Series connection of gate-turnoff thyristors: Final report

Technical Report · Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:6201694

McMurray, W

A particular snubber circuit configuration is proposed for use with high-voltage strings of gate-turnoff thyristors (GTOs). The interaction between GTO devices and this snubber is studied by means of the circuit simulator program SPICE. A SPICE subcircuit based on the ''J3 Model'' is employed to represent a GTO or ordinary thyristor. The mathematical behavior of the model is analyzed in some detail, leading to procedures for estimating the SPICE model parameters of a GTO. The snubber components are included in another subcircuit, which mimics the modular construction of actual equipment. The two subcircuits are incorporated in equivalent circuits for one or more phase legs of a voltage-source or current-source converter. A special equivalent circuit technique is used for simulation of series strings of many GTO devices with their snubbers. In particular, the series operation of mismatched devices is studied. A series of SPICE simulations illustrate the transient interaction between commutating legs of current-source or voltage-source converters, including both self-commutated and externally commutated modes of operation. The results confirm the success of the snubber arrangement and verify that the method of SPICE simulation can produce useful data for the development of high-voltage strings of GTOs. 26 refs., 41 figs.

• Research Organization: General Electric Co., Schenectady, NY (USA). Corporate Research and Development Center; Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6201694
• Report Number(s): EPRI-EL-5331; ON: TI87920550
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

200302* -- Power Transmission & Distribution-- DC Systems-- (1989-)
24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DATA
DC SYSTEMS
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
ENERGY SYSTEMS
EQUIPMENT
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
HVDC SYSTEMS
INFORMATION
INVERTERS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUMERICAL DATA
POWER SYSTEMS
RECTIFIERS
S CODES
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
SIMULATION
THEORETICAL DATA
THYRISTORS