
9
JUNE 1999
TISP4360H3BJ
BIDIRECTIONAL THYRISTOR OVERVOLTAGE PROTECTORS
P R O D U C T I N F O R M A T I O N
be sufficient to achieve co-ordination. At peak currents of 200 A and above, the resistor would develop at least
400 V and GDT would switch and divert the current.
If the impulse generator current exceeds the protectors current rating then a series resistance can be used to
reduce the current to the protectors rated value and so prevent possible failure. The required value of series
resistance for a given waveform is given by the following calculations. First, the minimum total circuit
impedance is found by dividing the impulse generators peak voltage by the protectors rated current. The
impulse generators fictive impedance (generators peak voltage divided by peak short circuit current) is then
subtracted from the minimum total circuit impedance to give the required value of series resistance. In some
cases the equipment will require verification over a temperature range. By using the rated waveform values
from Figure 10, the appropriate series resistor value can be calculated for ambient temperatures in the range
of -40 °C to 85 °C.
a.c. testing
The protector can withstand currents applied for times not exceeding those shown in Figure 7. Currents that
exceed these times must be terminated or reduced to avoid protector failure. Fuses, PTC (Positive
Temperature Coefficient) resistors and fusible resistors are overcurrent protection devices which can be used
to reduce the current flow. Protective fuses may range from a few hundred milliamperes to one ampere. In
some cases it may be necessary to add some extra series resistance to prevent the fuse opening during
impulse testing. The current versus time characteristic of the overcurrent protector must be below the line
shown in Figure 7. In some cases there may be a further time limit imposed by the test standard (e.g. UL
1459/1950 wiring simulator failure).
Safety tests require that the equipment fails without any hazard to the user. For the equipment protector, this
condition usually means that the fault mode is short circuit, ensuring that the following circuitry is not exposed
to high voltages. The ratings table and Figure 8 detail the earliest times when a shorted condition could occur.
Figure 8 shows how the protector current levels compare to UL 1950 levels. Only the UL 1950 600 V tests (1,
2 and 3) are shown as these have sufficient voltage to operate the protector. Tests 4 (<285 V peak, 2.2 A) and
5 (120 V rms, 25 A) are too low in voltage to operate the protector.
Figure 8 shows that the TISP4360H3BJ curve is very close or better than the UL 1950 test levels. Design
compliance is simply a matter of selecting an overcurrent protector which operates before the UL 1950 times
up to 1.5 s. Fuses such as the Littelfuse 436 series and 2AG (Surge Withstand type) series and Bussmann
TCP series have a 600 V capability for UL 1950. Fuses rated in the range of 0.5 A to 1.5 A will usually meet
the safety test requirements. However, the lower rated current value fuses may open on the type A surges of
FCC Part 68. Opening on a type A surge is not a test failure, but opening on a type B surge (37.5 A 5/320) is;
so the selected fuse must be able to withstand the type B surge.
capacitance
The protector characteristic off-state capacitance values are given for d.c. bias voltage, V
D
, values of 0, -1 V,
-2 V -50 V and -100 V. Values for other voltages may be calculated by multiplying the V
D
= 0 capacitance
value by the factor given in Figure 6. Up to 10 MHz the capacitance is essentially independent of frequency.
Above 10 MHz the effective capacitance is strongly dependent on connection inductance.
normal system voltage levels
The protector should not clip or limit the voltages that occur in normal system operation. If the maximum
system voltages are not known, then designers often used the voltages for the FCC Part 68 “B” ringer. The
“B” ringer has a d.c. voltage of 56.5 and a maximum a.c. ring voltage of 150 V rms. The resultant waveform is
shown in Figure 13. The maximum voltage is -269 V, but, because of possible wiring reversals, the protector
should have a working voltage of ±269 V minimum. The standard TISP4350H3BJ protector meets this
requirement with a working voltage, V
DRM
, of ±275 V and a protection voltage, V
(BO)
, of ±350 V. Figure 14
shows the TISP4350H3BJ voltages relative to the POTS -269 V peak ringing voltage.