Power Electronics

DC Choppers
Introduction
● Chopper is a static device.
● A variable dc voltage is obtained from a constant dc voltage source.
● Also known as dc-to-dc converter.
● Widely used for motor control.
● Also used in regenerative braking.
● Thyristor converter offers greater efficiency, faster response, lower
maintenance, smaller size and smooth control.
Classification of Choppers
● Step Up Chopper (boost converter)
○ In step up choppers, output voltage is more than input voltage.
○ Step-up choppers are used in renewable energy systems.
○ They are found in solar panels, electric vehicles, and other applications where higher output
voltage is required from a lower input voltage.
● Step Down Chopper(Buck converter)
○ In step down choppers, output voltage is less than input voltage.
○ Step-down choppers are commonly used in DC motor speed control, power supplies for
low-voltage devices, and voltage regulation circuits.
● Step Up/Down Chopper (Buck-boost converter)
○ This type of chopper can either step up or step down the input voltage depending on the duty
cycle.
○ Buck-boost choppers are widely used in power supplies, battery-operated devices, and voltage
regulation systems where the input voltage can vary, but a constant output voltage is needed.
Principle Of Step-down Chopper
Principle Of Step-down Chopper
● A step-down chopper with resistive load.
● The thyristor in the circuit acts as a switch.
● When thyristor is ON, supply voltage appears across the load.
● When thyristor is OFF, the voltage across the load will be zero.
● The average voltage across the load is lower than the input voltage,
determined by the duty cycle.
Principle Of Step-down Chopper
Principle Of Step-down Chopper
Principle Of Step-down Chopper
Principle Of Step-down Chopper
Principle Of Step-down Chopper
Principle Of Step-down Chopper
Principle Of Step-down Chopper
Methods Of Control
● The output dc voltage can be varied by the following methods:
○ Pulse width modulation control or constant frequency operation.
○ Variable frequency control.
Pulse Width Modulation
● tON is varied keeping chopping frequency ‘f’ & chopping period ‘T’ constant.
● Output voltage is varied by varying the ON time t ON
Variable Frequency Control
● Chopping frequency ‘f’ is varied keeping either tON or tOFF constant.
● To obtain full output voltage range, frequency has to be varied over a
wide range.
● This method produces harmonics in the output and for large t OFF load
current may become discontinuous.
Variable Frequency Control
Step-down Chopper With R-L Load
Step-down Chopper With R-L Load
● When chopper is ON, supply is connected across load.
● Current flows from supply to load.
● When chopper is OFF, load current continues to flow in the same direction
through FWD due to energy stored in inductor ‘L’.
● Load current can be continuous or discontinuous depending on the
values of ‘L’ and duty cycle ‘d’
● For a continuous current operation, load current varies between two
limits Imax and Imin
● When current becomes equal to Imax the chopper is turned-off and it is
turned-on when current reduces to Imin.
Step-down Chopper With R-L Load
Principle Of Step-up Chopper
Principle Of Step-up Chopper
● Step-up chopper is used to obtain a load voltage higher than the input
voltage V.
● The values of L and C are chosen depending upon the requirement of
output voltage and current.
● When the chopper is ON, the inductor L is connected across the supply.
● The inductor current ‘I’ rises and the inductor stores energy during the ON
time of the chopper, tON.
Principle Of Step-up Chopper
● When the chopper is off, the inductor current I is forced to flow through
the diode D and load for a period, tOFF.
● The current tends to decrease resulting in reversing the polarity of
induced EMF in L.
● Therefore voltage across load is given by:
Principle Of Step-up Chopper
● A large capacitor ‘C’ connected across the load, will provide a continuous
output voltage .
● Diode D prevents any current flow from capacitor to the source.
● Step up choppers are used for regenerative braking of dc motors.
Expression For Output Voltage
Expression For Output Voltage
Expression For Output Voltage
Expression For Output Voltage
Performance Parameters
● The thyristor requires a certain minimum time to turn ON and turn OFF.
● Duty cycle d can be varied only between a min. & max. value, limiting the
min. and max. value of the output voltage.
● Ripple in the load current depends inversely on the chopping frequency, f.
● To reduce the load ripple current, frequency should be as high as
possible.
Exercise
● A Chopper circuit is operating on TRC at a frequency of 2 kHz on a 460 V
supply. If the load voltage is 350 volts, calculate the conduction period of
the thyristor in each cycle. (Ans: 0.38msec)
● Input to the step up chopper is 200 V. The output required is 600 V. If the
conducting time of thyristor is 200 μsec. Compute:
○ Chopping frequency (3.33 kHz)
○ If the pulse width is halved for constant frequency of operation, find the new output
voltage. (300V)
Exercise
● A dc chopper has a resistive load of 20Ω and input voltage V S = 220V.
When chopper is ON, its voltage drop is 1.5 volts and chopping frequency
is 10 kHz. If the duty cycle is 80%, determine the average output voltage
and the chopper on time. (Ans: Vdc = 174.8V, tON = 80s)
● In a dc chopper, the average load current is 30 Amps, chopping
frequency is 250 Hz, supply voltage is 110 volts. Calculate the ON and OFF
periods of the chopper if the load resistance is 2 ohms. (Ans: t ON = 2.18ms,
tOFF = 1.82ms)
Exercise
● A dc chopper in figure has a resistive load of R = 10Ω and input voltage
of V = 200 V. When chopper is ON, its voltage drop is 2 V and the
chopping frequency is 1 kHz. If the duty cycle is 60%, determine
○ Average output voltage (118.8V)
○ RMS value of output voltage (153.37V)
○ Effective input resistance of chopper (6.83Ω)
○ Chopper efficiency. (99%)
Reading Assignment
● Read about the principle of operation of Step Up/Down Chopper
(Buck-boost converter)
● Read about A, B, C, D, and E types of Chopper circuits.