Three-phase bridge rectifiers with freewheeling diodes

Freewheeling diodes are used in controlled rectifiers working in one quadrant only in order to reduce the reactive power and the d.c.- voltage ripple. In addition the freewheeling diodes allow a higher d.c.-current at low d.c.-voltages. The mean value of the freewheeling current depends on the d.c.-current, the load, and the stray-reactance of the rectifier transformer. This paper describes how the freewheeling current can be determined with these parameters. Results for some typical cases are shown in diagrams. (2 refs).