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The thesis Is concerned with the development of a separately excited DC machine In which gate turn-off thyristor devices with their associated firing and protective circuits are used to provide the static commutation of armature coil current. The developed machine has Its armature winding with 24 tapping points located on the stator and Interconnected In "Lop" configuration. The Initiation of the conduction periods of armature switching devices Is defined by a digital control logic circuit. In conjunction with an Incremental rotary encoder which provides the necessary feedback Information relating to shaft speed and shaft angular position. This Is arranged such that, under normal running conditions of the machine, the axis of the radial field of the armature winding maintains the normal space-quadrature relationship with that of the main field winding, giving the optimal torque angle of 000. Provision Is made, however, within the digital control circuit for controlled departure of the armature switch tapping points from the quadrature axis positions, and the effect of this, In Improving commutation Is Investigated. The effect of Interpoles Is also explored. On the basis of the analysis carried out, a proposal Is made for the future development of the machine employing a reduced number of armature switching devices without the need for Interpole windings. / Electricity Directorate, Ministry of Works, Power and Water, Manama, Bahrain.

The Gate Turn-Off (GTO) Thyristor has the best voltage blocking and current conducting capabilities among all known high power semiconductor devices. To improve its dynamic performances to meet the increased demand in high-performance high-power applications, a special driving technique, namely unity gain turn-off, is studied. Several innovative approaches, which realize this driving requirement, are proposed, analyzed and experimentally demonstrated in this dissertation. The Emitter Turn-Off Thyristor (ETO) is a new family of high power semiconductor devices that is suitable for megawatt power electronics application. ETOs with voltage and current ratings of 4.0~6.0 kV and 1.0~4.0 kA, have been developed and demonstrated. These power levels are the highest in silicon power devices and are comparable to those of the GTO. Compared to the conventional GTO, the ETO has a much shorter storage time, voltage controlled turn-off capability, and a much larger reverse biased safe operation area (RBSOA). These combined advantages make the ETO based power system simpler in terms of dv/dt snubber, di/dt snubber and over current protection, resulting in significant savings at the system level. Experimental and numerical simulation results that demonstrate the advantages of the ETO are presented. A new family of snubberless turn-off GTO, the Resonant Gate Commutated Thyristor (RGCT) is proposed and investigated. By using a transient high commutation voltage, the RGCT can achieve unity turn-off gain and snubberless turn-off capability even with a relatively high gate loop stray inductance. Therefore conventional GTOs with flexible gate lead can be used to achieve the state-of-the-art performance similar to that of the Integrated Gate Commutated Turn-Off thyristor (IGCT). Detailed current commutation analysis and experimental results are presented. A novel equivalent circuit model for the GTO under the unity gain turn-off is proposed. This model is composed of a step current source, which represents the open-base PNP turn-off behavior, in series with a diode that represents the GTO's gate-cathode junction. This equivalent circuit can be used to analyze the turn-off transient behavior of a system employing this GTO. A new mechanism that dominates the failure of the GTO under the unity gain turn-off condition is identified and analyzed. Innovative hybrid GTO-based devices all have significant gate lead stray inductance. During the turn-off transition, this stray inductor will interact with the turn-off voltage source, the junction capacitance of the GTO's gate-cathode, causing effective current injection into the GTO's emitter junction when the voltage on the device is already high. Design guidelines and solutions for different types of GTO-based hybrid devices are provided. / Ph. D.

Advancements in the power electronics systems have been directly related to the availability of improved power semiconductor devices. The device performance greatly determines the efficiency, reliability, volume, and cost of the power electronics system. This dissertation is dedicated to develop an advanced high power semiconductor device, the emitter turn-off (ETO) thyristor, which is targeted to improve the limitations of the present high power devices. Major improvements in electrical and mechanical designs of the ETO for high power and high frequency operation are proposed which result in improved snubberless turn-off capability, low conduction loss, and low gate drive power consumption of the new generation ETO. A revolutionary self-power generation method of the ETO is proposed. Different from the conventional high power devices which require the external power input for their gate drivers, ETO achieves complete optically controlled turn-on and turn-off and all the internal power required is self-generated. This advancement will have a major impact to high power converter designs. A novel integrated method to eliminate the dead-time requirement is proposed for ETO. This method not only improves the output waveform quality but also increases the reliability and reduces the cost of the high power PWM voltage source converters. With this unique function, the upper and the lower ETO's within a converter phase leg can receive the ideal complementary (without dead-time) PWM signals and solve shoot-through problems. Method to measure the ETO current and transfer the current information to a PWM signal is proposed. Based on the ETO's built-in current sensor, the over-current protection function of the ETO is designed as well. The experimental results show that the built-in current sensor has a very high precision, and the over-current protection function can effectively protect the ETO during the short circuit faults. In order to improve ETO's turn-off capability, a comprehensive investigation of the turn-off failure mechanism of the ETO was performed. A series of simulations and experiments are carried out to study the ETO turn-off operation. The detail turn-off failure mechanisms are presented. The conditions to cause the ETO failure are addressed. The approaches to improve the ETO's turn-off capability are discussed. / Ph. D.

The thesis Is concerned with the development of a separately excited DC machine In which gate turn-off thyristor devices with their associated firing and protective circuits are used to provide the static commutation of armature coil current. The developed machine has Its armature winding with 24 tapping points located on the stator and Interconnected In "Lop" configuration. The Initiation of the conduction periods of armature switching devices Is defined by a digital control logic circuit. In conjunction with an Incremental rotary encoder which provides the necessary feedback Information relating to shaft speed and shaft angular position. This Is arranged such that, under normal running conditions of the machine, the axis of the radial field of the armature winding maintains the normal space-quadrature relationship with that of the main field winding, giving the optimal torque angle of 000. Provision Is made, however, within the digital control circuit for controlled departure of the armature switch tapping points from the quadrature axis positions, and the effect of this, In Improving commutation Is Investigated. The effect of Interpoles Is also explored. On the basis of the analysis carried out, a proposal Is made for the future development of the machine employing a reduced number of armature switching devices without the need for Interpole windings.

The recently developed gate turn-off thyristor is now becoming well established as the first choice switching device in high power converters for applications such as uninterruptible power supplies, frequency changers, and AC and some DC variable speed motor drives. The special operating features of these devices in conventional circuit configurations are investigated. The GTO thyristor physical behaviour and operating characteristics are first described and supported by measurements made at turn-off currents of up to 600A on a specially constructed test circuit. From this, it is shown that, owing to the extremely fast rates of fall of anode current at turn-off, voltage overshoot effects caused by the stray circuit inductances are highly dangerous to the device, and effective snubbing is essential. A detailed study of these stray inductance effects in constructed DC chopper and H-bridge inverter circuits follows. The circuits are modelled to include these strays, with appropriate mathematical analysis and computer simulation, to determine which stray inductances are the most influential in causing GTO thyristor voltage stress. The different switching patterns are considered for the H-bridge to provide quasi-square and various pulse width modulated (PWM) output voltage waveforms, and the detailed current transfer paths in the various circuit devices and snubber components defined and mathematically analysed in each case. Practical switching effects of diode reverse recovery and GTO mismatched switching times are demonstrated and possible damaging conditions revealed. All analytical and computed results are supported by experimental measurements. A GTO thyristor will be damaged by attempting to turn-off an over-current, and satisfactory protection against this is essential. Conventional fusing is usually inadequate, and a better method is to use a fast active system utilising either a crowbar and fuse, or rapid direct gate turn-off. Both methods are investigated and experimental results provided. It is concluded that, with appropriate circuit layout and component choice, the unavoidable stray inductance effects can be limited to manageable levels. The most severe effects are caused by the DC source inductance which is the most difficult to minimise. Others within the power circuit, if kept small, will have a marginal effect. Fast over-current protection is achievable

S’inscrivant dans le cadre de la gestion de l’énergie dans l’habitat du programme SESAME du pôle de compétitivité S2E2, l’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier et de proposer une structure d’interrupteur commandable à l’ouverture et à la fermeture, bidirectionnel en tension et en courant et à faible perte énergétique, destiné à connecter tout type de charges sur le réseau alternatif 230V/50Hz. Il n’existe pas à l’heure actuelle de composants interrupteurs monolithiques de ce type. La première partie du mémoire présente les interrupteurs électroniques existants. La deuxième partie, traite des interrupteurs électroniques à base de transistors MOS et des limites de cette technologie unipolaire en termes de compromis de minimisation de surface de puces et de minimisation de la dissipation de puissance. Nous montrons ensuite que l’on peut repousser ces limites en adoptant des solutions à base de transistors bipolaires de puissances et notamment avec des bases fines autoprotégées (Transistors GAT). Le quatrième chapitre présente les résultats d’une étude des caractéristiques à l’état passant et à l’état bloqué de transistors GAT et valide leur aptitude à fonctionner sur le réseau alternatif. Nous montrons plusieurs voies possibles d’amélioration des caractéristiques de ces transistors avant d’étudier leur comportement dans une fonction interrupteur. Nous terminons ce travail en démontrant l’intérêt de la commande des transistors GAT en mode de conduction inverse, intérêt qui nous conduit ensuite à proposer une structure d’interrupteur totalement novatrice, avec la réduction par deux du nombre de composants et donc une réduction accrue de la puissance dissipée dans l’interrupteur. / As part of the energy management for household appliances of the S2E2 competitive pole SESAME program, the objective of this thesis is to propose a bidirectional switch in current and voltage with full turn-off control and low energy loss, ensuring the control of all loads types connected to the mains. The first part of this thesis presents the advantages and disadvantages of discrete or monolithic switches. In the second part, we were interested in electronic switches composed of MOS transistors. Different associations strategies and controls will be tested to reduce the power dissipation of the switch on the one hand, and facilitate control of the device on the other hand. Then we turned to solutions based on power bipolar transistors. The last one, called GAT distinguished itself by its high current gain and its low voltage drop in the on state. By implementing around the active base heavily doped caissons which create a shielding effect, one can increase the structure performances. After the design of this component in our laboratory, the characteristics of the on state and the off state were improved to validate its functionality in AC mains. The study will then focus on different technologies to confirm its performances. Using low metallization resistance and assembly strategy intelligently defined, it has been demonstrated that the performance of this component can be increased. Finally, we proposed a new switch structure using only two transistors GAT. We show that the interesting GAT reverse mode characteristics permit to deflect the load current flowing in the diodes and delete them. So we reduced the important source of power dissipation in the switch.

This dissertation presents the analysis and development of an innovative semiconductor device and topology for the high power current source converter (CSC). The CSC is very attractive in high power applications due to its lower output dv/dt, easy regeneration capability and implicit short-circuit protection. Traditionally, either a symmetrical gate turn-off (GTO) thyritor or an asymmetrical GTO in series with a diode is used as the power switch in the CSC. Since the GTO has a lower switching speed and requires a complicated gate driver, the symmetrical GTO based CSC usually has low dynamic response speed and low efficiency. To achieve high power rating, fast dynamic response speed and low harmonics, an advanced semiconductor device and topology are needed for the CSC. Based on symmetrical GTO and power MOSFET technologies, a symmetrical emitter turn-off (ETO) thyristor is developed that shows superior switching performance, high power rating and reverse voltage blocking capability. The on-state characteristics, forced turn-on characteristics, forced turn-off characteristics and the load-commutated characteristics are studied. Test results show that although the load-commutation loss is high, the developed symmetrical ETO is suitable for use in high power CSC due to its low conduction loss, fast switching speed and reverse voltage blocking capability. The snubberless turn-on capability is preferred for a semiconductor device in a power conversion system, and can be achieved for devices with forward biased safe operation area (FBSOA). The FBSOA of the ETO is investigated and experimentally demonstrated. The ETO device has excellent FBSOA due to the negative feedback provided by the emitter switch. However, the FBSOA for a large area ETO is poor. A new ETO concept is therefore proposed for future development in order to demonstrate the FBSOA over a large area device. To improve the turn-on performance of the large area ETO, a novel concept, named the transistor-mode turn-on, is proposed and studied. During the transistor-mode turn-on process, the ETO behaves like a transistor instead of a thyristor. Without a snubber, the transistor-mode turn-on for the ETO is hard to achieve. Through the selection of a proper gate drive and di/dt snubber, the transistor-mode turn-on can be implemented, and the turn-on performance for the ETO can be dramatically improved. To increase the power rating of the CSC without degrading the utilization of power semiconductor devices, a novel multilevel CSC, named the parallel-cell multilevel CSC, is proposed. Based on a six-switch CSC cell, the parallel-cell multilevel CSC has the advantages of high power rating, low harmonics, fast dynamic response and modularity. Therefore, it is very suitable for high power applications. The power stage design, modeling, control and switching modulation scheme for a parallel-cell multilevel CSC based static var compensator (STATCOM) are analyzed and verified through simulation. / Ph. D.

A new concept, the multi level voltage/current reinjection ac/dc conversion, is described in this thesis. Novel voltage and current source converter configurations, based on voltage and current reinjection concepts are proposed. These converter configurations are thoroughly analyzed in their ac and dc system sides. The fundamentals of the reinjection concept is discussed briefly, which lead to the derivation of the ideal reinjection waveform for complete harmonic cancellation and approximations for practical implementation. The concept of multi level voltage reinjection VSC is demonstrated through two types of configurations, based on standard 12-pulse parallel and series connected VSC modified with reinjection bridges and transformers. Firing control strategies and steady state waveform analysis are presented and verified by EMTDC simulations. The multi level current reinjection CSC is also described using two configurations based on standard 12-pulse parallel and series connected CSC modified with associated reinjection circuitry. Firing control strategies and steady state waveform analysis are presented and verified by EMTDC simulations. Taking the advantage of zero current switching in the main bridge valves, achieved through multi level current reinjection, an advanced multi level current reinjection scheme, consisting thyristor main bridges and self-commutated reinjection circuitry is proposed. This hybrid scheme effectively incorporates self-commutated capability into a conventional thyristor converter. The ability of the main bridge valves to commutate without the assistance of a turn-off pulse or line commutating voltage under the zero current condition is explained and verified by EMTDC simulations. Finally, the applications of the MLCR-CSC are discussed in terms of a back to back HVDC link and a long distance HVDC transmission system. The power and control structures and closed loop control strategies are presented. Dynamic simulation is carried out on PSCAD/EMTDC to demonstrate the two systems ability to respond to varying active and reactive power operating conditions.

This dissertation presents a systematic design and demonstration of a novel solid-state DC circuit breaker. The mechanical circuit breaker is widely used in power systems to protect industrial equipment during fault or abnormal conditions. Compared with the slow and high-maintenance mechanical circuit breaker, the solid-state circuit breaker is capable of high-speed interruption of high currents without generating an arc, hence it is maintenance-free. Both the switch and the tripping unit are solid-state, which meet the requirements of precise protection and high reliability. The major challenge in developing and adopting a solid-state circuit breaker has been the lack of power semiconductor switches that have adequate current-carrying capability and interruption capability. The high-speed, high-current solid-state DC circuit breaker proposed and demonstrated here uses a newly-emerging power semiconductor switch, the emitter turn-off (ETO) thyristor as the main interruption switch. In order to meet the requirement of being a high-current circuit breaker, ETO parallel operation is needed. Therefore the major effort of this dissertation is dedicated to the development of a high-current (5000A) DC switch module that utilizes multiple ETOs in parallel. This work can also be used to develop an AC switch module by changing the asymmetrical ETOs used to symmetrical ETOs. An accurate device model of the ETO is needed for the development of the high-current DC switch module. In this dissertation a novel physics-base lumped charge model is developed for the ETO thyristor for the first time. This model is verified experimentally and used for the research and development of the emitter turn-off (ETO) thyristor as well as the DC switch module discussed in this dissertation. With the aid of the developed device model, the device current sharing between paralleled multiple ETO thyristors is investigated. Current sharing is difficult to achieve for a thyristor-type device due to the large device parameter variations and strong positive feedback mechanism in a latched thyristor. The author proposes the "DirectETO" concept that directly benefits from the high-speed capability of the ETO and strong thermal couplings among ETOs. A high-current DC switch module based on the DirectETO can be realized by directly connecting ETOs in parallel without the bulky current sharing inductors used in other current-sharing solutions. In order to achieve voltage stress suppression under high current conditions, the parasitic parameters, especially parasitic inductance in a high-current ETO switch module are studied. The Partial Element Equivalent Circuit (PEEC) method is used to extract the parasitics. Combined with the developed device model, the electrical interactions among multiple ETOs are investigated which results in structural modification for the solid-state DC switch module. The electro-thermal model of the DC switch module and the heatsink subsystem is used to identify the "thermal runaway" phenomenon in the module that is caused by the negative temperature coefficient of the ETO's conduction drop. The comparative study of the electro-thermal coupling identifies a strongly-coupled thermal network that increases the stability of the thermal subsystem. The electro-thermal model is also used to calculate the DC and transient thermal limit of the DC switch module. The high-current (5000A) DC switch module coupled with a solid state tripping unit is successfully applied as a high-speed, high-current solid-state DC circuit breaker. The experimental demonstration of a 5000A current interruption shows an interruption time of about 5 microseconds. This high-speed, high-current DC switch module can therefore be used in DC circuit breaker applications as well as other types of application, such as AC circuit breakers, transfer switches and fault current limiters. Since the novel solid-state DC circuit breaker is able to extinguish the fault current even before it reaches an uncontrollable level, this feature provides a fast-acting, current-limiting protection scheme for power systems that is not possible with traditional circuit breakers. The potential impact on the power system is also discussed in this dissertation. / Ph. D.