2-6 SINGLE-PHASE HALF-WAVE RECTIFIERS

A rectifier is a circuit that converts an ac signal into a

unidirectional signal. Diodes are used extensively in rectifiers. A
single-phase half-wave rectifier is the simplest type and is not
normally used in industrial applications. However, it is useful in
understanding the principle of rectifier operation. The circuit
diagram with a resistive load is shown in fig. 2-12a. during the positive
half-cycle of the input voltage. Diode D1 conducts and the input
voltage appears across the load. During the negative half-cycle of
the input voltage, the diode is blocking condition and the output
voltage is zero. The waveforms for the input and output voltages are
shown in Fig. 2-12b.

2-7 PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS

Although the output voltage as shown in Fig. 2-12b is dc, it is

discontinuous and contains harmonics. There are different types of
rectifier circuits and the performances of a rectifier are normally
evaluated in terms of the following parameters.

The average value of the output (load) voltage, Vdc

The average value of the output (load) current, Idc

The output dc power,

The rms value of the output voltage, Vrms

The rms value of the output current, Irms

Sec. 2-7 performances parameters

The output ac power,

= (2-43)

The efficiency (or rectification ratio) of a rectifier, which is a figure of

merit and permits us to compare the effectiveness, is defined as

= (2-44)

The output voltage can be considered as being composed of two

component (1) the dc value, and (2) the ac component or ripple.

The effective (rms) value of the ac component of output

voltage is

= 2 2 (2-45)

The form factor, which is a measure of the shape output voltage, is

= (2-46)

The ripple factor, which is a measure of the ripple content, is defined

as

= (2-47)

Substituting Eq. (2-45) in Eq. (2-47) the ripple factor can be expressed
as

2
= ( ) 1 = 2 1 (2-48)

The transformer utilization factor is defined as

= (2-49)

Where and are the rms voltage and rms current of the
transformer secondary respectively,
If is the angle between the fundamental components of the input
current and voltage, is called the displacemen angle. The
displacement factor is defined as

= cos (2-50)

The harmonic factor of the input current is defined as

1/2 1/2
2 2 1 2
= ( ) = [( ) 1] (2-51)
21 1

Where 1 is the fundamental component of the input current, . Both

1 , and are expressed here in rms. The input power factor is defined
as
1 I1
= = cos (2-52)
Is

Note, if the input current is purely sinusoidal, 1 = and the

power factor, PF, equals the displacement factor, DF. An ideal
rectifier should have: = 100%, = 0, = 1, = 0, = 1, =
0, and = 1.

Example 2-6

The rectifier in Fig. 2-12a has purely resistive load of R.

determine the (a) efficiency; (b) form factor; (c) ripple factor; (d)
transformer utilization factor; and (e) peak inverse voltage (PIV) of
diode

Solution The average output voltage is defined as

1
= 0 () (2-53)

We can notice from Fig. 2-12b that () = 0 for T/2 T. Hence we

have

2
1
= sin = ( 1)
2
0

1
But the frequency of the source is = and = 2.

= = 0.318 (2-54)

0.318
= =

The root-mean square (rms) value of a periodic waveform is defined

as
1/2
1
= [ 2 ()]
0

For a sinusoidal voltage of () = for 0 , the rms value
2
output voltage is

1 1/2
= [ 0 ( sin )2 ] = = 0,5 (2-56)
2

0,5
= =

From Eq. (2-42), = (0,318 )2 /, and from Eq.(2-43), =

(0,5 )2 /.
(0.318 )2
(a) From Eq. (2-44), the efficiency, = = 40.5%
(0,5 )2

0,5
(b) From Eq. (2-46), the form factor, = = 1.57 157%
0,318

(C) From Eq. (2-48), the ripple factor, = 1,572 1 = 1.21 or

121 %

(d) The rms voltage of the transformer secondary is

 1 2
= [ 0 ( sin )2 ] = = 0,707 (2-57)
2

The rms value of the transformer secondary current is the same as

that of the load:
0,5
=

0,5
The volt-ampere rating (VA) of transformer, VA= = 0,707

0.3182
From Eq. (2-49) = = 0.286.
(0,707 0,5)

(e) The peak reverse (or inverse) blocking voltage, = .

Note 1/TUF =1/0,286=3.496 signifies that the transformer must be

3,496 times larger than that when it is being used to deliver power
from a pure ac voltage. This rectifier has a high ripple factor, 121%; a
low efficiency, 40,5%; and a poor TUF, 0,286. In addition, the
transformer has to carry a dc current, and this result in a dc
saturation problem of the transformer core.

Let us consider the circuit of Fig. 2-12a with an RL load as shown

in Fig. 2-13a. Due to inductive load, the conduction period of the
diode D1 will extend beyond 180 until the current becomes zero.
The waveform for the current and voltage are shown in Fig. 2-13b. it
should be noted that we average vt for the inductor is 380. The
average output voltage is
+0
= sin () = = { cos }+0
0 (2-58)
2 0 2

= [1 cos( + 0)]
2
Where 0 = 1 (/) and = 2. The average load current is
= /.
It can be noted from Eq. (2-58) that average voltage (and current)
can be increased by making 0 = 0, which is possible by adding a
free wheeling diode as shown in Fig. 2-13a with dashed lines. The
effect of this diode is to prevent energy is increased. At = 1 = /,
the current from 1 is transferred to and this process is called
comutation of diodes and the waveforms are shown in Fig. 2-13c.
Depending on the load time constant, the load current may be
discontinuous.

2-8 SINGLE-PHASE FULL-WAVE RECTIFIERS

A full-wave rectifier circuit with a center-tapped transformer is

shown in Fig. 2-14a. each half of the transformer with its associated
diode acts as a half-wave rectifier and the output of a full-wave
rectifier is shown in Fig. 2-14b. since there is no dc current flowing
through the transformer, there is no dc saturation problem of
transformer core. The average output voltage is
2 /2 2
= 0 sin = = 0.6366 (2-59)

Instead of using a center-tapped transformer, we could use four

diodes, as shown in Fig. 2-15a. During the positive half-cycle of the
input voltage, the current flows to the load through diodes 1 and
2 . During the negative cycle, diodes 3 and 4 conduct. The
waveforms for the output voltage is shown in Fig. 2-15b and is similar
to that of Fig.2-14b. The peak-inverse voltage of a diode is only .
This circuit is known as a bridge rectifier.

Example 2-7

If the rectifier in Fig.2-14a has a purely resistive load of R,

determine the (a) efficiency; (b) form factor; (c) ripple factor; (d)
transformer utilization factor; and (e) peak inverse voltage (PIV) of
diode 1 .

Solution from Eq. (2-59), the average output voltage is

 2
= = 0.6366

And the average load current is
0.6366
= = (2-60)

The rms value of the output voltage is

1
2
2 2
= [ ( sin 2 )] = = 0.707
0 2

(2-61)
0.707
= =

From Eq. (2-42), = (0.6366 )2 / and from Eq. (2-43), =
(0.707 )2 /

(0.6366 )2
(a) From Eq. (2-44), the efficiency, = (0.707 )2
= 81%

0.707
(b) From Eq. (2-46), the form factor, = = 1.11
0.6366

(c) From Eq. (2-48), the ripple factor, = 1.112 1 = 0.482 or

48.2%

(d) The rms voltage of the transformer secondary, = =
2
0.707

The value of transformer secondary currnet, = 0,5 /R.

The volt-ampere rating (VA) of the transformer, = 2 =

2 0.707 0.5 /. From Eq (2-49),
 0.63662
= = 0.5732 = 57.32%
2 0.707 0.5
(e) The peak reverse blocking voltage, = 2 .

Note, the performance of a full-wave rectifier is significantly

improved compared to that of a half-wave rectifier.

Exampe 2-8

The rectifier in Fig. 2-14a has an RL load. (a) use a method of

fourier series obtain expressions for output voltage () and load
current (). (b) if = 170 , = 60 , and = 500, determine the
value of series inductance L to limit ripple current to 5% of .

Solution (a) the rectifier output voltage may be described by a

fourier series (is reviewed in Appendix E) as

() = + ( cos + sin )
=1,2,

Where

1 2 2 2
= ()() = sin () =
2 0 2 0

1 2 2
= cos () = sin cos () = 0
0 0
1 2 2
= 0 sin () = 0 sin sin () =

4 1
=2,4,
(1)(+1)