Thyristor Voltage Equalizing Network for Crowbar Application

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel design method for dynamic voltage balancing networks tailored for high-voltage thyristor crowbar systems, emphasizing charge-discharge cycles and component tolerances to improve voltage sharing and reduce losses.

Contribution

The paper presents a new design approach for dynamic balancing networks considering gate delay and component tolerances, specifically optimized for crowbar applications where turn-off is not critical.

Findings

The proposed design reduces voltage imbalance in series thyristors during high di/dt operation.

Simulation and experiments confirm improved voltage sharing and reduced losses with the new method.

The approach accommodates propagation delay differences among thyristor drivers.

Abstract

Many high voltage applications are realized with series connected thyristors. Voltage imbalance among series connected thyristors during steady state as well as in transients is one of the major concerns. This voltage imbalance is mitigated by using static and dynamic balancing network. Dynamic balancing networks are typically designed based on reverse recovery charge of the thyristor during turn-off, which suits many applications. But this is not the case for a crowbar application, where turn-off of the thyristor is not a major circuit constraint. This paper proposes the design method for dynamic balancing network considering gate turn-on delay time and the balancing network component tolerances. The paper derives two models for the dynamic balancing network based on its charge-discharge cycle. The importance of charge-discharge cycle in the design of dynamic balancing network during high di/dt operation is emphasized. Influence of dynamic balancing resistance and crowbar current limiting inductance on voltage imbalance, charging current and discharging current is studied using the analytical model. The proposed design method also offers flexibility to incorporate differences in propagation delays among the thyristor drivers that are used to trigger individual thyristors. Such delays cannot be directly incorporated in the conventional balancing network design method based on reverse recovery. Further, it is also analytically shown that designing the dynamic balancing network based on reverse recovery charge makes the balancing network lossy and bulky for crowbar application. Simulation studies and experimental results on a 12kV , 1kA crowbar consisting of six series connected thyristors confirms the theoretical analysis and validates the proposed approach for crowbar applications.