AIR UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

EXPERIMENT NO 3

Lab Title: DIODE RECTIFIERS

Student Name: Reg. No:

Objective:

LAB ASSESSMENT:

Excellent Good Average Satisfactory Unsatisfactory

Attributes
(5) (4) (3) (2) (1)
Ability to Conduct
Experiment
Ability to assimilate the
results
Effective use of lab
equipment and follows
the lab safety rules

Total Marks: Obtained Marks:

LAB REPORT ASSESSMENT:

Excellent Good Average Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Attributes
(5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

Data presentation

Experimental results

Conclusion

Total Marks: Obtained Marks:

Date: Signature:
 LABORATORY
EXPERIMENT
NO. 3

DIODE RECTIFIERS

OBJECTIVE
1. To observe the working of Half Wave Rectifiers.
2. To observe the behaviour of a Full Wave Bridge Rectifier.

DISCUSSION
Rectification:
A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), and the
process is known as rectification. The main application of p-n junction diode is in rectification circuits.
Rectifiers have many uses including as components of power supplies and as detectors of radio signals.
Rectifiers may be made of solid state diodes, vacuum tube diodes, mercury arc valves and other
components. A device which performs the opposite function (converting DC to AC) is known as an inverter.
There are two primary methods of diode rectification:

 Half-Wave Rectification
 Full-Wave Rectification

Half-Wave Rectification:
In a half-wave rectifier, one half of each a.c input cycle is rectified. In other words, either the positive or
negative half of the AC wave is passed, while the other half is blocked. When the p-n junction diode is
forward biased, it gives little resistance and when it is reversing biased it provides high resistance. During
one-half cycle, the diode is forward biased when the input voltage is applied and in the opposite half cycle,
it is reverse biased. During alternate half-cycles, the optimum result can be obtained. In half wave
rectification, because only one half of the input waveform reaches the output, it is very inefficient if used
for power transfer. Half-wave rectification can be achieved with a single diode in a one-phase supply, or
with three diodes in a three-phase supply.
A complete half-wave rectifier circuit consists of 3 main parts:

 A transformer
 A resistive load
 A diode
A half wave rectifier circuit diagram looks like this:
First, a high AC voltage is applied to the primary side of the step-down transformer and we will get a low
voltage at the secondary winding which will be applied to the diode.
During the positive half cycle of the AC voltage, the diode will be forward biased and the current flows
through the diode. During the negative half cycle of the AC voltage, the diode will be reverse biased and
the flow of current will be blocked. The final output voltage waveform is shown in the figure below.

Let’s dig into this circuit a bit more for better understanding. If we replace the secondary transformer coils
with a source voltage, we can simplify the circuit diagram of the half-wave rectifier as:

For the positive half cycle of the AC source voltage, the equivalent circuit effectively becomes:
This is because the diode is forward biased, and is hence allowing current to pass through. So we have a
closed circuit. This is the case for ideal diode.
But for the negative half cycle of the AC source voltage, the equivalent circuit becomes:

Because the diode is now in reverse bias mode, no current is able to pass through it. As such, we now have
an open circuit. Since current cannot flow through to the load during this time, the output voltage is equal
to zero.
This all happens very quickly – since an AC waveform will oscillate between positive and negative many
times each second (depending on the frequency).
Here’s what the half wave rectifier waveform looks like on the input side (Vin), and what it looks like on
the output side (Vout) after rectification (i.e. conversion from AC to DC):

The graph above actually shows a positive half wave rectifier. This is a half-wave rectifier which only
allows the positive half-cycles through the diode, and blocks the negative half-cycle.
Conversely, a negative half-wave rectifier will only allow negative half-cycles through the diode and will
block the positive half-cycle. The only difference between a positive and negative half wave rectifier is the
direction of the diode. The diode is now in the opposite direction. Hence the diode will now be forward
biased only when the AC waveform is in its negative half cycle.

The output DC voltage of a half wave rectifier can be calculated with the following two ideal equations.

Full-Wave Rectification:
A full-wave rectifier converts the whole of the input waveform to one of constant polarity (positive or
negative) at its output. Full-wave rectification converts both polarities of the input waveform to DC (direct
current), and is more efficient. However, in a circuit with a non-center tapped transformer, four diodes are
required instead of the one needed for half-wave rectification. Four rectifiers arranged this way are called
a diode bridge or bridge rectifier.

For single-phase AC, if the transformer is center-tapped, then two diodes back-to- back form a full-wave
rectifier. Twice as many windings are required on the transformer secondary to obtain the same output
voltage compared to the bridge rectifier above.
The Bridge Rectifier:

Bridge rectifier uses a normal transformer with 4 diodes arranged as a bridge. The working and operation
of a full wave bridge rectifier is pretty simple. The circuit diagrams and waveforms are given below which
will help you understand the operation of a bridge rectifier perfectly. In the circuit diagram, 4 diodes are
arranged in the form of a bridge. The transformer secondary is connected to two diametrically opposite
points of the bridge at points A and C. The load resistance RL is connected to bridge through points B and
D.
 Full Wave Bridge Rectifier – Circuit Diagram with Input and Output Waveforms
During the First Half Cycle:
During first half cycle of the input voltage, the upper end of the transformer secondary winding is positive
with respect to the lower end. Thus during the first half cycle diodes D1 and D3 are forward biased and
current flows through arm AB, enters the load resistance RL, and returns back flowing through arm DC.
During this half of each input cycle, the diodes D2 and D4 are reverse biased and current is not allowed to
flow in arms AD and BC. The flow of current is indicated by solid arrows in the figure. See the diagram
below – the green arrows indicate beginning of current flow from source (transformer secondary) to the
load resistance. The red arrows indicate return path of current from load resistance to the source, thus
completing the circuit.
During the Second Half Cycle:

During second half cycle of the input voltage, the lower end of the transformer secondary winding is
positive with respect to the upper end. Thus diodes D2 and D4 become forward biased and current flows
through arm CB, enters the load resistance RL, and returns back to the source flowing through arm DA.
Thus the direction of flow of current through the load resistance RL remains the same during both half
cycles of the input supply voltage. See the diagram below – the green arrows indicate beginning of current
flow from source (transformer secondary) to the load resistance. The red arrows indicate return path of
current from load resistance to the source, thus completing the circuit.

Path of current in 2nd Half Cycle

The working of full wave bridge rectifier can be understood by another diagram given below which shows
the paths of current for both half cycles.
Full wave rectifier is used in the construction of constant dc voltage power supplies, especially in general
power supplies. A bridge rectifier with an efficient filter is ideal for any type of general power supply
applications like charging a battery, powering a dc device (like a motor, led etc.). However for an audio
application, a general power supply may not be enough. This is because of the residual ripple factor
in a bridge rectifier. There are limitations to filtering ripples. For audio applications, specially built power
supplies (using IC regulators) may be ideal.
Peak Inverse Voltage
Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) is the maximum voltage that the diode can withstand during reverse bias
condition. If a voltage is applied more than the PIV, the diode will be destroyed.
Half Wave Rectifier: Vm
Full Wave Bridge Rectifier: Vm
Where Vm is the peak value of a.c. input.

LAB TASK 1
Circuit Diagram:

RL=1kΩ

 Measure the input voltage at output of transformer using DMM.

Voltage at Output of the Transformer = ……………………….
  Patch the circuit on Hardware as well as on Proteus for half wave rectifier.
 Measure the voltage at the load resistor using Oscilloscope.
 Draw the input and output waveforms.

RESULTS

Input Waveform

Output Waveform
Vin (peak) =…………….
Vout (peak) =……………
Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) =……………
LAB TASK 2
 Reverse the polarity of the diode in the circuit given for half wave rectifier.
 Patch the circuit on Hardware as well as on Proteus.
 Measure the voltage at the load resistor using Oscilloscope.
 Draw the input and output waveforms.

RESULTS

Input Waveform

Output Waveform
Vin (peak) =…………….
Vout (peak) =……………
LAB TASK 3
Circuit Diagram:

R=1kΩ

 Patch the circuit on Hardware as well as on Proteus for full wave rectifier.
 Measure the voltage at the load resistor using Oscilloscope.
 Draw the input and output waveforms.

RESULTS

Input Waveform
 Output Waveform

Vin (peak) =…………….

Vout (peak) =……………
Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) =……………

CONCLUSION
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