A Megawatt Converter with Ride-Through Fault Capability

Protecting thyristors by means of fuses in electro-chemical rectifiers where more than 100 devices are used in a single unit may cause considerable service interruption when fuses open during temporary faults. This paper considers the thyristor and fuse ratings in conjunction with gate suppression techniques to achieve a protective system which allows a 17.5 MW rectifier to ``ride through'' momentary faults without service interruptions.