Power gadgets is one of the contemporary subjects of electrical designing which has seen many developments of late and has influenced human existence in almost every sphere. We use many power electronic applications in our daily existence without even realizing it. Currently the query remains that “What is a power gadget?”
We can highlight power hardware as a subject which is a mix of force designing, simple gadgets, semiconductor gadgets and control frameworks. We determine the fundamentals of each subject and apply them in an integrated manner to obtain controlled types of electrical energy. Electrical energy itself is not usable unless it is converted into sufficient energy, such as motion, light, sound, heat, etc. To direct this kind of energy, a smart way is to manage the electrical energy itself and this topic constitutes the substance of the power hardware.
We can trace the breakthrough in the subject to the development of commercial thyristors or Silicon Controlled Rectifiers (SCR) by the General Electric Company in 1958. Earlier the control of electrical energy was mainly done by thyratron and mercury arc rectifier which works. Principles of physical phenomena in gases and vapors.
After SCR, many power electronic devices have emerged like GTO, IGBT, SIT, MCT, TRIAC, DIAC, IEGT, IGCT etc. These devices are rated for hundreds of volts and amperes, unlike signal-level devices that operate at a few volts and millionaires.
To achieve the goal of power electronics, the device is designed to act as nothing more than a switch. All power electronic devices work as a switch and have two modes, namely on and off.
For instance, a BJT (Bipolar Intersection Semiconductor) has three districts of activity in its result qualities cut-off, dynamic and immersion. In simple gadgets where the BJT is to go about as a speaker, the circuit is intended to predisposition it in the dynamic locale of activity. Anyway in power hardware a BJT will work in the end district when it is off and in the immersion locale when it is on.
Now that the devices are required to act as switches, they must follow the basic characteristic of a switch, that is, when the switch is on, zero voltage is dropped across it and full current flows through it, and When it is in the off state. , has full voltage drop across it and zero current flows through it. The image below illustrates the above statement-
Now, since the quantity V or I is zero in either mode, the switch power is also always zero. This characteristic is easy to visualize in a mechanical switch and the same has to follow in a power electronic switch.
However in practice there is always a leakage current through the device when in the off state, i.e. Ileakage ≠0 and always a forward voltage drop in the on condition, i.e. Von ≠0. However, the magnitude of Von or leakage is very low and hence the power across the device is very low, on the order of a few milliwatts.
This power is dissipated in the device and hence proper heat dissipation from the device is an important aspect. Apart from this, there are on-state and off-state losses, switching losses in power electronic equipment. This is mainly when the switch is toggled from one mode to another and changes to V and I device. In power electronics both losses are important parameters of any device and are essential for determining its voltage and current ratings.
Power electronic devices alone are not that useful in practical applications and therefore need to be designed with circuits with other supporting components. These auxiliary components are like the decision making part that controls the power electronic switches to achieve the desired output. It includes a firing circuit and a feedback circuit. The block diagram below shows a simple power electronic system.
The control unit takes the output feedback from the sensors and compares it with the reference and gives the input to the firing circuit accordingly. The firing circuit is basically a pulse generating circuit that gives a pulse output in a fashion to control the power electronic switches in the main circuit block.
For example, a BJT (bipolar intersection semiconductor) has three regions of activity with its output characteristics cut-off, dynamic and sink. In simple gadgets where the BJT is to be known as a speaker, the purpose of the circuit is to present it in a dynamic location of activity. However, in power hardware a BJT will operate in the termination region when it is off and in the immersion locale when it is on.
There are basically five types of power electronic circuits, each with a different purpose.
Rectifiers – Converts fixed AC to variable DC (like half-wave rectifiers or full-wave rectifiers)
Chopper – Converts fixed DC to variable DC.
Inverters – Converts DC to AC with variable plentifulness and variable repeat.
Voltage Regulators – Converts fixed AC to variable AC at a comparative data repeat.
Cycloconverters – Converts fixed AC to AC with variable repeat.
