Lab Session: 4

Demonstrate the behavior of a silicon diode in Full wave rectifier.

Objective:
Our objective is to demonstrate the behavior of a silicon diode in Full wave rectifier, (Bridge
Rectifier Circuit and Center-tapped transformer Circuit)

Full Wave Bridge Rectifier:

Apparatus:
To judge the behavior of silicon diode in case of full wave bridge rectifier in proteus following
components or apparatus are required:
 AC voltage source
 Rectification Bridge
 Resistor
 Voltage probe
 Oscilloscope

Circuit diagram:

Fig: 4.1Circuit Diagram on Proteus

Breadboard circuit

Fig: 4.2 Circuit Diagram on Breadboard

Procedure:
 First, I placed ac voltage source and then set its parameters as Amplitude=120V, Frequency=50HZ.
 Then I placed Rectification Bridge.
 After that I placed 10 kilo ohm resistor.
 Then I connected all these components by wire and placed a ground terminal.
 At last, I placed voltage probe across resistor and placed that probe in analog graph and set the time
to 60ms and simulated the graph.
 Then I placed oscilloscope across resistor and set voltage and time for the desired output.

Results:
Analog Graph:

Fig: 4.3 Analog Graph

So, the output voltage is:

𝑉𝑝(𝑜𝑢𝑡) = 𝑉𝑝(𝑠𝑒𝑐) − 1.4𝑉

=120V-1.4V

= 118.6V

Calculated Output voltage is same as shown in fig: 4.3 118V.

Measurement by oscilloscope:

Fig: 4.4 Measurement by Oscilloscope

Oscilloscope graph:

Fig: 4.5 Oscilloscope Graph on Proteus

Fig: 4.6 Oscilloscope Graph Physically

Center-Tapped Transformer Circuit:
Apparatus:
To judge the behavior of silicon diode in case of full wave rectifier (center tapped transformer) in proteus
following components are required:
 AC voltage source
 Center tapped transformer
 Resistor
 Voltage probe
 Oscilloscope
Circuit diagram:

Fig: 4.7 Circuit Diagram on Proteus

Procedure:
 First I placed ac voltage source and then set its parameters as Amplitude=120V, Frequency=50HZ.
 Then I placed center tapped transformer.
 After that I placed 10 kilo ohm resistor.
 Then I connected all these components by wire and placed a ground terminal
 At last, I placed voltage probe across resistor and placed that probe in analog graph and set the
time to 60ms and simulated the graph
 Then I placed oscilloscope across resistor and set voltage and time for the desired output.
Results:
Analog Graph:

Fig: 4.8 Analog Graph

So, the output voltage is:
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝑉sec 2 − 0.7𝑉

= 84.50 V - 0.7V

= 83.8V

Calculated Output voltage is same as shown in fig: 4.8 as 84V.

Measurement by oscilloscope:

Figure 8,oscilloscope measurement

Fig: 4.9 Measurement by Oscilloscope

Oscilloscope graph:

Fig: 4.10 Oscilloscope Graph on Proteus

Theory:
Full Wave Rectifier:
The process of conversion of ac to dc signal is called rectification and the circuit is called rectifier. A full-
wave rectifier allows unidirectional (one-way) current through the load during the entire of the input cycle,
whereas a half-wave rectifier allows current through the load only during one-half of the cycle. The result
of full-wave rectification is an output voltage with a frequency twice the input frequency and that pulsates
every half-cycle of the input as shown in fig: 4.10.

Fig: 4.11 Full Wave Rectifier Block Diagram

Full wave rectifier can be designed by using two methods:

 Center tapped transformer
 Diode bridge circuit

Center tapped transformer:

A center-tapped rectifier is a type of full-wave rectifier that uses two diodes connected to the secondary
of a center-tapped transformer, as shown in fig: 4.12. Its transformer ratio is 1:2. The input voltage is
coupled through the transformer to the center-tapped secondary. Half of the total secondary voltage
appears between the center tap and each end of the secondary winding as shown in fig: 4.13.

Fig: 4.12 Center Tapped Transformer Rectifier

During positive half cycle:
For a positive half-cycle of the input voltage, the polarities of the secondary voltages are as shown in
Figure 11. This condition forward-biases diode D1 and reverse-biases diode D2. The current path is
through D1 and the load resistor RL, as indicated.

Fig: 4.13 Output of Positive Half Cycle

During negative half cycle:
For a negative half-cycle of the input voltage, the voltage polarities on the secondary are as shown in
Fig: 4.14. This condition reverse-biases D1 and forward-biases D2. The current path is through D2 and
RL, as indicated.

Fig: 4.14 Output of Negative Half Cycle

Output of full wave rectifier:

Fig: 4.15 Output of Full Rectifier Circuit

Average value of full wave rectifier (center tapped transformer) :

If diode is ideal, then:
Average value is 𝟐𝑽𝒎𝚷
Average value of current is 𝟐𝑰𝒎𝚷
If diode is not ideal then:
Average value is (𝑽𝒎−𝟎.𝟕)
Average value of current is (𝑰𝒎−𝟎.𝟕)
RMS value
𝑽𝒓𝒎𝒔 = 𝑽𝒎/√𝟐
𝑰𝒓𝒎𝒔 = 𝑰𝒎/√𝟐
Peak inverse voltage (PIV):
Peak reverse voltage or peak inverse voltage is the maximum voltage that a diode can withstand in the
reverse direction without breaking down or avalanching. If this voltage is exceeded the diode may be
destroyed.
If 𝑽𝒎 is the peak amplitude of applied sin wave, then during the negative half cycle the maximum
voltage which appears across the diode in reverse condition would be equal to -𝟐𝑽𝒎
PIV=2𝑽𝒎
Ripple Factor:
The periodic vibration in the output voltage is called ripple.

Fig: 4.16 Ripples

To define how much ripple is there in the output waveform ripple factor is used. Ripple factor is the
ratio of the AC component's RMS value and the DC component's RMS value within the output of the
rectifier. The symbol is denoted with “γ” and the formula of R.F is mentioned below.
Ripple-Factor. (R.F) = AC component's RMS value / DC component's RMS value.
γ =𝑽𝒓𝒎𝒔/𝑽𝒅𝒄
For the half wave rectifier, the value of ripple factor is 0.43.

Full wave rectifier (center-tapped transformer) with filter:

During the positive half cycle, the diode (D1) conducts current and it reaches the filter and charges the
capacitor. However, the charging of the capacitor happens only when the applied AC voltage is greater
than the capacitor voltage .Initially, the capacitor is uncharged. So, when the voltage is turned on, the
charging of the capacitor happens immediately. During this conduction period, the capacitor charges to
the maximum value of the input supply voltage. At this point, the supply voltage is equal to the
capacitor voltage. When the AC voltage starts decreasing and becomes less than the capacitor voltage,
then the capacitor starts slowly discharging. Before the complete discharge of the capacitor happens, the
charging again takes place. During negative half cycle, the diode (D2) conducts current and it reaches
the filter and charges the capacitor. When the supply voltage becomes greater than the capacitor
voltage, the capacitor again starts charging.

Fig: 4.17 Full wave rectifier (center-tapped transformer) with filter

Bridge Full-Wave Rectifier:

During positive half cycle:

The bridge rectifier uses four diodes connected as shown in figure 14. When the input cycle is positive as
in part (a), diodes D1 and D2 are forward-biased and conduct current in the direction shown. A voltage is
developed across RL that looks like the positive half of the input cycle. During this time, diodes D3 and
D4 are reverse-biased.

Fig: 4.18 Output of Positive Half Cycle

During negative half cycle

When the input cycle is negative as in Figure 15 diodes D3 and D4 are forward biased and conduct current
in the same direction through RL as during the positive half-cycle. During the negative half-cycle, D1
and D2 are reverse-biased.
 Fig: 4.19 Output of Negative Half Cycle

Output of bridge full wave rectifier:

Fig: 4.20 Output of Full Rectifier Circuit

Average value of Full Wave Rectifier (Bridge Rectifier)

If diode is ideal, then:
Average value is 𝟐𝑽𝒎𝚷
Average value of current is 𝟐𝑰𝒎𝚷
If diode is not ideal then:
Average value is (𝑽𝒎−𝟏.𝟒)
Average value of current is (𝑰𝒎−𝟏.𝟒)
RMS value
𝑽𝒓𝒎𝒔=𝑽𝒎/√𝟐
𝑰𝒓𝒎𝒔=𝑰𝒎/√𝟐
Peak inverse voltage (PIV)
Peak reverse voltage or peak inverse voltage is the maximum voltage that a diode can withstand in the
reverse direction without breaking down or avalanching. If this voltage is exceeded the diode may be
destroyed. If 𝑽𝒎 is the peak amplitude of applied sin wave, then during the negative half cycle the
maximum voltage which appears across the diode in reverse condition would be equal to -𝑽𝒎
PIV=𝑽𝒎
Ripple Factor:
Ripple factor for bridge full wave rectifier is same as half wave rectifier i.e., 0.43.
Bridge full Wave Rectifier with Filter:
When input AC signal is applied, during the positive half cycle both diodes D1 and D3 are forward biased.
At the same time, diodes D2 and D4 are reverse biased. On the other hand, during the negative half cycle,
diodes D2 and D4 are forward biased. At the same time, diodes D1 and D3 are reverse biased.

Fig: 4.21 Bridge Full Wave Rectifier with Filter

DC output

Fig: 4.22 DC output

Peak to Peak Ripple:
𝑽𝛄 (pp) = 𝐼𝑑𝑐 /𝟐𝒇𝑪
𝐼𝑑𝑐 is the average current
While,
f is the output frequency of half wave rectifier
C is the filter capacitance
Ripple Factor with filter
γ =𝑽𝒓𝒎𝒔/𝑽𝒅𝒄 = 𝟏𝟒√𝟑𝒇𝑹𝑳𝑪

Efficiency:
Efficiency = DC output power/ AC input power.
In case of half wave rectifier efficiency is 81.2%.

Conclusion:
A half wave rectifier is not as effective as a full wave rectifier. With a 1/2 wave, you are throwing away
one hump of the sine wave either positive or negative portion. With a full wave rectifier, you get both
humps either positive or negative. The resultant effective voltage is much greater with a full wave rectifier
because there is very little time when the voltage is zero. The half wave is zero for 1/2 of the cycle.