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Working of full wave rectifier

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Working of full wave rectifier

Uploaded by

prajuuprajwal52
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Working of full wave rectifier

What is a Rectifier?
The Rectifier is a simple electronic circuit construct by a single diode or
multiple pn junction diodes that converts alternating current (AC) into
direct current (DC). The process of convert alternating current (AC) to
direct current (DC) is called Rectification.

What is a Full Wave Rectifier


A full-wave rectifier is a form of rectifier that allows both the positive half
cycle and negative half cycle of input alternating current (AC) signal to
passing, for transform the AC voltage into pulsating DC voltage
Operation:
 During positive half cycle of supply voltage, terminal A is positive
and terminal B is negative due to center tap transformer. Diode D1
will be forward biased and hence conduct, while D2 will be
reverse biased and will not conduct. As D1 conducts, current flows
through the path A-D1-C- 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿-D. Therefore 𝑉𝑉0 = +𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛.

 During negative half cycle of supply voltage, terminal A is


negative and terminal B is positive due to center tap transformer.
Diode D1 will be reverse biased, while D2 will be forward biased
and hence conduct. As D2 conducts, current flows through the
path B-D2-C- 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿-D. Thus current keeps on flowing through 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿.

Types of Full-Wave Rectifier


There are two types of full-wave rectifiers which are

Center-Tapped Full-Wave Rectifier


A centre-tapped rectifier consists of two diodes, a centre-tapped
transformer (transformer with a wire connected to the centre of the
secondary wiring) and a resistive load.
It works similarly to any normal step-down transformer and reduces the input
voltage, but it also divides the input AC signal into two parts. The upper part
produces positive voltage V1 whereas the lower part produces negative
voltage V2, which combined gives the entire AC signal.

Since the two voltages are equal in magnitude but opposite in phase, when
connected with the full-wave rectifier circuit (diode part of the circuit), we get
the complete AC current rectified into a DC current.

Full-Wave Bridge Rectifier


A Full-Wave Bridge Rectifier is a rectifier circuit that consists of four
diodes and a resistive load.

• It is most popular rectifier.


• It requires four identical diodes to form a bridge network. The circuits
consists of four diodes D1, D2, D3 and D4 connected across secondary of
transformer and load 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿.
• The secondary of transformer is connected to node points A and C and
the load resistor (𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿) is connected to other node points B and D.
Operation:
• During the positive half cycle, the point X is positive and Y is negative.
Diodes D1,D2 are forward biased acts like closed switch and D3,D4 are
reverse biased and acts like a open switch and current flows through 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿
through the path X-A-B-𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿-D-C-Y as shown below.

• During the negative half cycle, the point X is negative and Y is positive.
Diodes D1, D2 are reverse biased and D3,D4 are forward biased and
current flows through 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿 through the path Y-C-D4-B-𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿-D-D3-A-X as
shown above.

Advantages :

• Higher Efficiency: Full wave rectifiers utilize both halves of the AC input
waveform, allowing for a more efficient conversion of AC to DC compared to
half wave rectifiers which only use one half of the waveform. This results in
a higher average output voltage for the same input voltage.

• Smaller Ripple Voltage: The output of a full wave rectifier has a smaller
ripple voltage compared to a half wave rectifier. This is because full wave
rectifiers convert both positive and negative halves of the AC input,
resulting in a smoother output waveform when filtered.

• Better Voltage Regulation: Full wave rectifiers provide better voltage


regulation because of their smoother output waveform and reduced ripple
voltage. This makes them more suitable for applications requiring stable DC
voltage, such as in power supplies for electronic devices.

• Higher Output Voltage: Since full wave rectifiers utilize both halves of the
AC input waveform, they can provide a higher average output voltage
compared to half wave rectifiers for the same input voltage and load
conditions.

Applications :
• Power Supplies: Full wave rectifiers are extensively used in
power supplies to convert AC mains voltage into a stable DC
voltage suitable for powering electronic devices and circuits.

• Battery Chargers: Full wave rectifiers are employed in battery


chargers to convert AC voltage from mains or other sources into
DC voltage suitable for charging batteries.

• Audio Amplifiers: In audio amplifiers, full wave rectifiers are


used in the power supply stage to convert AC voltage to DC.

• DC Motor Drives: Full wave rectifiers are used in DC motor drives


and controllers where a steady DC voltage is required to control
the speed and direction of DC motors

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