[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Terry's DRSSTC - DRSSTC protector



Original poster: Terry Fritz <teslalist@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Hi Steve,

At 09:03 PM 3/17/2005, you wrote:
Good luck with this Terry.  I must say i am a bit skeptical, but then
again i havent really analyzed this as much as you have :-).

I think it will be cool! It just sticks an extra ~60kHz LC between each leg of the H-bridge to "calm" things if there is a "boo boo". This blurb explains it:


http://drsstc.com/~terrell/notes/DRSSTCprotec.pdf


Just curious, have you tried letting your coil arc to grounded targets
yet?

No. Just the "air" sparks are real pretty and have "astounded" audiences so far ;-))) In every case, arcs to the primary have taken out 2 of the H-bridge IGBTs but nothing else (with the new beefed up trace cards and aside from "explosive" damage to some transorbs). Minimal damage now days, but unbolting the card and replacing the two dumb $7 IGBTs is sort of getting old every time I hit the primary. I will go to a bigger top load to fix that too, but I want to "ring out" this problem first for sure.


Only running about 8kV in the primary now and getting anxious to go to 21kV on the primary on a bigger coil that can really kick out BIG arcs >:)))) My short little secondary coil is easy to carry, but too short for secondary to primary arcs :-p

Aside from the primary coil that is...  Im wondering if maybe
just the fact that the secondary is power arcing is too much for your
IGBTs to handle?

Modeling of the arcs suggests a bunch of problem this protector should fix. Basically, these arcs are forcing very fast reverse currents back into the H-bridge from the secondary terminal's stored energy. These currents force the bridge into conduction modes at "bad times" and are cross conducting the mess. The protector should slow all this down so that things are under "control".


So the "theory" goes...

Cheers,

        Terry



Steve