INDEX
1. Introduction.
2. Types of rectifiers.
3. Working model.
4. Operations of full wave rectifier.
5. Real life application of full wave rectifier.
6. Advantages of full wave rectifier.
INTRODUCTION
Important for industrial applications and for the transmission of
energy rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current
(AC), Which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which
flows in only one direction. The process is known as
RECTIFICATION. Electronic devices can convert AC power into DC
power with high efficiency.
Rectification produces a type of
DC that encompasses active voltages and
current, which are then adjusted into a
type of constant voltage DC, although this
varies depending on the currents end-
use. The current is allowed to flow
uninterrupted in one direction, and no
current is allowed to flow in the opposite direction. Physically, rectifiers
take a number of forms, including vacuum tube diodes, Mercury-arc
valves, copper and selenium oxide rectifiers, semiconductor diodes,
silicon-controlled rectifiers and silicon-based semiconductor switches.
Rectifier circuits may be single-phase or multi– phase. Most low power
rectifiers for domestic equipment are sing-phase, but three-phase
rectification is very important for industrial applications and for the
transmission of energy as DC.
TYPES OF RECTIFIERS
Rectifiers are mainly classified into two types as:
1. Uncontrolled Rectifier
2. Controlled Rectifier
UNCONTROLLED RECTIFIERS:
The type of rectifier whose voltage cannot be controlled is known as a uncontrolled rectifier.
Uncontrolled rectifiers are further divided a follows:
1. Half Wave Rectifier :
The type of rectifier that converts only half the cycle of the alternating current into
the direct current is known as a half-wave rectifier.
2. Full Wave Rectifier :
A full-wave rectifier converts both positive and negative half cycles of the AC. An
example of this is a bridge rectifier. A bridge rectifier uses 4 diodes that are connected
in the form of a Wheatstone bridge.
CONTROLLED RECTIFIERS:
1. A type of rectifier whose voltage can be varied is known as the controlled rectifier.
We use SCRs, MOSFETs and IGBTs to make an uncontrolled rectifier a controlled
one. These rectifiers are preferred over their uncontrolled counterparts.
2. There are two types of controlled rectifiers,
Half Wave Controlled Rectifier : Half-wave-controlled rectifier has the same
design as the half-wave uncontrolled rectifier except we replace the diode with
an SCR (Sillicon-Controlled Rectifier)
Full Wave Controlled Rectifier: The circuit of the full wave rectifier can be
constructed in two ways.
The first method uses a Centre tapped transformer and two diodes. This
arrangement is known as a Centre tapped full wave rectifier.
The second method uses a standard transformer with four diodes arranged as a
bridge. This is known as a bridge rectifier.
The circuit of the full wave rectifier consists of a step-down transformer and two
diodes that are connected, and Centre tapped. The output voltage is obtained
across the connected load resistor.
Working of Full Wave Rectifier
The input AC supplied to the full wave rectifier is very high. The step-down
transformer in the rectifier circuit converts the high voltage AC into low voltage
AC.
The anode of the Centre tapped diodes is connected to the
transformer’s secondary winding and connected to the load resistor. During the
positive half cycle of the alternating current, the top half of the secondary winding
becomes positive while the second half of the secondary winding becomes
negative.
During the positive half cycle, diode D1 is forward biased as it is connected to
the top of the secondary winding while diode D2 is reverse biased as it is
connected to the bottom of the secondary winding. Due to this, diode D1 will
conduct acting as a short circuit and D2 will not conduct acting as an open
circuit.
During the negative half cycle, the diode D1 is reverse biased and the diode D2
is forward biased because the top half of the secondary circuit becomes negative,
and the bottom half of the circuit becomes positive. Thus, in a full wave rectifier,
DC voltage is obtained for both positive and negative half cycle.
Though the voltage is of only one polarity now, it is still far from DC since it
varies from 0 to the amplitude of the input voltage minus 2 diode drops. We
can help smooth out or buffer this voltage by using an electrolytic capacitor (C1
on diagram) to build an RC circuit, as shown. Be careful that the anode of the
capacitor (the small box) is at a higher voltage than the cathode.
The AC input voltage fluctuates usually with a know frequency. We must choose
our resistor R1 and capacitor C1 such that the product of their resistance and
capacitance (R*C) is much greater than half the period of the input wave. In
short,
R x C >> T/2 {where T is the time period of the input wave}
If we choose our resistor and capacitor right, the capacitor will charge up when the
input voltage wave is near its peak but will not have time to fully discharge when
the input voltage wave is near its trough. Hence the output voltage will be more
constant or smoothed out.
Now we have rectified the AC voltage (made the polarity of the output only
positive) and smoothened it out a little bit. We can make it a true DC source
by adding a solid-state voltage regulator. This can also be done using a Zener
diode in parallel with a resistor.
This means that current is supposed to flow in the opposite direction in a
Zener diode as compared to a regular diode (in a Zener the higher voltage is
at the tip of the arrow). They are designed such that the voltage drop across
them is constant when they are reverse biased.
Hence a Zener diode adjusts the current flowing through it so that the
voltage drop across it remains the same. Since the Zener diode is in
parallel with our output, the voltages across them both will be the same.
This ability of the Zener diode is used to stabilize the output voltage
to changes in the input voltage.
Operation of Full Wave Bridge
Rectifier
1. Circuit Complexity: Complex involves at least two diodes (in
Centre-tapped) or four diodes (in bridge configuration).
2. Efficiency: Higher, as it utilizes the entire AC cycle, thus
converting more power.
3. Ripple Factor: Lower, offering a smoother DC output with less
fluctuation.
4. Output Frequency: Twice the input frequency uses both halves
of the AC cycle.
5. Voltage Regulation: Better, owing to a smoother output
waveform.
6. Transformer Utilization Factor (TUF): Higher, approximately
0.812 for center-tapped and 0.955 for bridge rectifier.
7. Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV): For center-tapped: Twice the peak
voltage of the AC input. For bridge rectifier: Equal to the peak
voltage of the AC input.
8. Average Output Voltage: Vavg = 2Vm/pi
9. Rectification Efficiency: About 81.2% for both center-tapped and
bridge rectifiers.
10. Cost: Slightly more expensive due to the increased number of
components.
Real life Applications of
Full-wave
Bridge Rectifier
1. Mobile phones, laptops, charger circuits.
2. Uninterruptible Power Supply (ups):
3. LCD, LED TVs.
4. Radios
Advantages of Full Wave
Rectifier
1. The rectification efficiency of full wave rectifiers is double that
of half wave rectifiers. The efficiency of half wave rectifiers is
40.6% while the rectification efficiency of full wave rectifiers is
81.2%.
2. The ripple factor in full wave rectifiers is low hence a simple filter
is required. The value of ripple factor in full wave rectifier is 0.482
while in half wave rectifier it is about 1.21.
3. The output voltage and the output power obtained in full wave
rectifiers are higher than that obtained using half wave rectifiers.
