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Design examples ranging from very simple unregulated PSUs to precise and closely regulated PSUs
Definition
For the purposes of this article the term power supply unit means a unit that takes power from mains AC and produces a DC output. Throughout this presentation there will be some slides with RED headings. These are more advanced ideas and until you are more familiar with the basic ideas you may want to skip over these slides.
DC wave E
Transformer T1 converts the mains voltage to the voltage required. BR1 changes the AC wave into a DC wave. Its usual to include a fuse (not shown here) in the AC line for circuit protection.
Applications
The circuit shown in Fig 1 would be suitable for charging a car battery or operating a dc motor. In these applications the ripple is not important. However most applications require a smoothed output, and to provide this in the next circuit we will use a capacitor.
Ripple voltage
Vpk
The input waveform is a sine wave, normally at 50Hz. Its RMS value is the transformers output voltage e.g. 12V The peak value Vpk is 12 2 = 17.0V
0V
12V
The output waveform is a double hump. The peak value is still 17V.
0V
0V
This is equivalent to a constant DC level of 12V with an additional ac signal which we call the ripple voltage. More on this later.
Here we have added an electrolytic capacitor to reduce the amount of ripple at the output.
Capacitor smoothing
The output waveform from the rectifier is a double hump. The peak value is still 17 V off load, and about 17 - 2*0.7 =15.6V due to the rectifier diodes. As the voltage rises the capacitor charges up until the peak is reached. Then it slowly discharges, maintaining the voltage. (red line) When it reaches the next hump it charges again. The amount by which it drops is found from the formula CV =I t where t= 10msec
0V
Time: 05.1015..20ms
0V
However its almost a sawtooth wave, so instead we can use Vrms = Vpk-pk/3 The ripple current flowing in the capacitor is Iripple = Vrms / Xc And Xc = 1 / (2 *pi * f *C) = 1 / 628 C
Design calculations
Specification: A guitar amplifier needs 12V at 6A with a peak peak ripple of no more than 0.5V.
Smoothing calculation
Calculate capacitor CV=I t C * 0.5 = 6 * 0.01 C = 6 * 0.01 / 0.5 = 0.03 Farads = 30,000uF
We need an electrolytic capacitor of 33,000uF * or more, with a voltage rating of over 17V. *nearest preferred value
Regulated supplies
In the previous designs the voltage at the output will vary. With no load it will be a maximum and as the load current is increased the output voltage will fall.
Vmax
Output voltage
In many applications this is not important, either because the load is constant, or because a very stable voltage is not required.
Load current
V+
AC mains
Voltage reference
Circuit explanation
In this simple regulated supply a voltage reference is produced by passing a current through a zener diode. The reference voltage Vref is compared with the emitter voltage Vout. If Vout rises the base-emitter bias is reduced and the voltage restored to its proper value. Here the transistor is acting as series regulator AND compare/amplify.
When driving a 1A load the transistor will be dissipating (17V - 7.5V) * 1A = 10W and will need a heat sink.
How it works.
Q1 and Q2 form a high gain darlington pair so little base current is needed. The voltage reference is formed by D1 AND the baseemitter junction of Q3; so a 7.5V zener + 0.7V Vbe gives 8.2V At switch-on the output is zero and Q3 is turned off. Bias current flows through R1 and Q2/Q1 and allows current to flow through these transistors. When the output reaches 8.2V Q3 starts to turn on and diverts some of the bias current, stabilising the output voltage at 8.2V
Further improvements
The main factors limiting the performance of this supply now are: 1. The voltage reference is Vz + Vbe which are both temperature dependent; 2. The zener diode produces noise. And 3. The current through the reference still changes as the load or input voltage varies.
A better circuit
We will use an AD580 bandgap reference IC to provide a stable reference voltage. Because this is a fixed value we will use a potential divider to provide the output voltage required. We will replace the discrete darlington pair Q1 Q2 with a power darlington such as a BD681 (100V 10A 70W) We will use an operational amplifier to compare Vout with Vref. Because we are running the op amp from the same supply the output will never go to zero volts. So we allow it to sit at a higher voltage , and use a zener to bring it down.
How it works
The AD580 is a three terminal device comprising a current source and a stable and accurate voltage reference. The op amp compares the voltage on the potential divider at C with the reference voltage at D. If its higher a positive output drives current into the base of Q2, draining bias current from the darlington transistor Q1. This reduces the voltage at B, restoring the output to its correct value. If the output voltage B falls, due for example to a load change, the voltage at C also falls, and as its now lower than the reference, the output from the op amp falls, turning off Q2 and allowing more bias current into Q1, thereby restoring the output to its desired value.
Component values
Specification; we need a variable supply of 9 -18V 2A Design: Start with the unregulated supply. To produce an 18V output we need a minimum of about 21V at point A. Transformer 18V 2A RMS or better Bridge rectifier 100V 3A RMS This will give us a peak voltage off-load of 18 2 = 25.6V MINUS 2 * 0.7 = 1.4 TOTAL: 24V Ripple voltage peak-peak must be less than 3V Use CV=It C = 2A * .01 sec / 3V = 6,600 uF rated >32V We will choose C = 10,000uF so Vmin = 22V
ZD1 R2
The maximum collector current in Q2 is 20mA. If Q2 has an Hfe > 100 then the maximum base current will be 0.2mA
This is supplied from point A through the op amp via ZD1and R2. If ZD1 is 5.6V the remaining voltage at E is about 21V 3V - 5.6V = 12.4V.
So the pd across R2 is 12.4 0.7 = 11.7V
R3
VR1 C
R4
0V
FAQ:
Why doesnt the math work out properly? Because you can only buy off-the-shelf components in particular preferred values. Also its good practice to leave margins for error. Where do all these 0.7V values come from? The voltage across a single forward biased silicon diode junction (rectifier, transistor base-emitter junction etc) is around 0.7V Can I make this circuit provide a 0 30V output? No because the transistors in the op amp need to be at a voltage of about 2V or more away from the supply rails. If you really NEED 0V out (WHY?) you will need to provide a ve supply for the op amp.
Can I play around with the circuit to make it fit my application? Yes, thats the whole idea. This basic circuit layout can be used for supplies up to around 30V 10A (with a bigger darlington). You cant go to higher voltages with this layout because the op amp supplies need to be less than +- 18V or so. Also the AD580 has a voltage limit of 30V