because, the load is directly connected to source through T1.

• To start commutation of main thyristor T1, auxiliary thyristor TA is turned

ON (say at t=t1).
• This results in an oscillatory circuit comprising of C, L and TA. The voltage
and current through this oscillatory circuit vary sinusoidally.
• The magnitude of oscillatory current is given as

• During the time interval (t2-t1), ic and vc vary sinusoidally through half a cycle.
• In this mode, the current through the oscillatory circuit is maximum when the voltage
across the capacitor reduces to zero. At t2, the current through the oscillatory circuit
tend to reverse in the auxiliary thyristor TA and hence, it gets naturally commutated.
• At t2, vc = -Vs as shown in the waveform. This means, the lower plate of capacitor is
positively charged while the upper plate is negatively charged.
• Note that, T1 remains unaffected during this mode and hence load current and
voltage will remain to be Io & Vo respectively.
Mode-2:
• As TA is turned off at t2, oscillatory current begins to flow through C, L, D2 and T1.
• It should be noted that the current will flow through T1 not through D1.
• This is because the D1 is reversed biased by a small voltage drop across the
conducting thyristor T1. Therefore, after t2, ic would pass through T1 not through
D1.
• In thyristor T1, ic is in opposition to the load current io so that iT1 = (Io – ic). At
some time t3 when ic rises to Io, the current through the main thyristor will reduce
to zero and hence it will be commutated i.e. turned off at t = t3. Since the
oscillatory current through T1 turns it off, it is called current commutated
chopper. During this mode, load voltage remains Vs through T1. For this mode,
t2<t<t3.
Mode-3:
• As T1 is turned off at t=t3, ic becomes more that Io. After t3, ic supplies load
current Io and the excess current (ic – Io) is conducted through D1. This mode of
operation is depicted
• The voltage drop in D1 keeps T1 reversed biased for (t4-t3) = tc; this is shown in the
waveform of vT1. At t4, if vc becomes more than Vs, FD comes into conduction
otherwise Mode-4 would follow.
• During Mode-3, when ic is at its peak value, voltage across capacitor becomes equal
to zero.
• After this peak, capacitor voltage reverses and its upper and lower plate becomes
positive & negative respectively.
Mode-4:
• At t = t4, capacitor current ic reduces to zero. This results in iD1 = 0 and diode
D1 is turned off. After t4, a constant load current Io begins to flow through
capacitor C, L and D2.
• Since current through capacitor is constant, it begins to charge linearly till
voltage across it becomes equal to source voltage Vs. Note that, current is
constant (equal to Io) during this period i.e. (t5-t4).
• As D1 is turned off at t4, vT1 = vTA = vc; for vc, vT1 and vTA. Now the load voltage
vo = Vs – vc = Vs – voltage ab at t4.
• At t5, vc = Vs, therefore load voltage reduces to zero at this moment. During the
time interval (t5-t4), vc increases linearly, therefore load voltage vo decreases
linearly to zero during this time interval.
Mode-5:
• At t5, the capacitor is actually overcharged to a voltage somewhat more than
the source voltage Vs. free-wheeling diode FD gets forward biased and starts
to conduct the load current Io at t5. Load voltage reduces to zero at t5
• As ic is not zero at t5, the capacitor C is still connected to the load through Vs, C,
L and D2. As a consequence, C is overcharged by the transfer of energy from L
to C. At t6, capacitor current becomes zero and the voltage across it becomes
more than the source voltage.
• During (t6-t5), capacitor current and current through free-wheeling diode
feeds the load i.e. ic+ifd = Io. From t5 onwards, io freewheels through FD. As ic is
zero and D2 is open circuited, C now discharges through RC for the
freewheeling interval of chopper. After t5, vT1 remains constant at Vs, because
Vs reaches T1 terminal through FD.
Advantages of Current Commutated Chopper:
Following are the advantages of current commutated chopper:
•Commutation is reliable so long as the load current is less
than the peak commutating current.
•Capacitor is always charged with correct polarity.
•Auxiliary thyristor is naturally commutated as its
commutating current passes through zero value in
the oscillatory circuit formed by L & C.