Three Phase
3phase A Rectification
3wre
AC Supply ve 3-phase rectification is the process of
A
converting a balanced 3-phase power supply
into a fxed DC supply using solid state diodes or
thyristors
We saw in the previous tutorial that the process of converting an AC input supply into a
fixed DC supply is called Rectification with the most popular circuits used to perform this
rectification process is one that is based on solid-state semiconductor diodes.
In fact, rectification of alternating voltages is one of the most popular applications of
diodes, as diodes are inexpensive, small and robust allowing us to create numerous types
of rectifier circuits using either individually connected diodes or with just a single
integrated bridge rectifier module.
Single phase supplies such as those in houses and offices are generally 120 Vrms or 240
Vrms phase-to-neutral, also called line -to-neutral (L-N), and nominally of a fixed voltage
and frequency producing an alternating voltage or current in the form of a sinusoidal
waveforn being given the abbreviation of "AC".
Three-phase rectification, also known as poly phase rectification circuits are similar to the
previous single-phase rectifiers, the difference this time is that we are using three, single
phase supplies connected together that have been produced by one single three-phase
generator.
Ads by Google
Stop seeng this ad
hy this ad?
The advantage here is that 3-phase rectification circuits can be used to power many
industrial applications such as motor control or battery charging which require higher
power requirements than a single-phase rectifier circuit is able to supply.
3-phase supplies take this idea one step further by combining together three AC voltages
of identical frequency and amplitude with each AC voltage being called a"phase". These
three phases are 120 electrical degrees out-of-phase from each other producing a phase
sequence, or phase rotation of: 360°+3 = 120° as shown.
Three-phase Waveform
A
180° 360/ time
0
20
0
120° 120 120°
240°
The advantage here is that a three-phase alternating current (AC) supply can be used to
provide electrical power directly to balanced loads and rectifiers. Sincea 3-phase supply
has a fxed voltage and frequency it can be used by a rectification circuit to produce a fixed
voltage DC power which can then be filtered resulting in an output DC voltage with less
ripple compared to a single-phase rectifying circuit.
Three-phase Rectification
Having seen that a 3-phase supply is just simply three single-phases combined together.
we can use this multi-phase property to create 3-phase rectifier circuits.
As with single-phase rectification, three-phase rectification uses
diodes, thyristors.
transistors, or converters to create half-wave, full-wave, uncontrolled and fully-controiled
As with single-phase rectification, three-phase rectification uses diodes. thyristors.
transistors. or converters to create half-wave, full-wave. uncontrolled and fully-controlled
rectifier circuits transforming a given three-phase supply into a constant DC output level.
In most applications a three-phase rectifer is supplied directly from the mains utility
power grid or froma three-phase transformer if different DC output level is required by
the connected load.
As with the previous single-phase rectifier. the most basic three-phase rectifer circuit is
that of anuncontrolled half-wave rectifier circuit which uses three semiconductor diodes.
one diode per phase as shown.
Half-wave Three-phase Rectification
pc
3-phase Va
4wire
AC Suppiy Ro
Ve
So how does this three-phase half-wave rectifier circuit work. The anode
of each diode is
connected to one phase of the voltage supply with the cathodes of ail three diodes
So how does this three-phase half-wave rectifher circuit work. The anode of each diode is
connected to one phase of the voltage supply with the
cathodes of all three diodes
connected together to the same positive point, effectively creating a diode-OR type
arrangement. This common point becomes the positive (+) terminal for the load while the
negative (-) terminal of the load is connected to the neutral (N) of the
supply.
Assuming a phase rotation of Red-Yellow-Blue (VA-Ve -Vc) and the red
phase VA starts
at 0°. The first diode to conduct will be
diode 1 (D) as it will have a more positive voltage
at its anode than diodes D2 or D3. Thus diode D1
conducts for the positive half-cycle of VA
while D and D3 are in their reverse-biased state. The neutral wire
for
providesa return path
the load current back to the supply.
120 electrical degrees later, diode 2 (D2) starts to
conduct for the positive half-cycle of Va
(yellow phase). Now its anode becomes more positive than
diodes D and Da which are
both "OFF" because they are
reversed-biased. Similarly. 120° later Ve (blue phase) starts
to increase turning "ON" diode 3 (D3) as its
anode becomes more positive, thus turning
"OFF" diodes D1 and D2.
Then we can see that for three-phase rectifhcation,
whichever diode has a more positive
voltage at its anode compared to the other two diodes it will
automatically start to
conduct, thereby giving a conduction pattern of: D, D2 Dg as
shown.
Half-wave Three-phase Rectifier Conduction Waveform
Periodic Time (T)
C A
909 180
360/ 450 tme
270
-V
VAN VcN
30 120 150 270° 390 510 am
Oulput Voitage Waveform
From the above waveforms for a resistive load, we can see that for a
half-wave rectifier
each diode passes current for one third of each cycle, with the output
waveform being
three times the input frequency of the AC supply. Therefore there are three voltage
peaks
in a given cycle, so by increasing the number of phases from a single-phase to a three
phase supply, the rectification of the supply is improved, that is the output DC voltage
is
smoother.
For a three-phase half-wave rectifier, the supply voltages VA Ve and Vc are balanced but
with a phase difference of 120° giving:
VA =Vp'sin(wt - 0°)
Vg= Vp"sin(wt - 120)
Ve=Vp'sin(wt - 240)
Thus the average DC value of the output voltage waveform from a 3-phase half-wave
rectifier is given as:
Vbc = 343
2T
Vo = 0.827*VpEAK
As the voltage supplies peak voltage. Vp is equal to VRMS" 1.414, it therefore follows that
VRMs Ís equal to Vp/1.414, or 0.707*Vp as 1/1.414 =0.707. Then the average DC output
voltage of the rectifier can be expressed in terms of its root-mean-squared (RMS) phase
voltage as follows:
Vp
Vp = 1.4 14x VRMS .. VRMS
1.414
Vp =1.414× VRMS .: VRMS Vp
1.414
Vpc = 3,3 x Vp = 0.827 Vp
21
Convert to VRMS
Vpc = 0.827x1.41 4x VRMSs
.. Vpc 0.827 VRMS = 1.17x
0.707 VRMS
3-phase Rectification Example No1
A half-wave 3-phase rectifier is constructed using three individual diodes and a 120VAC
3-phase star connected transformer. If it is required to power a connected load with an
impedance of 50Q.Calculate, a) the average DC voltage output to the load. b) the load
current, c) the average current per diode. Assume ideal diodes.
