AMIE(I) STUDY CIRCLE(REGD.

)
A Focused Ap proach
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Rectifiers
We know that the generation, transmission and distribution of A.C. is economical but at few
places, we need D.C. supply, e.g. electronic devices and circuits. Here, we convert the
available A.C. supply into D.C. supply. The process is called “rectification” and the devices
used for rectification are called, “rectfiers ”. Diodes are used as rectifiers.
The rectifiers can be classified as :
• Half wave rectifiers
• Full wave rectifiers (i) Centre tap rectifiers (ii) Bridge rectifiers

HALF WAVE(H.W.) RECTIFIERS

These circuits rectify only the half(positive) cycle of the A.C. supply and hence the name.
The circuit use only one diode. The AC supply to the diodes is given through a step down
transformer which steps down the voltage to be supplied to the diode. The output D.C.
voltage is obtained across a load. (See figure).

A.C. to D.C. conversion

The stepdown voltage appears across secondary MN of the transformer. This becomes the
A.C. input to the diode.
Ø When positive cycle of the A.C. input appears across the diode, i.e. the end M is positive
and end N is negative, the diode becomes forward biased and is short circuited. As a
result, the whole A.C. input of the positive cycle appears across the load.

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 AMIE(I) STUDY CIRCLE(REGD.)
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Ø When negative cycle of the supply appears, i.e., end M becomes negative and N positive.
The diode is reverse biased and is open circuited. As a result, the whole A.C. input of the
negative cycle appears across the diode and output across the load is zero.
Figure below shows wave form for A.C. input and D.C. output.

Efficiency of Half Wave Rectifiers

The ratio of D.C. power output across the load to the applied A.C. power input to the diode is
known as “rectifier’s efficiency(η)”
D.C. power output
i.e. η=
A.C. power input
Step 1 : D.C. power output

Let
(i) voltage across secondary of the transformer be v = V m sinθ.
(ii) resistance of diode = rf (when forward biased).
(iii) Load resistance R L
The instantaneous value of current through the circuit (see figure 11).

v V sin θ
i= = m
rf + R L rf + R L

Vm
Maximum current I m = Hence i = I m sin θ.
rf + R L
D.C. output power obtained across the load RL = Idc2.RL = I av2.RL
From the basic knowledge of electrical engineering we know that the DC or average value of
a half retified wave is I m/π .
i.e. Idc = Iav = Im /π.
Hence output power = (Idc)2.RL = (I m/π )2.RL
Step 2 : A.C. power input
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 AMIE(I) STUDY CIRCLE(REGD.)
A Focused Approach
Again, from the knowledge of electrical engineering, the Irms of a half rectified wave is given
by
Irms = Im/2
Hence A.C. power input Pac = Irms2.(rf + RL) = (I m/2)2.(rf + RL)
Step 3 : Rectification efficiency

(I m / π) 2 .R L
2
Pdc 4I .R L 4 RL 0.406R L
η= = . 2 2m = 2. =
Pac ( I m / 2) (rf + R L ) π I m (rf + R L ) π (rf + R L )
2
rf + R L

0.406 R L
If diode resistance rf may be neglected then η = = 0 .406 = 40 .6%
RL

Example

An A.C. supply of 230 V is applied to a half-wave rectifier circuit through a transformer of

term ratio 10:1. Assuming the diode resistance as 10 Ω and the load as 800 Ω, calculate :
(i) Im , Idc, Irms
(ii) D.C. power output
(iii) A.C. power input
(iv) Efficiency of rectification
(v) D.C. output voltage
(vi) P.I.V.
(vii) Frequency of D.C. output voltage

Solution

See figure.
RMS value of the voltage that appeared across the secondary
V = (N 2/N1) x V1 = (1/10) x 230 = 23 V
Maximum value of applied voltage across the diode
Vm = √ 2. V = √2. 23 = 32.53 V.
Now,
Im = Vm /(rf + RL) = 32.53/(10 + 800) = 40.16
mA
Idc = Iav = Im /π = 40.16/π = 12.79 mA
Irms = Im/2 = 40.16/2 = 20.08 mA
D.C. power output
P D.C. = ID.C. 2.R L = (12.79 x 10-3)2 x 800 W
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 AMIE(I) STUDY CIRCLE(REGD.)
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2
= (0.01279) x 800 x 1000 mW.
A.C. power input
P A.C. = Irms2.(rf + RL)
= (20.08 x 10-3)2.(10 + 800) x 103 mW
= 325.3 mW
Rectification efficiency
η = Pdc/P ac = 130/325.3 = 39.9 %
D.C. output voltage
VD.C. = R L.ID.C = 800 x (12.79 x 10-3)
= 10.23 volts
P.I.V. Vm =32.53 V.
In half wave rectification, there is only one output pulse for each complete cycle of the input
A.C. voltage. Therefore, frequency of D.C. output is same as that of the A.C. input, i.e. 50
Hz. See figure.

FULL WAVE(F.W.) RECTIFIERS

In these circuits more than one diode is used. This enables the circuit to possess both the
cycles of the A.C. supply. During both the cycles, current flows through the load in the same
direction.

Centre Tap F.W. Rectifier

The circuit uses a stepdown transformer with the centre tapped secondary. In addition to this,
two diodes are connected as shown in figure (a). One diode processes positive half cycle and
the other negative half cycle.
During positive half cycle of the A.C. supply, diode D1 is forward biased as the end A is
positive and B negative. This makes diode D1 forward biased and D2 reverse biased. As a
result current flows through the diode D1 and through the load RL as shown by arrows. The
load D2 does not conduct during this period.

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 AMIE(I) STUDY CIRCLE(REGD.)
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(a) (b)
During negative cycle, end B becomes positive and A negative. This makes D2 forward
biased and D1 reverse biased. The D2 conducts and current flows through D2 and load RL as
shown by arrows. The diode D1 does not conduct during this period. It can be seen that the
current in both the cases flows through RL from S to K, hence we get a unidirectional(direct)
current. Figure (b) shows the wave form for A.C. input and D.C. output.

F.W. Bridge Rectifier

As already mentioned, in the case of centre tap and rectifier circuit, it is difficult to locate
D.C. correctly the centre point on the secondary of the transformer, and this may give
distortion in the rectified D.C. output. Moreover, PIV value is also high in C.T. rectifier
circuit. These drawbacks have been eliminated in bridge rectifier which employs 4 diodes.

(a) (b, c)waveform (A.C.á D.C.)

By using 4 diodes, its output is twice that of the C.T. circuit for the same secondary voltage.
As shown in the Figure (a), the load RL is connected between the two ends P and R, the
arrangement gives it the shape of the bridge hence the name.
During positive half cycle of the secondary voltage, the end A of the secondary becomes
positive and B becomes negative. As a result the diodes D1 and D3 become forward biased
which conduct. The direction of current is shown by solid arrows, i.e. AQPRSBA.
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 AMIE(I) STUDY CIRCLE(REGD.)
A Focused Approach
During the negative cycle, the end A, becomes negative and B becomes positive. The diodes
D2 and D4 become forward biased and conduct in the direction shown by dotted arrows, i.e.
BSPRQAB.
It can be seen that current in both the cases flow through RL from S to K. Hence we get a
unidirectional(direct) current. Figure (b and c) shows waveform for A.C. input and D.C.
output, respectively.

Efficiency of an F.W. Rectifier

Recall that the ratio of the output D.C. power to the input A.C. power is called the efficiency
of rectification.
Let the A.C. voltage to be rectified be given by the equation
v = Vm sinθ (secondary voltage)
v = instantaneous voltage
where forward resistance of diode = rf and load resistance = RL.
Now the instantaneous value of current is given by

v V sin θ
i= = m
rf + R L rf + R L

D.C. output power. From the basic knowledge of electrical engineering, the average current
(IDC) of a full rectified wave is given by :
ID.C. = 2 Im/π, where I m is the maximum value of current.
Hence D.C. power output P DC = ID.C.2.RL = (2I m/π )2.R L (i)
A.C. input power. Again from the basic knowledge of electrical engineering, we know that
for FW rectified wave,
Irms = Im/√ 2
Hence A.C. input power,
P AC = (Irms)2.(rf + RL) = (Im/√2)2 (rf + RL) (ii)
Efficiency
( 2 I m / π) 2 .R L 0 .812 R L
η = PD.C. / P A.C. = =
( I m / 2 ) 2 (rf + R L ) rf + R L

The efficiency will be maximum, if diode resistance rf is negligible.

0 .812 R L
i.e. η= = 0 .812 = 81.2 %
RL

Example

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 AMIE(I) STUDY CIRCLE(REGD.)
A Focused Approach
Figure (a,b) shows C.T. and bridge rectifier circuits having the same load and transformer
turn ratio. The primary of each is connected to 230 V – 50 Hz supply. Find in each case : (a)
D.C. voltage output (b) Frequency of D.C. output.

Solution

Given that N 1/N2 = 10/1

Primary voltage = 230 V (rms)
The secondary voltage = 230/10 = 23 V(rms)
Maximum secondary voltage = 23 x √2 = 32.43 V
Vm across half secondary
Vm = 32.43/2 = 16.21 V
ID.C. = 2 Vm /π .RL [diodes are ideal, rf = 0] = 2 x 16.21/(π x200) = 0.052 A
D.C. output voltage
VD.C. = I D.C. .RL = 0.052 x 200 = 50.4 V
PIV = 2 Vm = 2 x 16.21 = 32.43 V
Rectification efficiency η = 0.813 RL/(rf + RL) = 0.813 x 200/200 (as rf = 0) = 81.2 %
ID.C = 2Vm/π.R L , [ rf = 0, since diodes are real]
Hence D.C. output voltage = V DC = ID.C. .RL = (2Vm /π .RL)R L
= 2V m/π = 2 x 16.21 /3.14 = 10.32 V
Bridge Circuit
Maximum voltage across secondary
Vm = 32.43 V
D.C. output voltage

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 AMIE(I) STUDY CIRCLE(REGD.)
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ID.C. .RL = (2V m /π RL)R L = 2Vm/π = 2 x 32.43/3.14 = 20.65 V
In F.W. rectification, there are two output cycles for each complete cycle of the input A.C.
voltage; hence output frequency of D.C. voltage will be double that of the A.C. voltage = 50
x 2 = 100 Hz.
This is true whether the circuit is a C.T. or a bridge type.

RIPPLE FACTOR
The output of a rectifier (Figure) as mentioned already is not pure but contains D.C. as well
as A.C. components. The A.C. components are responsible for pulsations in the wave. These
A.C. components are called ripples.

The ratio of RMS value of A.C. components in the rectifier output is called ripple factor
(R.F.)
Ripple factor = A.C. Components/D.C. Components = IA.C. /ID.C. .
If IA.C. is more than ID.C. , clearly ripple factor is more than 1; in other words, the output is
more of A.C. nature than D.C.. Inversely, the lesser the I A.C., the more pure is the D.C. output.
For proper functioning, electronic devices require pure D.C. The ripples are undesirable and
they badly affect their performance.
The frequency of ripples in D.C. output is as follows:
(i) In case of H.W. rectifier output, this is the same as the frequency of supply mains.
(ii) In case of F.W. rectifier output, this is double that of the frequency of supply mains.
i.e. if supply frequency is f, the frequency of H.W. rectifier output is also f, whereas the
frequency of F.W. rectifier output is 2f.

Mathematical Analysis
By definition the rms value of total current is given by

I rms = I D.C . + I A.C .

2 2 2

I rms = I D .C. + I A.C .

2 2

I A.C . = I rms − I D .C.

2 2

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 AMIE(I) STUDY CIRCLE(REGD.)
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2
I rms − I D. C. I 
2 2
I
Hence ripple factor = A.C . = =  rms  − 1
I D .C. I D .C.  I D .C . 
Now (I) For H.W. rectification
We know that Irms = Im /2 and ID.C. = Im /π

 Im / 2 
Ripple factor =   − 1 =1.21
 Im /π 
As can be seen Ripple factor is more than 1, H.W. rectification is quite ineffective.
(iii) For F.W. Rectification

I rms = I m / 2 , I D. C. = 2 I m / π

Im / 2
Ripple factor = − 1 = 0.48
2I m / π

If Ripple factor is less than 1, it shows that F.W. rectification is more effective than H.W.
rectification.

Example

The load resistance of a centre tapped full wave rectifier, is 500 ohms and the necessary
voltage (end to end) is 60 sin(100 π t). Calculate (I) the peak, average and rms values of
current (ii) ripple factor and (iii) efficiency of the rectifier. Each diodes has an idealised I-V
characteristics having slope corresponding to a resistance of 50 ohms.

Solution

Load resistance R L = 500 Ω

Output voltage VL = 60 sin(100πt)
Rf = 50 Ω
(i) Peak current I m = Vm/(Rf + RL) = 60/(50 + 500) = 0.109 A
Average current = 2I m/π = 0.0695 A
RMS value of current = I m/√ 2 = 0.077 A
2
I 
(ii) Ripple factor r =  rms  − 1 = 0.482
 I dc 
(iii) Ratio of rectification is a measure of efficiency and is given by
= DC power delivered to the load/AC input power from transformer secondary

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 AMIE(I) STUDY CIRCLE(REGD.)
A Focused Approach
2
Im
RL
= π2 =0.603/1.634 = 0.369
2
Im
( R f + RL )
4

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