Physics Investigatory Project

Full Wave Rectifier

By- SAHIL SINGH

Class- xii A
Roll no.- 25

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Sahil Singh of class 12th -B.
Session: 2016-17 prepared the project entitled Full
Wave Rectifier under my general supervision for
partial fulfillment of the requirement of the 12th
class project completion.
The content of this project is based on the candidates
original research & investigation. His attitude &
interest shown in completion of his study is highly
appreciable.

Mr Vikas Bhaskar
(P.G.T Physics)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
There is always a sense of gratitude one expresses to
others for the helpful and needy service they render
during all phases of life. I have completed this
project with the help of different personalities. I wish
to express my gratitude towards all of them.
It gives me immense pleasure to express my deep
regards and sincere sense of gratitude to my physics
teacher- Mr Vikas Bhaskar for his valuable guidance
throughout the making of this project. Thank you
madam for your able and worthy guidance.
I would also like to thank our Lab Attendant for
steering my confidence and capability with the lab
work.

Sahil Singh

AIM
To study the rectification of alternating voltage and
the effect of different types of filters in
smoothing the output voltage .

INTRODUCTION & HYPOTHESIS

In alternating current the electron flow is alternate, i.e. the electron
flow increases to maximum in one direction, decreases back to zero.
It then increases in the other direction and then decreases to zero
again. Direct current flows in one direction only. Rectifier converts
alternating current to flow in one direction only. When the anode of
the diode is positive with respect to its cathode, it is forward biased,
allowing current to flow. But when its anode is negative with respect
to the cathode, it is reverse biased and does not allow current to flow.
This unidirectional property of the diode is useful for rectification. A
single diode arranged back-to-back might allow the electrons to flow
during positive half cycles only and suppress the negative half cycles.
Double diodes arranged back-to-back might act as full wave rectifiers
as they may allow the electron flow during both positive and negative
half cycles. Four diodes can be arranged to make a full wave bridge
rectifier. Different types of filter circuits are used to smooth out the
pulsations in amplitude of the output voltage from a rectifier. The
property of capacitor to oppose any change in the voltage applied
across them by storing energy in the electric field of the capacitor and
of inductors to oppose any change in the current flowing through
them by storing energy in the magnetic field of coil may be utilized.
To remove pulsation of the direct current obtained from the rectifier,
different types of combination of capacitor, inductors and resistors
may be also be used to increase to action of filtering.

NEED OF POWER SUPPLY

Perhaps all of you are aware that a power supply is a primary
requirement for the Test Bench of a home experimenters minilab. A
battery eliminator can eliminate or replace the batteries of solid-state
electronic equipment and the equipment thus can be operated by
230V A.C mains instead of the batteries or dry cells. Nowadays, the
use of commercial battery eliminator or power supply unit has
become increasingly popular as power source for household
appliances like transceivers, record player, cassette players, digital
clock etc.

APPARATUS USED
1.

A step down transformer (220v - 6volt)

2.

Diodes

3.

One plug with wire

4.

Electrolytic capacitor

5.

Soldering kit

6.

Resistance

7.

LED

THEORY
USE OF DIODES IN RECTIFIERS:
Electric energy is available in homes and industries in India, in
the form of alternating voltage. The supply has a voltage of 220V
(rms) at a frequency of 50 Hz. In the USA, it is 110V at 60 Hz. For the
operation of most of the devices in electronic equipment, a dc voltage
is needed. For instance, a transistor radio requires a dc supply for its
operation. Usually, this supply is provided by dry cells. But sometime
we use a battery eliminator in place of dry cells. The battery
eliminator converts the ac voltage into dc voltage and thus eliminates
the need for dry cells. Nowadays, almost all-electronic equipment
includes a circuit that converts ac voltage of mains supply into dc
voltage. This part of the equipment is called Power Supply. In
general, at the input of the power supply, there is a power
transformer. It is followed by a diode circuit called Rectifier. The
output of the rectifier goes to a smoothing filter, and then to a voltage
regulator circuit. A block diagram of such a power supply is shown in
Fig. 1.1. The rectifier circuit is the heart of a power supply.

HALF WAVE RECTIFICATION

Consider the circuit of Fig.1-1. A sinusoidal 6.3-V rms voltage is
applied across the series-connected diode D1 and the load resistor
RL. The input voltage vin is an ac voltage which changes in polarity
every 1120 s. During the positive alternation the anode is positive with
respect to the cathode, and current flows. During the negative
alternation there is no current, because the anode is negative with
respect to the cathode.
It is apparent that current through the diode will result in a voltage
drop across RL, the series-connected load resistor. Moreover, since
the variation of current will follow the variation of input voltage, the
output voltage vout across RL should follow the positive alternation,
which causes current. Fig.1-2 shows the waveforms vin and vout. It
should be noted that vout is no longer an ac voltage, but rather a
pulsating dc voltage.
The diode may therefore be compared to a valve, which opens only
when its anode is positive with respect to its cathode. The diode has
a certain internal resistance (its forward resistance), which is in series
with the line and with the load resistor RL. Hence the diode can be
replaced by an equivalent resistance RF and the effective line voltage
by a generator putting out positive alternation periodically (see Fig.
1.3).
The voltage vout across RL will therefore be a positive alternation, like
the input voltage vin, but smaller than vin (see Fig. 1.4).
The internal forward resistance RF of the diode rectifier should be
small for maximum output vout across RL. This resistance depends on
the type of diode used. The higher current rating of the solid-state
diode, the lower will be the internal resistance (RF) of the rectifier
diode. The voltage drop across the rectifier will normally be limited to
about 0.7 V.
The process whereby the diode conducts during one alternation of
the input cycle is called half-wave rectification.

FULL WAVE RECTIFICATION

It is possible to rectify both alternations of the input voltage by using
two diodes in the circuit arrangement of Fig.1-5. Assume 6.3V rms
(18 V p-p) is applied to the circuit. Assume further that two equalvalued series-connected resistors R are placed in parallel with the ac
source. The 18 V p-p appears across the two resistors connected
between points AC and CB, and point C is the electrical midpoint
between A and B. Hence 9 V p-p appears across each resistor. At
any moment during a cycle of vin, if point A is positive relative to C,
point B is negative relative to C. When A is negative to C, point B is
positive relative to C. The effective voltage in proper time phase
which each diode "sees" is shown in Fig.1-6. The voltage applied to
the anode of each diode is equal but opposite in polarity at any given
instant.
When A is positive relative to C, the anode of D1 is positive with
respect to its cathode. Hence D1 will conduct but D2 will not. During
the second alternation, B is positive relative to C. The anode of D2 is
therefore positive with respect to its cathode, and D2 conducts while
D1 is cut off.
There is conduction then by either D1 or D2 during the entire inputvoltage cycle.
Since the two diodes have a common-cathode load resistor RL, the
output voltage across RL will result from the alternate conduction of
D1 and D2. The output waveform vout across RL in Fig.1-6 therefore
has no gaps as in the case of the half-wave rectifier.
The output of a full-wave rectifier is also pulsating direct current. In
the diagram of Fig.1-5, the two equal resistors R across the input
voltage are necessary to provide a voltage midpoint C for circuit
connection and zero reference. Note that the load resistor RL is
connected from the cathodes to this center reference point C.

An interesting fact about the output waveform vout is that its peak
amplitude is not 9 V as in the case of the half-wave rectifier using the
same power source, but is less than 4 V. The reason, of course, is
that the peak positive voltage of A relative to C is 4 V, not 9 V, and
part of the 4 V is lost across R.
Though the full wave rectifier of Fig.1-5 fills in the conduction gaps, it
delivers less than half the peak output voltage that results from halfwave rectification.

FILTRATION
Rectification of alternating current to pulsating direct current is
achieved by the circuit of Fig. 2-1. Pulses are smoothed by filter
networks. The full-wave rectifier was studied in Experiment 6. In this
experiment the effect of filtering on the nature of the rectified voltage
will be observed.
Capacitors, chokes, and resistors are filter elements. The
effectiveness of a capacitor as a filter is related to its capacitance and
reactance. Larger capacitances have better filtering action. The
filtering action of a choke is related to its inductance.
CAPACITOR INPUT FILTER: Consider the circuit of Fig.2-2a. An electrolytic capacitor C1
replaces the load resistor R in the preceding circuit. C1 charges
alternately through each diode section as the diodes conduct during
the alternations when their anodes are positive relative to the
common cathode. The polarity of voltage developed across C1, which
charges to the peak of the input voltage, makes the cathode positive
relative to ground. There is no path, through which the capacitor can
discharge, except through its own parallel leakage resistance, which
is ordinarily very high. Hence, C1 maintains a high positive dc
voltage, which effectively biases both of the rectifiers to cut off. The
rectifier diodes conduct only during the peaks of the positive
alternations of input ac voltage, replacing the small charge that C1
has lost during the discharge interval. An oscilloscope connected
across C1 will show a relatively constant dc voltage with hardly a
trace of ripple. An EVM across C1 will measure a dc voltage equal
approximately to the peak of the ac input voltage to each rectifier.
If a load resistor R is connected across C1, (2-2b), the rectified,
filtered dc voltage is applied to the load. R draws current from the
supply, and the value of R determines how much current is drawn.
Since the rectifiers are still cut off during a large portion of the input
cycle, the current drawn by the load is actually supplied by C1, which
discharges through R. If the load current is high, that is, if the
resistance of R is relatively low, the dc output voltage drops
appreciably during the discharge cycle and rises during the interval

that C1 is charging through the rectifiers. The output voltage Vout is no

longer a steady voltage, but varies between some maximum and
minimum value in the manner shown in Fig.2-2c. This variation in
capacitor charge is the ripple that is observed with an oscilloscope
across C1. If C1 is replaced by a capacitor of higher capacitance, the
ripple is decreased. The dc voltage measured with an EVM is lower
with load than without.
For low load-current applications, the capacitive filter in Fig.22b may be adequate to maintain a relatively constant dc level. For
higher load currents, a more effective filter is required if a ripple-free
output voltage is desired.
A more effective filter is shown in Fig.2-3. A choke coil L and
another electrolytic capacitor C2 have been added to C1. The output
dc voltage Vout across C2, which is designated VPG , is now applied to
R. The effect of C1, L, and C2 is to improve the filtering action by
increasing the charge stored in these reactive components. A load
current drawn from this supply will cause fewer ripples in the output
than an equivalent load will cause in the output of Fig.2-2b. This
arrangement is a pi- or p-type filter, so called because of the Greek
letter p, which the filter configuration resembles.
Because the first filter element is the capacitor C1, it is
designated a capacitor input filter. A characteristic of this type of filter
is that it provides maximum voltage output to the load since large
capacitors are needed; C1 and C2 are electrolytic, connected with the
polarity shown. The maximum value of input capacitor, which a
rectifier can safely handle is usually specified in the manufacturer's
manual.
The resistance of the windings of the iron-core choke L in
series with the resistor R constitutes a dc voltage divider. The dc
voltage VPG between point P and ground is therefore lower than the
voltage VAG from A to ground. How much lower it is, is determined by
the current IL through L and the resistance RL of L, because the dc
voltage drop VAP across L equals IL X RL. The relationship is
VAG - VAP = VPG

(2-1)

For high load currents a large inductance with low internal

resistance is required.

Fig.2-1 UNFILTERED OUTPUT OF FULL-WAVE RECTIFIER

Fig.2-3 FULL-WAVE RECTIFIER WITH -TYPE FILTER.

Fig.2-4 RESISTOR USED IN -TYPE FILTER.

The inductance of the iron-core choke is directly related to its

effectiveness as a filter element. A characteristic of the choke is to
oppose a change in current, while the capacitors oppose a change in
voltage. The filter tends to average out the rectified pulses by clipping
the peaks and filling in the valleys and thus supplies a relatively
constant voltage to the load.
The output dc voltage is termed V+. The value of V+, then,
depends on the ac voltage across the high-voltage secondary, the
size of the filter capacitors and choke, and the value of load current.
Without any load, the dc output voltage is approximately equal to the
peak voltage of each secondary winding of the transformer, that is,
from either anode to common.
Frequently a resistor RC is used to replace the choke as a filter
element. Fig.2-4 illustrates this type of filter. It should be noted,
however, that a resistor is not as effective a filtering component as a
choke. Therefore, if circuit requirements or cost suggest the use of a
resistor rather than a choke, larger valued filter capacitors C1 and C2
are required to compensate for the loss of the choke.
For solid-state devices requiring low voltages, either regulated
supplies or power supplies using p-type CRC filters, such as that
shown in Fig.2-4, are employed. For the CRC filtered supplies it is not
unusual to find capacitors with values of 500 to 1000 microfarads
(F). CRC filters are not designed for high-voltage supplies because
large high-voltage electrolytic capacitors are very bulky and
expensive. Low-voltage electrolytic capacitors are cheaper and less
bulky.
VOLTAGE REGULATION: If a power supply is allowed to operate near peak voltage, it will
result in poor voltage regulation. In order to provide better regulation,
a certain minimum current must be drawn from the supply at all times.
Any additional variations in load current cause a voltage drop across
the rectifier diode and across the resistance of the choke L, or across
the filter resistor R. The greater the load current IL, the greater the
voltage drops ILR across the resistance of the choke or the filter
resistor and diode, and hence the lower is the voltage V which can be
delivered to the load.

The regulation of a supply is an index which shows how output

voltage V varies as it is loaded. The equation for percentage of
regulation is
Vmax - Vmin
Percent Regulation = 100 X --------------Vmin

(2-2)

where Vmax is the no-load voltage and Vmin is the full-load voltage.
Regulation is improved by the use of a bleeder resistor RB
(Fig.2-5). This provides bleeder current under all load conditions. RB
is also rapidly discharges C1 and C2 when power is shut off.
Otherwise, these capacitors might become a shock hazard by
carrying a charge for long periods of time after power has been
removed. For good regulation the bleeder current should be about 15
to 20 percent of total current.
CHOKE INPUT FILTER: For some high-voltage applications with relatively large
variations in load current, better regulation is required than is possible
with a capacitor input filter. The use of a choke input filter with a
specified minimum bleeder current (Fig. 2-6) provides the improved
regulation. However, the output voltage V, other conditions being the
same as in the circuit of Fig.7-5, is lower than that previously realized.
Of course, the addition of an extra choke has improved the filtering.
The power transformer and the choke coil or coils must be
capable of handling the maximum load-current requirement. Thus, if
90-mA load current is to be supplied, the choke must be rated
somewhat higher. The same is true of the dc rating for the secondary
of the power transformer T.
Where a resistor RC is used instead of a choke, its wattage
must be greater than I2RC, where I is the total current drawn, bleed
and load.

REGULATION OF A HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER: If only a single rectifier is used in the circuit of Fig.2-5, or if an
anode of either diode is opened, the resulting circuit is that of a halfwave rectifier. For the same load conditions, voltage V drops because
now only one of the diodes is supplying the load current instead of
two. The filter must therefore supply load current during the
alternation when the diode is not conducting. Also, the ripple
frequency changes from 120 Hz for full-wave rectification to 60 Hz for
half-wave action (based on a line frequency of 60 Hz). At the lower
frequency the filter is not as effective, making the ripple voltage much
higher, and the dc voltage lower. Full-wave rectifiers are therefore
normally used in transformer-type power-supply circuits.

Fig.2-5 POWER SUPPLY WITH BLEED RESISTOR RB.

Fig.2-6 CHOKE INPUT FILTER.

BRIDGE RECTIFIER
The bridge rectifier employing silicon diodes has become increasingly
popular with designers.
Fig.3-1 is the circuit diagram of a transformer-fed bridge rectifier. The
high-voltage secondary winding of transformer T supplies four silicon
rectifiers, D1 through D4. Operation of the circuit is as follows:
Assume that during the positive alternation (alternation 1) of the input
sine wave, point C is positive with respect to D (the voltages at the
opposite ends of a transformer winding are 1800 out of phase). This
makes the anode of D1 positive with respect to its cathode, and D1 is
therefore forward-biased. Similarly the cathode of D3, connected to
point D, is negative relative to its anode. Hence, D3 is forwardbiased. It is evident also that D2 and D4 are reverse-biased during
alternation 1. Thus, in a circuit D1 and D3 will conduct during
alternation 1 while D2 and D4 will be cut off.
Fig.3-2a shows that during the positive alternation there is a complete
path for current for rectifiers D1 and D3, which are connected in
series with the load resistor RL.
Current flows through RL, through D1, through winding CD, and
through D3, with the polarity shown.
Fig.3-2b shows the positive-voltage waveform developed during
alternation 1 across RL. During the negative alternation (alternation
2), D1 and D3 are reverse-biased and are cut off. If D2 and D4 were
not in the circuit, D1 and D3 would act as a half-wave rectifier.
Fig.3-2c shows that during the negative alternation (alternation 2),
that is, when point C is negative relative to point D, the anode of D2 is
positive with respect to its cathode, and the cathode of D4 is negative
with respect to its anode. Hence, rectifiers D2 and D4 are forwardbiased, while D1 and D3 are reverse-biased. Now D2 and D4
conduct, permitting current through RL. The polarity across RL is the
same as in Fig.3-2d.

Thus D1 in series with D3 rectifies during the positive alternation of

the input, while D2 in series with D4 rectifies during the negative
alternation.

(a)

(b)

Fig.3-1 (a) BRIDGE RECTIFIER; (b) WAVEFORMS.

Fig.3-2 (a) and (b) ACTION OF BRIDGE RECTIFIER ON POSITIVE

ALTERNATION; (c) and (d) ON NEGATIVE ALTERNATION.

Fig.3-3 TRANSFORMER-FED DUO-DIODE FULL-WAVE

RECTIFIER
A bridge rectifier is therefore a full-wave rectifier. The center tap (CT)
of the secondary is not connected in the bridge rectifier. In a
conventional circuit rectifier, the CT acts as the common return, and
the voltage across each diode is one-half the voltage across the
transformer. Hence, if the same transformer is used, the output
voltage of a conventional full-wave rectifier (Fig.3-3) is only one-half
that of a bridge circuit.
Because two rectifiers are always operating in series in a bridge
rectifier, the peak inverse voltage is divided across the rectifiers.
Hence, the PIV for each rectifier is the transformer peak, whereas in
the conventional duo-diode full-wave rectifier the PIV is about twice
the transformer voltage.
One disadvantage of a bridge rectifier is that on each alternation, the
direct current in the circuit must flow through two series-connected
diodes. The forward dc voltage drop (loss) across the two rectifiers is
therefore greater than the drop across a single rectifier. However, the
small drop across silicon diodes can normally be tolerated.

FILTER CIRCUIT: The same type of filter arrangement can be used with a bridge
rectifier as with any other rectifier circuit. Observe that a filter is
used in Fig.3-4 for a 300-mA load (approx), capacitors rated at 80 to
100 F are conventionally employed. The choke L varies from 1 to 8
henrys (H), depending on how much ripple can be tolerated.
A filter resistor may be used to replace the choke. In that case
larger capacitors are used.
For the bridge rectifier the voltage rating of the filter capacitors
must be at least twice for the full-wave rectifier using the same
transformer.

Fig.3-4 A TRANSFORMER-FED BRIDGE RECTIFIER WITH

FILTER

SOURCES OF ERROR
The following is the list of sources of error during the
process of the project and the precautions observed to minimize error
due to them.

SOURCES OF ERROR

PRECAUTION OBSERVED

a) The transformer may not

giving ac output.
b) The transformer is getting
heat.
c) The rectifiers diodes are not
working.
d) Output voltage is very high
and burn the LED at load.

Check the output voltage with

multimeter before connecting.
Prevent the output terminals of
transformers not to get shorted.
Check the polarity of diodes
before connecting.
The capacitors are in reverse
direction of load resistor is not
connected.
The LED is connected in reverse
direction.

e) Output LED is not working.

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Physics NCERT Textbook - Class 12

2. Physics Lab Manual
3. Internet