About the Book:
The
following pages are meant for those who wish to use thyristors. The details of
the physics of semiconductor materials or the design of thyristors themselves
are unnecessary here but a general description of the device may help to avoid
pitfalls during electric circuit design. Thyristor is the internationally
recognized name for a particular semi conductor device. The name is derived
from the Greek, the first part meaning switch and the second part an association
with the transistor family. It has a trade name, viz. SCR (silicon controlled
rectifier) and it got this name principally because it is a silicon device and
it is used as a rectifier which can be controlled. As a controlled switch it
forms a group together with the electromagnetic relay, the thyratron and the
mercury arc rectifier. The advantages and disadvantages of the thyristor become
apparent in the process of describing the device and its range of application.
However, the present general interest, development and use of the thyristor,
indicates that for many cases its many advantages make it superior to other
devices. Control of rotating electric machines is a major interest of the
author so that in this book the applications of the thyristor are towards this
end. Thyristors are used so much in connection with the control of machines
that it is worthwhile to go into some details of both the electric drive to be
controlled and the possible thyristor control units.
This book is
primarily concerned with the application of thyristors in the control of
electric motors. The first chapter gives an overall picture of electric drive
control and the part within it that power electronics plays. Chapter Two
provides a description of the physical electronics sufficient for the reader to
gain a feeling for the thyristor as a device. The next three chapters deal
exclusively with the thyristor as a part of the many power circuits for the
control of electric drives, three of the most conventional machines-d.c.,
induction, and synchronous motors-being chosen to illustrate the form of
control.
Power
Electronics is a suitable textbook for degree and diploma courses, and for
graduate students whose undergraduate course gave insufficient exposure to
power electronics. This edition has an enlarged section of Problems with
Answers. It should also appeal strongly to practicing electrical engineers who
wish to be brought up to date with methods of controlling power. |
