Engineering and Technology Journal

Abstract

Power switches require snubbing networks for driving single – phase industrial
heaters. Designing these networks, for controlling the maximum allowable rate of
rise of anode current (di/dt) and excessive anode – cathode voltage rise (dv/dt) of
power switching devices as thyristors and Triacs, is usually achieved using
conventional methods like Time Constant Method (TCM), resonance Method
(RM), and Runge-Kutta Method (RKM).
In this paper an alternative design methodology using Fuzzy Logic Method
(FLM) is proposed for designing the snubber network to control the voltage and
current changes.
Results of FLM, with fewer rules requirements, show the close similarity with
those of conventional design methods in such a network of a Triac driving 1.2 kW
heater of an industrial plastic extruder machine.
The similarity, between Fuzzy Logic results and conventional techniques
results, is confirming the applicability of the fuzzy logic in designing these
snubbing networks.