BATTERY CHARGING UNIT

CONTENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

INTRODUCTION
WORKING PRINCIPLE
BATTERY CHARGING UNIT
FILTERING TECHNIQUES
VOLTAGE STABILISATION STAGE
COMPONENTS USED
CONCLUSION
REFERENCE

INTRODUCTION
This report regarding the project work is a brief note of a
battery charging unit which can charge 4.8v Nickel-cadmium
battery. In this I have included more details as far as
possible.
Today we commonly use two types of batteries they are
secondary and primary batteries. Primary batteries are
discarded after they are worn out. They wear out because
the chemical process that produces electricity is essentially
irrecoverable, and hence they cannot be recharged.
But that is not in the case of secondary cells. They can be
recharged many times by applying the current in the
opposite direction. in this case the chemical process that
produce current can be reversed easily. Nickel-cadmium cells
are the commonly used secondary cells.
The nickelcadmium battery (NiCd battery or NiCad
battery) is a type of rechargeable battery using nickel oxide
hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes. The
abbreviation Ni-Cd is derived from the chemical symbols of
nickel (Ni) and cadmium (Cd): the abbreviation NiCad is a
registered trademark of SAFT Corporation, although this
brand name is commonly used to describe all NiCd
batteries.Wet-cell nickel-cadmium batteries were invented in
1899. A Ni-Cd battery has a terminal voltage during
discharge of around 1.2 volts which decreases little until
nearly the end of discharge. Ni-Cd batteries are made in a
wide range of sizes and capacities, from portable sealed
types interchangeable with carbon-zinc dry cells, to large
ventilated cells used for standby power and motive power.
Compared with other types of rechargeable cells they offer
good cycle life and capacity, good performance at low
temperatures, and work well at high discharge rates (using
the cell capacity in one hour or less). However, the materials
are more costly than types such as the lead acid battery,
and the cells have higher self-discharge rates than some
other types. Sealed Ni-Cd batteries require no maintenance.

WORKING PRINCIPLE OF BATTERY CHARGING CIRCUIT

A battery charger is basically a DC power supply source.

Here a transformer is used to step down the AC mains input
voltage to the required level as per the rating of the transformer.

This transformer is always a high power type and is able to

produce a high current output as required by most lead-acid
batteries.

A bridge rectifier configuration is used to rectify the low

voltage AC into DC and is further smoothed by a high value
electrolytic capacitor.

This DC is fed to an electronic circuit which regulates the

voltage into a constant level and is applied to the battery under
charge, where the energy is stored through an internal process of
chemical reaction.

In automatic battery chargers a voltage sensor circuit is

incorporated to sense the voltage of the battery under charge. The
charger is automatically switched OFF when the battery voltage
reaches the required optimum level.

The electric power available usually is ac supply. The supply

voltage varies sinus dally and has a frequency of 50Hz.
But there are many applications where we need a dc supply. So for
that we rectify the ac mains power supply using crystal diodes. The
following two rectification technique can be used.
1. Half wave rectification
2. Full wave rectification

HALF WAVE RECTIFIER

In half wave rectification of a single-phase supply, either the

positive or negative half of the AC wave is passed, while the other
half is blocked. Because only one half of the input waveform
reaches the output, mean voltage is lower. Half-wave rectification
requires a single diode in a single-phase supply, or three in a threephase supply. Rectifiers yield a unidirectional but pulsating direct
current; half-wave rectifiers produce far more ripple than full-wave
rectifiers, and much more filtering is needed to eliminate
harmonics of the AC frequency from the output.

Half-wave rectifier
The output DC voltage of an ideal half wave rectifier is

A real rectifier will have a characteristic which drops part of the

input voltage (a voltage drop, for silicon devices, of typically 0.7
volts plus an equivalent resistance, in general non-linear), and at

high frequencies will distort waveforms in other ways; unlike an

ideal rectifier, it will dissipate power.
Full-wave rectification
A full-wave rectifier converts the whole of the input waveform to
one of constant polarity (positive or negative) at its output. Fullwave rectification converts both polarities of the input waveform
to DC (direct current), and yields a higher mean output voltage.
Two diodes and a center tapped transformer, or four diodes in a
bridge configuration and any AC source (including a transformer
without center tap), are needed. Single semiconductor diodes,
double diodes with common cathode or common anode, and fourdiode bridges, are manufactured as single components.

Graetz bridge rectifier: a full-wave rectifier using 4 diodes.

For single-phase AC, if the transformer is center-tapped, then two
diodes back-to-back (cathode-to-cathode or anode-to-anode,
depending upon output polarity required) can form a full-wave
rectifier. Twice as many turns are required on the transformer
secondary to obtain the same output voltage than for a bridge
rectifier, but the power rating is unchanged.

Full-wave rectifier using a center tap transformer and 2 diodes.

Full-wave rectifier, with vacuum tube having two anodes.

A very common double-diode rectifier tube contained a single
common cathode and two anodes inside a single envelope,
achieving full-wave rectification with positive output. The 5U4 and
5Y3 were popular examples of this configuration.

3-phase AC input, half & full-wave rectified DC output waveforms

For three-phase AC, six diodes are used. Double diodes in series,
with the anode of the first diode connected to the cathode of the
second, are manufactured as a single component for this purpose.
Some commercially available double diodes have all four terminals
available so the user can configure them for single-phase split
supply use, half a bridge, or three-phase rectifier.
Passive implementations of linear filters are based on combinations
of resistors (R), inductors (L) and capacitors (C). These types are
collectively known as passive filters, because they do not depend
upon an external power supply and/or they do not contain active
components such as transistors.
Inductors block high-frequency signals and conduct low-frequency
signals, while capacitors do the reverse. A filter in which the signal
passes through an inductor, or in which a capacitor provides a path
to ground, presents less attenuation to low-frequency signals than
high-frequency signals and is therefore a low-pass filter. If the
signal passes through a capacitor, or has a path to ground through
an inductor, then the filter presents less attenuation to highfrequency signals than low-frequency signals and therefore is a
high-pass filter. Resistors on their own have no frequencyselective properties, but are added to inductors and capacitors to
determine the time-constants of the circuit, and therefore the
frequencies to which it responds.
The inductors and capacitors are the reactive elements of the filter.
The number of elements determines the order of the filter. In this
context, an LC tuned circuit being used in a band-pass or band-stop
filter is considered a single element even though it consists of two
components.
At high frequencies (above about 100 megahertz), sometimes the
inductors consist of single loops or strips of sheet metal, and the
capacitors consist of adjacent strips of metal. These inductive or
capacitive pieces of metal are called stubs.

In this battery charging unit the smooching is achieved by using a

capacitor of 1000microfarad.The ripples left in the output of a
capacitor filter is very small. For A full wave rectifier with
capacitor filter, the ripple factor is given by
R=1/4*1.73 FCR
BATTERY CHARGING UNIT

A 5o mA battery charger is suitable for charging a nickel-cadmium

battery. This stage makes use of a full wave full voltage rectifier
using a center tapped transformer of 50mA rating.

The circuit employs two diodes. At 220volt ac input the

transformer secondary output is 9v.The diodes are connected such
that it uses one half of the input ac voltage.D1 utilizes one half of
ac cycle while D2 utilize other half.

Operation:-During the +ve half cycle of the secondary voltage,

the end A of the secondary winding becomes positive and end b
becomes negative. This makes the diode D1 forward biased and D2
reverse biased .There for D1 conducts and D2 doesnt.
The conventional current flow is through diode D1, load resistance
RL and the upper half of the secondary windings are shown by
dotted arrows .During the negative half cycle, end A of the
secondary winding becomes negative and end B becomes positive.
Therefore diode D2 conducts while diode D1doesnt.The
conventional current flow is through diode D2 and load RL and
lower half winding as shown by solid arrows. Referring to figure,
it may be shown that the current in the load is in the same direction
For both half cycles of input ac voltage. Therefore dc voltage
obtained across the load. The peak inverse voltage twice the
maximum voltage across the secondary winding. In full wave
rectification, there are two output forms for one complete cycle of
ac input voltage. Therefore the output frequency is equal to twice
the input frequency.
Thus a continuous pulsating dc is obtained
across the load resistance RL as indicated in the figure.
FILTERING TECHNIQUES
After the rectification of ac into dc there exist ac and dc
components however the output of a rectifier has pulsating
character. The ac component is undesirable and must be kept away
from the load. To do so a FILTER CIRCIUT is used which filters
out the ac component and allows only dc component to reach the
load. The most commonly use filtering circuits are choke input
filter and capacitor filter.

CAPACITOR FILTER
It consists of a capacitor placed across the rectifier output in
parallel with the load resistance RL. The pulsating dc is applied
across the capacitor. As the rectifier voltage increases, it charges
the capacitor and also supplies the current to the load. At the end of
the quarter cycle, the capacitor is charged to the peak value VM of
the rectifier voltage. Now the rectifier voltage starts to decrease. As
this occurs the capacitor discharges through the load and the
voltage across it decreases.
The voltage across the load will decrease only slightly because
immediately the next voltage peak comes and recharges the
capacitor. This process is repeated again and again and the output
wave form becomes ABCDEFG.

VOLTAGE STABILISATION STAGE

A rectifier with an appropriate filter serves as a good source of dc

output. However the major disadvantage of such a power supply is
that the output voltage changes with the variation in the input
voltage or load. In many electronic applications it is desired that dc
voltage should remain constant irrespective of changes in ac mains
or load. Under such conditions voltage regulator devices are used
with ordinary power supply.

TRANSISTOR SERIES VOLTAGE REGULATOR

Figure shows a simple series voltage regulation using a transistor

and zener diode. The circuit is called a series voltage regulator
because collector-emitter terminals are in series with the load. The
unregulated dc supply is fed to the input terminals. So long as the
input voltage is greater than Vz the zener operates in the
breakdown region and the output voltage remains constant.
Referring to figure it is clear that output voltage is equal to zener
voltage minus UBE drop.
I.e. Vout=Vz-v
As UBE is quite small as compared to Vz, therefore, it can be
neglected.Consequently, Vout = Vz. Now the zener diode operates
in the breakdown region, therefore, Vz and hence Vout remains
substantially constant.
A red led in series with the 1k resistor across the dc output region
serves both as the dummy local an as an indicator.

COMPONENTS USED

1. NICKEL CADMIUM CELLS

The nickelcadmium battery (NiCd battery or NiCad
battery) is a type of rechargeable battery using nickel oxide
hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes. The abbreviation
Ni-Cd is derived from the chemical symbols of nickel (Ni) and
cadmium (Cd). The maximum discharge rate for a NiCd
battery varies by size. For a common AA-size cell, the
maximum discharge rate is approximately 18 amps; for a D size
battery the discharge rate can be as high as 35 amps NiCd cells
have a nominal cell potential of 1.2 volts (V). This is lower than
the 1.5 V of alkaline and zinccarbon primary cells, and
consequently they are not appropriate as a replacement in all
applications. However, the 1.5 V of a primary alkaline cell
refers to its initial, rather than average, voltage. Unlike alkaline
and zinccarbon primary cells, a NiCd cell's terminal voltage
only changes a little as it discharges. Because many electronic
devices are designed to work with primary cells that may
discharge to as low as 0.90 to 1.0 V per cell, the relatively
steady 1.2 V of a NiCd cell is enough to allow operation. Some
would consider the near-constant voltage a drawback as it
makes it difficult to detect when the battery charge is low
2.TRANSFORMER

A transformer is a power converter that transfers electrical energy

from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors
the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary
winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core
and thus a varying magnetic field through the secondary winding.
This varying magnetic field induces a varying electromotive force
(EMF), or "voltage", in the secondary winding. This effect is called
inductive coupling.

If a load is connected to the secondary winding, current will flow

in this winding, and electrical energy will be transferred from the
primary circuit through the transformer to the load. In an ideal
transformer, the induced voltage in the secondary winding (Vs) is in
proportion to the primary voltage (Vp) and is given by the ratio of
the number of turns in the secondary (Ns) to the number of turns in
the primary (Np) as follows:

3.TRANSISTOR

A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch

electronic signals and electrical power. It is composed of
semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection
to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the
transistor's terminals changes the current flowing through another
pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be
higher than the controlling (input) power, a transistor can amplify a
signal. Today, some transistors are packaged individually, but
many more are found embedded in integrated circuits.
The transistor is the fundamental building block of modern
electronic devices, and is ubiquitous in modern electronic systems.
Following its development in the early 1950s the transistor
revolutionized the field of electronics, and paved the way for
smaller and cheaper radios, calculators, and computers, among
other things.
4.RESISITORS

A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that

implements electrical resistance as a circuit element.
The current through a resistor is in direct proportion to the voltage
across the resistor's terminals. This relationship is represented by
Ohm's law:

where I is the current through the conductor in units of amperes, V

is the potential difference measured across the conductor in units
of volts, and R is the resistance of the conductor in units of ohms
5.DIODE

In electronics, a diode is a two-terminal electronic component with

an asymmetric transfer characteristic, with low (ideally zero)
resistance to current flow in one direction, and high (ideally
infinite) resistance in the other. A semiconductor diode, the most
common type today, is a crystalline piece of semiconductor
material with a p-n junction connected to two electrical terminals.[1]
A vacuum tube diode, now used only in some high-power
technologies and by enthusiasts, is a vacuum tube with two
electrodes, a plate (anode) and filament (cathode).
The most common function of a diode is to allow an electric
current to pass in one direction (called the diode's forward
direction), while blocking current in the opposite direction (the
reverse direction). Thus, the diode can be viewed as an electronic
version of a check valve. This unidirectional behavior is called
rectification, and is used to convert alternating current to direct

current, including extraction of modulation from radio signals in

radio receiversthese diodes are forms of rectifiers.

6.capacitors
A capacitor (originally known as condenser) is a passive twoterminal electrical component used to store energy in an electric
field. The forms of practical capacitors vary widely, but all contain
at least two electrical conductors separated by a dielectric
(insulator); for example, one common construction consists of
metal foils separated by a thin layer of insulating film. Capacitors
are widely used as parts of electrical circuits in many common
electrical devices.
When there is a potential difference (voltage) across the
conductors, a static electric field develops across the dielectric,
causing positive charge to collect on one plate and negative charge
on the other plate. Energy is stored in the electrostatic field. An
ideal capacitor is characterized by a single constant value,
capacitance, measured in farads. This is the ratio of the electric
charge on each conductor to the potential difference between them.
The capacitance is greatest when there is a narrow separation
between large areas of conductor, hence capacitor conductors are
often called plates, referring to an early means of construction. In
practice, the dielectric between the plates passes a small amount of
leakage current and also has an electric field strength limit,
resulting in a breakdown voltage, while the conductors and leads
introduce an undesired inductance and resistance.

Capacitors are widely used in electronic circuits for blocking direct

current while allowing alternating current to pass, in filter
networks, for smoothing the output of power supplies, in the
resonant circuits that tune radios to particular frequencies, in
electric power transmission systems for stabilizing voltage and
power flow, and for many other purposes.

7. LED(light emitting diode)

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source.[4]

LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are
increasingly used for other lighting. Appearing as practical
electronic components in 1962,[5] early LEDs emitted low-intensity
red light, but modern versions are available across the visible,
ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths, with very high brightness.
When a light-emitting diode is forward-biased (switched on),
electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the
device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is
called electroluminescence and the color of the light
(corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the
energy gap of the semiconductor. An LED is often small in area
(less than 1 mm2), and integrated optical components may be used
to shape its radiation pattern.[6] LEDs present many advantages
over incandescent light sources including lower energy
consumption, longer lifetime, improved physical robustness,
smaller size, and faster switching. LEDs powerful enough for room
lighting are relatively expensive and require more precise current
and heat management than compact fluorescent lamp sources of
comparable output.

CONCLUSION
THE BATTERY CHARGING CIRCIUT WAS CONSTUCTED
AND WAS FOUND TO BE WORKING SATISFACTORILY.