Institute of Electrical Power Engineering

IGEE 401
Power Electronic Systems
LABORATORY MANUAL

Revised Version
By

Mr. Ahmad Allabadi

Dr. Amin Ghazanfari
Prof. Jean Mahseredjian
September 2024

Also Revised
by
Prof. Géza Joós
Dr. Khalil EL-Arroundi
Mr. Chu Sun
September 2016

Original Version
By
Dr. Luiz A. C. Lopes
Dr. Maged Naguib Barsom
Dr. Carlos Martins
September 2014
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 2
1.1 SAFETY ................................................................................................................................. 2
1.2 GENERAL SAFETY RULES ................................................................................................ 2
1.2.1 Electric shocks ............................................................................................................................................................. 3
1.2.2 Nine rules for safe practice and avoiding electric shocks: ........................................................................................... 4
1.2.3 Burns ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4
1.3 LABORATORY RULES ........................................................................................................ 5
1.4 SCOPE OF THE POWER ELECTRONICS LABORATORY .............................................. 6
1.5 ORGANIZATION OF THIS MANUAL ................................................................................ 6
1.6 EXPERIMENTS ..................................................................................................................... 6
1.7 Computer-based simulations ................................................................................................... 7
1.8 LAB REPORTS ...................................................................................................................... 7
1.8.1 Objectives .................................................................................................................................................................... 8
1.8.2 Preliminary Calculations ............................................................................................................................................. 8
1.8.3 Experimental procedure and results ............................................................................................................................. 8
1.8.4 Questions and discussions ........................................................................................................................................... 8
1.8.5 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................................. 8
1.9 GRADING SCHEME ............................................................................................................. 8
EXPERIMENT 1 ............................................................................................................................... 9

2 AC controllers – Single-phase and three-phase ..................................................................... 9

2.1 OBJECTIVES ......................................................................................................................... 9
2.2 THEORY ................................................................................................................................ 9
2.2.1 Reactive power control with TCR: .............................................................................................................................. 9
2.2.2 Active power control with AC voltage regulator: ...................................................................................................... 10
2.3 Preliminary calculations........................................................................................................ 11
2.4 SIMULATION PROCEDURE ............................................................................................. 12
2.4.1 Single-Phase Thyristor AC Controller with RL and R Loads .................................................................................... 12
2.4.2 Three-Phase AC Controller for Industrial Heating System ....................................................................................... 17
2.5 QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................................ 18

I
1 Introduction

1.1 SAFETY
Engineers are often required to use hand and power tools in constructing prototypes or in
setting up experiments. Specifically, electrical engineers use test instruments to measure the
electrical characteristics of components, devices, and electronics systems.
These tasks are interesting and challenging, but they may also involve certain hazards if
one is careless in his/her work habits. It is therefore essential that students learn the principles of
safety at the very beginning of their career and that they practice these principles.
Safe work requires a careful and deliberate approach to each task. Before undertaking an
experiment, students must understand what to do and how to do it. They must plan everything,
setting out tools, equipment, and instruments on the workbench in a neat and orderly fashion.
Extraneous items should be removed, and all cables should be securely fastened.

1.2 GENERAL SAFETY RULES

The first rule of personal safety is always:

Think First!

This rule applies to all industrial workers as well as to those working with electricity.
Develop good habits of workmanship. Learn to use tools correctly and safely. Always study the
job at hand and think through your procedures, your methods, and the applications of tools,
instruments, and machines before searching. Never permit yourself to be distracted from your
work, and never distract another worker engaged in hazardous work. Don't be a clown! Jokes
are fun and so is "horsing around", but not near moving machinery or electricity. There are
generally three kinds of accidents which may occur to electrical students and technicians-
electric shock, burns, and equipment-related injuries. Your knowing and studying about them,
and observing simple rules will make you a safe person to work with. You could personally be
saved from painful and expensive experiences.

II
1.2.1 Electric shocks
What about electric shocks? Are they fatal? The physiological effects of electric currents
can generally be predicted with the chart shown in Fig. 1:

0.2

0.1
DEATH
EXTREME BREATHING
DIFFICULTIES LABORED
BREATHING
SEVERE SHOCK
MUSCULAR
PARALYSIS
CANNOT LET GO

0.01
PAINFUL
MILD SENSATION

SENSATION
THRESHOLD

0.001
AMPERES
Fig. 1 – Physiological effects of electrical currents.

Notice that it is the current that does the damage. Currents above 100 mA, or only one
tenth of an ampere, are fatal. A workman who has contacted currents greater than 200 mA may
live to see another day if given rapid treatment. Currents less than 100 mA can be serious and
painful. A safe rule: Do not place yourself in a position to get any kind of shock.

III
1.2.2 Nine rules for safe practice and avoiding electric shocks:
1. Work with one hand behind you or in your pocket. A current between two hands
crosses your heart and can be more lethal than a current form hand to foot. A wise
technician always works with one hand. Watch your TV serviceman.
2. Be sure of the condition of the equipment and the dangers it can present before working
on it. Many sportsmen are killed by supposedly unloaded guns; many technicians are
killed by supposedly "dead" circuits.
3. Never rely on safety devices such as fuses, relays, and interlock systems to protect you.
They may not be working and may fail to protect you when most needed.
4. Never remove the grounding prong of a three-wire plug. This eliminates the grounding
feature of the equipment making it a potential shock hazard.
5. Do not work on a cluttered bench. A disorganized mess of connecting leads,
components and tools only leads to careless thinking, short circuits, shocks, and
accidents. Develop systematized and organized work habits.
6. Do not work on wet floors. Your contact resistance to ground is greatly reduced on a
wet floor. Work on a rubber mat or an insulated floor.
7. Do not work alone. It is just good sense to have someone around to shut off the power,
to give artificial respiration, or to call a doctor.
8. Never talk to anyone while working. Do not let yourself be distracted. Also, don't talk
to someone who is working on dangerous equipment. Do not be the cause of an accident.
9. Always move slowly working around electrical circuits. Violent and rapid movements
lead to accidental short circuits and shocks.

1.2.3 Burns
Accidents caused by burns, although usually not fatal, can be painfully serious. The
dissipation of electrical energy produces heat.
Rules for safe practice and avoiding burns:
1. Resistors get very hot, especially those that carry high currents such as the ones in this
lab. Watch those five- and ten-watt resistors. They will burn the skin of your fingers. Stay
away from them until they cool down.
2. Be on guard for all capacitors which may still retain charges. Not only can you get a
dangerous and sometimes fatal shock, you may also get a burn from an electrical
discharge. If the rated voltage of electrolytic capacitors is exceeded or their polarities
reversed they may get very hot and may actually burst.

IV
1.3 LABORATORY RULES
Considering the number of students attending the labs and in order for the lab to operate
properly, the students are asked to abide by the following rules:

1. No smoking, eating, or drinking is permitted in the laboratory.

2. Overcoats, lose clothes (i.e. ties) and briefcases are not permitted in the laboratory,
however, a table will be allocated for those students that must bring these items.
3. All damaged or missing equipment and cables must be reported immediately to the
demonstrator. Failure to do so will result in students being charged for damages and
losses or extra lab work can be assigned.
4. Writing on work benches will result in ejection from the laboratory.
5. Student are required to have their preliminary calculation completed before being
admitted to the corresponding lab session (preparation and participation evaluation).
6. All data must be recorded on the laboratory sheets in ink and must be signed by the
demonstrator before students leave.
7. No more than three students are allowed to occupy one laboratory workbench
8. Any student who is more than 30 minutes late will not be permitted into the laboratory
room. Furthermore, repeated tardiness will not be tolerated.
9. Do not connect or use any alligator clip leads on equipment binding posts. These posts
are meant to be used with banana plugs or straight wires only.
10. Demonstrators must verify all setups before any power switches are switched on.
11. Any changes even minor ones to the setup must be done when the power is off.
12. Any unusual equipment and machine operating conditions such smoke, sparking, loud
noise, or burning smell must be immediately reported to the lab demonstrator and all
power supplies should be switched off.
13. Always try to maintain low stress conditions during power up and power down. For
example, start the variac at zero during a power-up or reduce the armature voltage to zero
before power-down. Not only will this increase the life span of expensive equipment in
this laboratory but usually fault conditions can be found before harm or serious damage is
incurred.
14. Student's complains concerning lab demonstrators should be presented to the full time lab
instructor.

V
1.4 SCOPE OF THE POWER ELECTRONICS LABORATORY
The main objectives of the laboratory work are as follows:
- To provide realistic examples of applications of power electronics.
- To provide experience in both simulation and experimental work.
- To provide experience in presenting results in a clear and efficient manner.

All three aspects are very important since an engineer spends most of his/her career designing,
measuring, and testing his/her designs and reporting on his/her results.

1.5 ORGANIZATION OF THIS MANUAL

This manual is divided into 5 sections, each section describing one experiment. Each
section is broken down into parts as follows:

I. Objectives
II. Theory
III. Procedure
IV. Questions

The first part gives the objectives of the experiment. The second part provides a brief
introduction to the experiment. Relevant theory is often included in this part for the convenience
of the student. The third part describes the experimental procedure to be adopted and is itself
broken down into subsections. Some of these subsections indicate to the student how to connect
and test a particular circuit. Other subsections require the student to carry out a number of
preliminary calculations. The fourth part gives a list of questions which should be answered by
the student when the experiment has been completed and be included in the lab report.

1.6 EXPERIMENTS
Each experiment must be studied in advance and required preliminary calculations
completed. If the theory is understood, the student knows exactly what to expect in an
experiment and accurate measurements can be obtained very quickly.
The procedure section may often dictate that graphs be plotted. It is a very good
engineering practice to plot such graphs as the readings are taken. In this way discrepancies can
be immediately detected and checked. Often sketches of various waveforms are required. These
should be drawn clearly and relevant quantities, such as peak values, should be given.

VI
Devices are invariably characterized with maximum voltage, current, and power ratings.
These should never be exceeded. Otherwise, the properties of a device may be impaired, or it
may be damaged (semiconductor, transformer). If in doubt about the use of a particular
instrument, the operating instructions provided by the manufacturer should be read. Defective
equipment must be reported immediately to the demonstrator or technical support. This is
justified also by the fact that some equipment may be used in more than one experiment and
knowing the exact characteristics of this equipment may be important.
Each group is required to work at the same bench location each week. Equipment and
components must be returned to their places. The benches must be left clear at the end of the
experiment.
Since the laboratory represents a significant portion of the student's practical training, it is
imperative that the students perform all the experiments. If a student has missed an experiment
due to circumstances entirely beyond his/her control, that student will have the opportunity to
perform it at the end of the term. However, it is most unlikely that arrangements can be made for
any individual to perform more than one experiment at this time.

1.7 Computer-based simulations

Each simulation should be studied in advance and any required preliminary calculations
should be completed. By performing the required calculations, the student will gain a batter
understanding of the system and of the objectives of the simulation. Also, they then have a better
idea of what to expect and be able to interpret the results obtained.
The procedure section contains instructions on how to run the simulations and what
graphs should be obtained. Graphs should be properly labeled including the variable being
measured, units and other operating conditions. The laboratory represents an important part of
the course as it demonstrates practical applications of the theory presented in the lectures.

1.8 LAB REPORTS

For each experiment, a lab report must be written which can be regarded as a record of all
activities, observations, and discussions pertaining to the experiment. Lab reports should above
all be legible and should contain as much relevant information as possible. A lab report should
consist of papers stapled together with a title page identifying the course, lab section,
experiment, date, student's name, student's ID number, and demonstrator's name. Any reports
without a proper title page will be rejected.

VII
Each lab report should be divided into five parts as follows:

1.8.1 Objectives
They have to be stated clearly and can be copied from the lab manual.

1.8.2 Preliminary Calculations

Results and a summary of computations should be given.

1.8.3 Experimental procedure and results

Should be broken down into items 1, 2, 3, etc., as in the lab manual. Each item should
briefly contain the conditions of the experiment and the results.

1.8.4 Questions and discussions

Answer all the questions (if any) posed in the lab manual or by the lab demonstrator.
Discuss any problems encountered during the experiment and any important observations made
during the report write-up

1.8.5 Conclusions
Should be brief

1.9 GRADING SCHEME

Each lab report will be marked out of 20 for a total of 100. Lab reports are due two weeks
after the lab is completed. All lab reports should be submitted electronically through the course
website, preferably in PDF format. The web submission process will close after the submission
deadline. Late lab reports will be accepted with a -10% per day penalty.

The grading scheme is as follows:

1. Objectives and preliminary calculations 30%
2. Results and relevant figures 40%
3. Questions, discussion and conclusions 20%
4. Conclusions and general presentation 10%

VIII
EXPERIMENT 1

2 AC controllers – Single-phase and three-phase

2.1 OBJECTIVES
In this experiment, the student should:

1. Become familiar with the simulation tools E M T P a n d Matlab and be able to

obtain relevant plots.

2. Be able to analyze simple single-phase and three-phase thyristor-based AC controllers,

feeding resistive, inductive and resistive-inductive loads.

2.2 THEORY
AC controllers are AC-AC converters frequently used for controlling the magnitude of
the fundamental component of an AC waveform, keeping the same frequency as of the input
waveform, or for controlling the RMS value of the voltage supplied to a given load. An
example of the first case is the Thyristor Controlled Reactor (TCR) or Thyristor Controlled
Inductor (TCI), which realizes a variable sink of reactive power. An example of the second case
is an industrial heating system with an AC controller interfacing a resistive load to the utility
grid.

2.2.1 Reactive power control with TCR:

The reactive power consumed by the TCR can be controlled continuously from rated
value to zero by varying the firing angle of the thyristors (α) between 90 and 180, respectively.
In other words, the AC controller operates with phase control. In steady-state and at the grid
frequency, the TCR can be replaced by an equivalent inductive reactance, whose value is
determined by α, As depicted in (1). The TCR does, however, introduce current harmonics,
which affect the power quality of the voltage of the AC bus to which the TCR is connected.
There are various techniques to circumvent this problem, such as the use of multi-pulse
topologies and harmonic traps, which are essentially LC shunt filters tuned at the frequencies of
the main harmonics created by the TCR. Fig.1.1 shows the TCR diagram.

(1)
T1
is
+
T2
+ io
vs vo L
_ _
Fig. 1.1 TCR diagram

2.2.2 Active power control with AC voltage regulator:

In the case of heating systems, the voltage/current harmonics also transfer electric power
to the heating elements, usually modeled as a resistance. Therefore, for the calculation of the
power supplied to the load one should consider the total RMS value of the voltage/current across
the load. Fig. 1.2 and Fig. 1.3 show three-phase AC voltage regulator supplying resistive load
with and without neutral.
T1 ia
A a
+ +
+ T4
v vLL van
_AN T3 _ R
_ R
_
ib b
_ n
N_ vBN + B + _
T6 vbn R
vCN vcn
+ T5
C ic + c

T2

Fig. 1.2 Three-phase AC voltage regulator with resistive load and neutral

T1
A ia a
+ +
+ vAN T4 van
vLL T _ R
_
_ _ 3
ib b R
N_ v + B _
+ _ n
vCN
BN T6 vbn R
vcn
+ T5
C ic + c
T2
Fig. 1.3 Three-phase AC voltage regulator with resistive load and without neutral
2.3 Preliminary calculations
1) For a single-phase TCR with L = 93.7 mH and Vs = 18.8 kV RMS:
a) What is the rated reactive power?
b) Using (1), derive a direct formula showing that reactive power varies with different firing
angles (α).
c) Use the attached MATLAB code (“Q_theta.m”) to plot a curve that shows the relation
between reactive power and firing angles. Graphically, find the firing angle that achieves
75% of rated reactive power.

2) For a single-phase ac-controller with Vs= 18.8 kV connected with a pure R-load of R=10 Ω:
a) What is the firing angle that achieves maximum absorbed power by the load?
b) Use the attached MATLAB code (“P_theta.m”) to plot a curve showing the relationship
between active power and firing angles.
c) Graphically, find the firing angle that achieves 75% of rated active power.

3) What is the amount of active power consumed by a three-phase load with R = 0.25 Ω when
interfaced to a 600VLL grid by means of a three-phase AC controller operating with α = 90°?
Note: Assume that the neutral point of the Y-connected load is connected to the neutral point of
the three-phase (Y-connected) source.
2.4 SIMULATION PROCEDURE
2.4.1 Single-Phase Thyristor AC Controller with RL and R Loads

2.4.1.1 RL-load
a) Open file “Single_phase_ac_controller.ecf” with the circuit shown in Fig. 1.4. Set the
resistance and inductance of the RL load to 400 Ω and 468 mH, respectively.

Firing_signals_generator

Page Positive_gate
Page Negative_gate

Page Positive_gate

IC
Th1
PQ Th2

+
+

RL1
AC1 Negative_gate Page

Fig. 1.4 – Single-phase thyristor-based AC controller with RL load

b) Adjust the firing angle of the thyristors to 60 and the width of the current pulse to 9 (2.5
% of the period) in the blocks called “Firing_signals_generator”. Keep in mind that
thyristor 2 is fired 180 after thyristor 1.
c) Use ScopeView within EMTP to plot the following waveforms: Input voltage at the AC
controller, load current andvoltage and gate signal of the thyristors.
d) Find the current extinction angle.

e) Obtain the harmonic spectrum of the load voltage and current waveforms. From
ScopeView, open the functions menu. As shown in Fig 1.5, select from “Category” Drop
down menu: “Harmonic_Analysis”. Then, select from “Function name,” select “Discrete
_Fourier” and select the desired signal to be analyzed. After selecting the desired signal,
press Add Function.
Fig. 1.5 – ScopeView functions menu

f) From the harmonic spectrum of the current waveform calculate the following indexes:
Total RMS value, distortion current, THD and crest factor. Calculate the THD of the load
voltage waveform and power factor.
g) Run the simulation again for α equal to 10 and 120 and record the values in Table 1.1
Compute the values of: 1) Current extinction angle and 2) magnitude of the fundamental
component of the load voltage. Comment on the effect of varying the firing angle on the
measured parameters. You will need to increase (try double) the width of the gating
signal to obtain the desired waveforms for α = 10. Justify.
Table 1.1 Single-phase AC-controller characteristic (RL-load)

Parameters Fire Angle  (deg)

10○ 60○ 120○

Fundamental RMS Current (A)

Total RMS Current (A)

Distortion Current (A)

Current THD (%)

Current Crest Factor

Voltage THD (%)

Active Power (W)

Fundamental Reactive Power (Var)

Displacement Power Factor

Distortion Power Factor

Power Factor

Extinction Angle (deg.)

Fundamental RMS Load Voltage (V)

2.4.1.2 Purely resistive load (R-load)
a) Remove the inductive part of the load, by setting L = 0 H. Calculate the rated output
power (at = deg. )

b) Update and use the provided Matlab code (“P_theta.m”) to plot output power variation
with different firing angles. Graphically, find the firing angle () that results in 50% of
rated power.
c) Run the simulation for α = 60, plot the waveforms and record the values in Table 1.2.
d) Plot the following waveforms: Input voltage at the AC controller, load current and
voltage and gate signal of the thyristors. Calculate the current extinction angle and the
magnitude of the load voltage using the “FFT analysis.” Compare the results to those
obtained with RL load. Justify.
Table 1.2 Single-phase AC-controller characteristic (R-load)

Parameters Fire Angle  = 60○

Fundamental RMS Current (A)

Total RMS Current (A)

Distortion Current (A)

Current THD (%)

Current Crest Factor

Voltage THD (%)

Active Power (W)

Fundamental Reactive Power (Var)

Displacement Power Factor

Distortion Power Factor

Power factor

Extinction angle (deg.)

Magnitude of load voltage fundamental (RMS)

2.4.1.3 Purely inductive load (L-load)
a) Remove the resistive part of the load impedance of the previous section make the
inductive part equal to 93.7 mH, and find the rated reactive power (at  =  deg.).

b) Update and use the provided Matlab code (“Q_theta.m”) to plot output power variation
with different firing angles. Graphically, find the firing angle () that results in 50% of
rated power.
c) Using the obtained curve, adjust the firing angle of the thyristors to achieve 50% of the
rated Q.
d) Plot the waveforms and record the values of Table 1.3. Compare it to the theoretical
value.
e) Plot the voltage waveforms at the input of the TCR and the voltage and current across the
inductor. Calculate the “current extinction angle” (β) and the “conduction angle” (γ) and
record them in Table 1.3. Compare these to the theoretical values.
f) Obtain the harmonic spectrum of the input current waveform. Record the magnitude and
frequency of the fundamental components and harmonics up to 1 kHz.

Table 1.3 Single-phase AC-controller characteristic (L-load)

Parameters Reactive Power, Q (% of rated value)

100% 75% 50%

Active Power, P (W)

Reactive Power, Q (Var)

Theoretical Reactive Power (Var)

Current Extinction Angle,  (deg.)

Conduction Angle,  (deg.)

Voltage THD (%)

Power Factor

16
2.4.2 Three-Phase AC Controller for Industrial Heating System
a) Open file “3ph_ac_controller.ecf” with the circuit shown in Fig. 1.6.
b) Adjust the firing angle of the thyristors to α = 90.
Note that the positive side thyristor of a given phase shall be fired by a pulse having a
time delay of (90)/(60*360), lagging the negative to positive zero crossing of the voltage
at that phase. Conversely, the negative side thyristor of a given phase shall be fired by a
pulse having a time delay of (90)/(60*360), lagging the positive to negative zero crossing of
the voltage at that phase.
C_N Page
C_N
C_P Page C_P
B_N Page A_P
Page B_N
B_P Page BUS1 BUS2
Pulse_generator B_P
A_N Page A_N
A_P Page A_P Th3
a a
Th2

A_N Page
Page B_P

IC
b Th5 b
PQ Th4

+
AC2
+

0.25
600 /_-90 B_N Page Page C_P

R1
?v
c Th7 c
Th6

C_N Page

Fig. 1.6 – Three-phase thyristor-based AC controller for an industrial heating system

c) Adjust the load resistance (heating filaments) to R = 0.25 Ω per phase.

d) Adjust the “Three-phase programmable voltage source” to 600 V, 60 Hz.
e) Run the simulation and plot the following waveforms: 1) line-to-neutral voltage of the
phase-A of the voltage source, 2) Line current in phase-A, 3) Current in neutral return
wire.

f) Plot the harmonic spectrum of: 1) Current in phase-A and 2) current on neutral return wire.
Compute the THD of those waveforms.
h) Remove the neutral wire. Run another simulation in the same conditions as above. Repeat
step f above and record the values in Table 1.4.

17
Table 1.4. Total harmonic distortion (THD) of the line and neutral currents

Neutral Point Current THD (%)

Phase-A line current with neutral
Phase-A line current without neutral
Neutral current

2.5 QUESTIONS

1) Why the load current presents a smaller THD than the load voltage in a thyristor based
AC controller? (Section 2.4.1.1.f)

2) Why is there reactive power in the input (grid) side of the AC controller supplying a
resistive load? (Table 1.2)

3) What is the effect of varying the firing angle on the fundamental component of the
current waveform and on the reactive power absorbed by the TCR? Are the variations
linear? (Table 1.3)
4) Knowing that the AC controller forms a “balanced” three-phase system, why is the
neutral wire current non-zero? (Section 2.4.2.h), (This is optional, bonus).

18