Re: saturable reactor vs choke

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: FIFTYGUY@xxxxxxx 

In a message dated 4/15/06 2:10:10 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
tesla@xxxxxxxxxx writes:

>As far as I know, a saturable reactor works as a phase
>angle controlled switch just like a lamp dimmer, and the control coil
>bias determines the point in each half-cycle where it flips from
>unsaturated to saturated.

    But one big difference: an SCR or Triac phase-angle-controlled 
switch has to STAY on once it's turned on, whereas the saturable 
reactor will "turn off" once the current through it drops through the 
knee point. So the waveforms through each should be somewhat 
different. You could force-commutate the SCR/Triacs to make them turn 
off wherever you wanted, but that's a more complicated setup.
    The "turn on" and "turn off" of a saturable reactor should be 
much more gentle than the sudden commutation of the thyristors, which 
should mean less EMI.

-Phil LaBudde