Thyristor starter

A thyristor starter for starting a synchronous machine, comprising:

• a converter that converts AC power into DC power;
• a DC reactor that smooths the DC power;
• and
• an inverter that converts the DC power applied from the converter through the DC reactor into AC power with a variable frequency and supplies the AC power to the synchronous machine, wherein
• the thyristor starter accelerates the synchronous machine from a stop state to a predetermined rotation speed by sequentially performing a first mode and a second mode, the first mode performing commutation of the inverter by intermittently setting DC output current of the converter to zero, the second mode performing commutation of the inverter by induced voltage of the synchronous machine,
• the thyristor starter switching the first mode to the second mode when a rotation speed, of the synchronous machine reaches at a switching rotation speed,
• in a first case in which the synchronous machine acts as a first synchronous machine having a first inductance, the switching rotation speed for switching from the first mode to the second mode is set to a first rotation speed, and
• in a second case in which the synchronous machine acts as a second synchronous machine having a second inductance larger than the first inductance, the switching rotation speed is set to a second rotation speed lower than the first rotation speed.