Experiment No : 02

Name of the Experiment : Study of half-wave rectifier circuit.

Objectives :
1. To demonstrate the operation of a half-wave rectifier.
2. To analyze the input and output waveforms of a half-wave rectifier to understand
rectification behavior.

Theory : The conversion of AC into DC is called rectification. Electronic devices can convert
AC power into DC power with high efficiency. During the positive half cycle, the diode is forward
biased and it conducts and hence a current flow through the load resistor. During the negative half
cycle, the diode is reverse biased and it is equivalent to an open circuit, hence the current through
the load resistance is zero. Thus, the diode conducts only for one half cycle and results in half
wave rectification.
Circuit Diagram :

Figure-01 : Connection of half wave rectifier circuit (R Load) .

Figure-02 : Connection of half wave rectifier circuit (RL Load) .

Required Apparatus :
SL No. Apparatus Name Quantity

1. Mobile Workstation (8110) 01

2. Power Supply(8821-2X) 01

3. Resistive Load (8311) 01

4. Inductive load (8321) 01

5. DC Voltmeter (8412-1X) 01

6. DC Ammeter (8412-lX) 01

7. Power Diodes (8842-2X) 01

8. Current Isolator (9056-lX) 01

9. Voltage Isolator (9056-l,X) 01

10. Oscilloscope 01

11. Connecting wires As required

Data Table :
Line Voltage I1dc(A) i1(A) E1dc e1 (V) Z1(a) Z1(b) Resistive(Ω)
(Vac) (V) Resistive Load & Inductive
(Ω) Load(H)
118 0.125 0.984 50 2.92 400
121 0.10 0.80 45 4.84 R=400 , L=1.267

Calculation :
For resistive load :
Three resistors of 1200 Ω are connected in parallel.
1 1 1 1
Equivalent resistance , = (1200 + 1200 + 1200 ) Ω
𝑅

1 3
=> = 1200 Ω
𝑅
 => 𝑅 = 400 Ω

Im = Ip = 0.984 A
𝐼𝑚 0.984
Irms = = = 0.942 A
2 2

Vm = Vp = 2.92 V
𝑉𝑚 2.92
Vrms = = =1.46 V
2 2

Output power , P0 = E1(dc)×I1(dc) W

= 50×0.125 W = 6.25 W
For resistive and inductive Load :
Three inductors of 3.8 H are connected in parallel.
1 1 1 1
Equivalent inductance , = (3.8 + 3.8 + 3.8 ) H
𝐿

1 3
=> 𝐿 = 3.8 H

=> 𝐿 = 1.267 H

From the output graph we gets, f = 50 Hz

Im = Ip = 0.8 A
𝐼𝑚 0.8
Irms = = = 0.4 A
2 2

Vm = Vp = 2.8 V
𝑉𝑚 2.8
Vrms = = = 1.4 V
2 2

400Ω resistor and 1.267 H inductor are connected in series.

Impedence , Z = R + jXL
= ((400 + j(2*301416*50*1.267))Ω
= (400 + j398.041) Ω
Output power , P0 = E1(dc)×I1(dc) W
= 45×0.10 W = 4.5 W
Results :

Figure-03:Output current waveform(R load) Figure-04:Output voltage waveform(R load)

Figure-05:Output current waveform(RL load) Figure-06:Output voltage waveform(RL load)

Output Curve : The output curve by the MATLAB simulation is given below ,

Figure-07 : Simulated voltage and current curve of a resistive load in oscilloscope.

Figure-08 : Simulated voltage and current curve of a resistive and inductive load in oscilloscope.

Discussion : The study of the half-wave rectifier circuit using a power diode was conducted to
analyze its operation. The circuit was assembled with an AC volatege source , power diode ,
resistive and inductive load , current and voltage isolator and scope.In the resistive load, During
the positive half-cycle of the ac voltage, the diode is forward-biased.Current is allowed to flow
through the diode, passing through the resistive (R) load.The rectified voltage is dropped across
the resistive load, and the current flows in the circuit.During the negative half-cycle of the AC
voltage, the diode is reverse-biased.Current is blocked, and no flow occurs in the circuit.The
voltage across the load drops to zero during this period.The waveform of both current and voltage
becomes zero, as no power is delivered to the load.In the RL load, During the positive half-cycle
of the AC voltage, the diode is forward-biased.Current flows through the diode and passes through
the RL load.The inductance opposes the sudden rise in current due to its property of storing energy
in its magnetic field.The voltage is dropped across the RL load, and the current increases gradually
due to the inductive reactance.The current lags behind the voltage due to the inductive property of
the load.During the negative half-cycle of the AC voltage, the diode is reverse-biased.Current is
blocked by the diode, preventing the flow of power into the RL load.The voltage across the load
drops to zero, but the inductance may release stored energy, causing a brief transient current.Due
to the inductive element, the current waveform is observed to lag the voltage waveform.The current
flow through the RL load and the voltage drop across it are measured and displayed on their
respective scopes.The waveforms show a difference compared to the resistive load due to the
inductive effects.

Conclussion : In conclusion, the operation of the circuits was analyzed with R and RL loads.
The AC voltage source was rectified using a diode, allowing current flow during the positive half-
cycle while blocking it during the negative half-cycle. For the R load, the voltage and current were
observed to be in phase, as only resistive effects were present. In the RL load, the inductive
property caused the current to lag the voltage due to energy storage in the magnetic field. During
the negative cycle, no current flowed as the diode was reverse-biased. The circuit behavior was
successfully observed and measured using scopes.