Introduction

For satisfactory and reliable operation, the specified ratings of an SCR should not be
exceeded due to overload, voltage transients and other abnormal conditions. If the
ratings are exceeded, there is a chance of damage permanently to the SCR. Due to
the reverse recovery process during the turn OFF the SCR, the voltage overshoots
occur in the SCR.

Also, during turn ON, switching action produces over voltages in the presence of
inductance. In the event of a short circuit, a large current flows through the SCR
which is very larger than the rated current. Therefore, to avoid the undesirable
effects on the SCR due to these abnormal conditions, SCR must be provided with
suitable protection circuits.

Some of the protection techniques employed for an SCR include over voltage
protection, over current protection, dv/dt protection and di/dt protection. Also, to
operate the SCR in permissible temperature limits, heat produced at the junctions
must be dissipated. This can be accomplished by using heat sinks. Let us discuss in
brief on these protection methods.

Overvoltage
Over voltages are the greatest causes of failure of SCRs. These transient over
voltages often lead to unscheduled turn ON of the SCR. Also, may lead to the
permanent destruction of the SCR if the reverse transient voltage is more than the
VBR across the SCR.

There are several causes of appearing these over voltages like commutation ,
chopping , lightening , etc. Depends on these sources , over voltages are divided
into two types internal and external over voltages.

Internal Overvoltages
Internal over voltages arise while the SCR is in operation. During the turn OFF of an
SCR, a reverse current continues to flow through the SCR after the anode current
decreased to zero to sweep away the earlier stored charge. This reverse current
decay at a faster rate at the end of reverse recover interval.

Due to the inductance of the circuit, this high di/dt produces a high voltage. This
voltage value may be much higher than the rated value of the SCR and hence the
SCR may be damaged.

External Overvoltages
These voltages are arises from the supply source or load. Some of these are
  If SCRs are in blocking mode in a converter circuit which is supplied with transformer,
a small magnetizing current flow through the primary of the transformer. If the primary
side switch is suddenly removed, a high voltage transient is produced in the secondary
of the transformer and hence it is applied across the SCR. This voltage is several
times that of the break over voltage of the SCR.
 Lightning surges on the HVDC systems to which SCR converters are connected
causes a very high magnitude of over voltages.
 If the SCR converter circuit is connected to a high inductive load, the sudden
interruption of current generates a high voltage across the SCRs.
 If the switches are provided on DC side, a sudden operation of these switches
produces arc voltages. This also gives rise the over voltage across the SCR.

Protection Against Over voltages

To protect the SCR against the transient over voltages, a parallel R-C snubber
network is provided for each SCR in a converter circuit. This snubber network
protects the SCR against internal over voltages that are caused during the reverse
recovery process. After the SCR is turned OFF or commutated, the reverse recover
current is diverted to the snubber circuit which consists of energy storing elements.

The lightning and switching surges at the input side may damage the converter or
the transformer. And the effect of these voltages is minimised by using voltage
clamping devices across the SCR. Therefore, voltage clamping devices like metal
oxide varistors, selenium thyrector diodes and avalanche diode suppressors are
most commonly employed.

These devices have falling resistance characteristics with an increase in voltage.

Therefore, these devices provide a low resistance path across the SCR when a
surge voltage appears across the device. The figure below shows the protection of
SCR against over voltages using thyrector diode and snubber network.
Overcurrent
During the short circuit conditions, over current flows through the SCR. These short
circuits are either internal or external. The internal short circuits are caused by the
reasons like failure of SCRs to block forward or reverse voltages, misalignment of
firing pulses, short circuit of converter output terminals due to fault in connecting
cables or the load, etc. The external short circuits are caused by sustained overloads
and short circuit in the load.

In the event of a short circuit, the fault current depends on the source impedance. If
the source impedance is sufficient during the short circuit, then the fault current is
limited below the multi-cycle surge rating of the SCR. In case of AC circuits, the fault
occurs at the instant of peak voltages if the source resistance is neglected.

In case of DC circuits, fault current is limited by the source resistance. Therefore, the
fault current is very large if the source impedance is very low. The rapid rise of this
current increase the junction temperature and hence the SCR may get damaged.
Hence the fault must be cleared before occurrence of its first peak in other words
fault current must be interrupted before the current zero position.

Protection Against Overcurrent

The SCRs can be protected against the over currents using conventional over
current protection devices like ordinary fuses (HRC fuse, rewirable fuse,
semiconductor fuse, etc,), contractors, relays and circuit breakers. Generally for
continuous overloads and surge currents of long duration, a circuit breaker is
employed to protect the SCR due to its long tripping time.

For an effective tripping of the circuit breaker, tripping time must be properly
coordinated with SCR rating. Also, the large surge currents with short duration (are
also called as sub-cycle surge currents) are limited by connecting the fast acting fuse
in series with an SCR.

So the proper coordination of fusing time and the sub-cycle rating must be selected
for a reliable protection against over currents. Therefore, the proper coordination of
fuse and circuit breaker is essential with the rating of the SCR.
The selection of fuse for protecting the SCR must satisfy the following conditions.

 Fuse must be rated to carry the full load current continuously plus a marginal overload
current for a small period.
 I2t rating of the fuse must be less than the I2t rating of the SCR
 During arcing period, fuse voltage must be high in order to force down the current
value.
 After interrupting the current, fuse must withstand for any restricted voltage.

di/dt Protection of SCR

The anode current starts flowing through the SCR when it is turned ON by the
application of gate signal. This anode current takes some finite time to spread across
the junctions of an SCR. For a good working of SCR, this current must spread
uniformly over the surface of the junction.

If the rate of rise of anode current (di/dt) is high results a non-uniform spreading of
current over the junction. Due to the high current density, this further leads to form
local hot spots near the gate-cathode junction. This effect may damage the SCR due
to overheating. Hence, during turn ON process of SCR, the di/dt must be kept below
the specified limits.

To prevent the high rate of change of current, an inductor is connected in series with
thyristor. Typical SCR di/dt ratings are in range between 20- 500 ampere per
microseconds.

dv/dt Protection of SCR

When the SCR is forward biased, junctions J1 and J3 forward biased and junction J2
is reverse biased. This reverse biased junction J2 exhibits the characteristics of a
capacitor. Therefore, if the rate of forward voltage applied is very high across the
SCR, charging current flows through the junction J2 is high enough to turn ON the
SCR even without any gate signal.

This is called as dv/dt triggering of the SCR which is generally not employed as it is
false triggering process. Hence, the rate of rise of anode to cathode voltage, dv/dt
must be in specified limit to protect the SCR against false triggering. This can be
achieved by using RC snubber network across the SCR.

Working of Snubber Circuit

As we discussed above, the protection against high voltage reverse recovery
transients and dv/dt is achieved by using an RC snubber circuit. This snubber circuit
consists of a series combination of capacitor and resistor which is connected across
the SCR. This also consist an inductance in series with the SCR to prevent the high
di/dt. The resistance value is of few hundred ohms. The snubber network used for
the protection of SCR is shown below.

When the switch closed, a sudden voltage appears across the SCR which is
bypassed to the RC network. This is because the capacitor acts as a short circuit
which reduces the voltage across the SCR to zero. As the time increases, voltage
across the capacitor builds up at slow rate such that dv/dt across the capacitor is too
small to turn ON the SCR. Therefore, the dv/dt across the SCR and the capacitor is
less than the maximum dv/dt rating of the SCR.

Normally, the capacitor is charged to a voltage equal the maximum supply voltage
which is the forward blocking voltage of the SCR. If the SCR is turned ON, the
capacitor starts discharging which causes a high current to flow through the SCR.

This produces a high di/dt that leads to damage the SCR. And hence, to limit the
high di/dt and peak discharge current, a small resistance is placed in series with the
capacitor as shown in above. These snubber circuits can also be connected to any
switching circuit to limit the high surge or transient voltages.
Protection of a device is an important aspect for its reliable and efficient
operation. Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) are a very delicate
semiconductor device. So we have to use it in its specified ratings to get
desired output. SCR may face different types of threats during its operation
due to over voltages, over currents etc. There are different types of
thyristor protection schemes available for satisfactory operation of the
device like
1. Over voltage protection.
2. Over current protection.
3. High dv/dt protection.
4. High di/dt protection.
5. Thermal protection.
Over Voltage Protection
It is the most important protection scheme w. r. t. others as thyristors are
very sensitive to over voltages. Maximum time thyristor failures happen
due to over-voltage transients.
A thyristor may be subjected to internal or external over-voltages.
Internal Over-Voltages : After commutation of a thyristor reverse recovery
current decays abruptly with high di/dt which causes a high reverse
voltage [as, V = L(di/dt) so if di/dt is high then V will be large] that can
exceed the rated break-over voltage and the device may be damaged.
External Over-Voltages : These are caused due to various reasons in the
supply line like lightning, surge conditions (abnormal voltage spike) etc.
External over voltage may cause different types of problem in thyristor
operation like increase in leakage current, permanent breakdown of
junctions, unwanted turn-on of devices etc. So, we have to suppress the
over-voltages.

Protective Measure: The effect of over-voltages can be minimized by using

non-linear resistors called voltage clamping devices like metal oxide
varistors. At the time of normal operation, it offers high impedance and
acts as it is not present in the circuit. But when the voltage exceeds the
rated voltage then it serves as a low impedance path to protect SCR.
Over Current Protection
Overcurrent mainly occurs due to different types of faults in the circuit.
Due to overcurrent i2R loss will increase and high generation of heat may
take place that can exceed the permissible limit and burn the device.
Protective Measure: SCR can be protected from overcurrent by using
Circuit Breaker (CB) and fast acting current limiting fuses (FACLF). CBs are
used for protection of thyristor against continuous overloads or against
surge currents of long duration as a CB has long tripping time. But fast-
acting fuses is used for protecting SCR against high surge current of very
short duration.
High dv/dt Protection
When a thyristor is in forward blocking state then only J2 junction is reverse
biased which acts as a capacitor having constant capacitance value Cj
(junction capacitance). As we know that current through capacitor follows
the relation

Hence leakage current through the J2 junction which is nothing but the
leakage current through the device will increase with the increase in dva/dt
i.e. rate of change of applied voltage across the thyristor. This current can
turn-on the device even when the gate signal is absent. This is called dv/dt
triggering and must be avoided which can be achieved by using Snubber
circuit in parallel with the device.
Protective Measure :
Snubber Circuit: It consists of a capacitor connected in series with a resistor
which is applied parallel with the thyristor, when S is closed then voltage
Vs is applied across the device as well as Cs suddenly. At first Snubber
circuit behaves like a short circuit. Therefore voltage across the device is
zero. Gradually voltage across Cs builds up at a slow rate. So dv/dt across
the thyristor will stay in allowable range.
Before turning on of thyristor Cs is fully charged and after turning on of
thyristor it discharges through the SCR. This discharging current can be
limited with the help of a resistance (Rs) connected in series with the
capacitor (Cs) to keep the value of current and rate of change of current in a
safe limit.
High di/dt Protection
When a thyristor is turned on by gate pulse then charge carriers spread
through its junction rapidly. But if rate of rise of anode current, i.e. di/dt is
greater than the spreading of charge carriers then localized heat generation
will take place which is known as local hot spots. This may damage the
thyristor.
Protective Measure: To avoid local hot spots we use an inductor in series
with the device as it prevents high rate of change of current through it.
High Temperature Protection
With the increase in the temperature of the junction, insulation may get
failed. So we have to take proper measures to limit the temperature rise.
Protective Measure: We can achieve this by mounting the thyristor on heat
sink which is mainly made by high thermal conductivity metals like
aluminum (Al), Copper (Cu) etc. Mainly aluminum (Al) is used due to its
low cost. There are several types of mounting techniques for SCR such as –
Lead-mounting, stud-mounting, Bolt-down mounting, press-fit mounting,
press-pack mounting etc.
Gate Protection of Thyristor

Like a thyristor, Gate circuit should also be protected from overvoltages

and overcurrents. Overvoltages in the gate circuit can cause false triggering
and overcurrent can cause high junction temperature.
Protective Measure: Overvoltages thyristor protection is achieved by using
a zener diodeand a resistor can be used to protect the gate circuit from
overcurrent. Noise in gate circuit can also cause false triggering which can
be avoided by using a resistor and a capacitor in parallel. A diode (D) may
be connected in series or in parallel with the gate to protect it from high
reverse voltage.
Overall Protection of a Thyristor

Lead mounting: In such mounting technique housing of SCR itself is used

as heat radiator. Hence no need of additional heat zink arrangement.
Hence, this technique of thyristor Protection is generally used for low
current application, normally less than one ampere.
Stud mounting: The anode of the thyristor is in the form of threaded stud
which is screwed to a metalling heat sink block.
Bolt-down mounting: Here the device is connected to the heat sink with the
help of nut-bolt mechanism. It is mainly used in small and medium rating
circuit.
Press fit mounting: This kind of mounting is obtained by inserting the
whole SCR into the metallic block. It is used in high rating circuit.
Press-Pack mounting: This kind of mounting for thyristor protection is
obtained by sandwiching the thyristor between to heat sink with the help
of clamps. It is used for very high rating circuit.

Thyristor Protection:-
 For reliable operation of SCR, it should be operated within the specific
ratings.
 SCRs are very delicate devices and so they must be protected against
abnormal operating conditions. Various protection of SCR are
1.
1. di/dt Protection
2. dv/dt Protection
3. Over voltage Protection
4. Over Current Protection

di/dt Protection:-
 di/dt is the rate of change of current in a device.
 When SCR is forward biased and is turned ON by the gate signal, the
anode current flows.
 The anode current requires some time to spread inside the device.
(Spreading of charge carriers)
 But if the rate of rise of anode current(di/dt) is greater than the spread
velocity of charge carriers then local hot spots is created near the gate
due to increased current density. This localised heating may damage
the device.
 Local spot heating is avoided by ensuring that the conduction spreads
to the whole area very rapidly. (OR) The di/dt value must be maintained
below a threshold (limiting) value.
 This is done by means of connecting an inductor in series with the
thyristor.

 The inductance L opposes the high di/dt variations.

 When the current variation is high, the inductor smooths it and protects
the SCR from damage. (Though di/dt variation is high, the inductor ‘L’
smooths it because it takes some time to charge). L ≥ [Vs / (di/dt)]

dv/dt Protection:-
 dv/dt is the rate of charge of voltage in SCR.
 We know that iC=C.dv/dt. ie, when dv/dt is high, iC is high.
 This high current(iC) may turn ON SCR even when gate current is zero.
This is called as dv/dt turn ON or false turn ON of SCR.
 To protect the thyristor against false turn ON or against high dv/dt a
“Snubber Circuit” is used.
SNUBBER CIRCUIT:-

 The snubber Circuit is a series combination of resistor ‘R’ and capacitor

‘C’.
 They are connected across the thyristor to be protected.
 The capacitor ‘C’ is used to limit the dv/dt across the SCR.
 The resistor ‘R’ is used to limit high discharging current through the
SCR.
 When switch S is closed, the capacitor ‘C’ behaves as a short-circuit.
 Therefore voltage across SCR is zero.
 As time increases, voltage across ‘C’ increases at a slow rate.
 Therefore dv/dt across ‘C’ and SCR is less than maximum dv/dt rating
of the device.
 The capacitor charges to full voltage Vs; after which the gate is
triggered, and SCR is turned ON and high current flows through SCR.
 As di/dt is high, it may damage the SCR.To avoid this, the resistor R in
series with ‘C’ will limit the magnitude of di/dt.
 The technique of ‘snubbing’ can apply to any switching circuit, not only
to thyristor/triac circuits.
 The rate of rise of turn-off voltage is determined by the time constant
RLC. Where RL is the circuit minimum load resistance, for instance the
cold resistance of a heater or lamp, the winding resistance of a motor or
the primary resistance of a transformer.
Overvoltage Protection:-
 Overvoltage may result in false turn ON of the device (or) damage the
device.
 SCR is subjected to internal and external over voltage.
Internal Overvoltage:
 The reverse recovery current of the SCR decays at a very fast rate. ie,
high di/dt.
 So a voltage surge is produced whose magnitude is L(di/dt).
External Overvoltage:
 These are caused by the interruption of current flow in the inductive
circuit and also due to lightning strokes on the lines feeding the SCR
systems.
 The effect of overvoltage is reduced by using Snubber circuits and Non-
Linear Resistors called Voltage Clamping Devices.
Voltage Clamping Device:
 t is a non-linear resistor called as VARISTOR (VARIable resiSTOR)
connected across the SCR.
 The resistance of varistor will decrease with increase in voltage.
 During normal operation, varistor has high Resistance and draws only
small leakage current.
 When high voltage appears, it operates in low resistance region and the
surge energy is dissipated across the resistance by producing a virtual
short-circuit across the SCR.
Over Current Protection:
 In an SCR due to over-current, the junction temperature exceeds the
rated value and the device gets damaged.
 Over-current is interrupted by conventional fuses and circuit breakers.
 The fault current must be interrupted before the SCR gets damaged
and only the faulty branches of the network should be isolated.

 Circuit breaker has long tripping time. So it is used for protecting SCR
against continuous over loads (or) against surge currents of long
duration.
 Fast acting current limiting fuse is used to protect SCR against large
surge currents of very short duration.
Electronic Crowbar Protection:
 SCR has high surge current ability.
 SCR is used in electronic crowbar circuit for overcurrent protection of
power converter.
 In this protection, an additional SCR is connected across the supply
which is known as ‘Crowbar SCR’.
 Current sensing resistor detects the value of converter current.
 If it exceeds preset value, then gate trigger circuits turn ON the crowbar
SCR.
 So the input terminals are short-circuit by SCR and thus it bypass the
converter over current.
 After some time the main fuse interrupts the fault current.